View source for Taiwanese Hokkien

{{short description|Variety of Hokkien spoken in Taiwan}}
{{redirect|Taiwanese language|other languages spoken in Taiwan|Languages of Taiwan|the indigenous languages of Taiwan|Formosan languages|other uses|Taiwanese language (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2020}}
{{Infobox language
| name             = Taiwanese Hokkien
| nativename       = {{lang|zh-Hant-TW|臺語}}<br>{{transl|nan|Tâi-gí}} / {{transl|nan|Tâi-gú}}{{efn native lang|tw|name=word1
  |t=臺語
  |m=Tâi-gí / Tâi-gú
}}
| states           = [[Taiwan]]
| region           = 
| ethnicity        = [[Hoklo Taiwanese]]
| speakers         = 13.5 million
| date             = 2017
| ref              = <ref>{{e24|nan}}</ref>
| familycolor      = Sino-Tibetan
| fam2             = [[Sinitic languages|Sinitic]]
| fam3             = [[Chinese language|Chinese]]
| fam4             = [[Min Chinese|Min]]
| fam5             = [[Min Chinese#Coastal Min|Coastal Min]]
| fam6             = [[Southern Min]]
| fam7             = [[Hokkien]]
| ancestor         = [[Proto-Sino-Tibetan]]
| ancestor2        = [[Old Chinese]]{{efn|name=minClassification|Min is believed to have split from Old Chinese, rather than Middle Chinese like other varieties of Chinese.<ref>{{citation |last=Mei |first=Tsu-lin |author1-link=Mei Tsu-lin |title=Tones and prosody in Middle Chinese and the origin of the rising tone |journal=Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies |volume=30 |year=1970 |pages=86–110 |doi=10.2307/2718766 |jstor=2718766}}</ref><ref>{{citation |last=Pulleyblank |first=Edwin G. |author-link=Edwin G. Pulleyblank |title=Middle Chinese: A study in Historical Phonology |year=1984 |page=3 |location=Vancouver |publisher=University of British Columbia Press |isbn=978-0-7748-0192-8}}</ref><ref name="glottoMin">{{cite journal |url=https://glottolog.org/resource/languoid/id/minn1248 |title=Glottolog 4.8 - Min |date=2023-07-10 |access-date=2023-10-13 |website=[[Glottolog]] |last1=Hammarström |first1=Harald |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231013171747/https://glottolog.org/resource/languoid/id/minn1248 |archive-date=2023-10-13 |url-status=live |publisher=[[Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology]] |author-link=Harald Hammarström |last2=Forkel |first2=Robert |publication-place=[[Leipzig]] |doi=10.5281/zenodo.7398962 |last3=Haspelmath |first3=Martin |author-link3=Martin Haspelmath |last4=Bank |first4=Sebastian |doi-access=free}}</ref>}}
| ancestor3        = [[Proto-Min]]
| ancestor4        = [[Southern Min]]
| ancestor5        = [[Hokkien]]
| script           = [[Written Hokkien#Chinese characters|Chinese characters]] ([[Traditional Chinese characters|Traditional]]), [[Latin script|Latin]] ([[Tâi-lô]], [[Pe̍h-ōe-jī]]), [[Taiwanese kana|Kana]], [[Bopomofo]] ([[Taiwanese Phonetic Symbols]]), [[Taiwanese Hangul|Hangul]]
| nation           = {{TWN}}{{efn|National language in [[Taiwan]];<ref>{{cite web|url=https://focustaiwan.tw/news/aedu/201812250018.aspx|title=Draft national language development act clears legislative floor|website=focustaiwan.tw |date=25 December 2018 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://tw.news.appledaily.com/politics/realtime/20181225/1489328/ |title=立院三讀《國家語言發展法》 公廣集團可設台語電視台 |website=ltn.com.tw|date=25 December 2018 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url = https://tw.news.yahoo.com/amphtml/%E5%9C%8B%E5%AE%B6%E8%AA%9E%E8%A8%80%E7%99%BC%E5%B1%95%E6%B3%95-%E7%AB%8B%E9%99%A2%E4%B8%89%E8%AE%80-%E6%94%BF%E5%BA%9C%E5%BE%97%E8%A8%AD%E5%8F%B0%E8%AA%9E%E5%B0%88%E5%B1%AC%E9%A0%BB%E9%81%93-062038323.html |title=《國家語言發展法》立院三讀！政府得設台語專屬頻道 |website=ltn.com.tw|date=25 December 2018 }}</ref> also statutory status in Taiwan as one of the languages for public transport announcements<ref>[[:zh:s:大眾運輸工具播音語言平等保障法|大眾運輸工具播音語言平等保障法]]</ref> and for the [[naturalization]] test.<ref>Article 6 of the [https://www.ris.gov.tw/zh_TW/c/document_library/get_file?uuid=2a89733e-e3e3-4f28-8f7b-84dff55777d5&groupId=10157 Standards for Identification of Basic Language Abilities and General Knowledge of the Rights and Duties of Naturalized Citizens] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170725175658/https://www.ris.gov.tw/zh_TW/c/document_library/get_file?uuid=2a89733e-e3e3-4f28-8f7b-84dff55777d5&groupId=10157 |date=25 July 2017 }}</ref>}}
| agency           = [[Ministry of Education (Taiwan)|Ministry of Education in Taiwan]]
| isoexception     = dialect
| lingua           = 79-AAA-jh
| map              = Home usage of Taiwanese by district in Taiwan gradient map (2010).svg
| mapcaption       = Proportion of residents aged 6 or older using Hokkien at home in Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen & Matsu in 2010<ref>Table 6: Languages used at home for the resident nationals aged 6 years and over by gender and age, [https://ebas1.ebas.gov.tw/phc2010/english/rehome.htm 2010 Population and Housing Census] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150222005446/https://ebas1.ebas.gov.tw/phc2010/english/rehome.htm |date=22 February 2015 }}, Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS), ROC (Taiwan).</ref>
| notice           = IPA
| glotto           = taib1242
| glottoname       = Taibei Hokkien
| iso3             = none
| iso3comment      = ({{code|ftg}} is proposed<ref>{{cite web|url=https://iso639-3.sil.org/request/2021-044|title=Change Request Documentation: 2021-044|website=SIL}}</ref>)
}}
{{Chinese
| title = Taiwanese Minnan
| t = {{linktext|臺灣|閩南語}}
| poj = Tâi-oân Bân-lâm-gí / Bân-lâm-gú
| tl = Tâi-uân Bân-lâm-gí / Bân-lâm-gú
| altname = Taiwanese dialect
| t2 = {{linktext|臺灣話}}
| poj2 = Tâi-oân-ōe
| tl2 = Tâi-uân-uē
| p2 = Táiwān huà
| tp2 = Táiwan huà
| w2 = {{tone superscript|T'ai2-wan1 hua4}}
| mi2 = {{IPAc-cmn|t|ai|2|.|wan|1|-|h|ua|4}}
| bpmf2 = ㄊㄞˊ ㄨㄢ ㄏㄨㄚˋ
| j2 = Toi4 waan1 waa2
| y2 = Tòih wāan wá
| ci2 = {{IPAc-yue|t|oi|4|-|w|aan|1|-|w|aa|2}}
| wuu2 = The-uae-ho
| altname3 = Taiwanese
| t3 = {{linktext|臺語}}
| poj3 = Tâi-gí / Tâi-gú
| tl3 = Tâi-gí / Tâi-gú
| p3 = Táiyǔ
| tp3 = Tái-yǔ
| w3 = {{tone superscript|T'ai2-yü3}}
| mi3 = {{IPAc-cmn|t|ai|2|.|yu|3}}
| bpmf3 = ㄊㄞˊ ㄩˇ
| j3 = Toi4 jyu5
| y3 = Tòih yúh
| ci3 = {{IPAc-yue|t|oi|4|-|j|yu|5}}
| wuu3 = The-nyy
| showflag = poj
}}

'''Taiwanese Hokkien''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|h|ɒ|k|i|ɛ|n}} {{respell|HOK|ee|en}}, {{IPAc-en|usalso|ˈ|h|oʊ|k|i|ɛ|n}} {{respell|HOH|kee|en}}; {{zh|t=臺灣話|poj=Tâi-oân-ōe|tl=Tâi-uân-uē}}), or simply '''Taiwanese''', also known as '''Taiuanoe''', '''Taigi''', '''Taigu''' ({{zh|臺語}}; [[Pe̍h-ōe-jī]]/[[Tâi-lô]]: {{transl|nan|Tâi-gí}} / {{transl|nan|Tâi-gú}}),{{efn|Native Language|tw|name=word1}}<ref name="taigi">{{cite web|title=Taigi與台語|url=https://talk.ltn.com.tw/amp/article/paper/1309601 |access-date=10 August 2019 |work=Liberty Times |date=10 August 2019}}</ref> '''Taiwanese Minnan''' ({{zh|c=臺灣閩南語}}), '''Hoklo''' and '''Holo''',<ref>{{cite web |last=Lee |first=Jack Tsen-Ta |date=28 April 2015 |orig-year=2004 |url=https://www.mysmu.edu/faculty/jacklee/singlish_H.htm#Hokkien |title=Hokkien |work=A Dictionary of Singlish and Singapore English |access-date=22 June 2020}}</ref><ref name="taiwansnapshot">{{cite web |url=https://www.taiwan.gov.tw/images/content/ts.JPG|title=TAIWAN SNAPSHOT |access-date=15 March 2020 |quote=Languages Mandarin (Chinese), Holo (Taiwanese), Hakka, Austronesian languages}}</ref> is a variety of the [[Hokkien]] language spoken natively by more than 70 percent of the [[population of Taiwan]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Taiwan |url=https://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=TW |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050504081723/https://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=TW |archive-date=4 May 2005 |website=[[Ethnologue]] |quote=Principal languages}}</ref> It is spoken by a significant portion of those [[Taiwanese people]] who are descended from [[Hoklo]] immigrants of [[Minnan region|southern Fujian]].<ref>{{cite book |contribution=Taiwan's Evolving Identity |first=June Teufel |last=Dreyer |pages=4–10 |title=The Evolution of a Taiwanese National Identity |location=Washington |publisher=Woodrow Wilson International Institute for Scholars |year=2003 |series=Asia Program Special Report |volume=114 |access-date=12 August 2016 |url=https://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/asia_rpt114.pdf |archive-date=25 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160325100938/https://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/asia_rpt114.pdf |url-status=dead}}</ref> It is one of the national [[languages of Taiwan]].

Taiwanese is generally similar to Hokkien spoken in [[Amoy dialect|Amoy]], [[Quanzhou dialect|Quanzhou]], and [[Zhangzhou dialect|Zhangzhou]], as well as dialectal forms used in [[Southeast Asia]], such as [[Singaporean Hokkien]], [[Penang Hokkien]], [[Philippine Hokkien]], [[Medan Hokkien]], and [[Southern Peninsular Malaysian Hokkien]]. It is [[mutually intelligible]] with the Amoy and Zhangzhou varieties at the mouth of the [[Jiulong River]] in mainland China, and with [[Philippine Hokkien]] to the south in the [[Philippines]], spoken altogether by about 3 million people.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://raw.githubusercontent.com/KIRINPUTRA/reclassifying-ISO-639-3-nan/main/Reclassifying_ISO_639-3_%5Bnan%5D__An_Empirical_Approach_to_Mutual_Intelligibility_and_Ethnolinguistic_Distinctions.pdf|title=Reclassifying ISO 639-3 [nan]: An Empirical Approach to Mutual Intelligibility and Ethnolinguistic Distinctions |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210919021444/https://raw.githubusercontent.com/KIRINPUTRA/reclassifying-ISO-639-3-nan/main/Reclassifying_ISO_639-3_%5Bnan%5D__An_Empirical_Approach_to_Mutual_Intelligibility_and_Ethnolinguistic_Distinctions.pdf |archive-date=19 September 2021}}</ref> The mass popularity of [[Hokkien entertainment media]] from Taiwan has given [[Prestige (sociolinguistics)|prominence]] to the Taiwanese variety of Hokkien, especially since the 1980s.

== Classification ==
Taiwanese Hokkien is a variety of [[Hokkien]], a [[Southern Min]] language. Like many varieties of [[Min Chinese]], it has distinct [[literary and colloquial readings of Chinese characters|literary and colloquial layers]] of vocabulary, often associated with formal and informal [[register (sociolinguistics)|register]]s respectively. The literary layer can be traced to the late [[Tang dynasty]], and as such is related to [[Middle Chinese]]. In contrast, the colloquial layers of Min varieties are believed to have branched from the mainstream of Chinese around the time of the [[Han dynasty]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Mei |first=Tsu-lin |title=Tones and Prosody in Middle Chinese and The Origin of The Rising Tone |journal=Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies |volume=30 |pages=86–110 |year=1970 |jstor=2718766 |doi=10.2307/2718766}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |surname=Norman |given=Jerry |chapter=The Mǐn dialects in historical perspective |editor-surname=Wang |editor-given=William S.-Y. |title=Languages and Dialects of China |pages=325–360 |series=''Journal of Chinese Linguistics'' Monograph Series |publisher=Chinese University Press |volume=3 |issue=3 |year=1991b |jstor=23827042 |oclc=600555701}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |surname=Ting |given=Pang-Hsin |title=Derivation time of colloquial Min from Archaic Chinese |journal=Bulletin of the Institute of History and Philology |volume=54 |issue=4 |pages=1–14 |year=1983}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |surname1=Baxter |given1=William H. |author1-link=William H. Baxter |surname2=Sagart |given2=Laurent |author2-link=Laurent Sagart |title=Old Chinese: A New Reconstruction |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2014 |pages=33, 79 |isbn=978-0-19-994537-5}}</ref>

Regional variations within the Taiwanese variant may be traced back to Hokkien variants spoken in Southern Fujian, specifically those from [[Quanzhou]] and [[Zhangzhou]], and later from [[Amoy]]. Taiwanese also contains loanwords from Japanese and native [[Formosan languages]]. Recent work by scholars such as Ekki Lu,<ref>{{cite web |last=Ekki H. J. Lu |date=27 March 1997 |title=ON AUSTRO-TAIC TERMS IN HOKLO |url=https://ws.twl.ncku.edu.tw/hak-chia/l/lou-ek-ki/kongpah-oat.htm |access-date=2023-04-03 |website=|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20041022000504/https://ws.twl.ncku.edu.tw/hak-chia/l/lou-ek-ki/kongpah-oat.htm|archive-date= 22 October 2004}}</ref> Toru Sakai,<ref>{{cite web |last=Sakai |first=Toru (酒井亨) |date=2002 |title=探求 HÖ -LÓ 台語中間 Ê 非漢語語詞--羅馬字寫書寫法 Ê 正當性 |url=https://203.64.42.21/iug/ungian/poj/siausit/2002/2002pojgth/lunbun/a1-sakai.pdf |archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20081002014759/https://203.64.42.21/iug/ungian/poj/siausit/2002/2002pojgth/lunbun/a1-sakai.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=2008-10-02 }}</ref> and Li Khin-hoann,<ref>{{cite web |last=Lí Khîn-hoāⁿ |date=15 September 2004 |title=李勤岸博士論文．LEXICAL CHANGE AND VARIATION IN TAIWANESELITERARY TEXTS．ACKNOWLEDGMENT |url=https://ws.twl.ncku.edu.tw/hak-chia/l/li-khin-hoann/phok-su/phok-su.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040915015640/https://ws.twl.ncku.edu.tw/hak-chia/l/li-khin-hoann/phok-su/phok-su.htm |archive-date=15 September 2004}}</ref> based on former research by scholars such as [[Ong Iok-tek]], has gone so far as to associate part of the basic vocabulary of the colloquial Taiwanese with the [[Austronesian languages|Austronesian]] and [[Tai languages|Tai]] language families; however, such claims are controversial.

The literary form of Hokkien once flourished in [[Fujian]] and was brought to Taiwan by early emigrants. ''[[Tale of the Lychee Mirror]]'', a manuscript of a series of plays published during the [[Ming dynasty]] in 1566, is one of the earliest known works. This form of language is now largely extinct. However, literary readings of the numbers are used in certain contexts, such as reciting telephone numbers (see [[Literary and colloquial readings of Chinese characters]]).{{citation needed|date=February 2016}}

== History and formation ==
{{see also|Hokkien#History}}

=== Spread of Hokkien to Taiwan ===
During the [[Yuan dynasty]], [[Quanzhou]] became a major international port for trade with the outside world.<ref>[https://culture.edu.tw/history/smenu_photomenu.php?smenuid=641&subjectid=1264 教育部，歷史文化學習網，《重要貿易港口－泉州》] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725194653/https://culture.edu.tw/history/smenu_photomenu.php?smenuid=641&subjectid=1264 |date=25 July 2011 }}</ref> From that period onwards, many people from the [[Hokkien]]-speaking regions (southern Fujian) started to emigrate overseas due to political and economic reasons. One of the destinations for the emigrants was the island of Taiwan (formerly Formosa), starting around 1600. They brought with their native Hokkien language with them.

During the late [[Ming dynasty]], the political chaos pushed more migrants from southern Fujian and eastern [[Guangdong]] to Taiwan. The earliest immigrants involved in Taiwan's development included [[Chinese pirates|pirate-merchants]] [[Pedro Yan Shiqi]] and [[Zheng Zhilong]]. In 1621, Chinese Peter and his forces, hailing from [[Zhangzhou]], occupied ''Ponkan'' (modern-day [[Beigang, Yunlin]]) and started to develop ''Tirosen'' (modern-day [[Chiayi City|Chiayi]]). After the death of Peter and another pirate, [[Li Dan (pirate)|Li Dan]] of Quanzhou, Zheng sought to dominate the [[Taiwan Strait|Strait of Taiwan]]. By 1628, he had grown so powerful that the Ming court bestowed him the official title, "Patrolling Admiral".<ref>{{cite book |last=Andrade |first=Tonio |author-link=Tonio Andrade |title=How Taiwan Became Chinese: Dutch, Spanish, and Han Colonization in the Seventeenth Century |publisher=Columbia University Press |chapter=Chapter 2: A Scramble for Influence |chapter-url=https://www.gutenberg-e.org/andrade/andrade02.html |year=2005 |at=§20-1}}</ref>

In 1624, the number of Chinese on the island was about 25,000.{{sfnp|Davidson|1903|p=13}} During the reign of [[Chongzhen Emperor]] (1627–1644), there were frequent droughts in the Fujian region. Zheng and a Chinese official suggested sending victims to Taiwan and provide "for each person three [[tael]]s of silver and for each three people one ox".{{sfnp|Andrade|2005|loc=§26}} Although this plan was never carried out, the Zheng family maintained an interest in Taiwan that would have dire consequences for the [[Dutch Empire]], who ruled Taiwan as [[Dutch Formosa]] at the time.

=== Development and divergence ===
In 1624 and 1626, the Dutch and Spanish forces occupied the [[Tainan]] and [[Keelung]] areas, respectively. During the 40 years of [[Dutch Formosa|Dutch colonial rule of Taiwan]], the Dutch recruited many Chinese from the regions around Quanzhou and [[Zhangzhou]] in southern Fujian to help develop Taiwan.

In the 1661 [[Siege of Fort Zeelandia]], Chinese general [[Koxinga]], marshaling a military force composed of fellow hometown [[hoklo]] soldiers of Southern Fujian, expelled the Dutch and established the [[Kingdom of Tungning]]. Koxinga originated from the Quanzhou region. [[Chen Yonghua]], who was in charge of establishing the education system of Tungning, also originated from [[Tong'an]] county of Quanzhou Prefecture. Because most of the soldiers he brought to Taiwan came from Quanzhou, the [[Prestige (sociolinguistics)|prestige variant]] of Hokkien on the island at the time was the [[Quanzhou dialect]].

In 1683, Chinese admiral [[Shi Lang]], marshaling a military force again composed of fellow hometown [[hoklo]] soldiers of Southern Fujian, attacked Taiwan in the [[Battle of Penghu]], ending the Tungning era and beginning [[Taiwan under Qing rule|Qing dynasty rule]] (until 1895).

In the first decades of the 18th century, the linguistic differences between the Qing imperial bureaucrats and the commoners were recorded by the Mandarin-speaking first Imperial [[High commissioner|High Commissioner]] to Taiwan (1722), [[Huang Shujing]]:
{{cquote|In this place, the language is as [[birdcall]] &ndash; totally unintelligible! For example: for the surname [[Liu|Liú]], they say 'Lâu'; for [[Chen (surname)|Chén]], 'Tân'; [[Zhuang (surname)|Zhuāng]], 'Chng'; and [[Zhang (surname)|Zhāng]] is 'Tioⁿ'. My deputy's surname [[Wu (surname)|Wú]] becomes 'Ngô͘'. My surname [[Huang (surname)|Huáng]] does not even have a proper vowel: it is 'N̂g' here! It is difficult to make sense of this.<br />
({{lang|zh-Hant|郡中鴃舌鳥語，全不可曉。如：劉呼「澇」、陳呼「澹」、莊呼「曾」、張呼「丟」。余與吳待御兩姓，吳呼作「襖」，黃則無音，厄影切，更為難省。}})|||''Records from the mission to Taiwan and its Strait'', Volume II: "On the area around [[Fort Provintia]], [[Tainan]]" (臺海使槎錄 卷二 赤嵌筆談)}}
The tone of Huang's message [[Foretelling|foretold]] the uneasy relationships between different [[Speech community|language communities]] and colonial establishments over the next few centuries.

During the 200 years of Qing dynasty rule, thousands of immigrants from [[Fujian]] arrived yearly; the population was over one million in the middle of the 18th century.{{sfnp|Davidson|1903|p=561}} Civil unrest and armed conflicts were frequent. In addition to resistance against governments (both Chinese and later Japanese), [[Ethnic conflict|battles between ethnic groups]] were also significant: the belligerents usually grouped around the language they used. History has recorded battles between [[Hakka Chinese|Hakka]] speakers and Hokkien speakers, between these and the [[Taiwanese aborigine|aborigines]], and even between those who spoke different variants of Hokkien.

In the early 20th century, the [[Hoklo people]] in Taiwan could be categorized as originating from modern-day [[Xiamen]], [[Quanzhou]], [[Zhangzhou]], and [[Zhangpu County|Zhangpu]].{{clarify|reason=Zhangpu is part of Zhangzhou|date=August 2020}}{{sfnp|Davidson|1903|p=591}} People from the former two areas (Quanzhou-speaking) were dominant in the north of the island and along the west coast,<ref>"especially in the cities of Koro (Aulang), Taiko (Taika), Giubato (Gumatau), Gosei (Goche), Tokatsukutsu (Thawkakut), and Rokko (Lokiang)." (modern-day [[Houlong, Miaoli|Houlong]], [[Dajia District|Dajia]], [[Qingshui District|Qingshui]], [[Wuqi District|Wuqi]], [[Longjing District|Longjing]], and Lukang, respectively.) {{harvp|Davidson|1903|p=591}}</ref> whereas people from the latter two areas ([[Zhangzhou dialect|Zhangzhou]]-speaking) were dominant in the south and perhaps the central plains as well.

Although there were conflicts between Quanzhou- and Zhangzhou speakers in Taiwan historically, their gradual [[intermingling]] led to the mixture of the two [[Accent (sociolinguistics)|accents]]. Apart from [[Lukang, Changhua|Lukang city]] and [[Yilan County, Taiwan|Yilan County]], which have preserved their original Quanzhou and Zhangzhou accents, respectively, almost every region of Taiwan now speaks a mixture of Quanzhou and Zhangzhou Hokkien.{{sfnp|Ang|1987}} A similar phenomenon occurred in [[Xiamen]] (Amoy) after 1842, when the mixture of Quanzhou and Zhangzhou Hokkien displaced the Quanzhou dialect to yield the modern [[Amoy dialect]].<ref>泉州旅游信息网，[https://fjqz.fj.vnet.cn/travel/talk/right.htm 泉州方言文化] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070301121345/https://fjqz.fj.vnet.cn/travel/talk/right.htm |date=1 March 2007 }}</ref>

During the [[Taiwan under Japanese rule|Japanese colonial rule of Taiwan]], Taiwan began to hold Amoy Hokkien as its standard pronunciation; the Japanese called this mixture {{nihongo|Taiwanese|臺灣語|Taiwango}}.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Iûⁿ |first1=Ún-giân |last2=Tiuⁿ |first2=Ha̍k-khiam |last3=Lu |first3=Bichhin |script-title=zh:台語文運動訪談暨史料彙編 |language=zh |date=2008-03-01 |publisher=國史館 |location=Taipei |isbn=9789860132946 |oclc=813921186}}</ref>

Due to the influx of Japanese loanwords before 1945 and the political separation after 1949,{{citation needed|date=April 2016}} Amoy Hokkien and Taiwanese Hokkien began to [[Linguistic divergence|diverge]] slightly.

=== Modern times ===
[[File:Proportion of Taiwanese Language Used in House.svg|thumb|Proportion of languages used at home by residents aged 6 or over in Taiwan in 2010, sorted by birth year.<ref name="housing census">{{Cite web|url=https://www.dgbas.gov.tw/public/data/dgbas04/bc6/census022(final).html|title=census022(final).swf|website=www.dgbas.gov.tw}}</ref> The chart shows the tendency that speech communities of [[Languages of Taiwan#Other languages|Taiwanese local languages]] are shifting to speak [[Taiwanese Mandarin|Mandarin]].]]
Later, in the 20th century, the conceptualization of Taiwanese was more controversial than most variations of Chinese because, at one time, it marked a clear division between the [[Waishengren|mainlanders who]] [[KMT retreat to Taiwan in 1949|arrived in 1949]] and the pre-existing majority native Taiwanese. Although the political and linguistic divisions between the two groups have blurred considerably, the political issues surrounding the Taiwanese have been more controversial and sensitive than for other [[varieties of Chinese]].

After the [[First Sino-Japanese War]], due to military defeat to the Japanese, the [[Qing dynasty]] ceded [[Taiwan]] to Japan, causing contact with the [[Hokkien]]-speaking regions of mainland China to stop. During Japanese rule, Japanese became an official language in Taiwan, and Taiwanese began to absorb a large number of Japanese loanwords into its language. Examples of such loanwords (some which had in turn been borrowed from English) include ''piān-só͘'' from {{nihongo4||{{linktext|便所}}|benjo|"toilet"}}, ''phêng'' from {{nihongo4||{{linktext|坪}}|[[tsubo]]|"[[pyeong]]", an areal measurement}} (see also [[Taiwanese units of measurement]]), ''ga-suh'' from {{nihongo4||{{linktext|瓦斯}}|gasu|"gas"}}, ''o͘-tó͘-bái'' from {{nihongo4||{{linktext|オートバイ}}|ōtobai|"autobicycle", motorcycle}}. All of these caused the Taiwanese to deviate from Hokkien used elsewhere.

During [[Japanization#Taiwan|Kōminka]] of the late Japanese colonial period, the [[Japanese language]] appeared in every corner of Taiwan. The [[Second Sino-Japanese War]] beginning in 1937 brought stricter measures into force, and along with the outlawing of [[Chinese language romanization in Taiwan|romanized Taiwanese]], various publications were prohibited and Confucian-style private schools which taught [[Classical Chinese]] with [[Literary language|literary]] Southern Min pronunciation – was closed down in 1939.{{sfnp|Klöter|2005|p=135}} Taiwanese thus was reduced to a common [[Vernacular|daily language]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ang |first1=Ui-jin |script-title=zh:臺灣方言之旅 |date=1991 |publisher=前衛出版社 |location=Taipei |isbn=9789579512312}}</ref> In 1937 the colonial government introduced a concept called "National Language Family" ({{linktext|国語|の|家}}), which meant that families that proved that they adopted Japanese as their daily language enjoyed benefits such as greater access to education.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hwsh.tc.edu.tw/ischool/publish_page/106/?cid=4897|title=Hui-Wen High School Taichung, Introduction to the Kominka period|work=www.hwsh.tc.edu.tw}}</ref>

After the handover of Taiwan to the [[Republic of China (1912–1949)|Republic of China]] in 1945, there was a brief cultural exchange with mainland China followed by further oppression. The [[Chinese Civil War]] resulted in another political separation when the [[Kuomintang]] (Chinese Nationalist Party) government [[Chinese Nationalist Party retreat to Taiwan|retreated to Taiwan following their defeat by the communists]] in 1949. The influx of two million soldiers and civilians caused the population of Taiwan to increase from 6 million to 8 million. The government subsequently promoted Mandarin while suppressing, but short of banning, the use of written Taiwanese [[Hokkien]] (e.g. [[Pe̍h-ōe-jī]], a phonetic rendering of spoken Hokkien using the Latin alphabet) as part of its general policy of political repression.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Lin |first=Alvin |issue=89 |title=Writing Taiwanese: The Development of Modern Written Taiwanese |journal=Sino-Platonic Papers |url=https://www.sino-platonic.org/complete/spp089_taiwanese.pdf |year=1999 |oclc=41879041 }}</ref> In 1964 the use of spoken Taiwanese [[Hokkien]] or [[Hakka]] in schools or in official settings was forbidden; violations of the prohibition in schools often resulted in physical punishments, fines, or humiliation.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Linguistic capital in Taiwan: The KMT's Mandarin language policy and its perceived impact on language practices of bilingual Mandarin and Tai-gi speakers |last=Sandel |first=Todd L. |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2003 |journal=Language in Society |volume=32 |issue=4 |pages=523–551 |doi=10.1017/S0047404503324030 |jstor=4169285 |s2cid=145703339 }}</ref>

Only after the lifting of [[Martial law in Taiwan|martial law]] in 1987 and the [[mother tongue]] movement in the 1990s did Taiwan finally see a true [[Language revitalization|revival]] in Taiwanese Hokkien. Today, there are a large number of Taiwanese Hokkien scholars dedicated to researching the language. Despite this, however, according to census data, the number of people speaking Taiwanese continued to drop.<ref name="housing census"/>

The history of the Taiwanese variety of Hokkien and its interaction with Mandarin is complex and, at times, controversial, even regarding its name. The language has no official name in Taiwan.<ref>{{cite web |title=中華民國文化部-國家語言發展法 |url=https://www.moc.gov.tw/content_275.html |website=www.moc.gov.tw |access-date=24 October 2019 |language=zh |date=10 October 2008 |quote=《國家語言發展法》並未以法律明列各固有族群之語言名稱，即是尊重各族群使用者慣常使用之命名權。 |archive-date=2 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210402055541/https://www.moc.gov.tw/content_275.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> Some dislike the name "Taiwanese" as they feel that it belittles other languages spoken on the island such as Mandarin, [[Hakka Chinese|Hakka]], and the [[Formosan languages|indigenous languages]]. Others prefer the names [[Southern Min]], Minnan or Hokkien as this views Taiwanese as a form of the Chinese variety spoken in [[Fujian]] province in [[mainland China]]. Others dislike those names for precisely the same reason.{{citation needed|date=March 2016}} In the [[American Community Survey]] run by the [[United States Census Bureau]], Taiwanese was referred to as "Formosan" from 2012 to 2015 and as "Min Nan Chinese" since 2016.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/working-papers/2018/demo/SEHSD-WP2018-31.pdf | title=American Community Survey Redesign of Language-Spoken-at-Home Data | date=2016 | first=Christine P. | last=Gambino | work=U.S. Census Bureau}}</ref>

== Phonology ==
{{Commons category|Taiwanese Hokkien}}
{{see also|Help:IPA/Taiwanese Hokkien|Hokkien phonology}}
[[Phonology|Phonologically]], Hokkien is a [[tonal language]] with extensive [[tone sandhi]] rules. [[Syllable]]s consist maximally of an initial [[consonant]], a [[vowel]], a final consonant, and a tone.

=== Consonants ===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|+Initials
! colspan="2" |
![[Bilabial consonant|Bilabial]]
![[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
![[Alveolo-palatal consonant|Alveolo<br>-palatal]]
![[Velar consonant|Velar]]
![[Glottal consonant|Glottal]]
|-
! colspan="2" |[[Nasal consonant|Nasal]]
|{{IPAblink|m}} m ㄇ 
|{{IPAblink|n}} n ㄋ
|
|{{IPAblink|ŋ}} ng ㄫ
|
|-
! rowspan="3" |[[Stop consonant|Stop]]
!<small>voiced</small>
|{{IPAblink|b}} b ㆠ
|{{efn-lr|[[allophone|Allophonically]] pronounced in some variations spoken in Taiwan.<ref>{{Cite book |author=洪惟仁 [Ang Ui-jin] |authorlink=Ang Ui-jin |title=台灣河佬話聲調研究 |trans-title=Taiwanese Hokkien Tone Research |year=1985 |location=[[Taipei]] |publisher=自立晚報 [[Independence Evening Post]] |page=9 |quote=(3) 柳母標爲 ⟨d⟩ 興董昭輝，藍淸漢同。這是實際審音的結果，台灣大多數地區柳母都讀塞音 [d]，低元音時可能會出現流音 [l]，可 以視爲 ⟨d⟩ 的無定分音。若爲從俗可以標爲 ⟨l⟩，但因爲這個 [d] 和古音學有重大關係，標爲 ⟨d⟩ 容易解釋一些語源學現象。(4) [b], [d], [g] 的音值等於 [m], [n], [ŋ] 減去鼻音部分，歷史上也是 [m], [n], [ŋ] 變來，所以塞音緊度只有英語 [b], [d], [g] 的一半，致使 [d] 的音値變得十分接近 [l]。}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Douglas |first=Carstairs |title=Chinese-English dictionary of the vernacular or spoken language of Amoy |publisher=Presbyterian Church of England |year=1899 |location=London |pages=99 |url=https://archive.org/details/chineseenglishdict00doug/page/99/mode/1up?view=theater |language=English, Amoy Hokkien}}</ref>}}{{IPAblink|d}}'''~'''{{IPAblink|l}}'''~'''{{IPAblink|ɾ}} l ㄌ
|
|{{IPAblink|ɡ}} g ㆣ
|
|-
!<small>[[tenuis consonant|tenuis]]</small>
|{{IPAblink|p}} p ㄅ
|{{IPAblink|t}} t ㄉ
|
|{{IPAblink|k}} k ㄍ
|
|-
!<small>[[Aspirated consonant|aspirated]]</small>
|{{IPAblink|pʰ}} ph ㄆ
|{{IPAblink|tʰ}} th ㄊ
|
|{{IPAblink|kʰ}} kh ㄎ
|
|-
! rowspan="3" |[[Affricate consonant|Affricate]]
!<small>voiced</small>
|
|{{IPAblink|dz}} j ㆡ
|{{IPAblink|dʑ}} j(i) ㆢ
|
|
|-
!<small>tenuis</small>
|
|{{IPAblink|ts}} ch, ts ㄗ
|{{IPAblink|tɕ}} ch(i), ts(i) ㄐ
|
|
|-
!<small>aspirated</small>
|
|{{IPAblink|tsʰ}} chh, tsh ㄘ
|{{IPAblink|tɕʰ}} chh(i), tsh(i) ㄑ
|
|
|-
! colspan="2" |[[Fricative consonant|Fricative]]
|
|{{IPAblink|s}} s ㄙ
|{{IPAblink|ɕ}} si ㄒ
|
|{{IPAblink|h}} h ㄏ
|-
! colspan="2" |[[Liquid consonant|Liquid]]
|
|{{IPAblink|l}}'''~'''{{IPAblink|ɾ}}{{efn-lr|[[allophone|Allophonically]] pronounced in some variations spoken in Taiwan.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Van der Loon |first=Piet |year=1967 |title=The Manila Incunabula and Early Hokkien Studies, Part 2 |url=https://www2.ihp.sinica.edu.tw/file/1745sWSSKnQ.pdf |journal=Asia Major |series=New Series |volume=13 |page=113}}</ref>}} l ㄌ
|
|
|
|}
{{notelist-lr|refs=
}}
{| class="wikitable"
|+Finals
! !![[Bilabial consonant|Bilabial]]!![[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
![[Velar consonant|Velar]]!![[Glottal consonant|Glottal]]
|- align="center"
![[Nasal stop|Nasal]]
|{{IPAblink|m}} -m||{{IPAblink|n}} -n||{{IPAblink|ŋ}} -ng||{{IPAblink|◌̃}} -ⁿ
|- align="center"
![[Stop consonant|Plosive]]
|{{IPAblink|p̚}} -p ㆴ||{{IPAblink|t̚}} -t ㆵ||{{IPAblink|k̚}} -k ㆻ||{{IPAblink|ʔ}} -h ㆷ
|}

Unlike many other varieties of Chinese such as Mandarin, [[Standard Cantonese|Cantonese]], [[Hakka Chinese|Hakka]], etc., there are no native [[labiodental]] phonemes (i.e. {{IPAblink|f}}, {{IPAblink|v}}, {{IPAblink|ʋ}}, etc.).

# Coronal affricates and fricatives become [[Alveolo-palatal consonant|alveolo-palatal]] before {{IPA|/i/}}, that is, {{IPA|/dzi/}}, {{IPA|/tsi/}}, {{IPA|/tsʰi/}}, and {{IPA|/si/}} are pronounced {{IPA|[dʑi]}}, {{IPA|[tɕi]}}, {{IPA|[tɕʰi]}}, and {{IPA|[ɕi]}}.
# The consonant {{IPA|/dz/}} may be realized as a fricative; that is, as {{IPA|[z]}} in most environments and {{IPA|[ʑ]}} before {{IPA|/i/}}.
# The [[Voice (phonetics)|voiced]] plosives ({{IPA|/b/}} and {{IPA|/ɡ/}}) become the corresponding fricatives ({{IPAblink|β}} and {{IPAblink|ɣ}}) in some phonetic contexts. This is similar to [[begadkefat]] in [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] and a similar [[Allophone|allophony]] of intervocalic [[plosive consonants]] and their fricatives in [[Spanish language|Spanish]].

=== Vowels ===
Taiwanese has the following [[vowel]]s:
{|class=wikitable
|-
!rowspan=2| !!colspan=2|[[Front vowel|Front]]!!colspan=2|[[Central vowel|Central]]!!colspan=2|[[Back vowel|Back]]
!rowspan=5| !!colspan=2 rowspan=2|[[Syllabic consonant]]
|- align=center
!Oral!![[Nasal vowel|Nasal]]!!Oral!![[Nasal vowel|Nasal]]!!Oral!![[Nasal vowel|Nasal]]
|- align=center
![[Close vowel|Close]]
|{{IPAblink|i}} i ㄧ||{{IPAblink|ĩ}} iⁿ ㆪ
| ||
|{{IPAblink|u}} u ㄨ||{{IPAblink|ũ}} uⁿ ㆫ
|rowspan=3|{{IPAblink|m̩}} m ㆬ
|rowspan=3|{{IPAblink|ŋ̍}} ng ㆭ
|- align=center
![[Mid vowel|Mid]]
|{{IPAblink|e}} e ㆤ||{{IPAblink|ẽ}} eⁿ ㆥ
|{{IPAblink|ɤ}} ~ {{IPAblink|o}} o ㄜ, ㄛ||
|{{IPAblink|ɔ}} o͘ ㆦ||{{IPAblink|ɔ̃}} oⁿ ㆧ
|- align=center
![[Open vowel|Open]]
| || ||{{IPAblink|ä|a}} a ㄚ||{{IPAblink|ã}} aⁿ ㆩ|| ||
|}

The vowel {{angle bracket|o}} is akin to a [[schwa]]; in contrast, {{angle bracket|[[o͘]] }} (with dot) is a more [[Vowel#Height|open vowel]]. In addition, there are several [[diphthong]]s and [[triphthong]]s (for example, {{angle bracket|iau}}). The consonants {{angle bracket|m}} and {{angle bracket|ng}} can function as a [[Nucleus (syllable)|syllabic nucleus]] and are therefore included here as vowels. The vowels may be either plain or [[Nasal vowel|nasal]]: {{angle bracket|a}} is non-nasal, and {{angle bracket|aⁿ}} is the same vowel with concurrent nasal articulation. This is similar to [[French language|French]], [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]], [[Polish language|Polish]], and many other languages.

There are two pronunciations of vowel {{angle bracket|o}}. In the south (e.g., [[Tainan]] and [[Kaohsiung]]) it is {{IPAblink|ɤ}}; in the north (e.g., [[Taipei]]) it is {{IPAblink|o}}. Due to the development of transportation and communication, both pronunciations are common and acceptable throughout the country.

{{IPAslink|i}} is a diphthong [<nowiki/>[[Close front unrounded vowel|i]][[Near-close near-front unrounded vowel|ɪ]]] before -k or -ng (POJ: ek, eng), and is slightly shortened and retracted before -p or -t to something more like [<nowiki/>[[Near-close near-front unrounded vowel|í̞]]]. Similarly, {{IPAslink|u}} is slightly shortened and retracted before -t or -n to something more like [<nowiki/>[[Near-close near-back rounded vowel|ʊ]]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Tâigí Phonics 3 - Single Vowels - YouTube|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Muv_Rx7OXg0 |access-date=2021-02-06|website=YouTube| date=2 April 2020 }}</ref>


=== Tones ===
[[Image:Taiwanese tones.png|thumb|right|Taiwanese tones, close to Taipei values.]]
In the traditional analysis, there are eight "tones", [[tone number|numbered]] from 1 to 8. Strictly speaking, there are only five [[Tone (linguistics)|tonal contours]]. But as in other Sinitic languages, the two kinds of stopped syllables are also considered to be tones and assigned numbers 4 and 8. Words of tone 6 have merged into either tone 2 or tone 7 in most Taiwanese variants, and thus tone 6 is duplicated in the count. Here the eight tones are shown, following the traditional tone class categorization, named after the tones of [[Middle Chinese]]:
:{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ Taiwanese tones{{sfnp|Wu|2000|p=2691}}
|-
! Tone<br>number !! Name !! POJ<br>accent !! Pitch in<br>Taipei !! Description !! Pitch in<br>Tainan !! Description
|-
| 1 || Yin Level (陰平) || a || {{IPAslink|á}} = {{IPAslink|a˥}} (55) || High || {{IPAslink|á}} = {{IPAslink|a˦}} (44) || High
|-
| 2 (6) || Rising (上聲) || á || /â/ = {{IPAslink|a˥˩}} (51) || Falling || /â/ = {{IPAslink|a˥˧}} (53) || High Falling
|-
| 3 || Yin Departing (陰去) || à || {{IPAslink|à}} = {{IPAslink|a˧˩}} to {{IPAslink|˨˩}} (21) || Low Falling || {{IPAslink|à}} = {{IPAslink|a˩}} (11) || Low
|-
| 4 || Yin Entering (陰入) || ah || {{IPAslink|āʔ}} = {{IPA|/aʔ˧˨/}} (32) || Mid Stopped || {{IPAslink|àʔ}} = {{IPA|/aʔ˨˩/}} (21) || Low Stopped
|-
| 5 || Yang Level (陽平) || â || /ǎ/= {{IPA|/a˩˦ ~ a˨˦/}} (24) || Rising || /ǎ/ = {{IPAslink|a˨˦}} (25) || Rising
|-
| 7 || Yang Departing (陽去) || ā || {{IPAslink|ā}} = {{IPAslink|a˧}} (33) || Mid || {{IPAslink|ā}} = {{IPAslink|a˨}} (22) || Mid
|-
| 8 || Yang Entering (陽入) || a̍h || {{IPAslink|áʔ}} = {{IPAslink|aʔ˦}} (4) || High Stopped || {{IPAslink|áʔ}} = {{IPAslink|aʔ˥}} (5) || High Stopped
|}

{{Listen|filename=Taiwanese-8Tones.ogg|title=Eight tones of Taiwanese|description=Demonstration of the tones of Taiwanese: 衫 ''saⁿ, 短 té, 褲, khò͘, 闊 khoah, 人 lâng, 矮 é, 鼻 phīⁿ, 直 ti̍t''. Tone sandhi rules do not apply in this sentence. (This demonstration is popular but misleading in the use of ''矮 é'' as an example for tone 6. Despite alternations in its vowel, the word ''矮'' belongs in tone 2 in all Southern Min varieties, including those distinguishing tone 6 from other tones.)}}

See (for one example) the modern phonological analysis in {{harvp|Chiung|2003}}, which challenges these notions.

For tones 4 and 8, a final consonant {{angle bracket|p}}, {{angle bracket|t}}, or {{angle bracket|k}} may appear. When this happens, it is impossible for the syllable to be nasal. Indeed, these are the counterpart to the nasal final consonants {{angle bracket|m}}, {{angle bracket|n}}, and {{angle bracket|ng}}, respectively, in other tones. However, it is possible to have a nasal 4th or 8th tone syllable such as {{angle bracket|siahⁿ}}, as long as there is no final consonant other than {{angle bracket|h}}.

In the dialect spoken near the northern coast of Taiwan, there is no distinction between tones number 8 and number 4 &ndash; both are pronounced as if they follow the [[tone sandhi]] rules of tone number 4.

Tone number 0, typically written with two consecutive hyphens (--a) or a point (·a) before the syllable with this tone, is used to mark [[enclitic]]s denoting the extent of a verb action, the end of a noun phrase, etc. A frequent use of this tone is to denote a question, such as in "Chia̍h-pá--bōe?", literally meaning 'Have you eaten yet?'. This is realized by speaking the syllable with either a low-falling tone (3) or a low stop (4). The syllable prior to the {{angle bracket|--}} maintains its original tone.

=== Ninth tone ===
Although uncommon in written Taiwanese, there is a ninth tone which is used for three main purposes: contractions, triplicated adjectives, and [[Loanword|loan words]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Taiwanese |first=Bite-size |date=2019-12-20 |title=Ep06: The Ninth Tone Bite-size Taiwanese |url=https://bitesizetaiwanese.com/ep06-the-ninth-tone/ |access-date=2024-11-20 |website=Bite-size Taiwanese |language=en-US}}</ref> The writing conventions for this tone vary, but the most common are with a [[breve accent]] (U+0306, ⟨◌̆⟩) in POJ and with a [[double acute accent]] (U+030B, ⟨◌̋⟩) in Tai-lo.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite Youtube |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2yObzaDr4I&t=69s |title=Tâigí Phonics 9 - Rethinking tones in stereo, and 9th tone |date=Jul 29, 2020 |type=Video |access-date=November 20, 2024 |quote=...and we write it with this little symbol down here which is called a breve accent it's uh it's round at the bottom...}}</ref>

=== Syllabic structure ===
A [[syllable]] requires a vowel (or diphthong or [[triphthong]]) to appear in the middle. All consonants can appear at the initial position. The consonants {{angle bracket|p, t, k}} and {{angle bracket|m, n, ng}} (and some consider {{angle bracket|h}}) may appear at the end of a syllable. Therefore, it is possible to have syllables such as {{angle bracket|ngiau}} ("(to) tickle") and {{angle bracket|thng}} ("soup").

=== Tone sandhi ===
[[File:Taiwanese Hokkien Tone Sandhi 01.svg|thumbnail|right|Schema of the tone sandhi rules in Taiwanese.]]
Taiwanese has extremely extensive [[tone sandhi]] (tone-changing) rules: in an utterance, only the last syllable pronounced is not affected by the rules.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://uegu.blogspot.com/2015/01/blog-post_16.html|script-title=zh:台語好多聲|trans-title=The Many Tones of Taiwanese|author=麻瓜先生|date=January 2015|quote={{lang|zh-tw|台語裡有個變調系統，細說分明需要時間，但最大的規則就是「最後一個字不要變！其他變變變！」}}|access-date=21 March 2019}}</ref> What an '[[utterance]]' (or '[[intonational phrase]]') is, in the context of this language, is an ongoing topic for linguistic research, but some general rules apply:<ref name="Lin2015">{{cite book|author=Philip T. Lin|title=Taiwanese Grammar: A Concise Reference|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QlExBwAAQBAJ|date=31 January 2015|publisher=Greenhorn Media|isbn=978-0-9963982-1-3}}</ref>

The following syllables are unaffected by tone sandhi:
* The final syllable in a [[sentence (linguistics)|sentence]], [[noun]] (including single syllable nouns, but not [[pronoun]]s), number, time phrase (i.e., today, tomorrow, etc.), spatial [[preposition]] (i.e., on, under), or [[question word]] (i.e., who, what, how).
* The syllable immediately preceding the [[possessive particle]] 的 (ê) or a neutralized tone. In POJ, this is the syllable before a double hyphen, e.g., 王先生 (Ông--sian-siⁿ)
* Some common [[Grammatical aspect|aspect]] markers: 了 (liáu), 好 (hó), 完 (oân), 煞 (soah)

==== Normal tone sandhi ====
The following rules, listed in the traditional pedagogical mnemonic order, govern the pronunciation of tone on each of the syllables affected (that is, all but those described according to the rules listed above):
* If the original tone number is '''5''', pronounce it as tone number '''3''' ([[Quanzhou]]/Taipei speech) or '''7''' ([[Zhangzhou]]/Tainan speech).
* If the original tone number is '''7''', pronounce it as tone number '''3'''.
* If the original tone number is '''3''', pronounce it as tone number '''2'''.
* If the original tone number is '''2''', pronounce it as tone number '''1'''.
* If the original tone number is '''1''', pronounce it as tone number '''7'''.
* If the original tone number is '''8''' and the final consonant is not '''h''' (that is, it is '''p''', '''t''', or '''k'''), pronounce it as tone number '''4'''.
* If the original tone number is '''4''' and the final consonant is not '''h''' (that is, it is '''p''', '''t''', or '''k'''), pronounce it as tone number '''8'''.
* If the original tone number is '''8''' and the final consonant is '''h''', pronounce it as tone number '''3'''.
* If the original tone number is '''4''' and the final consonant is '''h''', pronounce it as tone number '''2'''.

An example of the normal tone sandhi rule is:

: 老老 lao lao: 7 + 7 = 7 + 3
: 拍拍 phah phah: 4 + 4 = 2 + 4

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ Normal tone sandhi (IPA)<!--reversed Chao letters are IPA per the Report of the Kiel Convention-->
|-
! Tone<br>number !! Sandhi !! Taipei !!Tainan 
|-
| 5 || {{tone superscript|tang5⁻3 / tang5⁻7}} || {{IPA|[taŋ˨˦꜔꜖]}} || {{IPA|[taŋ˨˦꜕]}} 
|-
| 7 || {{tone superscript|tang7⁻3}} || {{IPA|[taŋ˧꜔꜖]}} || {{IPA|[taŋ˨꜖]}}
|-
| 3 || {{tone superscript|tang3⁻2}} || {{IPA|[taŋ˧˩꜒꜖]}} || {{IPA|[taŋ˩꜒꜔]}}
|-
| 2 || {{tone superscript|tang2⁻1}} || {{IPA|[taŋ˥˩꜒]}} || {{IPA|[taŋ˥˧꜓]}}
|-
| 1 || {{tone superscript|tang1⁻7}} || {{IPA|[taŋ˥꜔]}} || {{IPA|[taŋ˦꜕]}}
|-
| rowspan="2" | 8
| {{tone superscript|tak8⁻4}} || {{IPA|[tak˦꜔꜕]}} || {{IPA|[tak˥꜕꜖]}}
|-
| {{tone superscript|tah8⁻3}} || {{IPA|[taʔ˦꜔꜖]}} || {{IPA|[taʔ˥꜖]}}
|-
| rowspan="2" | 4
| {{tone superscript|tak4⁻8}} || {{IPA|[tak˧˨꜓]}} || {{IPA|[tak˨˩꜒]}}
|-
| {{tone superscript|tah4⁻2}} || {{IPA|[taʔ˧˨꜒꜖]}} || {{IPA|[taʔ˨˩꜒꜔]}}
|}

==== Double tone sandhi ====
There are a number of a single syllable words that undergo double tone sandhi, that is, they follow the tone change rule twice and are pronounced according to the second tone change. These syllables are almost always a 4th tone ending in '''-h''', and include the words 欲 (beh), 佮 (kah), 閣 (koh), 才 (chiah), as well as the 3rd tone verb 去 khì. As a result of following the tone change rule twice, these syllables are all pronounced as tone number '''1'''.

:{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ Double tone sandhi (IPA)<!--reversed Chao letters are IPA per the Report of the Kiel Convention-->
|-
! Tone<br>number !! Sandhi !! Taipei !!Tainan 
|-
| 4 || kah⁴⁻¹ || {{IPA|[kaʔ˧˨꜒]}} ||  {{IPA|[kaʔ˨˩꜓]}}
|-
| 3 || khi³⁻¹ || {{IPA|[kʰi˧˩꜒]}} || {{IPA|[kʰi˩꜓]}}
|}

==== Before the -á suffix ====
{{Wiktionary pipe|仔#Usage notes|the rules for tone sandhi before '仔' (-á) with examples}}
Apart from the normal tone sandhi rules described above, there are two special cases where a different set of tone sandhi apply.<ref>[https://aclweb.org/anthology/Y/Y05/Y05-1011.pdf Iunn Un-gian. "A Study on Implementation of Southern-Min Taiwanese Tone Sandhi System." (2005).]</ref> In a noun with the noun [[suffix]] '{{linktext|lang=zh|仔}}' ({{linktext|á}}), the penultimate syllable is governed by the following rules:
* If the original tone number is '''5''', pronounce it as tone number '''7'''.
* If the original tone number is '''7''', pronounce it as tone number '''7'''.
* If the original tone number is '''2''' or '''3''', pronounce it as tone number '''1'''.
* If the original tone number is '''1''', pronounce it as tone number '''7'''.(same as normal)
* If the original tone number is '''8''' and final consonant is not '''h''' (that is, it is '''p''', '''t''', or '''k'''), pronounce it as tone number '''4'''.(same as normal)
* If the original tone number is '''4''' and final consonant is not '''h''' (that is, it is '''p''', '''t''', or '''k'''), pronounce it as tone number '''8'''.(same as normal)
* If the original tone number is '''8''' and final consonant is '''h''', pronounce it as tone number '''7'''.
* If the original tone number is '''4''' and final consonant is '''h''', pronounce it as tone number '''1'''. (same as double)

:{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ Tone sandhi before -á (IPA)<!--reversed Chao letters are IPA per the Report of the Kiel Convention-->
|-
! Tone<br>number !! Sandhi !! Taipei !!Tainan 
|-
| 5 || tang⁵⁻⁷ || {{IPA|[taŋ˨˦꜔]}} ||  {{IPA|[taŋ˨˦꜕]}} 
|-
| 7 || tang⁷⁻⁷ || {{IPA|[taŋ˧꜔]}} || {{IPA|[taŋ˨꜕]}}
|-
| 3 || tang³⁻¹ || {{IPA|[taŋ˧˩꜒]}} || {{IPA|[taŋ˩꜓]}}
|-
| 2 || tang²⁻¹ || {{IPA|[taŋ˥˩꜒]}} || {{IPA|[taŋ˥˧꜓]}}
|-
| 1 || tang¹⁻⁷ || {{IPA|[taŋ˥꜔]}} || {{IPA|[taŋ˦꜕]}}
|-
|rowspan=2| 8 || tak⁸⁻⁴ || {{IPA|[tak˦꜔꜕]}} || {{IPA|[tak˥꜕꜖]}}
|-
| tah⁸⁻⁷ || {{IPA|[taʔ˦꜔]}} || {{IPA|[taʔ˥꜕]}}
|-
|rowspan=2| 4 || tak⁴⁻⁸ || {{IPA|[tak˧˨꜓]}} ||  {{IPA|[tak˨˩꜒]}}
|-
| tah⁴⁻¹ || {{IPA|[taʔ˧˨꜒]}} || {{IPA|[taʔ˨˩꜓]}}
|}

==== In triplicated adjectives ====
Finally, in the case of a single-syllable adjective [[triplication]] (for added emphasis), the first syllable is governed by the following rules (the second syllable follows the normal tone sandhi rules above):
* If the original tone number is '''5''', pronounce it as tone number '''5'''.
* If the original tone number is '''7''', pronounce it as tone number '''1'''.
* If the original tone number is '''3''', pronounce it as tone number '''2''' (same as normal).
* If the original tone number is '''2''', pronounce it as tone number '''1''' (same as normal).
* If the original tone number is '''1''', pronounce it as tone number '''5'''.
* If the original tone number is '''8''' and the final consonant is not '''h''' (that is, it is '''p''', '''t''', or '''k'''), pronounce it as tone number '''4''' (same as normal).
* If the original tone number is '''4''' and the final consonant is not '''h''' (that is, it is '''p''', '''t''', or '''k'''), pronounce it as tone number '''8''' (same as normal).
* If the original tone number is '''8''' and the final consonant is '''h''', pronounce it as tone number '''5'''.
* If the original tone number is '''4''' and the final consonant is '''h''', pronounce it as tone number '''2''' (same as normal).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAplvoyF_lA&t=206s|title=Taiwanese - Pronunciation 5 - Tone Change Rules|date=1 February 2016|via=YouTube}}</ref>

:{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ Triplicated tone sandhi (IPA)<!--reversed Chao letters are IPA per the Report of the Kiel Convention-->
|-
! Tone<br>number !! Sandhi !! Taipei !!Tainan 
|-
| 5 || tang⁵⁻⁵ || {{IPA|[taŋ˨˦꜕꜓]}} || {{IPA|[taŋ˨˦꜕꜓]}} 
|-
| 7 || tang⁷⁻¹ || {{IPA|[taŋ˧꜒]}} || {{IPA|[taŋ˨꜓]}}
|-
| 3 || tang³⁻² || {{IPA|[taŋ˧˩꜒꜖]}} || {{IPA|[taŋ˩꜒꜔]}}
|-
| 2 || tang²⁻¹ || {{IPA|[taŋ˥˩꜒]}} || {{IPA|[taŋ˥˧꜓]}}
|-
| 1 || tang¹⁻⁵ || {{IPA|[taŋ˥꜕꜓]}} || {{IPA|[taŋ˦꜕꜓]}}
|-
|rowspan=2| 8 || tak⁸⁻⁴ || {{IPA|[tak˦꜔꜕]}} || {{IPA|[tak˥꜕꜖]}}
|-
| tah⁸⁻⁵ || {{IPA|[taʔ˦꜕꜓]}} || {{IPA|[taʔ˥꜕꜓]}}
|-
|rowspan=2| 4 || tak⁴⁻⁸ || {{IPA|[tak˧˨꜓]}} || {{IPA|[tak˨˩꜒]}}
|-
| tah⁴⁻² || {{IPA|[taʔ˧˨꜒꜖]}} || {{IPA|[taʔ˨˩꜒꜔]}}
|}

See {{harvp|Tiuⁿ|2001}}, {{harvp|Chiung|2003}} and the work of Robert L. Cheng (鄭良偉; Tēⁿ Liông-úi)<ref>{{cite web |date=2003 |publisher=Center for Chinese Studies, University of Hawaii |title=Robert L. Cheng |url=https://www.chinesestudies.hawaii.edu/community/faculty/cheng_robert.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070624085539/https://www.chinesestudies.hawaii.edu/community/faculty/cheng_robert.html |archive-date=2007-06-24}}</ref> for modern linguistic approaches to tones and tone sandhi in Taiwanese.

== Lexicon ==
{{see also|Hokkien#Vocabulary}}
Modern linguistic studies (by Robert L. Cheng and Chin-An Li, for example) estimate that most (75% to 90%) Taiwanese [[word]]s have [[cognate]]s in other Sinitic languages. [[False friend]]s do exist; for example, ''cháu'' ({{Lang|zh-tw|走}}) means "to run" in Taiwanese, whereas the [[Mandarin Chinese|Mandarin]] cognate, ''zǒu'', means "to walk". Moreover, cognates may have different [[Part of speech|lexical categories]]; for example, the [[morpheme]] ''phīⁿ'' ({{Lang|zh-tw|鼻}}) means not only "nose" (a noun, as in Mandarin ''bí'') but also "to smell" (a verb, unlike Mandarin).

Among the apparently cognate-less words are many basic words with properties that contrast with similar-meaning words of pan-Chinese derivation. Often the former group lacks a standard Han character, and the words are variously considered colloquial, intimate, vulgar, uncultured, or more concrete in meaning than the pan-Chinese synonym. Some examples: ''lâng'' ({{Lang|zh-tw|人}} or {{Lang|zh-tw|儂}}, person, concrete) vs. ''jîn'' (人, person, abstract); ''{{linktext|cha-bó͘}}'' ({{linktext|查某}}, woman) vs. ''lú-jîn'' (女人, woman, literary). Unlike the [[English language#Vocabulary|English Germanic/Latin contrast]], however, the two groups of Taiwanese words cannot be as strongly attributed to the influences of two disparate linguistic sources.

Extensive contact with the [[Japanese language]] has left a legacy of Japanese [[loanwords]], with 172 recorded in the Ministry of Education's ''[[Dictionary of Frequently-Used Taiwan Minnan]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://twblg.dict.edu.tw/holodict_new/index/fulu_wailaici.jsp |script-title=zh:臺灣閩南語常用詞辭典-外來詞 |year=2011 |trans-title=Dictionary of Frequently-Used Taiwan Minnan - Loanwords |publisher=Ministry of Education, R.O.C. |language=zh |access-date=8 July 2011}}</ref> Although a very small percentage of the vocabulary, their usage tends to be high-frequency because of their relevance to modern society and popular culture. Examples are: ''o͘-tó͘-bái'' from {{nihongo4||オートバイ|ōtobai|"autobike"/motorcycle}} and ''pháng'' from {{nihongo4||{{linktext|パン}}|pan|"[[bread]]", itself a loanword from [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]]}}. [[Grammatical particle]]s borrowed from Japanese, notably ''te̍k'' from {{nihongo4||的|teki}} and ''ka'' from {{nihongo4||か|ka}}, show up in the Taiwanese of older speakers.

Whereas Mandarin attaches a syllabic suffix to the singular pronoun to make a [[collective]] form, Taiwanese pronouns are collectivized through [[nasalization]]. For example, ''i'' (he/she/it) and ''goá'' (I) become ''in'' (they) and ''goán'' (we), respectively. The ''-n'' thus represents a subsyllabic [[morpheme]]. Like all other [[varieties of Chinese]], Taiwanese does not have true grammatical [[plural]]s.

Unlike English, Taiwanese has two [[first person plural|first-person plural]] pronouns. This distinction is called [[Clusivity|inclusive]], which includes the [[Interlocutor (linguistics)|addressee]], and exclusive, which excludes the addressee. Thus, ''goán'' means ''we excluding you'', while ''lán'' means ''we including you'' (similar to [[pluralis auctoris]]). The inclusive ''lán'' may be used to express politeness or solidarity, as in the example of a speaker asking a stranger "Where do we live?" while implicitly asking "Where do ''you'' live?".

== Syntax ==
{{see also|Hokkien#Grammar}}
{{listen|filename=Tai JintianDaoJiaKanWo.ogg|title=Kin-á-ji̍t hit ê cha-bó͘ gín-á lâi góan tau khòaⁿ góa.|description=An audio sample for a simple sentence, meaning "Today that little girl came to our house to see me".}}
The [[syntax]] of Taiwanese is similar to southern Sinitic languages such as [[Hakka Chinese|Hakka]] and [[Yue Chinese|Yue]]. The [[subject–verb–object]] sequence is typical as in, for example, [[Mandarin Chinese|Mandarin]], but [[subject–object–verb]] or the [[passive voice]] (with the sequence [[object–subject–verb]]) is possible with particles. Take a simple sentence for example: 'I hold you.' The words involved are: ''goá'' ('I' or 'me'), ''phō'' ('to hold'), ''lí'' ('you').
* Subject–verb–object (typical sequence): The sentence in the typical sequence would be: ''Goá phō lí.'' ('I hold you.')
* Subject–''kā''–object–verb: Another sentence of roughly equivalent meaning is ''Goá kā lí phō'', with the slight connotation of 'I take you and hold' or 'I get to you and hold'.
* Object–''hō͘''–subject–verb (the passive voice): Then, ''Lí hō͘ goá phō'' means the same thing but in the [[passive voice]], with the connotation of 'You allow yourself to be held by me' or 'You make yourself available for my holding'.

The word ''hō͘'' also has other uses, such as to introduce an embedded clause: ''Goá hō͘ lí chúi lim'' ('I give water for you to drink': ''chúi'' means 'water'; ''lim'' is 'to drink').

== Scripts and orthographies ==
{{Main|Written Hokkien}}

[[File:Holo bunhak chokphin.JPG|thumb|right|A selection of literary works (original and translated) in Taiwanese, in several orthographies.]]

Until the late 19th century, Taiwanese speakers wrote mostly in [[Classical Chinese]],{{sfnp|Klöter|2005|p=29}} although songbooks using [[Chinese characters|Han characters]] are attested from the 1820s.{{sfnp|Klöter|2005|p=71-73}} Among many systems of writing Taiwanese using Latin characters, the most used is called [[Pe̍h-ōe-jī]] (POJ) and was developed in the 19th century, while the [[Taiwanese Romanization System]] (Tâi-lô) has been officially promoted since 2006 by Taiwan's [[Ministry of Education (Republic of China)|Ministry of Education]]. (For additional romanized systems, see references in "Orthography in Latin characters", below.) Nonetheless, Taiwanese speakers nowadays most commonly write in Mandarin, though many of the same characters are also used to write Taiwanese.

=== Han characters ===
In most cases, Taiwanese speakers write using the [[writing system|script]] called [[Han characters]] as in Mandarin, although there are a number of special characters which are unique to Taiwanese and which are sometimes used in informal writing. Where Han characters are used, they are not always etymological or genetic; the borrowing of similar-sounding or similar-meaning characters is a common practice. Bilingual speakers of both Mandarin and Taiwanese sometimes attempt to represent the sounds by adopting similar-sounding Mandarin Han characters. For example, the Han characters of the [[Profanity|vulgar slang]] 'khoàⁿ sáⁿ-siâu' ({{linktext|lang=zh|看|三小}}, substituted for the etymologically correct {{linktext|lang=zh|看|啥潲}}, meaning 'What the hell are you looking at?') has very little meaning in Mandarin and may not be readily understood by a Taiwanese monolingual, as knowledge of Mandarin character readings is required to fully decipher it.

In 2007, the [[Ministry of Education (Republic of China)|Ministry of Education]] in Taiwan published the first list of [[Taiwanese Southern Min Recommended Characters]], a list of 300 Han characters standardized for the use of writing Taiwanese and implemented the teaching of them in schools.<ref>[https://www.nownews.com/2007/05/30/327-2104243.htm 教育部公布閩南語300字推薦用字　卡拉OK用字也被選用 (Ministry of Education in Taiwan announces 300 recommended Hokkien words, Karaoke words are also selected)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724212916/https://www.nownews.com/2007/05/30/327-2104243.htm |date=24 July 2011 }}; [https://www.edu.tw/mandr/news.aspx?news_sn=707&pages=6 「臺灣閩南語推薦用字（第1批）」已公布於網站，歡迎各界使用 (Announcement of recommended words for Taiwanese Hokkien)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718144143/https://www.edu.tw/mandr/news.aspx?news_sn=707&pages=6 |date=18 July 2011 }}</ref> In 2008, the ministry published a second list of 100 characters, and in 2009 added 300 more, giving a total of 700 standardized characters used to write uniquely Taiwanese words. With increasing literacy in Taiwanese, there are currently more Taiwanese online bloggers who write Taiwanese online using these standardized Chinese characters. Han characters are also used by Taiwan's Hokkien literary circle for Hokkien poets and writers to write literature or poetry in Taiwanese.

=== Orthography in Latin characters ===
[[Image:Kauhoe.jpg|thumb|right|An issue of the ''[[Taiwan Church News]]'', first published by Presbyterian missionaries in 1885. This was the first printed newspaper in Taiwan, and was written in Taiwanese, in the Latin orthography Pe̍h-ōe-jī.]]

There are several Latin-based orthographies, the oldest being [[Pe̍h-ōe-jī]] (POJ, meaning "vernacular writing"), developed in the 19th century. [[Taiwanese Romanization System]] (Tâi-ôan lô-má-jī, Tâi-lô) and [[Taiwanese Language Phonetic Alphabet]] (TLPA) are two later adaptations of POJ. Other 20th-century innovations include [[Daighi tongiong pingim]] (DT), [[Ganvsig daiuuan bhanlam ghiw tongiong pingimv]] (GDT), [[Modern Literal Taiwanese]] (MLT), [[Simplified MLT]] (SMLT), [[Phofsit Daibuun]] (PSDB). The last four employ [[Tone (linguistics)|tonal]] [[spelling]] to indicate tone without use of [[diacritic]] symbols, but letters instead.

In POJ, the traditional list of letters is
:a b ch chh e g h i j k kh l m n ng o o͘ p ph s t th (ts) u
Twenty-four in all, including the obsolete {{angle bracket|ts}}, which was used to represent the modern {{angle bracket|ch}} at some places. The additional necessities are the nasal symbol {{angle bracket|ⁿ}}&nbsp; (superscript {{angle bracket|n}}; the uppercase form {{angle bracket|<sup>N</sup>}} is sometimes used in [[all caps]] texts,<ref>Tè Khái-sū (1999) [https://archive.org/details/Tpsurvey Writing Latinized Taiwanese Languages with Unicode]</ref> such as book titles or section headings), and the tonal [[diacritic]]s.
POJ was developed first by [[Presbyterian]] [[missionaries]] and later by the indigenous [[Presbyterian Church in Taiwan]]; they have been active in promoting the language since the late 19th century. Recently there has been an increase in texts using a mixed orthography of Han characters and romanization, although these texts remain uncommon.

In 2006, the [[National Languages Committee]] (Ministry of Education, Republic of China) proposed its [[Taiwanese Romanization System]] (Tâi-ôan Lô-má-jī pheng-im, Tâi-Lô). This alphabet reconciles two orthographies, TLPA and POJ.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://tlh.de-han.org/untong/2006/0929TaiLo.pdf|title=臺灣閩南語羅馬字拼音方案 (Orthographic system for the Minnan language in Taiwan, 'Tâi-ôan Lô-má-jī')}}</ref> The changes for the consonants involved using {{angle bracket|ts}} for POJ's {{angle bracket|ch}} (reverting to the orthography in the 19th century), and {{angle bracket|tsh}} for {{angle bracket|chh}}. For the vowels, {{angle bracket|o͘}} could optionally be represented as {{angle bracket|oo}}. The nasal mark {{angle bracket|ⁿ}} could also be represented optionally as {{angle bracket|nn}}. The rest of the alphabet, most notably the use of diacritics to mark the tones, appeared to keep to the POJ tradition. One of the aims of this compromise was to curb any increase of 'market share' for Daighi tongiong pingim/Tongyong Pinyin.<ref>[https://203.64.42.21/TG/khinhoaN/other/TLsoatthiap.pdf 教育部國語推行委員會: 關於閩南語拼音整合工作相關問題說帖 (National Languages Committee: On the integration of Minnan orthographies), 2006-10-16] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071128050052/https://203.64.42.21/TG/khinhoaN/other/TLsoatthiap.pdf |date=28 November 2007 }}</ref> It is unclear whether the community will adopt this new agreement.

=== Orthographies in kana and in bopomofo ===
[[Image:Japanese-Taiwanese Dictionary.jpg|thumb|right|Japanese–Taiwanese Dictionary, using the orthography in kana]]
{{Main|Taiwanese kana|Taiwanese Phonetic Symbols}}
There was an orthography of Taiwanese based on the [[Kana|Japanese kana]] during [[Taiwan under Japanese rule|Japanese rule]]. The Kuomintang government also tried to introduce an orthography in [[bopomofo]].

=== Comparison of orthographies ===
Here the different orthographies are compared:
{{Hokkien phonetic table}}

=== Computing ===
[[File:Pa-khek-le Kau-hoe.jpg|thumb|right|Pe̍h-ōe-jī inscription at a church in [[Tainan|Tâi-lâm]] commemorating [[Thomas Barclay (missionary)|Thomas Barclay]].]]

Many [[keyboard layout]]s and [[Chinese input methods for computers|input methods]] for entering either Latin or Han characters in Taiwanese are available. Some of them are free of charge, and some are commercial.

The [[Min Nan]] dialect group is registered per {{IETF RFC|3066}} as [https://www.iana.org/assignments/lang-tags/zh-min-nan zh-min-nan].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.evertype.com/standards/iso639/iana-lang-assignments.html|title=Evertype|website=www.evertype.com}}</ref> Taiwanese Min Nan can be represented as 'zh-min-nan-TW'.

When writing Taiwanese in Han characters, some writers create 'new' characters when they consider it is impossible to use directly or borrow existing ones; this corresponds to similar practices in character usage in [[Written Cantonese|Cantonese]], [[chu nom|Vietnamese chữ nôm]], [[Hanja|Korean hanja]] and [[Kanji|Japanese kanji]]. These are usually not encoded in [[Unicode]] (or the corresponding ISO/IEC 10646: [[Universal Character Set]]), thus creating problems in computer processing.

All Latin characters required by Pe̍h-ōe-jī can be represented using [[Unicode]] (or the corresponding ISO/IEC 10646: [[Universal character set]]), using precomposed or combining (diacritics) characters.

{{Main|O͘}}
Prior to June 2004, the vowel {{IPA|[ɔ]}} akin to but more open than ⟨o⟩, written with a 'dot above right', was not encoded. The usual workaround was to use the (stand-alone; spacing) character '[[Interpunct|middle dot]]' (U+00B7, ⟨·⟩) or, less commonly, the combining character 'dot above' (U+0307). As these are far from ideal, since 1997, proposals have been submitted to the ISO/IEC [[working group]] in charge of ISO/IEC 10646 &ndash; namely, [https://web.archive.org/web/20070628163947/https://anubis.dkuug.dk/JTC1/SC2/wg2/ ISO/IEC JTC1/SC2/WG2] &ndash; to encode a new combining character 'dot above right'. This is now officially assigned to U+0358 (see documents [https://www.evertype.com/standards/la/taioan.html N1593], [https://web.archive.org/web/20070311082219/https://anubis.dkuug.dk/JTC1/SC2/WG2/docs/n2507 N2507], [https://web.archive.org/web/20060928065416/https://anubis.dkuug.dk/JTC1/SC2/WG2/docs/n2628 N2628],
[https://std.dkuug.dk/jtc1/sc2/wg2/docs/n2699 N2699], and [https://std.dkuug.dk/JTC1/sc2/wg2/docs/N2770r.pdf N2770]). Font support has followed: for example, in [[Charis SIL]].

== Sociolinguistics ==
=== Regional variations ===
[[File:Taiwanese Hokkien Map.svg|thumb|right|Distribution of Taiwanese:<ref>{{cite journal |author=Ang Ui-jin |author-link=Ang Ui-jin | script-title = zh:台灣的語種分布與分區 |title=Táiwān de yǔzhǒng fēnbù yǔ fēnqū |trans-title=The Distribution and Regionalization of Varieties in Taiwan | publisher = [[Academia Sinica]] |year=2013 |journal=Language and Linguistics |volume=14 |issue=2 |pages=315–369|language=zh-hant |url=https://www.ling.sinica.edu.tw/Files/LL/Docments/Journals/14.2/LL14.2-04-Ang%20121227.pdf}} Map 5, p. 355.</ref>
{{legend|#ff8080|Quanzhou dialect predominant}}
{{legend|#8080ff|Zhangzhou dialect predominant}}
{{legend|#ff80ff|Both Quanzhou and Zhangzhou dialects}}
]]
<!--[[File:Taiwanese Hokkien subdialects map.png|thumb|A map of the different accents found in Taiwanese Hokkien (the coastal accent is incorrectly labelled).]]-->

The [[Prestige (sociolinguistics)|prestige variant]] of Taiwanese Hokkien is the southern speech found in [[Tainan]] and [[Kaohsiung]]. Other major variants are the northern speech, the central speech (near [[Taichung]] and the port town of [[Lukang, Changhua|Lukang]]), and the northern (northeastern) coastal speech (dominant in [[Yilan County, Taiwan|Yilan]]).

The distinguishing feature of the coastal speech is the use of the vowel {{angle bracket|uiⁿ}} in place of {{angle bracket|ng}}. The northern speech is distinguished by the absence of the [[#Tones|8th tone]], and some vowel exchanges (for example, {{angle bracket|i}} and {{angle bracket|u}}, {{angle bracket|e}} and {{angle bracket|oe}}). The central speech has an additional vowel {{IPA|[ɨ]}} or {{IPA|[ø]}} between {{angle bracket|i}} and {{angle bracket|u}}, which may be represented as {{angle bracket|ö}}. There are also a number of other pronunciation and lexical differences between the Taiwanese variants; the online Ministry of Education dictionary specifies these to a resolution of eight regions on Taiwan proper, in addition to [[Kinmen]] and [[Penghu]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://twblg.dict.edu.tw/holodict_new/index/fulu_fangyan_level2.jsp?condition=cuankho|script-title=zh:方言差"語音差異表|trans-title=Table of Pronunciation Differences|year=2011|work=臺灣閩南語常用詞辭典 |publisher=Ministry of Education, R.O.C.|language=zh|access-date=8 July 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://twblg.dict.edu.tw/holodict_new/index/fulu_fangyan_level2.jsp?condition=cuankho_p|script-title=zh:方言差"詞彙差異表|trans-title=Table of Vocabulary Differences |year=2011|work=臺灣閩南語常用詞辭典|publisher=Ministry of Education, R.O.C.|language=zh|access-date=8 July 2011}}</ref>

Concerning the fifth (rising) tone in normal sandhi patterns, the Quanzhou/Coastal/Northern dialects change to the seventh (mid-level) tone, whereas the Zhangzhou/"Mixed"/Southern dialects change to the third (low falling) tone.

Certain new north–south distinctions have appeared in recent decades.{{citation needed|date=November 2016}}<ref>{{Cite journal|author1-link=Jack C. Richards|last=Richards|first=Jack C.|date=1977-01-01|title=Variation in Singapore English |jstor=43135170|journal=Interlanguage Studies Bulletin |volume=2|issue=2|pages=131–151}}</ref> The fourth and eighth tones tend to be reversed in the north and south.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://pages.ucsd.edu/~dkjordan/resources/PronouncingTaiwanese.html|title=Jordan: Pronouncing Romanized Taiwanese Hokkien |website=pages.ucsd.edu}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=November 2016}}

==== Quanzhou&ndash;Zhangzhou inclinations ====

[[Hokkien]] immigrants to Taiwan originated from [[Quanzhou]] prefecture (44.8%) and [[Zhangzhou]] prefecture (35.2%).{{citation needed|date=February 2015}} The original phonology from these regions was spread around Taiwan during the immigration process. With the advanced development of transportation and greater mobility of the Taiwanese population, Taiwanese speech has steered itself towards a mixture of Quanzhou and Zhangzhou speech, known as ''Chiang&ndash;Chôan-lām'' (漳泉濫, in Mandarin ''Zhāng&ndash;Quán làn'').{{sfnp|Ang|1987}} Due to different proportions of the mixture, some regions are inclined more towards the Quanzhou accent, while others are inclined more towards the Zhangzhou accent.

In general, the Quanzhou accent is more common along the coastal region and is known as the ''hái-kháu'' accent; the Zhangzhou accent is more common within the mountainous region of Taiwan and is known as the ''lāi-po͘'' accent. The regional variation within Taiwanese may be attributed to variations in the mixture of Quanzhou and Zhangzhou accents and/or lexicons. It ranges from Lukang accent (based on Quanzhou accent) on one end to the northern coastal [[Yilan City|Yilan]] accent (based on Zhangzhou accent) on another end. Tainan, Kaohsiung, and Taitung accents, on the other hand, are closest to the prestige accent.

'''{{center|Variations in Taiwanese Hokkien accents}}'''

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; margin:1em auto 1em auto"
|-
! style="background:#FFA000; color:black" | [[Quanzhou]] accent
|-
| style="background:#fc0;"| [[Lukang, Changhua|Lukang]]
|-
| style="background:#fc6;"| [[Penghu]], [[Taixi, Yunlin|Taixi]], [[Dajia District|Dajia]]—[[Budai, Chiayi|Budai]] coastal region (''hái-kháu'')
|-
| style="background:#fc9;"| [[Taipei]], [[Hsinchu]] (very similar to [[Tong'an, Xiamen|Tong'an]] accent)
|-
| style="background:#fcc;"| [[Chiayi]]—[[Kaohsiung]] surrounding
area, [[Taitung City|Taitung]] (similar to [[Amoy dialect|Amoy]] accent)
|-
| style="background:#fcf;"| [[Taichung Basin|Taichung]], [[Changhua City|Changhua]]—[[Yunlin County|Yunlin]] inland area, [[Taoyuan, Taiwan|North Taoyuan]] (''lāi-po͘'')
|-
| style="background:#c9f;"| [[Yilan City|Yilan]]
|-
! style= "background:#BBA1CB; color:black" | [[Zhangzhou]] accent
|}

==== Recent terminological distinctions ====
Recent research has found a need for new terminology of Taiwanese dialects, mainly because the Quanzhou and Zhangzhou dialects in Taiwan developed independently from those in Fujian. Thus, some scholars (i.e., Klöter, following {{lang|zh-tw|董忠司}}) have divided Taiwanese into five subdialects, based on geographic region:{{sfnp|Klöter|2005|p=4}}
#''hái-kháu'' ({{lang|zh-tw|海口腔}}): west coast, based on what was formerly referred to as Quanzhou dialect (represented by the Lukang accent)
#''phian-hái'' ({{lang|zh-tw|偏海腔}}): coastal (represented by the Nanliao ({{lang|zh-tw|南寮}}) accent)
#''lāi-po͘'' ({{lang|zh-tw|內埔腔}}): western inner plain, mountain regions, based on the Zhangzhou dialect (represented by the Yilan accent)
#''phian-lāi'' ({{lang|zh-tw|偏內腔}}): interior (represented by the [[Taibao]] accent)
#''thong-hêng'' ({{lang|zh-tw|通行腔}}): common accents (represented by the Taipei (spec. [[Datong District, Taipei|Datong]]) accent in the north and the Tainan accent in the south)
Both ''phian-hái'' and ''phian-lāi'' are intermediate dialects between ''hái-kháu'' and ''lāi-po͘'', these also known as ''thong-hêng'' ({{lang|zh-tw|通行腔}}) or "{{lang|zh-tw|不泉不漳}}". In some ways this mixed dialect is similar to the Amoy dialect, which itself is a blend of Quanzhou and Zhangzhou speech. The common dialect refers to that which can be heard on radio, television, official announcements, etc.{{citation needed|date=November 2016}}

=== Fluency ===
A great majority of people in Taiwan can speak both [[Mandarin Chinese|Mandarin]] and Hokkien, but the degree of fluency varies widely.<ref name="housing census" /> There are, however, small but significant numbers of people in Taiwan, mainly but not exclusively [[Hakka people|Hakka]] and [[waishengren|Mainlanders]], who cannot speak Taiwanese fluently. A shrinking percentage of the population, mainly people born before the 1950s, cannot speak Mandarin at all or learned to speak Mandarin later in life, though some of these speak Japanese fluently. Urban, working-class Hakkas, as well as younger, southern-Taiwan Mainlanders, tend to have better, even native-like fluency. Approximately half of the Hakka in Taiwan do speak Taiwanese. There are many families of mixed Hakka, Hoklo, and [[Taiwanese aborigines|Aboriginal]] bloodlines. There is, however, a large percentage of people in Taiwan, regardless of their background, whose ability to understand and read written Taiwanese is greater than their ability to speak it. This is the case with some singers who can sing Taiwanese songs with native-like proficiency but can neither speak nor understand the language.

Which variant is used depends strongly on the context, and in general, people will use Mandarin in more formal situations and Taiwanese in more informal situations. Taiwanese tends to get used more in [[rural]] areas, while Mandarin is used more in [[urban area|urban]] settings. Older people tend to use Taiwanese, while younger people tend to use Mandarin. In the broadcast media where Mandarin is used in many genres, [[soap opera]], [[variety show]]s, and even some news programs can also be found in Taiwanese.

=== Special literary and art forms ===

''Chhit-jī-á'' (literally, "that which has seven syllables") is a [[poetry|poetic]] [[meter (poetry)|meter]] where each verse has 7 syllables.

There is a special form of [[music]]al/[[drama]]tic performance ''koa-á-hì'': the [[Taiwanese opera]]; the subject matter is usually a [[history|historical event]]. A similar form ''pò͘-tē-hì'' ([[glove puppetry]]) is also unique and has been elaborated in the past two decades into impressive [[television|televised]] spectacles.

See [[Taiwanese cuisine]] for names of several local dishes.

===Bible translations===
{{See also|Bible translations into the languages of Taiwan#Taiwanese}}
[[File:Bibles in Taiwanese.jpg|thumb|right|A collection of translations of the Bible in Taiwanese. Top left, ''Today's Taiwanese'' version; top right, the Red-Cover Bible; bottom, Barclay's translation.]]

As with many other languages, the [[Chinese Bible Translations|translations of the Bible]] in Taiwan marked milestones in the standardization attempts of the language and its orthography.

The first translation of the Bible in Amoy or Taiwanese in the Pe̍h-ōe-jī orthography was by the first missionary to Taiwan, [[James Laidlaw Maxwell]], with the New Testament ''Lán ê Kiù-chú Iâ-so͘ Ki-tok ê Sin-iok'' published in 1873 and the Old Testament ''Kū-iok ê Sèng Keng'' in 1884.

[[File:Taiwanese Bible Chim-gian 1933.jpg|thumb|left|A copy of Barclay's Amoy translation, opened to the Proverbs.]]

The next translation of the Bible in Taiwanese or Amoy was by the missionary to Taiwan, [[Thomas Barclay (missionary)|Thomas Barclay]], carried out in Fujian and Taiwan.<ref>{{cite web |url = https://www.biblesociety-tw.org/native.htm |script-title=zh:本土聖經 |access-date=2008-07-14 |language=zh }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url = https://www32.ocn.ne.jp/~sunliong/lunwen-12j.htm |script-title=ja:書評『聖經－－台語漢字本』 |access-date=2008-07-14 |language=ja |url-status=dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080120005258/https://www32.ocn.ne.jp/~sunliong/lunwen-12j.htm|archive-date=20 January 2008}}</ref> A New Testament translation was completed and published in 1916. The resulting work containing the Old and the New Testaments, in the [[Pe̍h-ōe-jī]] orthography, was completed in 1930 and published in 1933 as the {{ill|Amoy Romanized Bible|nan|Sin-kū-iok ê Sèng-keng}} ({{Lang-zh|c=|s=|t=|poj=Sin-kū-iok ê Sèng-keng|links=no}}). 2000 copies of the Amoy Romanized Bible were confiscated by the Taiwan Garrison from the Bible Society of Taiwan in 1975. This edition was later transliterated into Han characters and published as {{ill|Sèng-keng Tâi-gí Hàn-jī Pún|nan|Sèng-keng Tâi-gí Hàn-jī Pún}} ({{Lang-zh|c=|s=|t=聖經台語漢字本|labels=no|scase=}}) in 1996.<ref>{{cite web |url = https://tailo.fhl.net/Godspeak/Godspeak26.html |title=台語信望愛 - 4.1.4 《台語漢字本》|website=tailo.fhl.net |language=zh-TW }}</ref>

[[File:Ang-phoe Seng-keng te-571-bin.jpg|thumb|right|A page from the Red-Cover Bible]]
The Ko–Tân ([[Kerygma]]) Colloquial Taiwanese Version of the New Testament (''Sin-iok'') in Pe̍h-ōe-jī, also known as the {{Interlanguage link|Red Cover Bible|nan|Âng-phoê Sèng-keng|WD=}} ({{Lang-zh|c=|s=|t=|poj=Âng-phoê Sèng-keng|labels=no}}), was published in 1973 as an ecumenical effort between the Protestant [[Presbyterian Church in Taiwan]] and the Roman Catholic mission [[Maryknoll]]. This translation used a more modern vocabulary (somewhat influenced by Mandarin), and reflected the central Taiwan dialect, as the Maryknoll mission was based near [[Taichung|Tâi-tiong]]. It was soon confiscated by the Kuomintang government (which objected to the use of Latin orthography) in 1975.

A translation using the principle of [[Dynamic and formal equivalence|functional equivalence]], "{{ill|Today's Taiwanese Romanized Version|nan|Hiān-tāi Tâi-gú E̍k-pún}}" ({{Lang-zh|t=現代台語譯本|poj=Hiān-tāi Tâi-gú E̍k-pún|labels=no}}), containing only the New Testament, again in Pe̍h-ōe-jī, was published in 2008<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.peopo.org/chuniok/post/12934|title=現代台語新約羅馬字聖經 出版感謝e話 |website=www.peopo.org }}</ref> as a collaboration between the [[Presbyterian Church in Taiwan]] and the [[Bible Society in Taiwan]]; a parallel-text version with both Han-character and Pe̍h-ōe-jī orthographies was published in 2013.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://bstwn.org/bstwn/dm/10.pdf|title=現代台語新約附詩箴2013漢羅版}}</ref> A translation of the Old Testament following the same principle was completed and the whole Bible was published in 2021 as a parallel-text volume.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.biblesociety-tw.org/translation/Taiwanese.htm |title=台語聖經|website=www.biblesociety-tw.org|language=zh-TW}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=現代台語譯本 漢羅版(路得記) by bstwn |url=https://issuu.com/bstwn/docs/taiwanesebible |website=Issuu |date=3 August 2021 }}</ref>

Another translation using the principle of functional equivalence, "Common Taiwanese Bible" ({{Lang-zh|c=|s=|t=|poj=Choân-bîn Tâi-gí Sèng-keng|labels=no}}), with versions of Pe̍h-ōe-jī, Han characters and Ruby version (both Han characters and Pe̍h-ōe-jī) was published in 2015, available in printed and online.{{cn|date=February 2023}}

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Translation<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://bible.fhl.net/new/read.php?chap=3&sb=%25E7%25B4%2584&sc=3&skey=&ssn=1&VERSION26=ttvcl2021&VERSION28=tte&VERSION30=apskcl&VERSION32=bklcl&VERSION37=sgebklcl&sub1=%E7%89%88%E6%9C%AC%E5%B0%8D%E7%85%A7&strongflag=1&TABFLAG=1&nodic=&TAIU=0&maps=&tmp=&chineses=%E7%B4%84&chap=3|title=聖經閱讀|website=bible.fhl.net}}</ref>
![[Gospel of John|John]] [[John 3:16|3:16]]
|-
|1933 Taiwanese Bible Romanized Character Edition (Thomas Barclay)<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.lingshyang.com/bible/instpage.php?r=&w=100%25&h=800&url=www.lingshyang.com%2Fbible%2Fbible_rome%2Fbible_5.php |title=Taiwanese Bible Romanized Character Edition |access-date=2022-07-17 |archive-date=2020-06-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200627235638/https://www.lingshyang.com/bible/instpage.php?r=&w=100%25&h=800&url=www.lingshyang.com%2Fbible%2Fbible_rome%2Fbible_5.php |url-status=dead }}</ref>
|In-ūi Siōng-tè chiong to̍k-siⁿ ê Kiáⁿ siúⁿ-sù sè-kan, hō͘ kìⁿ-nā sìn I ê lâng bōe tîm-lûn, ōe tit-tio̍h éng-oa̍h; I thiàⁿ sè-kan kàu án-ni.
|-
|1973 Ko–Tân/Kerygma “Red Cover Bible” (Âng-phoê Sèng-keng)  
| Siōng-chú chiah-ni̍h thiàⁿ sè-kan-lâng, só͘-í chiah chiong I ê Ko͘-kiáⁿ siúⁿ-sù in, thang hō͘ só͘ ū sìn I ê lâng m̄-bián bia̍t-bông, lâi tit-tio̍h éng-seng.
|-
|1996 Taiwanese Bible Han Character Edition<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.lingshyang.com/bible//instpage.php?r=&w=100%&h=800&url=www.lingshyang.com/bible/taiwan_Bible/hb5.php|title=Taiwanese Bible Han Character Edition}}</ref>
|因為上帝將獨生的子賞賜世間，互見若信伊的人，𣍐沈淪，會得著永活，伊疼世間到按呢。
|-
|2013 ≈ 2021 Today’s Taiwanese Romanized Version (Hiān-tāi Tâi-gú E̍k-pún)
|Siōng-tè liân I to̍k-it ê Kiáⁿ to sù hō͘ sè-kan, beh hō͘ ta̍k ê sìn I ê lâng bián bia̍t-bông, hoán-tńg tit-tio̍h éng-oán ê oa̍h-miā, I chiah-ni̍h thiàⁿ sè-kan! 
|-
|2015 Common Taiwanese Bible" (Choân-bîn Tâi-gí Sèng-keng)
| Siōng-tè chiah-ni̍h thiàⁿ sè-kan, sīm-chì siúⁿ-sù to̍k-seⁿ Kiáⁿ, hō͘ só͘-ū sìn I ê lâng bē tîm-lûn, hoán-tńg ē tit tio̍h éng-oán ê oa̍h-miā. 
|}

=== Politics ===<!-- This section is linked from [[Taiwanese pop]] -->
[[File:Banning of POJ.gif|thumb|right|A decree (1955) banning the use of Pe̍h-ōe-jī, a Latin orthography for Taiwanese, in church.]]
Until the 1980s, the use of Taiwanese Hokkien, along with all [[Varieties of Chinese|varieties]] other than [[Taiwanese Mandarin|Mandarin]], was discouraged by the Kuomintang through measures such as banning its use in schools and limiting the amount of Taiwanese broadcast on radio and television. These restrictions were lifted by the 1990s, and the Taiwanese became an emblem of [[Taiwanese localization movement|localization]]. Mandarin remains the predominant language of education, but Taiwanese schools have a "mother tongue" language requirement which can be satisfied with students' choice of the mother tongue: Taiwanese, Hakka, or [[Formosan languages|indigenous languages]].

Although the use of Taiwanese Hokkien over Mandarin was historically part of the [[Taiwan independence movement]], the linkage between politics and language is not as strong as it once was. Some fluency in Taiwanese Hokkien is desirable for political office in Taiwan for both independence and unificationist politicians. At the same time, even some supporters of Taiwan's independence have played down its connection with the Taiwanese in order to gain the support of the [[waishengren|Mainlander]]s and [[Hakka people]].

[[James Soong]] restricted the use of Taiwanese Hokkien and other local tongues in broadcasting while serving as Director of the [[Government Information Office]] earlier in his career, but later became one of the first politicians of Mainlander origin to use it in semi-formal occasions.{{synthesis inline|date=August 2016}} Since then, politicians opposed to Taiwanese independence have used it frequently in rallies, even when they are not native speakers. Conversely, politicians who have traditionally been identified with Taiwan's independence have used Mandarin on formal occasions and semi-formal occasions such as press conferences. An example of the latter is former President [[Chen Shui-bian]], who uses Mandarin in all official state speeches but uses mainly Taiwanese in political rallies and some informal state occasions such as New Year greetings. The current [[President of Taiwan]] and of the ([[Democratic Progressive Party|DPP]]), [[Tsai Ing-wen]] has been criticized by her supporters for not using Taiwanese in speeches.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.newtaiwan.com.tw/bulletinview.jsp?bulletinid=80826 |access-date=12 October 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20210304195859/https://www.webcitation.org/5dPfuafUb?url=https://www.newtaiwan.com.tw/bulletinview.jsp%3Fbulletinid=80826 |archive-date=4 March 2021 |script-title=zh:蔡英文不說台語 高雄人涼了半截 |trans-title=Tsai Ing-wen doesn't speak Taiwanese; The people in Kaohsiung feel half-disappointed |language=zh}}</ref> Former President [[Ma Ying-jeou]] spoke in Taiwanese during his 2008 [[Double Ten Day]] speech when he was talking about the state of the [[Economy of Taiwan|economy in Taiwan]].

In the early 21st century, there are few differences in language usage between the [[Chinese unification|pro-unification]] leaning [[Pan-Blue Coalition]] and the [[Taiwan independence movement|independence]] leaning [[Pan-Green Coalition]]. Both tend to use Taiwanese at political rallies and sometimes in informal interviews, and both tend to use Mandarin at formal press conferences and official state functions. Both also tend to use more Mandarin in [[Northern Taiwan]] and more Taiwanese in [[Southern Taiwan]]. However, at official party gatherings (as opposed to both Mandarin-leaning state functions and Taiwanese-leaning party rallies), the DPP tends to use Taiwanese while KMT and [[PFP (Taiwan)|PFP]] tend to use Mandarin. The [[Taiwan Solidarity Union]], which advocates a strong line on Taiwan independence, tends to use Taiwanese even in formal press conferences. In speaking, politicians will frequently [[Code-switching|code switch]]. In writing, almost everyone uses [[written vernacular Chinese|vernacular Mandarin]] which is further from Taiwanese, and the use of semi-alphabetic writing or even [[Written Hokkien#Chinese characters|colloquial Taiwanese characters]] is rare.<ref>{{Cite thesis|first=Katsuhiro J. |last=Ota|date=2005 |title=An investigation of written Taiwanese |url=https://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/handle/10125/11520 |degree=MA|language=en-US|publisher=University of Hawaii at Manoa |hdl=10125/11520}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Mair|first=Victor |title=Taiwanese, Mandarin, and Taiwan's language situation |url=https://pinyin.info/readings/mair/taiwanese.html|access-date=2020-08-06|website=pinyin.info}}</ref>

In 2002, the Taiwan Solidarity Union, a party with about 10% of the [[Legislative Yuan]] seats at the time, suggested making Taiwanese Hokkien a second official language.<ref>{{cite news |last=Lin |first=Mei-chun |title=Hokkien should be given official status, says TSU |url=https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2002/03/10/0000127068 |work=Taipei Times|date=10 March 2002 |page=1 }}</ref> This proposal encountered strong opposition not only from Mainlander groups but also from Hakka and aboriginal groups who felt that it would slight their home languages, as well as others including [[Hoklo people|Hoklo]] who objected to the proposal on logistical grounds and on the grounds that it would increase ethnic tensions. Because of these objections, support for this measure is lukewarm among moderate Taiwan independence supporters, and the proposal did not pass.

In 2003, there was a controversy when parts of the civil service examination for judges were written in characters used only in Taiwanese Hokkien.<ref>{{cite news|author=Ko Shu-ling|title=Control Yuan sets rules for future examinations |page=2 |url=https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2004/09/20/2003203606 |work=Taipei Times|date=20 September 2004}}</ref> After strong objections, these questions were not used in scoring. As with the official-language controversy, objections to the use of Taiwanese came not only from Mainlander groups but also Hoklo, Hakka, and aborigines. The [[Control Yuan]] later created a rule that only allowed Standard Mandarin characters on civil service exams. According to public opinion surveys in 2008, more people supported making English a second official language than Taiwanese.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Gijsen, Johan |author2=Liu Yu-Chang  |chapter=Chapter 8: The Quest for a New Civic and Linguistic Identity: Mandarin and English Encroachment upon the Taiwanese Language |title=Critical Perspectives on Language and Discourse in the New World Order|editor1-last=Abdullah|editor1-first=Faiz Sathi|editor2-last=Abdullah|editor2-first=Mardziah Hayati|editor3-last=Hoon|editor3-first=Tan Bee|date=2008|publisher=Cambridge Scholars|location=Newcastle|isbn=9781847183408|page=156}}</ref>
{{further information|Languages of Taiwan}}

=== Mother tongue movement ===
[[Taiwanese localization movement|Taiwanization]] developed in the 1990s into a '[[mother tongue]] revival movement' aiming to save, preserve, and develop the local ethnic culture and language of Holo (Taiwanese), Hakka, and aborigines. The effort to [[Language revitalization|save declining languages]] has since allowed them to revive and flourish. In 1993, Taiwan became the first country in the world to implement the teaching of Taiwanese Hokkien in schools. By 2001, Taiwanese languages such as Taiwanese Hokkien, Hakka, and indigenous languages were taught in all Taiwanese schools.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nhu.edu.tw/~society/e-j/45/45-16.htm|author=許嘉文|date=15 March 2005|language=zh|script-title=zh:台灣鄉土教育發展史|trans-title=The education history of local Taiwanese languages}}</ref>{{failed verification|date=March 2016}}{{dubious|date=March 2016}} Since the 2000s, elementary school students are required to take a class in either Taiwanese, Hakka or aboriginal languages.{{sfnp|Lin|2002}}{{dubious|date=March 2016}} In junior high this is usually an available [[Course (education)#Elective and required courses|elective]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ey.gov.tw/AnnoucePage2.aspx|title=行政院全球資訊網|website=www.ey.gov.tw|access-date=2018-12-05}}</ref> Taiwan also has its own [[Taiwan literature movement|literary circle]] whereby Hokkien poets and writers compose poetry and literature in Taiwanese on a regular basis.

As a result of the mother tongue movement, Taiwan has emerged as a significant cultural hub for Hokkien in the world in the 21st century. It also plans to be the major export center for [[Hokkien culture]] worldwide in the 21st century.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.npf.org.tw/11/4118 |title=馬英九 {{!}} 馬蕭文化政策 {{!}} 國家政策研究基金會 {{!}} 公共政策的理性思辯與對話平台！|website=國家政策研究基金會|language=zh-TW|access-date=2018-12-05}}</ref>

=== Television ===
{{Expand Chinese|topic=cult|section=yes|date=August 2020}}

* [[Lady Rainicorn]] for ''[[Adventure Time]]'' broadcast by [[Cartoon Network (Taiwanese TV channel)|Cartoon Network Taiwan]] used Taiwanese Hokkien for [[Li Hanfei]] ({{lang|zh-tw|李涵菲}})

== Scholarship ==
Klöter's ''Written Taiwanese'' (cited below) has been described as "the most comprehensive English-language study of written Taiwanese".{{sfnp|Snow|2004|p=261}}

== See also ==
{{Portal|Taiwan|Languages}}
* [[Languages of Taiwan]]
* [[Min Nan Wikipedia]]
* [[Speak Hokkien Campaign]]
* [[Taiwanese literature movement]]
* [[:nan:Bân-lâm-gí Gí-giân Lêng-le̍k Jīn-chèng|Bân-lâm-gí Gí-giân Lêng-le̍k Jīn-chèng]] (Taiwanese Hokkien Test) {{in lang|nan}}

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

=== Words in native languages ===
{{notelist-ur}}

== References ==
=== Citations ===
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

=== Cited sources ===
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last=Ang |first=Ui-jin |author-link=Ang Ui-jin |script-title=zh:臺灣河佬語聲調研究 |year=1987 |edition=4 |publisher=自立晚報 |location = Taipei |language= zh-Hant |isbn=9789575960353 |oclc=813713530 }}
*{{cite journal|last=Chiung |first=Wi-vun Taiffalo |date=2003 |title=Tone Change in Taiwanese: Age and Geographic Factors |journal=University of Pennsylvania Working Papers in Linguistics |volume=8 |issue=1 |url=https://repository.upenn.edu/pwpl/vol8/iss1/5 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120303035733/https://uibun.twl.ncku.edu.tw/chuliau/lunsoat/english/tchange/tonechange-v.pdf |archive-date=3 March 2012 |url-status=dead }}
* {{cite book |last=Davidson |first=James W. |author-link=James W. Davidson |title = The Island of Formosa, Past and Present : history, people, resources, and commercial prospects : tea, camphor, sugar, gold, coal, sulphur, economical plants, and other productions |year=1903 |publisher=Macmillan |url = https://archive.org/details/islandofformosap00davi |location=London and New York |ol=6931635M |oclc=1887893 }}
* {{cite book |last = Klöter |first = Henning |title=Written Taiwanese |year = 2005 |publisher=Harrassowitz |location=Wiesbaden |isbn=9783447050937 }}
* {{cite book |last = Snow |first = D. |title=Cantonese as Written Language: The Growth of a Written Chinese Vernacular |year = 2004 |publisher=Hong Kong University Press |location=Hong Kong |isbn=9789622097094 }}
*{{cite book |last=Tiuⁿ |first=Jū-hông |year=2001 |trans-title=Principles of Pe̍h-ōe-jī or the Taiwanese Orthography: an introduction to its sound-symbol correspondences and related issues |script-title=zh:白話字基本論 : 臺語文對應&相關的議題淺說 |language=zh |place=Taipei |publisher=Crane |isbn=957-2053-07-8 }}
* {{cite book |last=Wu |first=Soli |author-link=:zh-min-nan:Ngô͘ Siú-lé |year=2000 |script-title=zh:國臺對照活用辭典 |trans-title=Mandarin-Taiwanese Comparative Living Dictionary |language=zh-TW, zh-min-nan |publisher=Yuan-Liou |location=Taipei |isbn=9789573240884 |oclc=45990089}}
{{refend}}

==Further reading==

===Books and other material===
(As English language material on Taiwanese learning is limited, Japanese and German books are also listed here.)
; English textbooks & dictionaries
* {{cite book |author=李勤岸 |trans-title=Harvard Taiwanese 101 |script-title=zh:哈佛臺語101 |translator-last1=Yeh |translator-first1=Chieh-Ting |translator-last2=Lee |translator-first2=Marian |publisher=開朗 |place=Tainan |year=2005 |isbn=9789868160811 |language=en,zh |type=paperback & CD }}
* Su-chu Wu, Bodman, Nicholas C.: Spoken Taiwanese with cassette(s), 1980/2001, {{ISBN|0-87950-461-7}} or {{ISBN|0-87950-460-9}} or {{ISBN|0-87950-462-5}}
*{{cite book |last=Campbell |first=William |author-link=William Campbell (missionary) |title=A Dictionary of the Amoy Vernacular, spoken throughout the prefectures of Chin-chiu, Chiang-chiu and Formosa |year=1913 |publisher=Taiwan Church Press |location=[[Tainan]] |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=pst.000072254844;view=1up;seq=28 |oclc=867068660}}
**{{cite book |last=Campbell |first=William |title=A Dictionary of the Amoy Vernacular, spoken throughout the prefectures of Chin-chiu, Chiang-chiu and Formosa |year=1923 |edition=2nd |orig-year=1913 |publisher=Fukuin Print. Co. |location=Yokohama |oclc=43655590 |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015056044533;view=1up;seq=1 |others=Preface by Thomas Barclay}} 
* Iâu Chèng-to: Cheng-soán Pe̍h-ōe-jī (Concise Colloquial Writing). Tainan, Taiwan: Jîn-kong (an imprint of the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan). 1992.
* Tân, K. T: A Chinese-English Dictionary: Taiwan Dialect. Taipei: Southern Materials Center. 1978.
* Maryknoll Language Service Center: English-Amoy Dictionary. Taichung, Taiwan: Maryknoll Fathers. 1979.

; Japanese publications
* Higuchi, Yasushi (樋口 靖 ''Higuchi Yasushi''): 台湾語会話, 2000, {{ISBN|4-497-20004-3}} (Good and yet concise introduction to the Taiwanese language in Japanese; CD: {{ISBN|4-497-20006-X}})
* Zhao, Yihua (趙 怡華 ''Zhào Yíhuá''): はじめての台湾語, 2003, {{ISBN|4-7569-0665-6}} (Introduction to Taiwanese [and Mandarin]; in Japanese).
* Zheng, Zhenghao (鄭 正浩 ''Zhèng Zhènghào''): 台湾語基本単語2000, 1996, {{ISBN|4-87615-697-2}} (Basic vocabulary in Taiwanese 2000; in Japanese).
* Zhao, Yihua (趙 怡華 ''Zhào Yíhuá''), Chen Fenghui (陳 豐惠 ''Chén Fēnghuì''), Kaori Takao (たかお かおり ''Takao Kaori''), 2006, 絵でわかる台湾語会話. {{ISBN|978-4-7569-0991-6}} (Conversations in Taiwanese [and Mandarin] with illustrations; in Japanese).
;Others
* Katharina Sommer, Xie Shu-Kai: Taiwanisch Wort für Wort, 2004, {{ISBN|3-89416-348-8}} (Taiwanese for travellers, in German. CD: {{ISBN|3-8317-6094-2}})

; Articles and other resources
*{{cite journal |last=LÎM |first=Chùn-io̍k |year=2014 |title=The Common Taiwanese Bible: A Means of Seeking to Affirm the Selfhood and Integrity of Taiwanese and Their Language |journal=Journal of Taiwanese Vernacular |volume=6 |number=2 |pages=106–9 |doi=10.6621/JTV.2014.0602.05}}
*{{cite web |last=Tan-Tenn |first=Henry H. |date=2001 |title=Taiwanese learning resources |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050418075331/https://lomaji.com/poj/faq/ITASA_2001_Resources.pdf |archive-date=2005-04-18 |url=https://lomaji.com/poj/faq/ITASA_2001_Resources.pdf}}

==External links==
{{InterWiki|code=zh-min-nan}}
; On the language
*{{cite web |last=Cannings |first=Michael |url=https://tailingua.com/ |title=Introducing the Taiwanese Language |website=Tailingua}}
* [https://johangijsen.blogspot.com/ Blog on the Taiwanese language and language education in Taiwan]
* {{cite web|url=https://www.pinyin.info/readings/mair/taiwanese.html|title=How to Forget Your Mother Tongue and Remember Your National Language|last=Mair|first=Victor H. |author-link=Victor H. Mair |date=2003 |publisher=University of Pennsylvania|access-date=2 July 2011}}
* [[wikt:Appendix:Sino-Tibetan Swadesh lists|Sino-Tibetan Swadesh lists]]

; Dictionaries
*{{cite web|script-title=zh:臺灣閩南語常用詞辭典 |trans-title=[[Dictionary of Frequently-Used Taiwan Minnan]] |url=https://twblg.dict.edu.tw/holodict_new/index.html |publisher=Ministry of Education, R.O.C. |date=2011 |language=zh}}
* {{cite web |author=Iûⁿ, Ún-giân |script-title=zh:台語-華語線頂辭典 |trans-title=Taiwanese-Mandarin Online Dictionary |language=nan-tw, zh, en |url=https://210.240.194.97/iug/Ungian/soannteng/chil/Taihoa.asp }}
* {{cite web |author=Iûⁿ, Ún-giân |url=https://210.240.194.97/TG/jitian/tgjt.asp |script-title=zh:台語線頂字典 |trans-title=Taiwanese Online Character Dictionary |language=zh}}
* {{cite web |script-title=zh:臺灣本土語言互譯及語音合成系統 |trans-title=Taiwanese languages translation and speech synthesis system |language=zh, nan-tw, hak |url=https://nlg.csie.ntu.edu.tw/systems/TWLLMT/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061008180132/https://nlg.csie.ntu.edu.tw/systems/TWLLMT/index.html |archive-date=8 October 2006}}
* {{cite web |website=Maryknoll Language Service Center |url=https://taiwanesedictionary.org/ |title=Maryknoll Taiwanese-English Dictionary and English-Amoy Dictionary|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327084043/https://taiwanesedictionary.org/|archive-date=2019-03-27}}

; Learning aids
* [https://taiwanesegrammar.wordpress.com/ Intermediate Taiwanese grammar (as a blog)]
* [https://taiwanesevocabulary.wordpress.com/ Taiwanese vocabulary: word of the day (blog)]
* [https://edu.ocac.gov.tw/lang/taiwanese/ Taiwanese teaching material]: Nursery rhymes and songs in Han characters and romanization w/ recordings in MP3
* [https://travlang.com/languages/cgi-bin/langchoice.cgi?page=main&lang1=english&lang2=holooe Travlang (language resources for travellers): Hō-ló-oē] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170518234153/https://travlang.com/languages/cgi-bin/langchoice.cgi?page=main&lang1=english&lang2=holooe |date=18 May 2017 }}
*[https://speaktaiwanese.com/spoken-hokkien/ ''Spoken Hokkien''] - a beginner's e-textbook, with audio, for English-speaking learners of conversational Taiwanese.
* {{cite web |url=https://daiwanway.dynip.com/ |title=Daiwanway - Tutorial, dictionary, and stories in Taiwanese. Uses a unique romanization system, different from Pe̍h-ōe-jī. Includes sound files |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070429232228/https://daiwanway.dynip.com/ |archive-date=2007-04-29}}

; Other
* [https://www.dmoz.org/World/Taiwanese/ Open Directory (dmoz): World: Taiwanese]
{{Sino-Tibetan languages}}
{{Languages of Taiwan}}
{{Min Chinese}}
{{Chinese language}}

[[Category:Languages of Taiwan]]
[[Category:Hokkien-language dialects]]
[[Category:Culture of Taiwan]]