Languages evolve
When Taipei First Girls’ High School Chinese literature teacher Alice Ou (區桂芝) protested about the removal of some classical Chinese works from the national curriculum, she might not have considered that it was the result of the evolution of language, not government regulations.
New words are added to our languages, such as shuafei (耍廢, to chill or hang out), just as there are words that fall out of usage. Languages evolve with cultural, societal and technological changes. Words or phrases that do not reflect or express the culture or situation gradually die out in a kind of linguistic Darwinian process.
Hopefully, Ou will look at the curriculum update from a different perspective. Students are being taught a tool that they can use to express themselves in today’s society.
Ancient literature might not be related to contemporary life, so it is difficult to understand. Replacing it with modern literature with similar ideas might not be a bad thing for students.
Tina Yu
Taipei
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