In Taiwan We Speak
by Oleksandr Shyn
Latest episode
And It’s a Wrap! Bye-Bye and Thank You | #InTaiwanWeSpeak
And It’s a Wrap! Bye-Bye and Thank You | #InTaiwanWeSpeak
About this podcast
Your audio guide to the island nation’s mind-blowing linguistic diversity with host Oleksandr Shyn. New episodes every TUE, 21:00 (GMT+8).
Episodes
The newest 20 of 69 episodes
- And It’s a Wrap! Bye-Bye and Thank You | #InTaiwanWeSpeak · 9 min · Season 3 Episode 20Olek says bye-bye and thanks all the guests and listeners who gave this podcast so much meaning. Find #InTaiwanWeSpeak on: 🎧 Your podcasts 🎙️ YouTube 📸 Social channels
- Scotland Meets Taiwan in Tâigael: Free Church, Goddess of Saliva & More | #InTaiwanWeSpeak · 18 min · Season 3 Episode 19A taciturn woman named Free Church disrupts a warm Scottish celebration, while a Taiwanese goddess unsettles an entire village with her sudden disappearance. These stories reveal…
- The Stories of Tâigael: Four Languages, Two Countries, One Book (ft. Will Buckingham) | #InTaiwanWeSpeak · 21 min · Season 3 Episode 18Tâigael is a groundbreaking book linking two distant worlds — Taiwan and Scotland. It features four original stories written in native tongues, translated across four languages…
- “Should I Jump Into the Sea Then?”: What Recognising Indigenous Land Really Means | #InTaiwanWeSpeak · 18 min · Season 3 Episode 17Do young people really want to talk about decolonisation — or are they too tired to care? Lahok Ciwko reflects on uncomfortable truths about the microaggressions, racism, and…
- Pangcah Voices: Lahok Ciwko on Identity, Prejudice, and Respect | #InTaiwanWeSpeak · 14 min · Season 3 Episode 16As the largest Indigenous group in Taiwan, how confident are the Amis about their language revival? Why do some parents still doubt the value of teaching Amis/Pangcah in…
- Not Indigenous Enough? Lahok Ciwko on Being Amis in a Han-Dominated Megapolis | #InTaiwanWeSpeak · 16 min · Season 3 Episode 15What does it mean to be Indigenous in Taipei? Lahok Ciwko, an Amis (Pangcah) youth raised in the capital, shares his story of growing up disconnected from his roots and culture…
- AI vs. Paiwan’s Grammar and the Fight for Indigenous Data Sovereignty | #InTaiwanWeSpeak · 14 min · Season 3 Episode 14What happens when AI meets Taiwan’s Indigenous languages? First, it might break its teeth trying to decipher Paiwan’s highly inflected, polysynthetic grammar. In this episode…
- Pai, Manu, Avan: These Paiwan Untranslatables Make Us Rethink Linguistics | #InTaiwanWeSpeak · 25 min · Season 3 Episode 13You can’t learn a language in a vacuum — and the Paiwan language proves it. Words like ‘pai’, ‘manu’ and ‘avan’ carry layers of meaning that are inseparable from cultural and…
- The Name That Started It All — Paiwan and Reclaimed (Yedda Ljeljeng lja Palemek) | #InTaiwanWeSpeak · 24 min · Season 3 Episode 12Born with only a Chinese name — despite Paiwan tradition — Yedda Ljeljeng lja Palemek found a turning point when her teacher called her Yedda. She embraced it, and after Taiwan…
- “You Must Dance, You Must Sing”: A Grandmother’s Legacy (Ft. Eri Liao) | #InTaiwanWeSpeak · 20 min · Season 3 Episode 11Through her grandmother’s extraordinary life — from Atayal to Japanese, and the so-called “mountain compatriot” — Eri Liao traces the complex history of her family and her…
- Why Atayal Folk Songs Sound (Surprisingly) Like Techno (Ft. Eri Liao) | #InTaiwanWeSpeak · 16 min · Season 3 Episode 10Atayal folk songs are like… techno, says singer Eri Liao. In this part of our interview, Eri talks about Atayal lullabies, Aza Roots’ new album, the joys and clichés of being…
- Brazilian Bossa Nova in Taiwan’s Atayal Language? Why Not! (Ft. Eri Liao) | #InTaiwanWeSpeak · 13 min · Season 3 Episode 9One day, Eri Liao woke up and decided that Brazil’s iconic ‘Águas de Março’ needed to live in her ancestral Atayal language. In this episode, the Atayal-Japanese singer shares…
- Being Uniquely Atayal-Japanese in This Endlessly Diverse World (Ft. Eri Liao) | #InTaiwanWeSpeak · 17 min · Season 3 Episode 8Ever heard a song that feels like a memory you’ve never lived? Singer Eri Liao, half Indigenous Atayal and half Japanese, opens our new episode with her original ‘Taragay 漂亮’…
- From Student to Teacher: Eva Tsao’s Mission To Keep Matsu Alive | #InTaiwanWeSpeak · 13 min · Season 3 Episode 7The unique dialect of the Matsu Islands became a national language of Taiwan in 2019. Eva Tsao (曹辰瑩), its first government-certified teacher, is on a mission to help it survive…
- ‘Matsu Language Is a Key to My Grandmother’s Memories’ (ft. Eva Tsao) | #InTaiwanWeSpeak · 10 min · Season 3 Episode 6Why do many people mistake the Matsu language for Hakka? Matsu teacher and YouTuber Eva Tsao (曹辰瑩) explores what makes this lesser known national language of Taiwan so distinct —…
- ‘I Am From Matsu!’ — It’s So Much More Than Its Military Past (ft. Eva Tsao) | #InTaiwanWeSpeak · 22 min · Season 3 Episode 5“I am from Matsu (我是馬祖儂),” declares our guest, taking us on a journey through her island home, its unique dialect, and an identity shaped by both distance and history. Educator…
- On Tech, TikTok Videos, Cochlear Implants, and the Deaf Child’s Right to Language | #InTaiwanWeSpeak · 20 min · Season 3 Episode 4Are cochlear implants a solution or just one part of the picture? In the final part of our series, we dive into how technology — from video calls to implants — can help or hinder…
- ASL Cram Schools for Deaf Taiwanese Kids? (ft. Jean Andrews and Fanghuai Ku) | #InTaiwanWeSpeak · 14 min · Season 3 Episode 3Did you know many Deaf children in Taiwan already learn American Sign Language (ASL) fingerspelling? Dr. Jean Andrews and Dr. Fanghuai Ku unpack Deaf education in a globalised…
- Deaf Schools Without Sign Language — Possible, but Should We? (ft. Dr. J. Andrews) | #InTaiwanWeSpeak · 15 min · Season 3 Episode 2Is sign language an afterthought, or the foundation of Deaf education? Dr. Jean Andrews walks us through different perspectives on Deaf education, making a strong case for the…
- Sign Language at the Heart of the Deaf Community (ft. Dr. Jean Andrews) | #InTaiwanWeSpeak · 19 min · Season 3 Episode 1Like any spoken language, a sign language carries the soul of its people — their shared culture, identity and everyday struggles. In this episode, we explore the Deaf communities…
