From Mandarin Monopoly to Sinitic Polypoly: The Story of Dubbing (Peiyin) in Taiwan

Abstract

This paper takes a historical anthropological approach to charting the intricate relationships between the industry of peiyin (dubbing, voice-over), the state institutions, and the public in shaping Taiwan’s sociolinguistic soundscape since 1945. Grounded in multi-year ethnographic research with the peiyin industry and archival sources, this paper discerns three stages—industrialisation, popularisation, and diversification—through which the industry not only facilitated the state in establishing the Mandarin monopoly, but also contributed to the disestablishment of that very monopoly by introducing Sinitic polypoly to the public over time. In so doing, this article contributes to the anthropological and sociolinguistic literature on Mandarin in Taiwan with a dynamic account of peiyin both as a sociolinguistic practice and a social force.