The literacy rate of Mandarin/Simplified Chinese in Taipei?
When I'm in China and having trouble communicating in English, I type in a sentence in Mandarin on my iPhone. I'm good enough to write one or two sentences in Mandarin, although I can't handle an oral conversation in it.
That being said, I understand Simplified Chinese only. So how likely are the Taiwanese to understand Simplified Chinese? Do younger people understand it better than middle-aged or elderly? Are there any other variables that make one subset of people understand it better than others?
And, last but not least, does using Simplified Chinese have a chance of disgracing them?
Best Answer
I am Taiwanese.
For the younger people and middle-age, it's okay to use simplified Chinese, but for older people, I am not sure if they understand or not.
I also think it's okay to use simplified Chinese and don't worry to be disgracing to us, we understand that Mandarin is not your mother tongue and we are very kind to foreigner.
Welcome to Taiwan.
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Does Taiwan use simplified Mandarin?
Taiwan is stopping the use of simplified Chinese characters - the type of script used by mainland China - on official websites. Taiwan normally uses traditional characters but many businesses made the switch after Taiwan opened its doors to mainland tourists three years ago.Did simplified Chinese increased literacy?
Although some argue that compulsory education is what lifted the majority of the population out of illiteracy, it is clear that using simplified characters has been a powerful tool in improving the literacy rate of a great number of Chinese.What percentage of Taiwan speaks Mandarin?
Overview of national languagesLanguagePercentage of home useTaiwanese Mandarin83.5%Taiwanese Hokkien (incl. Kinmen dialect)81.9%Taiwanese Hakka6.6%Formosan languagesAmis1.4%18 more rowsDo Taiwanese understand simplified Chinese?
Script. Guoyu employs traditional Chinese characters (which are also used in the two special administrative regions of China, Hong Kong and Macau), rather than the simplified Chinese characters used in mainland China. Literate Taiwanese can generally understand a text in simplified characters.Best Chinese Language Schools \u0026 Centers in Taipei
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Answer 2
Based on my experience from travelling to China and Taiwan more than thirty times, there is no big difference between the languages spoken in mainland China and Taiwan. After they increased their trade and economic cooperation, many Taiwanese people speak almost perfect Mandarin as many HK people do.
Those who work at the information desks of any transportation terminal and shop clerks in China and Taiwan's major cities speak a relatively good English and I didn't have any communication problem using English in both countries. The problem may arise when you travel to countryside.
Since they will know you are a foreigner the minute you ask a question, you should not worry about disgracing anybody using your iphone or simplified Chinese characters. You need to note that there are many Japanese speakers in Taiwan and you can try it.
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Images: Feng Zou, Miguel Á. Padriñán, George Milton, mentatdgt