Taiwanese voice overs: what you need to know

Taiwanese, also called Taiwanese Hokkien, Holo, and Taigi, is a variety of the Hokkien language spoken in Taiwan. Taiwanese belongs to the Southern Min language family and is native to around 16 million speakers.

Taiwanese is one of the official languages of Taiwan. While Mandarin Chinese is the primary language of the country that’s used in business and official matters, surprisingly, 70% of the country is also fluent in Taiwanese.

Language History

Taiwanese Hokkien as a distinct language variety developed around the 16th century — when immigrants from Hokkien-speaking regions in Southeastern China started inhabiting Taiwan. Naturally, they brought their own native language — Hokkien.

In the 17th century, Taiwanese started deviating from Hokkien spoken in China due to foreign influences. Half a decade of Spanish control, as well as Dutch colonial rule, had a huge impact on the independent language formation. In addition, the Hokkien that was spoken in Taiwan also mixed with indigenous local languages, producing a unique language variety.

Modern Taiwanese has been considerably impacted by the country’s history and its relationship with China. Mandarin Chinese impact on Taiwanese is greatly debated in the linguistic field. However, since 1992, Taiwanese became one of the official languages of Taiwan and its use has surged in popularity.

Close Relations

Taiwanese is most closely related to other Southern Min languages that, just like Taiwanese, are also Hokkien varieties. Taiwanese is mutually intelligible with Quanzhou, Amoy, and Zhangzhou dialects.

Despite popular belief and the long history between the two languages, Taiwanese Hokkien is not mutually intelligible with Mandarin Chinese. They do share similarities in grammar, however, the speakers of both languages can’t hold a conversation because of differences in pronunciation and vocabulary.

The biggest part of Taiwanese vocabulary (around 80%) is of Chinese origin. Therefore, Taiwanese shares a big number of words and word parts with other Chinese varieties. Japanese loanwords are also common in Taiwanese. Words of Dutch and Spanish origin are rarer but also prominent.

Accents and Voice Over Tips

Taiwanese is grouped into three regional varieties: northern, central, and northeastern coastal. The prestige dialect that’s spoken in the city of Tainan is considered to be the standard language variation and is used alongside Mandarin in politics, official matters, business, and education.

When it comes to spoken Taiwanese, keep in mind that it is a tonal language, just like Mandarin. The tone of pronunciation can change the meanings of the words, so pay extra attention! Taiwanese has eight different tones that give the language a very unique sound, completely different from other Hokkien language varieties.

The extensive tone-changing rules make Taiwanese a rather tricky language to both understand and pronounce for non-foreign speakers. So when recording a voice over, make sure you know your target audience. You might need to slow down if non-natives will be listening!

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