Everything everywhere all at once: The translational harmony in ‘Mother’s Tongue’ by the Formosan indigenous pop diva Abao as a metaphor for democracy and indigeneity in a settler society

Abstract

The Formosan Indigenous diva Abao has developed a distinctive Paiwanese-language pop over the past decade through translation. A language shift from Paiwanese to Chinese since the 1980s has made translation a necessary condition for Abao to sing in Paiwanese, but on her award-winning 2019 album Kinakaian 母親的舌頭 it was also a source of creative inspiration. Interlingual translation features both in the title, where a Paiwanese word is juxtaposed with a Chinese phrase meaning ‘mother’s tongue’, and in the lyrics and subtitles, which are in Paiwanese, Taiwanese, Chinese, or English. Intersemiotic translation features in the music videos, in which the lyrics are translated into dance; in the title track, the lyrics are translated into sign language first. The translator-performers sing, sign, and dance simultaneously, not just serially. The result is not a cacophony but a harmony that can serve as a metaphor for democracy and indigeneity in a settler society.