taigi

Taigi, also referred to as Taiwanese Hokkien or Taiwan Minnan, is the local variety of Southern Min spoken in Taiwan. It is part of the Min Nan branch of Sinitic languages and is related to Hokkien spoken in Fujian, though the Taiwan variety has distinct phonology, vocabulary, and usage. Taigi has been spoken in Taiwan since at least the 17th century, brought by Hoklo migrants and developed in contact with other languages, notably Japanese during the colonial era and Mandarin after 1949.

In contemporary Taiwan, Taigi is widely used in daily conversation, popular culture, and regional media, often alongside Mandarin. It serves as a major vehicle of traditional culture and identity, though Mandarin remains the dominant language in education and government.

Language policy since the late 20th century has sought to preserve and promote Taigi as part of Taiwan’s national languages. The National Languages Development Act, enacted in 2017, provides measures to support Taigi through education, broadcasting, and public signage, alongside other regional languages.

Taigi is written primarily with Han characters, with pronunciation indicated and standardized in multiple romanization schemes. The most common phonetic system for learning is Pe̍h-ōe-jī, while the Taiwanese Latin orthography (Tâi-lô) is also used in education and publications.

Beyond the standard form spoken in major cities, regional varieties exhibit differences in pronunciation and vocabulary, and loanwords from Japanese and Mandarin are common.