GENERATION GAP

Albert Chen (J.Y. Albert Chu's pen name)

Generation Gap exists in every generation everywhere. However, the generation gap of Taiwanese Americans probably is the most complicated of them all. Much
of the generation gap is probably secondary to the culture gap between the first and later generations of Taiwanese-Americans. We play skits in many activities of the Taiwanese-American Community. Through these skits, we actually learn and understand more about the difference between the generations and between different cultures. Many of the following skits were performed at the Taiwanese-American Association Meetings and on other occasions. We believe the skits to discuss the problems of the generation gap. We are an excellent way may be able to bridge the gap by continuous exploration of these problems.

Content:

1. Learning Taiwanese
2. Going to Taiwan
3. Taiwanese Cowboy
4. College
5. Shopping
6. Dinner
7. Dating
8. Experience in Taiwan(l)
9. Experience in Taiwan(II)

1 . LEARNING TAIWANESE

In a typical American suburban family room, a teenage
girl is playing her flute. A middle aged man just walks
into the room.

Father:   What are you doing, Alice?
Girl:       I'm "tee-towing" the flute.
Father:   What?
Girl:      "Tee-towing"
Father:   What does "tee-towing" mean?
Girl:       You don't know. (Giggle) You told me to learn how to       
               speak Taiwanese. I am trying. You told me last week that  
               "tee-tow" means play. I still don't know how to say flute in 
               Taiwanese, so I can only say I'm "tee-towing" my flute.
Father:   Oh my goodness!
Girl:       What's wrong?
Father:   You can't way that.
Girl:       Why not?
Father:   To add "ing" to the verb is an English usage. You cannot 
               do that in Taiwanese. Actually, not in any language other 
               than English.
Girl:       How am I supposed to know that.
Father:   Also, you should not use the word "tee-tow" when you 
               play the flute. You should say "pun-dee-ah" not "tee-tow-
              dee-ah." "Tee-tow" is used only for playing games or  
              fooling around.
Girl:      Well, I didn't know that. Taiwanese is much more 
               complicated than I thought.
Father:   That is why you should try to speak it regularly. Then you 
               might be able to speak the language right.
Girl:       Why should I learn how to speak Taiwanese?
Father:   Because we come from Taiwan and also if you know how 
               to speak Taiwanese you can make more money in your 
               chosen career.
Girl:       Really?
Father:   Yes, you can. You told me that you want to major in 
              business when you go to college.
Girl:       Sure I do, it's the only way to go. I'm not going to study 
              science, pre-med, or engineering as most of my Taiwanese 
              friends do.
Father:   Good. I want you to do what you think is best. I   
               encourage you to go into a field other than science,  
               medicine, or  engineering. Business, economics, political 
               science, and pre-law are all great.           
Girl:       Tell me how I can make more money by being able to 
              speak Taiwanese.
Father:   You can!! Do you know Taiwan is the number six trade 
              partner with the United States?
Girl:      Oh, really? I can't believe that itty-bitty Taiwan is  a
              number  six trade partner.           
Father:   Taiwan is not so tiny; it has almost 20 million people.
Girl:       So Taiwan has surpassed many large European countries 
              as the trade partner with the United States. Well then,     
              how come no one ever mentions Taiwan at all in school, 
              in the newspapers or magazines. We talk a lot about the 
              European countries, South America, China, Japan, and 
               even Korea in school but never Taiwan.
Father:   That's a long story. I'll tell you about it some of the time. 
              Did you know Taiwan surpasses China in trade with the   
              United States even though they have 50 times more   
              people and 100 times more land?        
Girl:       Dad, what about my original question? How can I make 
               more money if I know how to speak Taiwanese?
Father:   Well, if all you want to know is how to make more money, 
               I will tell you.
Girl:        Sure I do, that's the America way.
Father:    It is so much easier for you to learn Taiwanese than most 
               of your classmates, right?
Girl:        Yes, I suppose so.
Father:    Not too many of your Taiwanese friends want to major in 
               Business, economics, pre-law or other humanitary or 
                social sciences, right?
Girl:        Right, let them be doctors, scientists, or engineers.
Father:    So, if you know how to speak Taiwanese well, then how 
                many people in the United States do you think who have 
                majored in business know both English and Taiwanese as 
                well as you do?
Girl:        Not too many.
Father:    Imagine that. What advantage do you think you would 
               have it you were Chief Executive Officer or a big 
               company dealing with the United States' number six trade 
               partner?
Girl:       A lot of advantages. Why didn't you tell me that before?
Father:   Money is not everything, you know. I would like for you 
              to know more about you Taiwanese heritage, not just 
              money. I know money are profit are probably the only 
              things some Taiwanese-Americans care about, but 
              remember you should be proud of your Taiwan heritage, 
              and learn more about the Taiwanese culture.
Girl:        Thanks, Dad. You're right; money is not everything. I'm 
              ashamed of myself for what I just said.

(First published in the Newsletter of the St. Louis Taiwanese American Association, 1986 and also in the "Second Generation" section of Taiwan Culture, No. 2, No. 1, February, 1987)