Mata──語言、書寫與實踐的比較研究

本文擬探究mata一詞，從口語到書寫的翻譯轉換、文化復振的實踐，開展原住民行動者對於過去與未來的想像。筆者最初是從臺灣平埔正名運動的觀察，發現原住民行動者運用已流失的mata語彙概念推動文化復振運動，企圖連結地方與全球的原住民議題。回顧南島語言學者們有關mata語彙的研究，他們認為從「同一概念」與「歷史價值」兩個面向，可以讓我們重新發現mata語彙的多元語意。從歷史文本來看，mata一詞在臺灣原住民男子面見清帝國皇帝後，一再地成為漢文人們書寫的主題。我們原以為mata一詞從口語翻譯成書寫文字、從南島語轉換成滿文、從滿文又再次轉換成漢字，不過是顯示mata在與不同的語言接觸過程中，成為全球文化流通的一環而已。但從不同原住民行動者的實踐策略比較，mata語彙不僅只是南島語眼睛的意思，它隨著新的技術與知識的流動，已融入原住民的生活經驗。本文最後的結論，即希望以mata為例，提醒臺灣研究者針對原住民的差異性討論時，不宜將文化與語言等同，而是應著重在不同行動者實踐策略的分析。

關鍵字

麻達；搓揉；文化復振；平埔正名運動；全球流通

並列摘要

In this paper, the Austronesian term mata is explored from the aspects of oral to written translation, cultural revitalization practices and past and future vision of indigenous agencies. From observations of the Pingpu (plains indigenous peoples) official recognition efforts, the author points out that indigenous agencies have made use of the term mata, which has lost its lexical concept, to promote cultural revitalization in an attempt to connect local and global indigenous issues. From a review of Austronesian linguistic studies related to the term mata, it is found that ＂identical concepts＂ and ＂historical value＂ can be used to examine the multiplicity of the meaning of this term. From historical texts, since a meeting of some young indigenous men with a Qing emperor, mata has been a subject of Han Chinese writings. It has been translated from oral to written language, from Austronesian to the Manchu language, and from the Manchu language to Han Chinese characters, presenting different processes of language contact and circulating globally. However, from comparative analyses of indigenous agency practices, mata does not only mean ＂eye＂ in Austronesian languages, but also, with the introduction of new technology and knowledge, has been fused with the everyday life experience of indigenous peoples. In conclusion, based on the example of the term mata, when research that is focused on the differences of indigenous peoples in Taiwan, it is not appropriate to equate culture with language. Rather, emphasis should be placed on the analyses of the practices of different agencies.