Pasang Teru, Atayal language digital activist. Courtesy of Pasang Teru. Used with permission.

Have you signed up to participate in our upcoming event, “Digital Initiatives for Indigenous Languages of Taiwan,” on June 28, 2025, from 7–9 pm Taiwan time (11 am–1 pm UTC)? This is the first time Rising Voices, in collaboration with Taiwan's New Bloom Magazine and the Indigenous Youth Front, is organizing an event like this in Taiwan, in the hope of bringing together local Indigenous language digital activists to learn from and connect with each other. The idea is to facilitate the exchange of learned experiences and innovative ideas among these language activists, inspiring more possibilities for their language work.

Leading up to the event, each of our featured speakers chatted with Global Voices via email, offering a glimpse into their important language work and bringing their firsthand accounts to Global Voices’ audiences.  

In this interview, Pasang Teru, an Atayal speaker and a certified Indigenous instructor, shares about his work as a teacher and advocate for Indigenous languages through print media, online projects, and broadcasting.

The Atayal communities, the most widespread Indigenous group in Taiwan, are distributed primarily in the mountainous regions in the northern and central parts of Taiwan. Statistics indicate that there are more than 100,900 people within the Atayal population.

Rising Voices (RV): Please tell us about yourself and your language-related work.

lokah cimu qabax, lalu mu ga Pasang Teru. 大家好，我是呂仲安，來自泰雅族，目前就讀國立清華大學臺灣語言與教學研究所，專注於族語教學與推廣。我目前在新北市、基隆市及新竹市擔任原住民學生的族語老師，協助學生學習族語，也參與多項語言教材的編輯與翻譯工作──例如：泰雅族語維基百科、四季泰雅語參考語法書及原民繪本的翻譯等。此外，我也在原民廣播電台主持教育文化類節目，將語言與大眾媒介結合，期待讓更多人聽見族語、認識族語。

Pasang Teru (PT): lokah cimu qabax, lalu mu ga Pasang Teru. Hello everyone, I'm Pasang Teru of Tayal, currently pursuing graduate studies at the Institute of Taiwan Languages and Language Teaching at National Tsing Hua University, with a focus on Indigenous language education and promotion. Meanwhile, I am teaching [Atayal] as a certified instructor in New Taipei, Keelung, and Hsinchu, helping Indigenous students learn the language. I also participate in the compiling and translation of related educational materials — such as the Atayal Wikipedia, the grammar book for the Skikun Atayal dialect, and translation of Indigenous illustration books. Besides this, I host a cultural/educational program at Alian FM 96.3 (Taiwan's Indigenous Radio Station), looking to bring Indigenous languages to more people by way of mass media.

After six years of editing, the Atayal Wikipedia was finally launched in 2021 (Screenshot of the Wikibitia na Tayal website/Fair use)

RV: What is the current state of the Indigenous language(s) you are working with, online and offline?

在現實生活中，我觀察到族語的使用場域逐漸縮減，多數長者仍能流利表達，但年輕世代多半只能聽懂部分詞彙，實際使用的機會不多；而在網路世界，雖然開始有族語教學影片、社群分享與資料庫建置，但數量仍遠遠不足，且使用者多為語言推廣者本身。換言之，網路雖具潛力，但目前族語在數位空間中仍屬於弱勢語言，需要更多內容、平台與互動機制來支持其可見度與活化使用。

PT: In the real world, I observe that the places in which Atayal is used have gradually decreased. Most elders are fluent in expression, but the majority of young people's understanding of vocabulary is limited, and they don't have many opportunities to use the language. In digital spaces, although there are videos teaching Indigenous languages, social media communities and online databases, this is far from enough — not to mention that most of the users are themselves language promoters. In other words, though there is much potential for Indigenous language education on the internet, at present, these languages are still marginalized in digital spaces. We need more content, platforms, and interactive mechanisms to support their visibility and vitality.

RV: What are your motivations for seeing these language(s) present in digital spaces?

我選擇投入數位語言復振的初衷，其實很單純，就是「不想讓語言消失」。從小耳濡目染族語，但真正能使用的機會不多；直到進入語言與文化的〔專業〕領域後，我才發現這些語言不只是溝通工具，更承載著族群的歷史與價值觀。我希望透過自己擅長的領域，讓族語在網路與媒體上被更多人看見與使用，特別是讓年輕人也能在熟悉的環境中接觸並重新學會說族語。

PT: The reason why I decided to devote myself to digital initiatives is quite simple — I just didn't want Indigenous languages to disappear. I have been immersed in Atayal myself since I was young, but I didn't have many opportunities to use it. It was only until entering the field of linguistics and culture that I realized that these languages weren't merely a tool of communication, but a vehicle of Indigenous history and values. I hope that through what I am good at, I can help raise the visibility and use of Indigenous languages on the Internet and media, particularly to make room for young people to encounter and learn the languages in environments they are familiar with.

RV: Could you share with us some of the challenges encountered and lessons learned in your digital work with these languages?

最大的挑戰是資源的匱乏與使用者斷層。數位內容的製作需要時間、人力與語言專業，而族語工作者往往一人身兼多職，難以長期維運；此外，用戶回饋少、缺乏鼓勵機制，也常讓推動者感到挫折。不過，我從中學到「小而持續的努力才會累積成改變」，像是每一次的族語節目、每一則族語詞條更新，都可能成為下一位使用者的起點。讓語言活在當下，需要的是長期耕耘與彼此串聯。

PT: The biggest challenge remains the lack of resources and users. The production of digital content requires time as well as linguistic expertise, but language workers often have more than one job, and it's not sustainable that way. Besides this, little user feedback leads to a lack of encouragement, which often frustrates the creators. But, from this, I learned that small but consistent efforts can lead to change — each episode of a program, each update of an entry, could serve as the starting point for another user. It does take long-term commitment and mutual connections to keep a language alive.

RV: What concrete steps do you think can be taken to encourage younger people to use Indigenous languages in the digital space?

我認為可以從「語言+興趣」的結合開始做起，像是開設以族語為主的 YouTube 頻道、製作 TikTok 短片或 Podcast 節目等等，將語言與音樂、遊戲、美食或校園生活結合到一起，〔可以幫助〕降低學習門檻、提升參與意願。此外，也可以設計具有遊戲化元素的族語學習 app，鼓勵日常打卡、詞彙闖關等等。最重要的是，要讓年輕人覺得使用族語是一件「酷的事」，而不是單純的學習義務。讓語言成為生活的一部分，才有可能真正延續下去。

PT: I think we can start by linking Indigenous languages to what interests them — starting a YouTube channel centered around Indigenous languages, creating shortform videos on TikTok, or podcast programs… Connecting Indigenous language to music, games, food, or campus life can help reduce the barriers to learning and increase their willingness to engage. Likewise, language learning apps can be gamified, with features that promote daily use and levelling up with vocabulary goals, etc. What's important is to make young people feel that using Indigenous language is a cool thing, rather than just another task to study. Only by making language a part of life can it truly last.

We will be recording the discussion for this event. For those who missed the registration but are still interested in learning about this topic, you can catch up here.