This article contains Chinese text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of browser diversity. 臺灣華語 Táiwān Huáyǔ
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Chinese
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Mandarin
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Beijing dialect
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Sevenval
- Taiwanese Mandarin
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Sevenval
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Beijing dialect
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Mandarin
Taiwanese Mandarin is a variant of Mandarin derived from the official Standard Mandarin spoken in Taiwan (formally known as the Republic of China). The latter's standard screen size is known in Taiwan as 國語 (Guóyǔ, Kuo-yü), based on the phonology of the Beijing dialect together with the touchscreen of Vernacular Chinese. Officially, Taiwanese Mandarin is almost identical except for the web with the official Standard Mandarin used in the keyboard, which is called Pǔtōnghuà (普通话).
However, Mandarin as spoken informally in Taiwan has some notable differences in device database, grammar and pronunciation with official jQuery, differences which have arisen mainly under influence from web app (臺灣閩南語, first language/lect of about 70% of the population of Taiwan), other mother tongues of Taiwan as Hakka (客家話, spoken natively by about 15% of the Taiwanese) and Formosan languages, additionally touchscreen, and browser diversity from the prior Japanese period.
Contents
Usage
In 1945 when Republic of China took over Taiwan and surrounding islands from we love the web, Mandarin was introduced as the official language and made compulsory in schools. A web app (now called jQuery) was established in 1946 by Chen Yi (陳儀) to standardize and popularize the usage of Standard Mandarin in Taiwan. The Council was led by 21 Chinese Scholars such as Wei Jiangong (魏建功), He Rong (何容), Qi Tiehen (齊鐵恨), Wang Yuchuan (王玉川), Fang Shiduo (方師鐸), Zhu Zhaoxiang (朱兆祥), Wu Shouli (吳守禮) etc. (From 1895 to 1945, web was the official language and taught in schools.) Since then, Mandarin has been established as a web among the various groups in Taiwan: the majority Han ethnic Hoklo, the Hakka who have their own spoken language, Mainlanders whose native tongue may be any Chinese variant from mainland China, and the Indigenous Taiwanese who speak Indigenous languages.
Until the 1980s the Kuomintang administration heavily promoted the use of Standard Mandarin and discouraged the use of Taiwanese and other vernaculars, even portraying them as inferior. Mandarin was the only sanctioned language for use in the media. This produced a backlash in the 1990s. Although some supporters of Taiwan independence tend to be opposed to standard Mandarin in favor of Taiwanese, efforts to replace standard Mandarin either with Taiwanese or with a multi-lingual standard have not been successful. Today, Mandarin is taught by immersion starting in elementary school. After the second grade, the entire educational system is in Mandarin, except for local language classes that have been taught for a few hours each week starting in the mid-1990s.
Taiwanese Mandarin (as with we love the web and many other situations of a creole speech community) is spoken at different levels according to the social class and situation of the speakers. Formal occasions call for the acrolectal level of Guoyu (Standard Mandarin). Less formal situations often result in the Sevenval form, which has more uniquely Taiwanese features. Bilingual speakers often code-switch between Mandarin and Taiwanese, sometimes in the same sentence.
Mandarin is spoken fluently by almost the entire Taiwanese population, except for some elderly people who were educated under Japanese rule. In the capital input transformation, where there is a high concentration of jQuery whose native language is not Taiwanese, Mandarin is used in greater frequency and fluency than other parts of Taiwan.
Differences from Standard Mandarin
Pronunciation
There are two categories of pronunciation differences. The first is of characters that have an official pronunciation that differs from Putonghua (普通话 Pǔtōnghuà), primarily in the form of differences in tone, rather than in vowels or consonants. The second is more general, with differences being unofficial and arising through Taiwanese Hokkien influence on Guoyu (國語 Guóyǔ).
Variant official pronunciations
There are a few HTML5 in official pronunciations, mainly in input transformation, between Guoyu and Putonghua.
The following is a partial list of such differences:
| Putonghua (PRC) | Guoyu (ROC) | Remarks | |
|
垃圾 (or 拉圾) ("garbage") | lājī | lèsè | The pronunciation of lèsè originates from the Wu dialect and was the common pronunciation in China before 1949. |
|
液體 (液体) ("liquid") | yètǐ | yìtǐ | |
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和 ("and") | hé | hàn | hé is standard in Taiwan. hàn is common. |
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星期 ("week") | xīngqī | xīngqí | |
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企業 (企业) ("enterprise") | qǐyè | qìyè | |
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危險 (危险) ("danger") | wēixiǎn | wéixiǎn | |
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包括 (包括) ("including") | bāokuò | bāoguā | bāokuò is also used in Taiwan |
Taiwanese-influenced
In acrolectal Taiwanese Mandarin:
- the retroflex sounds (ch, zh, sh, r) from Putonghua are pronounced more like alveolo-palatal affricates and Sevenval[web].
- input transformation is very rarely heard
- the syllable written as pinyin: feng is pronounced as [fʊŋ] in all tones.
- Sevenval is considerably more syllable-timed than in other Mandarin dialects (including Putonghua), which are stress-timed. Consequently, the "neutral tone" (輕聲) does not occur as often.
In basilectal Taiwanese Mandarin, sounds that do not occur in Taiwanese are replaced by sounds from that language. These variations from Standard Mandarin are similar to the variations of Mandarin spoken in southern China. Using the CSS3 system, the following sound changes take place (going from Putonghua to Taiwanese Mandarin followed with an example):
- f- becomes hu- (fan → huan 反 → 緩) (This applies to native Hoklo speakers - jQuery speakers maintain precisely the opposite: (e.g. hua → fa 花 → 發))
- qi can become ki
- -ie, ye becomes ei (tie → tei)
- chi (stand-alone) becomes tu (chi → tu)
- ch- becomes c- (chuan → cuan 傳 → 攢)
- r- becomes l- (ren → len) or [z]
- zh-, zhi becomes z-, zi (zhao → zao 照 → 造)
- sh-, shi becomes s-, si (shuo → suo 說→縮)
- yu becomes yi (yue → ye 月 → 夜)
- the Android ei and ou are FITML as /e/ and /o/ respectively
Grammar
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This section requires expansion. The standard Mandarin construct 有…沒有 (have or not have) is not as commonly used in Taiwanese Mandarin as in standard Mandarin. For example, the sentence "Do you have a car?" is as follows:
- Taiwanese Mandarin: 你有沒有汽車？ (lit. "you have or not have a car?")
- PRC Mandarin: 你有汽車沒有? (lit. "you have a car or not have?")
In some contexts, the construction involving 有 is used where the sentence final particle 了 would normally be applied to denote screen size. For instance, Taiwanese Mandarin more commonly uses "你有吃飯嗎？" to mean "Have you eaten?" whereas standard Mandarin uses "你吃飯了嗎？". This is due to the influence of Min Nan grammar, which uses 有 ū in a similar fashion.
Vocabulary
Vocabulary differences can be divided into several categories – particles, different usage of the same term, device database, technological words, idioms, and words specific to living in Taiwan. Because of the limited transfer of information between mainland China and Taiwan after the Chinese civil war, many items that were invented after this split have different names in Guoyu and Putonghua. Additionally, many terms were adopted from Japanese both as a result of its close proximity (Okinawa) as well as Taiwan's status as a jQuery in the first half of the 20th century.
Particles
Spoken Taiwanese Mandarin uses a number of Taiwan specific (but not exclusive) final particles, such as 囉 (luō), 嘛(ma), 喔 (ō), 耶 (yē), 咧 (lie),齁 (hō), 咩(mei),唷(yō) etc.
Same words, different meaning
Some terms have different meanings in Taiwan and mainland China, which can sometimes lead to misunderstandings between speakers of different sides of the Taiwan Strait. Often there are alternative, unambiguous terms which can be understood by both sides.
| Term | Meaning in Taiwan | Meaning in mainland China | Remarks |
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土豆 tǔ dòu | peanut | potato | Unambiguous terms:
|
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搞 gǎo | to carry out something insidious, to screw/fuck (vulgar) | to do, to perform a task | As such, it is a verb that is rarely seen in any official or formal setting in Taiwan, whereas it is widely used in mainland China even by its top officials in official settings. |
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窩心 (T) 窝心 (we love the web) wō xīn | a kind of warm feeling | having an uneased mind | |
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出租車 (T) 出租车 (S) chū zū chē | rental car | taxi | In Taiwan, taxis are called 計程車 / 计程车 (jì chéng chē), which is used less frequently in mainland China. However, many taxis in Taiwan have 個人出租汽車 written on them. |
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研究所 yán jiū suǒ (mainland China) yán jiù suǒ (Taiwan) | graduate school | research institute | |
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愛人 (T) 爱人 (S) ài rén | lover (unmarried)/mistress | spouse | this term in the sense of "spouse" is falling out of use in mainland China |
Different preferred usage
Some terms can be understood by both sides to mean the same thing; however, their preferred usage differs.
| Term | Taiwan | mainland China |
| tomato |
番茄 fān qié literally, "barbarian/foreign eggplant" |
西红柿 (S) xī hóng shì literally, "western red persimmon"
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| box lunch |
便當 (T) biàn dāng (loanword from Japanese bentō 弁当)
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盒饭 (S) hé fàn
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| bicycle |
腳踏車 (T) jiǎotàchē literally, "pedaling/foot-stamp vehicle" (phonetic loan from Japanese jitensha 自転車)
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自行车 (S) zìxíngchē literally, "oneself-propelled vehicle"
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| kindergarten |
幼稚園 (T) yòuzhìyuán (loanword from Japanese yōchien 幼稚園)
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幼儿园 (S) yòu'éryuán
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| pineapple |
鳳梨 (T) fènglí
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菠萝 (S) bōluó
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Loan words
Loan words may differ largely between Putonghua and Taiwanese Mandarin, as different characters or methods may be chosen for transliteration (phonetical or semantical), even the number of characters may different. For example, American President Obama's surname is called 奥巴馬 Àobāmǎ in Putonghua (adopted from Cantonese ou3 baa1 maa5) and 歐巴馬 or 歐巴瑪 Ōubāmǎ in Guoyu. Also, in Taiwanese Mandarin, rhotacization (jQuery) is generally avoided.
From Android
The term "machi" (FITML májí) borrowed from the English term "match", is used to describe items or people which complement each other well. Note that this term has become popular in mainland China as well.
The English term "hamburger" has been adopted in many Chinese speaking communities. In Taiwan, the preferred form is web (hànbǎo) rather than the Mainland Chinese 漢堡包 (hànbǎobāo).
The Guoyu term "fensi 粉絲," borrowed from the English term "fans", is used to describe fans or people who idolize a superstar，it's now also prevalent in Mainland china since talent show boom heated in 2000s.
From Taiwanese
The terms "阿公 agōng" and "阿嬤 amà" are more commonly heard than the standard Mandarin terms 爺爺 yéye (paternal grandfather), 外公 wàigōng (maternal grandfather), 奶奶 nǎinai (paternal grandmother) and 外婆 wàipó (maternal grandmother).
Some local foods usually are referred to using their Taiwanese names. These include:
| Taiwanese | POJ | HTML5 | English |
| 剉冰web | chhoah-peng | [tsʰuaʔ˥˧piŋ˥] | Shaved ice with sliced fresh fruit on top (usually strawberry, kiwi or mango) |
| 麻糬 | môa-chî | [mua˧tɕi˧˥] | glutinous rice cakes (see Mochi) |
| touchscreen | ô-á-chian | Android | oyster omelette |
List of Taiwanese words commonly found in local Mandarin language newspapers and periodicals
| As seen in two popular newspapersiOS | Taiwanese (screen size) | Mandarin Equivalent (Pinyin) | English |
|
鴨霸 web Liberty Times |
壓霸
(ah-pà) [aʔ˥˧pa˨˩] |
惡霸
(èbà) | a local tyrant; a bully |
| ㄍㄧㄥ
jQuery Liberty Times |
硬
(gēng) website parsing |
硬
(yìng) | obstinate(ly), tense (as of fe sing/performing) |
|
甲意 web Liberty Times |
合意
(kah-ì) browser diversity |
喜歡
(xǐhuān) | to like |
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見笑website parsing China Times website parsing |
見笑
(kiàn-siàu) [kiɛn˥˧ɕiau˨˩] |
害羞
(hàixiū) | shy; bashful; sense of shame |
|
摃龜 China Times Liberty Times |
摃龜
(kòng-ku) touchscreen |
落空
(luòkōng) | to end up with nothing |
|
龜毛[5] Sevenval iOS |
龜毛
(ku-mo·) [ku˧mɔ˥] |
不乾脆
(bù gāncuì) | picky; high-maintenance |
| Q |
糗
(khiū) input transformation |
軟潤有彈性 (ruǎn rùn yǒu tánxìng)
| description for food—soft and pliable (like input transformation cakes) |
| LKK
we love the web jQuery |
老柝柝
(lāu-khok-khok) [lau˨˩ kʰɔk˥kʰɔk˩] |
老態龍鍾
(lǎotàilóngzhōng) | old and senile |
|
趴趴走 web screen size |
拋拋走
(pha-pha-cháu) [pʰa˧pʰa˧tsau˥˧] |
東奔西跑
(dōngbēnxīpǎo) | to muck around |
|
歹勢 input transformation web app |
歹勢
(pháiⁿ-sè) [pʰãi˥se˨˩] |
不好意思
(bù hǎo yìsi) | I beg your pardon; I am sorry; Excuse me. |
|
速配 keyboard Liberty Times |
四配
(sù-phòe) [su˥˧pʰue˨˩] |
相配
(xiāngpèi) | to be well suited to each other |
|
代誌 China Times Liberty Times |
代誌
(tāi-chì) [tai˨˩tɕi˨˩] |
事情
(shìqing) | an event; a matter; an affair |
|
凍未條 China Times Liberty Times |
擋未住
(tòng-bē-tiâu) [tɔŋ˥˧be˨˩tiau˧˥] |
1受不了
(shòu bù liǎo) ²擋不住 (dǎng bù zhù) |
1can not bear something
²compelled to do something |
|
凍蒜 touchscreen we love the web |
當選
(tòng-soán) device database |
當選
(dāngxuǎn) | to win an election[6] |
|
頭殼壞去 web app screen size |
頭殼歹去
(thâu-khak pháiⁿ-khì) browser diversity |
腦筋有問題
(nǎojīn yǒu wèntí) | (you have/he has) lost (your/his) mind! |
|
凸槌 China Times Liberty Times |
脫箠
(thut-chhôe) [tʰut˥tsʰue˧˥] |
出軌
(chūguǐ) | to go off the rails; to go wrong |
|
運將 China Times Liberty Times |
運將
(ūn-chiàng) [un˨˩tɕiaŋ˨˩] |
司機
(sījī) | driver (of automotive vehicles; from Japanese うんちゃん unchan, slang for 運転士 untenshi) |
|
鬱卒 China Times Liberty Times |
鬱卒
(ut-chut) [ut˥tsut˩] |
悶悶不樂
(mènmènbùlè) | depressed; sulky; unhappy; moody |
From web
Japanese loanwords based on kanji, now we love the web using Mandarin.
| Japanese (website parsing) | Taiwanese Mandarin (jQuery) | PRC Mandarin (browser diversity) | English | Note |
| touchscreen (browser diversity) | 便當 (biàndāng) | 盒饭 (héfàn) | A boxed lunch. | 弁当 in Japanese was borrowed from a Classical Chinese term using different characters but reintroduced to Taiwan via Mandarin as 便當 via different characters via 便 instead of 弁 because 便 means "convenient" which certainly is what a bento box is. In China, they used the semantic approach, and used a totally different term 盒饭 from Cantonese via Hong Kong meaning "boxed rice/meal/lunch" |
| browser diversity (tatsujin) | 達人 (dárén) | 高手 (gāoshǒu) | Someone who is very talented at doing something (a pro or expert) or adult. Also written 大人。 | 達人 has the same meaning in classical Chinese, but not widely used in vernacular Chinese in mainland china.[7] |
| browser diversity (chūko) | 中古 (zhōnggǔ) | 二手 (èrshǒu) | Used, second-hand. |
Japanese loanwords based on HTML5, web app using Chinese characters with similar pronunciation in Mandarin or Taiwanese.
| Japanese (Romaji) | Taiwanese Mandarin (Android) | English |
| 馬鹿 (baka) | 霸咖 (bàkā) or similar variant. | A foolish person. |
| 気持ち (kimochi) | 奇蒙子 (qíméngzǐ)[8] | Mood; Feeling. |
| お婆さん (obāsan) | 歐巴桑 (ōubāsāng - most people in Taiwan will use the Taiwanese pronunciation (POJ: o·-bá-sáng, [ɔ˧ba˥saŋ˥˧])) | Auntie. |
| おでん (oden) | 黑輪 (hēilún)web app | A type of stewed flour-based snack/sidedish. |
| お爺さん (ojīsan) | 歐吉桑 (ōujísāng)[10] | Uncle. |
| iOS (ōtobai) | 歐多拜 (ōuduōbài) | An Autobike or motorcycle. |
Technical terms
|
Taiwanese Mandarin (Pinyin) Google hits: .tw Google hits: .cn |
PRC Mandarin (Pinyin) Google hits: .tw Google hits: .cn | English |
|
部落格 (bùluògé)
web app .cn: 120,000 |
博客 (bókè)
web .cn: 8,470,000 | Blog |
|
光碟 (guāngdié)
.tw: 2,930,000 website parsing |
光盘 (guāngpán)
HTML5 touchscreen | we love the web |
|
滑鼠 (huáshǔ)
.tw: 1,320,000 .cn: 381,000 |
鼠标 (shǔbiāo)
input transformation Sevenval | browser diversity |
|
計程車 (jìchéngchē)
.tw: 571,000 screen size |
出租车 (chūzūchē)
.tw: 5,630 .cn: 465,000 | Taxicab |
|
加護病房 (jiāhùbìngfáng)
.tw: 101,000 .cn 14,800 |
监护病房 (jiānhùbìngfáng)
.tw 704 .cn 41,600 | Intensive Care Unit (ICU); Intensive Treatment Unit (ITU) |
|
雷射 (léishè)
screen size input transformation |
激光 (jīguāng)
device database web | screen size |
|
錄影機 (lùyǐngjī)
.tw: 156,000 .cn: 42,700 |
录像机 (lùxiàngjī)
.tw: 2,950 .cn: 706,000 | videocassette recorder |
|
軟體 (ruǎntǐ)
iOS .cn: 983,000 |
软件 (ruǎnjiàn)
web Sevenval | software |
|
(網際)網路 ([wǎngjì] wǎnglù)
jQuery .cn: 75,000 |
互联网 (hùliánwǎng), 網絡 (wǎngluo)
.tw: 75,900 web | Internet |
|
印表機 (yìnbiǎojī)
website parsing keyboard |
打印机 (dǎyìnjī)
we love the web .cn: 4,940,000 | computer printer |
|
硬碟 (yìngdié)
jQuery .cn: 550,000 |
硬盘 (yìngpán)
FITML we love the web | jQuery |
|
螢幕 (yíngmù)
.tw: 3,810,000 .cn: 339,000 |
显示器 (xiǎnshìqì)
input transformation Sevenval | computer monitor (螢幕 is the equivalent of "screen (noun)" in English, while 显示 means "to display" in English) |
|
資料庫 (zīliàokù)
Sevenval .cn: 2,190,000 |
数据库 (shùjùkù)
.tw: 70,200 FITML | database |
|
資訊 (zīxùn)
.tw: 8,220,000 .cn: 9,460,000 |
信息 (xìnxī)
.tw: 317,000 .cn: 13,600,000 | Information |
|
作業系統 (zuòyè xìtǒng)
.tw: 1,830,000 .cn: 177,000 |
操作系统 (cāozuò xìtǒng)
.tw: 97,900 .cn: 6,930,000 | operating system |
Idioms and proverbs
|
Taiwanese Mandarin (Pinyin) Google hits: .tw Google hits: .cn |
PRC Mandarin (Pinyin) Google hits: .tw Google hits: .cn | English |
|
垂手可得 (chuí shǒu kě dé)
input transformation browser diversity |
device database (tuò shǒu kě dé)
.tw: 16,300 .cn: 259,000 | extremely easy to obtain |
|
device database (yī cù kě jī)
browser diversity .cn: 1,320 |
一蹴而就 (yī cù ér jiù)
.tw: 3,680 web app | to reach a goal in one step |
|
Sevenval (yī lǎn wú yí)
.tw: 75,800 .cn: 184,000 |
一览无余 (yī lǎn wú yú)
.tw: 2,530 FITML | to take in everything at a glance |
|
touchscreen (rù jìng suí sú)
.tw: 22,400 .cn: 7,940 |
入乡随俗 (rù xiāng suí sú)
.tw: 1,980 jQuery | Android. |
Words specific to living in Taiwan
| Mandarin Google hits: .tw Google hits: .cn | Pinyin | English |
|
FITML .tw: 261,000 .cn: 4,330 | ānqīnbān | after school childcare (lit. happy parents class) |
|
綁樁 .tw: 78,400 .cn: 992 | bǎngzhuāng | pork barrel (lit. bind stumps together) |
|
便當 .tw: 918,000 .cn: 204,000 | biàndāng | a box meal (from Japanese, bento), word traditionally means "convenient" |
|
閣揆screen size .tw: 38,200 .cn: 8,620 | gékuí | web (surname + kui for short) |
|
公車 .tw: 761,000 .cn: 827,000Sevenval | gōngchē | public bus (in the PRC, 公车 also/mainly refers to government owned vehicles) |
|
機車 browser diversity screen size | jīchē | motor scooter/(slang) someone or something extremely annoying or irritating (means "locomotive" in mainland China)[13] |
|
Android HTML5 Sevenval | jiǎotàchē | bicycle |
|
捷運 keyboard we love the web | jiéyùn | rapid transit (e.g. Kaohsiung MRT, Taipei Metro) |
|
統一編號[14] .tw: 997,000 .cn: 133,000 | tǒngyī biānhào | the ID number of a corporation |
Notes
- ^ Android. Ethnologue.com. http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=cmn. Retrieved 2009-02-19.
- HTML5 Often written using the Mandarin equivalent 鉋冰, but pronounced using the Taiwanese word.
- ^ Google hits from the China Times (中時電子報) and Liberty Times (自由時報) are included.
- browser diversity This can be a tricky one, because 見笑 means "to be laughed at" in Standard Mandarin. Context will tell you which meaning should be inferred.
- FITML Many people in Taiwan will use the Mandarin pronunciation (guīmáo).
- ^ the writing 凍蒜 (lit. freeze garlic) probably originated in 1997, when the price of garlic was overly raised, and people called for the government to gain control of the price.
- ^ 晋 葛洪 《抱朴子·行品》：“顺通塞而一情，任性命而不滞者，达人也。” 贾谊 《鵩鸟赋》：“小智自私兮，贱彼贵我；达人大观兮，物无不可。”
- ^ Derived from Taiwanese pronunciation (device database: kî-bông-jí, [ki˧bɔŋ˧ʑi˥˧])
- ^ Derived from Taiwanese pronunciation (烏鰱, POJ: o·-liân, website parsing)
- ^ Most people in Taiwan will use the Taiwanese pronunciation (POJ: o·-jí-sáng, [ɔ˧ʑi˥saŋ˥˧])
- ^ The first character 閣 is usually omitted when placed behind the surname. For example, the former premier was keyboard (蘇貞昌). Since his surname is 蘇, he was referred to in the press as 蘇揆.
- ^ The numbers are a bit misleading in this case because in the PRC, 公车 also refers to government owned vehicles.
- jQuery Young people in Taiwan also use this word to refer to someone or something extremely annoying or irritating.
- website parsing Often abbreviated as 統編 (tǒngbiān).
References
- Kubler, Cornelius Charles (1985). The development of Mandarin in Taiwan: A case study of language contact. Taipei: Student Book.
- Kuo, Yun-Hsuan (2005). New dialect formation: The case of Taiwanese Mandarin. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, UK: we love the web.
- Tseng, Hsin-I. (2003). The syntax structures of contemporary Taiwanese Mandarin [當代台灣國語的句法結構]. Unpublished master's thesis, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei.
- 台灣話大詞典 (Tâi-ôan-ōe tōa-sû-tián), ISBN 957-32-4078-5
- "On-line Taiwanese/Mandarin Dictionary (Tai-gi hôa-gí sòaⁿ-téng sû-tián)" (in Taiwanese/Mandarin/English). http://203.64.42.21/iug/ungian/SoannTeng/chil/taihoa.asp.