Prerequisites
Little or no prior exposure to Taiwanese
Textbook
Beginning Taiwanese (BT), by Grace Wu, Erudition Books, Inc, 2002.
Coordinator
Ms. Grace Wu (gracewu@sas.upenn.edu)
Course Description
This course is designed to help students learn enough about Taiwanese to handle their language needs adequately when traveling to Taiwan. At this survival level, students will learn to greet others, introduce themselves and handle basic social situations. They will also acquire an understanding of oral language typically heard in locations such as a grocery store, train station, bus stop, and night market. Self-study and classroom participation are equally important for this course. Students should complete each assignment before class so that the teacher may review their work. Students should also attend individual sessions regularly. There will be weekly vocabulary quizzes and one final oral test. The preparation includes memorizing dialogue and listening to audio files. Topics covered in this course include seven tones of Taiwanese, Taiwanese phonetic alphabet, greeting/weather, time/numbers, names & family, day & date, shopping, and dining.
Sample Text (Entry):
A: Li2 ho2!
B: Li2 Ho2!
A: Li2 choe3-kun7 an3 -choan2?
B: Chin1 ho2, to1-sia7.
A: Li2 kang1-chok4 e7 bo5-eng5 boe7?
B: Boe7, li2 leh4?
A: Chin1 bo5-eng5.
B: Tiun1 sian1-sin1 ho2 bo5?
A: Ho2, i1 chin1 ho2.
B: Chai3-hoe7.
A: Chai3-hoe7.