Language of Taiwan

The Formosan languages are the languages of the aboriginal tribes of Taiwan. Taiwanese aborigines currently encompass about 2% of the island's population. However, far fewer can still speak their ancestral language after centuries of language shift. Out of the roughly 26 languages of the Taiwanese aborigines, at least ten are extinct, another five are waning, and several others are to some degree endangered.

All Formosan languages are slowly being replaced by the culturally dominant Mandarin. In recent decades the government started an aboriginal re-appreciation program that included the reintroduction of Formosan mother tongue education in Taiwanese schools. However, the results of this initiative have been disappointing.

The majority of Taiwanese speaks Mandarin, which is commonly known as Guoyu and it has been the only official language used in Taiwanese schools since 1940s. The use of simplified Chinese is deemed as the rape of Chinese culture under the communist rule, thus teachers, students and publishers are forbidden to use them which show the reason of Taiwanese people still writing in traditional Chinese. In consequence of the half century Japanese rule, many people born before 1940s are able to speak fluent Japanese.

Taiwanese Hokkien, commonly known as "Taiwanese", is a variant of Hokkien spoken in Taiwan. This Hokkien dialect of Min Nan originated from Fu Jian, China and is spoken by about 70% of the population of Taiwan. The largest ethnic group in Taiwan, for which Hokkien is considered a native language, is known as Holo.

Body language

Many of the body language posture cues that are interpreted in a western encounter would be valid in Taiwan. Some people from other cultures might find the Taiwanese personal distance uncomfortable. Members of the same sex might occasionally touch your hand or take your arm which is just a friendly gesture to express that they are comfortable to get close to you. However, they do not like loud, back-slapping, bear-hugging, cheek-kissing contact that Americans and Europeans participate in.