Teaching Taiwanese Made Me Wonder if I Was Really Speaking Taiwanese

This semester, my daughter signed up for her school's Taiwanese language club. I told her that if she didn’t get accepted, I would teach her Taiwanese on weekends. But unexpectedly, the club was canceled. So, I took on a new role as the “Taiwanese teacher” at home. When my husband heard about it, he said he wanted to join too. That’s how our Sunday Taiwanese lessons officially began.

Once I started teaching both of our kids, I realized just how much pronunciation can vary in Taiwanese. Like Mandarin, Taiwanese relies heavily on tones. Changing the tone completely changes the meaning. What makes Taiwanese even more fascinating is its variations as some words change their pronunciation depending on whether they stand alone or are part of a phrase.

For example, the word for “fall down” can be pronounced “buaˇ deˋ” or “buaˋ deˇ,” and both are correct. The word for “this” can be pronounced “zei” or “ji” when said alone, but changes when part of a phrase. For instance, “this one” is pronounced “ji eˊ,” while “this is” is pronounced “zei xiˇ.” These two pronunciations for “this” cannot be swapped. Taiwanese also has a rich variety of synonyms, where the same meaning can be expressed by different terms. For example, “this one” can also be said as “ji lie,” “ji heˊ,” or “ji eˊ,” depending on region or speaker.

During lessons, my husband often asks, “Why do you sometimes say ‘ji lie’ and other times ‘ji eˊ’?” Honestly, I’m just as puzzled. I grew up learning Taiwanese by listening and mimicking adults without ever formally studying the logic behind these pronunciation changes. So when asked, I simply say, “That’s just how it is!”

Though these variations might confuse beginners, to me they are fascinating discoveries that have given me a whole new appreciation for Taiwanese. It’s no longer just the language I heard from elders in my childhood. It’s a vibrant, evolving art form full of life. What I once took for granted were subtle shifts I never even noticed. While teaching and explaining every detail isn’t my strong suit, having the chance to practice speaking Taiwanese is truly a joy.

Teaching my family Taiwanese sometimes makes me feel the same way I do when translating. A word might seem simple on the surface, but once you put it into a sentence, its meaning can shift. Explaining why can be tricky, just like in translation, where there’s rarely one “right” answer, only the version that fits best in context.

The way I picked up Taiwanese as a child, by listening, imitating, and sensing what sounded natural, is similar to how translators develop their instincts. After years of practice, you don’t always think in strict rules, but you know when something sounds off.

By the way, my daughter has an amazing talent for pronunciation. She almost always nails the tones on the first try. My husband needs more practice but is very eager and keeps asking questions, so much so that sometimes my daughter gets annoyed because she doesn’t have time to ask her own. I have a feeling both of them will be great students.