Percentage of Taiwanese aged 6 and above who spoke Mandarin at home in 2010; darker blue corresponds to a greater density of Mandarin speakers
Taiwanese Mandarin, frequently referred to as Guoyu (Chinese: 國語; pinyin: Guóyǔ; lit. 'National language') or Huayu (華語; Huáyǔ; 'Mandarin language'), is the variety of Mandarin Chinese spoken in Taiwan. A large majority of the Taiwanese population is fluent in Mandarin, though many also speak a variety of Min Chinese known as Taiwanese Hokkien, commonly called Minnanyu (Chinese: 閩南語; pinyin: Mǐnnányǔ; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Bân-lâm-gú), Southern Min, or Hokkien. This language has had a significant influence on Mandarin as spoken on the island.
Mandarin was not a prevalent spoken language in Taiwan before the mid-20th century. Early Chinese immigrants who settled in Taiwan before Japanese rule mainly spoke other varieties of Chinese languages, primarily Hakka and Hokkien. By contrast, Taiwanese indigenous peoples speak unrelated Austronesian languages. Japan annexed Taiwan in 1895 and governed the island as a colony for the next 50 years, introducing Japanese in education, government, and public life. With the defeat of Imperial Japan in World War II, Taiwan was handed to the Republic of China, ruled by the Kuomintang (KMT), which by 1950 had been expelled by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) out of the Chinese mainland. The KMT promulgated Standard Mandarin as the national language — Guoyu — while suppressing non-Mandarin languages in the public sphere in Taiwan. At the same time, in the People's Republic of China on the mainland, Putonghua (traditional Chinese: 普通話; simplified Chinese: 普通话; pinyin: Pǔtōnghuà; lit. 'common speech') was likewise promoted as the national language. (Full article...)
Developed by Western missionaries working among the Chinese diaspora in Southeast Asia in the 19th century and refined by missionaries working in Xiamen and Tainan, it uses a modified Latin alphabet and some diacritics to represent the spoken language. After initial success in Fujian, POJ became most widespread in Taiwan and, in the mid-20th century, there were over 100,000 people literate in POJ. A large amount of printed material, religious and secular, has been produced in the script, including Taiwan's first newspaper, the Taiwan Church News. (Full article...)
... that Shilin Night Market(pictured) is the largest and most well known night market in Taiwan having been established as a day market in 1909 and since expanded to encompass two district sections?
Image 2Map of Asia showing the "Chinese Empire" (1892) (from History of Taiwan)
Image 3Population density map of Taiwan in 2019 (from History of Taiwan)
Image 4Map of Taiwan with the western coast pointed downwards, c. 1640 (from History of Taiwan)
Image 5Two 7-Eleven stores opposite each other on a crossroad. Taiwan has the highest density of 7-Eleven stores per person in the world (from Culture of Taiwan)
Image 9The Qing Empire in 1820, with provinces in yellow, military governorates and protectorates in light yellow, tributary states in orange. (from History of Taiwan)
Image 11Administrative units of Taiwan under the Qing dynasty in 1734 (from History of Taiwan)
Image 12Mid-17th century portrait of Koxinga (Guoxingye or "Kok seng ia" in southern Fujianese), "Lord of the Imperial Surname" (from History of Taiwan)
Image 32Taiwan in the 17th century, showing Dutch (magenta) and Spanish (green) possessions, and the Kingdom of Middag (orange) (from History of Taiwan)
Image 33Photo from Savages of Formosa, a 1926 government report on tribal life in Taiwan (from History of Taiwan)
Image 341901 map with red line marking approximate boundary separating territory under actual Japanese administration from "Savage District" (from History of Taiwan)
Portals listed here are related to Taiwan by way of history, Asian region, diplomatic relations with ROC, and significant diaspora of overseas Taiwanese
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