One of the two major dialects of Taiwaesen Southern Min [TSM] has two mid back vowels, /o/ and / /. This distinction is well documented in classic Chinese phonology and agreed upon by most TSM linguists. However, an increasing number of recent evidence-based studies have reported the falling together of these two vowels and, indeed, many non-linguists as well have noticed the loss of the distinction. Since these two vowels are so similar in nearly all phonetic features most studies carried out heretofore which concluded that the merger had in fact taken place were based on auditory criteria. The present study, however, the methodology of which has been designed to take account of the low literacy rate of TSM speakers, as well as the frequent contact which takes place between TSM dialects, investigates the status of these two vowels making use of both acoustic and statistical data. Results indicate that in TSM /o/ and / / have merged in the case of younger speakers. Both internal and external factors are proposed which have affected the merger, and the further suggestion is put forward that, though the instance of sound shift reversal in Taiwan is on record, this is not likely to occur in the case of TSM /o/ and / /.

This study adopted both indirect and direct methods to probe into Taiwanese people's attitudes towards Taigi. The indirect method involved a verbal guise experiment with four Taigi speakers -Old-H (higher competence), Old-L (lower competence), Young-H, and Young-L. Participants, including old and young, must complete a questionnaire indirectly investigating their attitudes towards these four guises. The direct method involved a direct questionnaire. Results showed both pessimistic and optimistic outlooks of Taigi. Pessimistically, the participants, both the old and young, evaluated H competence Taigi higher. This result suggested that Taigi revitalisation is being confronted with the potential challenge of Taigi purism, since revitalised Taigi can hardly avoid the influences from Mandarin, the dominant language in Taiwan. In addition, Taigi was considered being alienated from the dimension of youthfulness. However, optimistically, within the H speakers, Young-H were preferred than Old-H, who were in fact more native in Taigi than Young-H speakers. This study, based on the results, further offered suggestions towards the Taigi language policy of Taiwan. ARTICLE HISTORY