Tue, Mar 25, 2003 page6

• Author stresses the importance of language

  TAIWANESE AUTHOR Sakabulajo says that his desire to write in the local dialect springs from his hope to nurture the life of the mother tongue that gave him life

  • By Melody Chen / STAFF REPORTER
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  Noted author Sakabulajo (沙卡布拉揚) introduced two new books yesterday, God's Man and Taiwanese as a Language for Literature, in a move he hopes will help preserve and promote the Taiwanese dialect of Hokkien.

  Sakabulajo, whose real name is Cheng Tien-sung (鄭天送), currently teaches Hokkien in three Japanese universities and has been writing in the Taiwanese dialect for more than 40 years.

  His new books are written with traditional Chinese characters, but in order to truly comprehend the content, readers need to pronounce the words in Hokkien.

  That's because to achieve his ideal of pure Taiwanese literature, Sakabulajo used a number of rarely seen Chinese characters. As a result, his phrases often read like jumbles of irrelevant words. Only when the words are pronounced in Hokkien can the meanings of the phrases be revealed.

  God's Man is a collection of poems and replicas of woodcuts. Each poem illustrates the meaning of a woodcut. Taiwanese as a Language for Literature is a collection of academic essays.

  At a book launching in Taipei yesterday, Sakabulajo explained why he adopted the exotic Japanese-sounding alias.

  "Saka was my nickname when I joined an Esperanto association in Japan," he said.

  "Some boys of the Paiwan are named `Bulajo.' As I was born in a Pingtung town near the tribe, I combined the Aboriginal name with `Saka,'" he said.

  Sakabulajo also explained why he chose to write in Taiwanese Hokkien. Noting that in Taiwan, all school courses are delivered in Mandarin. "There's hardly formal education in Taiwanese at schools," he said.

  A more personal reason is that Hokkien is his mother tongue "My mother tongue is my life," he said. "I want to nurture the life. I hope to see the life bear fruit."

  Lee Min-yung (李敏勇), a poet who attended the conference, said many difficulties still lie in the way of the promotion of Hokkien as a language for literary creation.

  Unless some substantial literary works are written in Hokkien, the language will never have a chance to become a language that writers feel comfortable using, Lee said.

  Sakabulajo is a pioneer in using Hokkien as a language for literary creation, said Lee, who added that there are currently few works written in that language that could be described as "refined."

  However, Lee recognized the contributions Sakabulajo has made to the development of Taiwanese literature and said that his works would become part of the country's cultural heritage.

  Sakabulajo's publisher, Lin Wen-chin (林文欽), said he knows about the difficulties readers have in comprehending Sakabulajo's works.

  "His books will cause your admiration and frustration," said Lin, who confessed he could hardly understand Sakabulajos books when he read them for the first them.

  Lin said he began to derive enjoyment from Sakabulajos books only after "chewing on them" several times. "The more you read them, the more fun you will find in them," Lin said.

  Lin Yiang-min (林央敏), a scholar of Taiwanese literature, said readers might spend about two hours trying to comprehend the first page of Taiwanese as a Language for Literature.

  "However, as you overcome the first page, you will find it easier to understand the following pages," Lin said.

  Another poet, Lee Kuei-shien (李魁賢) said, "Even thoughSakabulajos has not gained much support from readers, he will not stop writing in Taiwanese, which he believes as a right thing to do."
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