5 ms·
For those who know better than I - does this article, when saying Taiwanese, refer to Taiwanese Mandarin or the language also known as Taigi/Taigu?
by atdrummond 5y ago
For those who know better than I - does this article, when saying Taiwanese, refer to Taiwanese Mandarin or the language also known as Taigi/Taigu?
- LAC-Tech 5y agoConsidering they were using google translate, I assume they meant Taiwanese Mandarin. Though usually when I hear taiwanese as a language in english it's tai-gi.
- atdrummond 5y agoI was doing some research on Hokkien in general the other day and that's when I noticed some using the endonym Taigu instead. I'm not sure what the difference, if any, is.
- rahimnathwani 5y agoTaigu is a Taiwanese-specific dialect of Hokkien. Hokkien is spoken outside Taiwan (e.g. Fujian).
- atdrummond 5y agoI'm aware of that, so apologies if that wasn't clear. I was referring to the Taigu/Taigi distinction as the source of my uncertainty.
- thaumasiotes 5y ago> Hokkien is spoken outside Taiwan (e.g. Fujian). It would be pretty shocking if that wasn't the case, since Hokkien is spelled 福建.
- LAC-Tech 5y agoRight, but when people say "Hokkien" in English they generally mean 閩南語 - though I've also heard the term "Southern Min" used.
- thaumasiotes 5y agoOK? I don't see why that would make it less shocking for Hokkien not to be spoken in the region that shares its name. It's like saying "they speak English in England, too". Of course they do; that's what "English" means.
- LAC-Tech 5y agoYeah fair enough. Just pointing out the word Hokkien in English does not really mean 福建, even if that's where the word comes from.
- LAC-Tech 5y agoI've only heard 'gi', but it looks like alternate pronunciations[0]. I've only really dabbled in the language, but I quickly got the impression it's not exactly standardised. Even something as simple as 'I' seems to have two pronunciations (gua and wa). [0] https://www.mkdict.net/results?query=%E8%AA%9E+&page=1&q_type=ma&roman=t&t_dict=mk https://www.mkdict.net/results?query=%E8%AA%9E+&page=1&q_typ...
- atdrummond 5y agoAh, now that you've highlighted the specific pronunciation divergence the two separate transliterations now make sense. I really appreciate the reply, given the relatively low stakes here.
- rahimnathwani 5y agoWhen speaking: probably not Mandarin, as in that case they would have no difficulty finding an interpreter. When writing: not a relevant question, as Google Translate is for the written form, not spoken dialects.