Bonjour, monsieur (messieurs)Excusez moi, madame (mesdames)

Comment ça va, mademoiselle? (mesdemoiselles)

Taiwan English - 1The sounds and allophones of Taiwan English

(Karen Steffen Chung, 2003)

In class we often refer to "Taiwan English”. Although there are variations in the way each person who is educated in Taiwan speaks English, there is a fairly consistent pattern of pronunciation to be discerned. This is certainly due first of all to the particular pronunciation style of one's English teachers, starting in junior high school, or now starting in elementary school; many students also learn English at a commercial "cram school" (buxiban). This pronunciation style is reinforced by one's peers and other English speakers from Taiwan who one comes in contact with.      In theory, General American is now the standard for English education in Taiwan, but Taiwan English sounds very 'un-American' in many ways.

Taiwan English - 2 Some foreign accents of English, especially European ones such as French or Swedish, are often considered "charming", "quaint" or "cute". The first basic requirement of a "charming" foreign accent, however, is that it be clear and easily intelligible to other speakers of English, native and otherwise. Once intelligibility suffers too much, there is little charm to be found in a foreign accent; one only will feel tired when trying to understand it. Incorrect grammar and imprecise vocabulary choices worsen the situation. Ultimately, other people may prefer to avoid talking with speakers with too strong a foreign accent rather than work hard to understand them. In order to avoid making other people work too hard to understand you when you speak, it is certainly desirable to learn to speak as clearly and accurately as possible. This does not mean giving up your Chinese identity; you cannot do this so easily anyway!

Taiwan English - 3Excuse me, is this seat taken? No, it’s not. Thank you. Nice weather isn’t it? Yes, it’s nice and warm.

It’s been cold for so many days. This is my first time to jog this month. Do you like jogging?

Well, not really. You should try it. Jogging is my life. Look at my jogging shoes. They are made in England.

And I bought them in Hong Kong. They are really good. Oh, if you want to learn how to jog,

You need a good pair of shoes like mine. While I look at those men, they are really slow. They are walking,

not jogging. Who are you talking about? The man with long hair.

His head look funny. Oh, that’s my brother. Oh, I am sorry. I mean the person next to him.

The one in the stupid green sweater and black pants. Well, the man you are talking about is a P.E. teacher.

And by the way, he is also my husband.

Taiwan English - 4Consonants

Consonants (cont.)

Vowels

Stress and timing

r.s.v.p. (?)S’il vous plaît (Si il vous plaît)

If it you pleasesIf it pleases you (If you please)

Please

Chain Bridge

r.s.v.p. (?)r.s.v.p. (?)S’il vous plaît (Si il vous plaît)If it you pleasesIf it pleases you (If you please)

Please

rsvp = repondez svp

再见黄山

Vocabulary