The Meaning Contestation of Tai:Language Ideologies and the Global-Local Ambivalence

Abstract

This study investigates a newly emergent Taiwan Mandarin slang term taike and its derivative adjective tai. Taike evokes a cultural stereotype of young Taiwanese adults whose lifestyle, linguistic repertoire, and fashion sense are considered distinctively local and unsuccessfully imitative of current trends, but the term has also been appropriated to index local identity and nonconformity. Drawing on data from 344 questionnaires, this study explores the ways the two terms interact with language ideologies and ideologies concerning localism, cosmopolitanism, and authenticity in Taiwan. Statistical results indicate current attitudes toward the terms in Northern Taiwan tend to be negative, with females, the higher-educated, and the younger evaluating the terms more negatively than their counterparts. Further exploration of the data indicates that the meaning contestation is ultimately associated with the global-local ambivalence prevalent in contemporary Taiwan.