How to Use This Book? 001

To the Reader? 002



Chapter 01

1.1〈knowledge〉The Language and Its Speakers? 010

1.2〈conversation〉Self-introduction(1)? 014

1.3〈conversation〉Useful classroom expressions? 016



Chapter 02

2.1〈knowledge〉Vowels? 026

2.2〈lexicon〉Useful expressions? 028

2.3〈lexicon〉Fruit and snacks? 032

2.4〈conversation〉Greeting? 034



Chapter 03

3.1〈conversation〉Self-introduction (2)? 038

3.2〈conversation〉Borrowing things? 042



Chapter 04

4.1〈knowledge〉Consonants? 050

4.2〈lexicon〉Family members and relatives? 054

4.3〈knowledge〉Pronouns? 058

4.4〈lexicon〉Numbers? 060



Chapter 05

5.1〈activity〉Huah tsiu-kun / Tai-uan-kun? 066

5.2〈lexicon〉Classifiers and measure words? 068

5.3〈conversation〉Time and date? 072

5.4〈knowledge〉Tones? 084



Chapter 06

6.1〈conversation〉Eating out? 088

6.2〈conversation〉Ordering food? 092

6.3〈conversation〉Talking about food? 096



Chapter 07

7.1〈conversation〉Hanging out? 102

7.2〈conversation〉Bargaining? 104

7.3〈activity〉Learning by singing? 112



Chapter 08

〈conversation〉Holidays? 118



Chapter 09

9.1〈knowledge〉Tone sandhi (1)? 132

9.2〈knowledge〉Making a question? 134

9.3〈knowledge〉Tone Sandhi (2)? 140

9.4〈lexicon〉Colors? 142



Chapter 10

10.1〈conversation〉Hobbies? 148

10.2〈activity〉Learning by singing? 154



Chapter 11

〈knowledge〉Pronouncing a sentence with the right tones- steps and tips 160



Chapter 12

12.1〈knowledge〉Taiwanese Input Method? 168

12.2〈knowledge〉Some General rules for You to Make a Sentence in Taiwanese by yourself? 170

12.3〈knowledge〉The object position - A small grammar note? 174



Chapter 13

13.1〈conversation〉Asking for directions? 178

13.2〈knowledge〉Tone sandhi (3)? 186



Chapter 14

14.1〈conversation〉Occupations? 192

14.2〈activity〉Learning by singing? 198



Chapter 15

15.1〈lexicon〉Grammatical Aspect? 204

15.2〈lexicon〉Using verbs expressively? 212



Chapter 16

16.1〈lexicon〉Localizers and Location? 216

16.2〈lexicon〉Some fixed expressions and? colloquial terms? 222

16.3〈activity〉Learning by singing? 232

16.4〈activity〉Learning by singing? 236



?

序



　　This book provides composite materials for learning Taiwanese, suitable for both autodidacts and instructed students. The romanization and characters used are standardized orthography promulgated by Taiwans Ministry of Education, a must-learn system if you aim to pass the proficiency test organized by the Ministry.



　　You will find musical notes, Do Re and Mi, under each example sentence. They give you a rough grasp of the tone pattern. You can ‘sing’ the sentences along and find them understandable to a native speaker. You may sound like a Taiwanese speaking robot, but never mind! It’s a useful tool before you master all the tones and sandhi tones. They also help you read a sentence without consulting its audio file.



　　In this book, we do not confine ourselves to ‘proper language’. You also encounter words and phrases deemed impolite or rude on formal occasions. They help you comprehend the language in the everyday life context. Caution: think twice before uttering words or phrases marked ‘vulgar’.



　　Both teachers and students can use this book flexibly, according to their course designs or learning purposes. For example, you can use each unit of the lexicon as a vocabulary list for reference, and rearrange the words as you see fit. And there is no need to memorize all the words before moving on.



　　Due to lack of space, this book is limited only to the language, although extralinguistic information of culture, history, customs, etc. is always interesting and linguistically relevant. Teachers and students are encouraged to explore and communicate other aspects of Taiwan, which will eventually benefit your learning and understanding of the Taiwanese language.