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Updated Wednesday, September 2, 2009 3:30 pm TWN, By Y.F. Low, CNA Transition to Hanyu Pinyin in final stages: MOELu made the remarks in a seminar on the progress of the Cabinet's efforts to create an internationalized living environment, which was held by the Research, Development and Evaluation Commission. Lu noted that the government has been promoting the adoption of Hanyu Pinyin -- the same romanization system used in China -- in three stages since October 2008. At present, the work has entered its second and third stages, which involve changing the spellings on tourist guides and road signs, Lu said. Proponents of adopting the Hanyu Pinyin say it would bring Taiwan's romanization system in line with international practice, while opponents feel it would remove a point of distinction between Taiwan and China. The romanization system promoted while the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was in power, called Tongyong, is also said to be more adaptable to Taiwan's other main languages -- Hoklo and Hakka -- than Hanyu Pinyin. Wade-Giles and other less prominent romanization systems have been used in Taiwan for decades, leaving many place names for example with multiple spellings. Efforts to unify the romanization system around the country have run into political resistance, and it is unclear if the Kuomintang government will be able to enforce the use of Hanyu Pinyin in DPP-controlled areas. According to Lu, the government should make good use of language to strengthen foreigners' desire to visit Taiwan. He cited South Korea, which rarely uses foreign languages on its street signs, as fostering a tourist environment unfriendly to foreigners and providing a model that Taiwan should avoid emulating. Subscribe to The China Post and save 25%. Click here Comments September 2, 2009 nutty_azn@ Tongyong Pinyin's been used here always so there is really no need to change to Hanyu Pinyin. It is good to be different from the Mainland and yet it is not difficult to use. Pronunciation of Tongyang is a lot easier and sounds correct.Like Traditional Chinese-just because the PRC, Singapore etc take the easy way out, Taiwan should NEVER lose this advantage and give in to simplified. If CHINESE people cannot read proper Traditional Chinese, it’s just too bad for them. September 2, 2009 nulalihyon@ I have had some difficulty to study traditional spelling of Taiwan that was called bo po mo fo. However, it has been said that bo po mo fo is better to describe how to pronounce every word than Hanyu pinyin. Foreign friendliness is important. It is also important to protect the traditional culture. I have a sort of concern some word in the article. Enforce hanyu pinyin in DPP controlled areas. September 3, 2009 e03x03gj4@ Absolutely true!! It’s definitely a good change, it shouldn't be marked as a political intension. September 3, 2009 jnyylee@ Though I'm still a ZhuYin (注音) user, I found Pinyin with more benefit on computer typing, too!- No need to print extra symbols on keyboards. - No need to memorize another set of keyboard locations. So the learning curve should be much smoother. Maybe Traditional Chinese Characters + Pinyin is the right way to go. September 10, 2009 matianhang@ I couldn't agree more. It's about time. September 16, 2009 vitrungkien@ I think that hanyu pingyin is very convenient for foreigners learning Chinese in Taiwan because you can type very fast. In Taiwan everybody uses ZhuYin (注音) if you can see zhuyin and then translation to hanyu pingyin, it's very good and more beneficial. September 30, 2009 bob@ Just a simple point... whatever pinyin you choose... for the love of god, put those little accent marks above each word so I know what tone I should use. I happily pronounce the words without difficulty, but tonally - I have no bloody idea! I read the pinyin out of the Lonely Planet guidebook to my Taiwanese friends (it supplies the specific tones), and they understand everything I say. I try to read a few road signs and all I get are deer in headlights looks from Taiwanese. Somebody please tell the government to INCLUDE THE DARN TONES!!! December 7, 2009 the_alliance47@ I run into the same problem with the lack of tone marks. Overall, I am glad that Taiwan ROC is finally using Hanyu Pinyin, because nobody teaches Tongyong Pinyin in other countries, but at least they usually give students the option of learning Traditional characters. December 14, 2009 detrchien@ Look, let's put politics aside and compare the 2 pinyin systems. Hanyu pinyin is far more accurate and consistent than Tonyong pinyin. I just don't understand the use of "Q" for a "ch" sound, such as Chongqing, Qing Dynasty, Qian, etc. Everything else seems to make sense to me. |
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Taiwanese don't read the pinyin anyway, they read the characters...
This decision is very foreign-friendly and shouldn't be seen as political.