Aborigines: tuzhu vs. yuanzhumin
Posted by Pinyin Info on 30 Aug 2006 at 02:45 pm | Tagged as: China, Chinese, Mandarin, Taiwan, aborigines, languages
In May, a delegation of Aborigines from Taiwan attended the Fifth U.N. Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. (Of course, since the United Nations shuns Taiwan, the delegates were able to attend only by registering with a U.S. NGO.) The delegates raised objections to the U.N.’s Mandarin translation of “original inhabitants”/”indigenous peoples” as tuzhu.
The UN’s translation calls Aborigines tu chu [tǔzhù] (土著), which has negative and barbaric implications, the representatives said. They requested the UN instead use yuan chu min [yuánzhùmín] (原住民), which is the term used in this country. Although both terms are translated into English as “original inhabitants,” tu chu [tǔzhù] was too derogatory, they said.
(I’ve added correct Pinyin above in red between square brackets.)
This is not the first time groups have voiced this complaint to the United Nations. (See the sources below.)
Here are some comparative frequencies of use:
| total | within .tw domains | within .cn domains | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 土著 (tuzhu) |
1,130,000 | 59,500 | 283,000 |
| 原住民 (yuanzhumin) |
2,520,000 | 1,210,00 | 112,000 |
| 土著+原住民 (both tuzhu and yuanzhumin) |
49,300 | 12,000 | 6,140 |
Although tuzhu gets used much less of the time in Taiwan than yuanzhumin, it still shows up in significant numbers. So, what’s so bad about tuzhu? Do Taiwan’s aborigines use that word to refer to other people, just not themselves? If so, why? Which word is older? Why the difference between usage in Taiwan and China, and when did it arise?
I don’t have answers here, just questions.
sources:
- Aboriginal group back from UN, Taipei Times, May 29, 2006
- Building a Political Platform for Themselves: On Taiwan’s Austronesian peoples, China Perspectives, July-August, 1998
土著人 literally means “people of the dirt/soil”. 土 also is often used as derogatory adjective in Chinese, meaning “uneducated” or “unsophisticated.” I also think 原住民 should be used instead of 土著人.
原住民 is the Japanese version of the same English word “Aborigines”. In my opinion, the reason why 原住民 is more use often than 土著 on Taiwan is that Japan used to rule Taiwan for half a century and its influence is still felt on the island, e.g. Li Denghui has a Japanese name and view himself as a Japanese man (it’s rumored that his biological father is a Japanese, right?). 土著 should be the older version of the English word than 原住民 and is being replaced by 原住民 even in the Chinese mainland.
My posts on this topic (in Chinese):
http://blog.surefire.cn/2006/10/blog-post_5881.html
http://blog.surefire.cn/2006/10/blog-post_6582.html