Your 'Taiwanese' isn't an isolated island; it's a long river flowing into the sea
Have you ever felt this kind of confusion?
The Taiwanese spoken by a grandma at the local market seems a little different from the Taiwanese you hear on an evening soap opera. When you go south, you discover that the accent for some words changes again. Even more surprisingly, when you meet friends from Malaysia or Singapore, you seem to understand 70-80% of their 'Hokkien', yet there's an indescribable layer of unfamiliarity.
We often assume that 'Taiwanese' is a fixed language, but in fact, it's more like a magnificent river.
A Grand River named 'Minnan'
Imagine the source of this grand river hundreds of years ago in southern Fujian, China—Quanzhou and Zhangzhou. That was once a bustling trading port, and countless people departed from there, flowing like streams, carrying their hometown language in all directions.
The largest of these tributaries flowed towards Taiwan.
On the land of Taiwan, this tributary gathered the local customs and traditions, forming what we now call 'Taiwanese' or 'Taiwanese Hokkien'. The northern accent carries more of the 'Quanzhou' intonation, while the southern accent has more 'Zhangzhou' characteristics. Later, through the currents of history, it also incorporated Japanese vocabulary (for example, o-tó-bái for 'motorcycle', bì-luh for 'beer'), becoming even more unique.
This is why, even if you and your elders both speak Taiwanese, there might be subtle differences in your vocabulary and accent. You're simply in the same river, but slightly different sections of it.
The River Has Never Stopped Flowing Towards the World
But this grand river didn't stop in Taiwan. It continued to surge, flowing into the broader expanse of Southeast Asia.
- The Singaporean Tributary: In Singapore, it's known as 'Hokkien'. This tributary has assimilated vocabulary from English and Malay, forming an accent imbued with a distinctly urban feel. That's why most Taiwanese can understand the Hokkien spoken by Singaporeans, much like meeting family from another tributary further downstream.
- The Malaysian Tributary: In Malaysia, the situation is even more interesting. Penang Hokkien leans more towards the 'Zhangzhou' accent and has absorbed a large amount of Malay vocabulary; while Hokkien in the south is closer to the 'Quanzhou' accent. They're like two separate currents branching out at the river mouth, each with its own vibrancy.
- More Distant Relatives: There are also some tributaries that branched off much earlier, such as 'Teochew' from Guangdong. It shares the same origin as Minnan, like distant relatives that diverged early in the river's course. Although genetically close, after long periods of independent development, direct communication is now largely impossible.
So, the next time you hear a language that "sounds like Taiwanese, but isn't quite the same," don't be confused. What you're hearing are actually different melodies sung by the same 'Grand Minnan River' in various corners of the world.
From 'Speaking Correctly' to 'Understanding'
Understanding the story of this river might allow us to view language from a different perspective.
Learning Taiwanese isn't just about communicating with elders at home or understanding local dramas. It's also about gaining a map to explore all the places this river flows through, to experience the diverse forms it blossoms into on different cultural soils.
It makes you realise that language isn't a rigid, standard answer, but a living, constantly evolving entity. When you're on a country road in Taiwan, and you open up a conversation with a shop owner using a friendly "Tóu-jiā, jiáh báu buē?" ('Boss, have you eaten?'), you'll feel a warmth that goes beyond mere transaction. This same warmth exists at hawker stalls in Penang or among neighbours in Singapore.
However, as we follow the river and try to communicate with these 'distant relatives', that 70-80% similarity and 20-30% difference can sometimes become a barrier to communication. How do we bridge this final gap?
Fortunately, technology has built a bridge for us. Some tools are designed specifically to eliminate this awkward state of partial understanding. For example, the Intent chat app, with its built-in AI real-time translation feature, acts like a personal interpreter, keenly capturing the subtle differences between these languages. Whether you're speaking Taiwanese Hokkien, the other person is speaking Penang Hokkien, or a completely different language, it can help you communicate smoothly and truly 'understand' each other.
The beauty of language lies in connection. It carries our history, defines our identity, and gives us the possibility of conversing with the world.
Next time, don't just say, "I can speak Taiwanese." You can say with more confidence:
"What I speak is the warmest and most moving tributary of that grand Minnan River, the one that flows through Taiwan."
And now, you have the tools to explore the entire landscape of the river.