Job Discussion Forums

[kaibri]

I'm not coming to Taiwan specifically to learn Mandarin, but since I have studied it for several years I would very much like to end up in a part of Taiwan where Mandarin is the primary language rather than Taiwanese. My friend from Taipei insists that Taipei is the only city to be in if I want daily exposure to Mandarin, but then my friend has a lot of Taipei pride and is always trying to convince me to go there (I'm not opposed to Taipei, just exploring all options). So where is the primary language Mandarin and where is it Taiwanese? Thanks for the info.

[eltbert]

I have only lived in Taipei but have also traveled to some other parts of Taiwan. I suppose Taipei isn't necessarily the only place to be when it comes to having daily exposure to Mandarin but it could well be the best place to learn the language. The majority of Taipei residents speak Mandarin as their first language and many (particularly the younger generation) speak only Mandarin and no other dialects.

There's a bit of an awkward "North/South divide" in the island in terms of linguistic orientation and a friend of mine who's a local once said that the further you go down the south, the more Taiwanese you'll hear. Having been to Kaosiung and Taichung, I am probably more inclined to think that there's some truth in that claim. Speak to a local in Manda in Taipei city and it's highly unlikely that s/he would respond to you in Taiwanese (Though there might be one or two Taiwanese phrases in his/her Manda speech). In Kaosiung, Yilan and Taichung, however, that isn't always the case. There are shopkeepers that aren't too happy to speak Manda and there were instances where some of them refrained from interacting with me altogether perhaps because I didn't look as if I could converse with them in their language.

My friend, who was born and raised in Taipei, speaks very little Taiwanese and she said she never realised that her Taiwanese was so poor and 'inadequate' until she was in university where her classmates from Southern Taiwan all spoke Taiwanese way better than she did. I'd hesitate to generalise here, but if you looked local enough the older generation in Southern regions would usually expect you to be at least capable of understanding some Taiwanese. Not surprisingly, my friend did run into some embarrassment when we went to Yilan and Nantou together.

Perhaps someone who teaches in Tainan may want to comment on the situation there. (I've heard Taiwanese is very prevalent in Tainan and Cheng Kung University even offers a Taiwanese Literature major in their Bachelor of Arts degree programme when other universities only offer a Chinese Literature major sequence with one or two subjects on Taiwanese Lit)

[Girl Scout]

Mandarin is the common language of Taiwan. It is taught in the public school system and is the medium of instruction within the school. Everywhere across the island you will find people speaking Mandarin.

I have travelled extensively while here and have never been faced with someone who didn't understand or speak Mandarin.

Your friend needs to get out more. Taiwan might not be a big island but Taipei is just a very small part of it. The insulated culture of Taipei does not reflect the diversity of people found in Taiwan. Politics and westernization have created an elitest attitude in some regarding Taipei.

[wix]

Taipei is the best choice. It has the most schools and courses on offer. Also most people there speak good standard Mandarin.

For some more information see: Studying chinese in Taiwan

[matchstick_man]

Eltbert's friend is in a fairly typical situation for a lot of Taipeiers. I know a few ex-Taipei residents who live in Taichung County who can understand Taiwanese but not speak it confidently. I'm not sure if this applies to Taipei but a lot of the older generation don't speak Mandarin.

In all the cities you can have daily exposure to Mandarin, however south of Taipei you're more likely to here the two spoken mixed together.

[Tamago86]

Alot of the much older people also speak Japanese. My eyes literally went when a group of old people were trying to talk to me in Taiwanese and I accidentaly blurted out a word in Japanese and they all automatically switched into it...Mafia ties might also have something to do with it!

[Aristotle]

Mandarin or the National Language of China as it is known on Taiwan was imposed on the local population shortly after the Nationalist Chinese occupation of Taiwan in 1945.
It is the language used for public education and the occupational government of the Republic of China. Roughly 12 to 20 % of the population of Taiwan regard the National Language of China as their native language. Most of them are the families of the Nationalist Chinese Army that took to hiding on Taiwan after their own people on the mainland threw them out. Taiwan has been ruled by this refugee army of losers ever since and nearly all of Taiwan's social problems are a direct result of that fact.
Taiwanese is the primary language spoken by the vast majority of the population. Most of the population can also speak and read the National Language of China.
The most recent government has begun to implement a program of localization roughly modeled after the Cultural Revolution. Fortunately for the inhabitants of Taiwan the central government has very little control of Taiwan outside of Taipei hence why the majority of the population of Taipei consider the National Language of China as their native language and a majority of the people of Taiwan consider Taiwanese as their native language,
In many ways Taipei and the rest of Taiwan are like two different countries.
Good luck.
A.