It is said that there are no stupid questions, only stupid answers, but I felt a bit ignorant today when I asked a friend about languages. Friend comes from Taiwan, and I realized I don't know if they speak English there.
Not that she doesn't, but her father is visiting, and we will meet while he's here so had to ask. Turns out not only does he speak both English and Chinese, but also Spanish? I got so startled, I forgot to ask why.
Has Taiwan once been a colony to Spain, a class that I missed in school? Nah, don't think so.
Anyway, must remember to ask next time.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
I guess I didn't realize you didn't know my background history.....and I am sure dad will be delighted to explain further when you meet.
Mom and dad were diplomats (from Taiwan) when they went to Paraguay right after they married, and that's where my sister and I were born and raised, reason why we speak spanish. My parents however, always spoke to us in chinese at home so we could learn it. I speak decent enough but I can not read/write. We also studied english in school and both sister and I went to university in the US. Both mom and dad spoke english and spanish, in addition to their native language, chinese.
Taiwan's main and official language is chinese mandarin but has its own dialect as well; however, like any big city, a lot of people, especially the younger generation (and influenced by the outside) speak english to a certain degree.
Got it! Thanks for explaining.
Post a Comment