VIETNAMESE AS A HERITAGE LANGUAGE IN TAIWAN (CHINA): OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES

Abstract

The rapid development of trade and investment relations between Vietnam and Taiwan (China) has encouraged migration flows from Vietnam to Taiwan (China), and vice versa. According to statistics from Taiwan’s Immigration Agency in June 2024, the number of Vietnamese new resident families in Taiwan (China) is rapidly increasing, leading to a rise in second-generation children with either a Vietnamese father or mother. Through in-depth interviews with 10 Vietnamese new immigrants and 17 students who are second-generation children of Vietnamese new immigrants, this study explores the use, maintenance, and development of the Vietnamese heritage language in Vietnamese-Taiwanese multicultural families. Recommendations will be made to support the development and preservation of the Vietnamese heritage language in Taiwan (China).