TAIWAN - TAIPEI

2nd Blog by Angela Eberle - Monday, 18 December 2023, 2:44 AM ” xiè xie and ” Ni hao"

In Taiwan people speak Mandarin. Besides that, people also speak Taiwanese and Hakka which are dialects that differ a bit from Mandarin. Before my stay I have thought for myself, it would be interes1ng to learn a new language and here in Taiwan, I have the perfect opportunity to do this. So, I registered for the mandarin courses at my university and here I am, learning a new language which might be useful in my later worker life as Asian countries, especially China, are geIng more dominant in the world markets.

Before I arrived, I learned how to pronounce “hello” (xiè xie) and “thank you” (Ni hao). I said to myself, at least I can be friendly and say “xiè xie”. However, the language is quite hard for me, I must learn a lot and put a lot of effort in it, otherwise I would forget it all aRer one week. Also, aRer two months I can only talk about the basics and introduce myself. But in real-life I can barely speak or understand anything. So s1ll, I am only using thank you and hello in my everyday life. Except some1mes when I order something to go, I can understand my order number and some1mes I can recognize Chinese characters in some adver1sements. But the successes are small, and it is a long way to go if you really want to be fluent in this language.

However, the people are s1ll friendly and always try to help even though the language might be a barrier. If people do not speak English, which is not uncommon, I oRen point at things to explain what I want or in worst case I use Google Translator and then they are always open to help. Some1mes it takes several approaches, but I got used to it. Also, people care about you. When I order food to take it with me, they always make sure that I do not miss my pickup number when they call it. Once I was wai1ng for my food quite long and some women no1ced that, and they asked for me why my food is taking so long. It was so friendly and helpful, also it let me feel beXer that somebody cared about me. This leads me to a general topic, food. Surprisingly when I order food, it always works. You never feel like you’ve been forgoXen, and you always get the right order even though the language is a barrier. Because oRen the menu is in Chinese and there is no English op1on. Then you have to translate and choose a menu on the off chance.

Also, if people here speak English, it is most of the 1me a basic English and you cannot expect that much. So, when they tell you something, it is uncommon to ques1on what they said. They will not and maybe do not want to understand it. It is some1mes difficult because oRen they do not even listen to you. In our culture it is normal to ask a ques1on if there is something not clear, but here I think they do not expect to get back a ques1on. For example, my parents visited me, and we were at a Hotpot restaurant where they served a special spice we did not really like. My mom asked what is inside, but the guy did not understand at all and just wanted to know if we want more of it. He ended up giving us a small sample of it to take with us. But he never answered our ques1on, nor did he even listen what we wanted to ask.

Moreover, I figured out that people in Liechtenstein oRen say the main point or fact of a discussion directly and explain details aRerwards but in Taiwan or general in Asia, people just explain and explain and maybe get to the main point at the end, it is like a spiral. This makes it much harder to communicate with local people because they have a different paXern and approach of communica1on.

These challenges teach me to just dare to ask things. Do not be shy and approach people, otherwise they will never know that you need help. In a country with that many inhabitants they cannot be responsive and considerate to everyone, you must dare to say something and stand up for yourself. But like in the last case, some1mes it is important to know when they do not understand it and there is no point in ques1oning further. I think these issues will brace me for my later life. I can stand up for myself and I will not give up aRer my first try. It teaches me to stay persistent. I can weigh up when I have to insist on something or when it's enough.

All in all, it can be said, although, the language is hard and needs a lot of effort, I really like it and I am interested to learn it more intense. Here, in Taiwan it is the best opportunity to learn it as I hear it every day and I have the possibility to prac1ce with local people. People are friendly even though you might not be able to speak their language, but they try their best to support and help you.