The teaching of Austronesian languages from Taiwan and Madagascar and the development of cultural know-how systems

This international colloquium, jointly organized by the Kaohsiung Normal University's Center for Research on Indigenous Knowledge, Inalco's Chair in Taiwanese Studies and the Taiwan Normal University's International Center for Taiwanese Studies, will be held on September 29 and 30, 2025 at Inalco (Paris).
L’enseignement des langues austronésiennes de Taïwan et de Madagascar et le développement des systèmes de savoir-faire culturels
L’enseignement des langues austronésiennes de Taïwan et de Madagascar et le développement des systèmes de savoir-faire culturels © Feng-en CHANG‎

The event aims to explore the contemporary dynamics of teaching Taiwanese Austronesian languages (particularly Paiwan), while questioning their role in the transmission, preservation and reinvention of cultural know-how systems. Taiwanese Austronesian languages, far from being mere tools of communication, appear as essential vectors of identity, memory and social practices, enabling us to understand the complex relationships between language, culture, environment and policies of recognition.

The papers and workshops on the program highlight the diversity of approaches:

  • linguistic and grammatical analyses,

  • study of oral repertoires and ritual songs, particularly Paiwan songs, bearers of a social conscience,

  • observations of pedagogical and media practices (the use of newspapers or audiovisual programs in native languages as teaching tools),

  • comparative and transnational perspectives (for example, links between Madagascar and the Austronesian space),

  • critical debates on ecology, gender, authenticity and cultural revitalization in the context of the Anthropocene.

Through these interventions, the symposium intends to show that the teaching of Austronesian languages is inseparable from a reflection on the continuity of oral traditions, artistic creativity and the construction of collective identities, while opening gateways to global questioning, ranging from ecological conservation to the challenges of cultural globalization.

Finally, moments of living transmission - singing workshops, film screenings, thematic discussions - will complement the academic exchanges, enabling scientific knowledge and community practices to intersect.

This symposium is thus intended to provide a space for fruitful dialogue between researchers, students and indigenous peoples, with a view to rethinking together the role of languages and cultural know-how in a world undergoing profound change.

 

The program will be published shortly.