Languages of Tseng

The languages of Tseng consist of several varieties of languages under the Austronesian and Sino-Tibetan languages spoken in Tseng. Austronesian languages were spoken by the indigenous people in Tseng for several milleniums.

The long history of European rule in Tseng introduced English, French, and Dutch to the people. Starting on 400 BC, large waves of Chinese emigration brought Mandarin Chinese, which became the common language of Tseng. Due to mass waves of Chinese settlement, most indigenous languages borrowed words from Chinese, especially the Fulangese language. Japanese is also spoken due to the Japanese occupation.

During the Luanzheng Era, policies of the government suppressed European languages (English, French, Dutch) and indigenous languages in public use, especially in education. After the Luanzheng, the restrictions were relaxed and the indigenous languages saw a significant revival. Local languages became part of education, and TV and radio stations exclusively for indigenous languages were established. The Dieuese language became common after lots of Dieuese people fled their home country due to a coup d'etat. As a result of Tseng being a melting pot of languages, many Tsengians are multilingual.

Indigenous languages
Tsengian indigenous peoples comprise 4.3% of the population. The Fulangic branch of Austroneisan languages are the languages of indigenous poeple. However, few people could speak their native languages, due to language shift. It's common for the younger generation to speak the culturally dominant Mandarin, Hokkien, and Hakka languages. The Fu'langese language is the most spoken indigenous language in Tseng. Other popular indigenous languages are Atayal, Hazaki, and Tanan.

Although Fu'langese is officially under the Austronesian language branch, it has been assimilated to Chinese so much that 60% of Fu'langese words are linguistically similar to Chinese.

Tsengian Mandarin
Tsengian Mandarin is the sole official language of Tseng. Following independence in 1946, Mandarin became the official language and it was made compulsory in all schools (Before Mandarin, European languages were official, depending on the occupying power). People who migrated from mainland China after 1949 mostly speak Mandarin Chinese. It was shared with European languages as the medium of instruction until the Longtan Coup of 1962, when Mandarin became the sole medium of instruction. After the Luanzheng, Hokkien and Hakka became mandatory school subjects in 1969 and European and indigenous languages were made optional.

Japanese
The Japanese language was compulsorily taught while Tseng was under Japanese rule. Although fluency is now largely limited to the elderly, most of Tseng's youth who look to Japan as the trend-setter of the region's youth pop culture now might know a bit of Japanese through the media.

Southeast Asian languages
A significant number of immigrants and spouses in Tseng are from Southeast Asia. Dieuese is the most widely spoken Southeast Asian languages in Tseng, due to a mass influx of Dieuese migration after the country came under communist rule. Other Southeast Asian languages are Vietnamese, Thai, Indonesian, and Tagalog.

Cantonese
Cantonese is spoken by many recent and early immigrants from Guangdong, Guangxi, Hong Kong, and Macau. Various Cantonese-speaking communities exist throughout Tseng, and the use of the language in Tseng continues to increase.

Hokkien
Hokkien is spoken especially by those with Hokkien ancestry, and it is mutually intelligible with other dialects of Hokkien, such as the Taiwanese and Singaporean dialects. As many Hokkien-language media such as Taiwanese dramas and music are popular in Tseng, it is one of the most commonly spoken varieties of Chinese in the country.

Hakka
Hakka is mainly spoken in Tseng by people who have Hakka ancestry. These people are concentrated in several places throughout Tseng. Varieties of Tsengian Hakka are officially recognized as national languages.

European languages
Due to colonialism, European languages are spoken in Tseng, even though fluency in those languages are steadily declining,
 * The most widely spoken European language in Tseng. English classes are mandatory in Tsengian schools, and 75% of the population can speak it. Many countries that have diplomatic relations with Tseng are English-speaking, and its use is encouraged when communicating with English-speaking people.
 * Was taught in French Talasides. Most commonly spoken in Arbre-Rose and Nankou, which was part of the French Empire, but its use has declined since the Luanzheng.
 * Dutch was taught to the residents in Dutch Tseng. After the colony was peacefully integrated into the independent state of Tseng, the language disappeared, because the Dutch did not attempt to spread their language among the Chinese and indigenous peoples.
 * Was spoken in Spanish Sanjiao until the island was handed over to the British, when it disappeared. Callentown, the largest city in Sandao, has a significant portion of Spanish and Latin American people, and the local dialect of Mandarin there has some Spanish loanwords in it.