本研究以「台客」及其衍生之「台」一形容詞為出發，探究「台」與語言態度之間的關連，及不同社會群體對「台」一詞的觀感。「台客」一詞在2000 年代初期開始逐漸流行，初期多用以指稱穿著打扮追求流行卻不夠時尚的本地青年男女，其後歷經「台客正名」及「台客文藝復興」運動，試圖翻轉原有的負面意涵，使得「台」一詞之意義愈趨多元。此研究以三百四十四份問卷為本，探究「台」之意義爭論數年以後，現階段之大眾對其觀感為何，並探索「台」與語言態度之間的關係。統計結果指出，對「台」一詞之觀感仍然稍偏負面，女性，學歷較高者，及年輕族群，較男性，學歷較低者，及年長族群更容易給予「台」一詞負面評價。質化分析的部分指出語言行為為「台」一詞之定義裡十分重要的一部份，對「台」一詞之態度並與台灣近年之「本土化」及「全球化」兩種意識型態的角力十分相關。

This study investigates a newly emergent Taiwan Mandarin slang term taike and its derivative adjective tai. Taike evokes a cultural stereotype of young Taiwanese adults whose lifestyle, linguistic repertoire, and fashion sense are considered distinctively local and unsuccessfully imitative of current trends, but the term has also been appropriated to index local identity and nonconformity. Drawing on data from 344 questionnaires, this study explores the ways the two terms interact with language ideologies and ideologies concerning localism, cosmopolitanism, and authenticity in Taiwan. Statistical results indicate current attitudes toward the terms in Northern Taiwan tend to be negative, with females, the higher-educated, and the younger evaluating the terms more negatively than their counterparts. Further exploration of the data indicates that the meaning contestation is ultimately associated with the
global-local ambivalence prevalent in contemporary Taiwan.