Mandarin is undoubtedly the most popular language for foreigners to learn in Taiwan. However, if you are willing to put in a bit of time and effort you can also learn Taiwanese (台語, also known as Hokkien, Hoklo 福佬 or Minnan language 閩南語). Linguistically speaking Taiwanese, or Taiyu as it is often called in Taiwan, is a dialect of Minnan or Southern Min. This is the language spoken in the south of Fujian Province in China where most Taiwanese trace their ancestry back to. Hokkien and closely related dialects are also spoken in many parts of Southeast Asia.

I have found there are two major obstacles to learning Taiwanese in Taiwan. The first is that in most situations communicating in Mandarin is adequate and it is easier to use Mandarin than try to make a fool of yourself speaking Taiwanese. The other is most Taiwanese lack a technical understanding of the language. They cannot write it in romanised form or explain the grammar or pronunciation.

That said if you put in the time and effort you can learn the language. I think it is best if you can find an experienced teacher at some stage to give you some guidance. It is important to learn some kind of system of romanisation as a learning aid. POJ (Church Romanisation) is the most commonly used and I recommend learning it as it is the most widely used system (despite its faults).

The language has seven tones and a number of difficult sounds. Also the tones usually change when a word is placed in a sentence. There are rules for this though. There are also variations in the pronunciation of some words from place to place in Taiwan. It is worth noting some of these, but don't get too worried about it.

Some people complain that Taiwanese people will speak Taiwanese when they want to say something they don't want you to hear. I find this happens sometimes, but people will also be very warm and enthusiastic about anyone making an effort to learn Taiwanese.

Taiwanese language links

• Tailingua
• Online resources for Taiwanese learning
• Taiwanese language learning resources (pdf file)
• Tâi-ôan Chè-chō - Taiwanese vocabulary
• Intermediate Taiwanese Grammar
• Learn a little Taiwanese
• Taiwanese enjoys revival among foreign students by Steven Crook
• Presbyterian Church in Taiwan
• Taiwanese Language Page
• Review of Elementary Taiwanese For Foreigners by nostalgiphile
• Phonetic standard for Taiwanese in the works - Taipei Times article
• Culture groups urge ministry to expedite Hoklo writing rules - Taipei Times article
• New Taiwanese dictionary unveiled - Taipei Times article
• Writing Taiwanese
• Writing Taiwanese using Chinese characters
• Chinese characters for Taiwanese–a new list from Taiwan’s MOE
• Standardized Holo Taiwanese characters
• More on Taiwanese characters
• How to Forget Your Mother Tongue and Remember Your National Language by Victor H. Mair
• Reflections on "Romanized" Taiwanese and the Culture of Taiwan
• Taiwan Minnanyu pronunciation practice
• Pinyin News - archive for Taiwanese category
• Tai Oan Ji (in Chinese characters only)
• Lomaji.com (written in POJ and Chinese characters)
• Taiwanese language and pronunciation
• A Survey of Contemporary Language Movement in Taiwan
• Taiwanese language - Wikipedia
• Min Nan - Wikipedia
• Peh-oe-ji or POJ - Wikipedia