Taiwanese Traditions & Culture

Mission Statement

Archive Taiwan is a digital humanities project that tells the story of lost Taiwanese language, folktales, customs, rite of passage, and holidays. It collects information from diverse members of the Taiwanese community and encapsulates it through video form, narrated by Bay Area high school student Bennett Huang. It also contains a student videos section, where local Taiwanese students talk about their family's experiences, traditions, and more.

About the Founder

Hi! My name is Bennett Huang, and I am a high school student from the Bay Area. I have a deep passion for computer science and math, and love to play soccer and sing in choir. I was inspired to create ArchiveTaiwan when I was on a service trip to Taiwan when I realized the vast, untold stories and cultural traditions that exist only in the memories of the community. This digital storytelling archive creates bridges between generations and preserves anecdotes and wisdoms that might otherwise be lost with elderly community members.

Language

Taiwanese Hokkien — Tâi-gí

Although many Taiwanese people from younger generations primarily speak Taiwanese Mandarin — a dialect that differs slightly from Mainland Mandarin — the island's original inhabitants spoke a different language: Taiwanese Hokkien (Tâi-gí or Tâi-oân-oē). Years of occupation by various countries including Japan and China forced this traditional language underground. Below are the key linguistic features that make Taiwanese Hokkien a remarkably layered and distinctive language.

Linguistic Features

1 Tonal Complexity

Taiwanese Hokkien has seven citation tones (some analyses count eight, splitting a high and mid entering tone). What makes the system especially intricate is tone sandhi: in connected speech, every syllable except the last in a phrase shifts to a different tone according to a cyclical pattern.

The "dictionary tone" of a word almost never appears in natural speech — only at phrase boundaries.

2 Literary & Colloquial Readings

A single Chinese character can have two completely different pronunciations depending on register. The literary (文讀, bûn-tha̍k) reading was used for formal contexts, while the colloquial (白讀, pe̍h-tha̍k) reading is the native spoken form. Speakers often mix both layers fluidly.

學 is ha̍k in literary style but o̍h colloquially — choosing the wrong one can sound awkward or overly bookish.

3 Substrate & Contact Vocabulary

Centuries of contact have left distinct lexical layers: words from pre-Sinitic languages of southern China, Austronesian contact, and extensive borrowing from Japanese due to the colonial period (1895–1945), as well as increasing influence from Mandarin.

o-tó-bái (motorcycle, from Japanese オートバイ) and bì-lù (beer, from Japanese ビール) are everyday examples.

4 Nasal Vowels & Final Consonants

Taiwanese retains a rich set of syllable-final stops (-p, -t, -k, and a glottal stop -ʔ) and nasal codas (-m, -n, -ŋ) that Mandarin has largely lost. It also contrasts oral and nasal vowels — a distinction entirely absent in Mandarin.

bī (to compel) vs. bĩ (to face) — these differ only by nasalization.

5 Particles & Pragmatic Markers

Conversational Taiwanese uses a wealth of sentence-final particles to convey mood, evidentiality, and social nuance. Mastering these is essential for sounding natural rather than textbook-ish.

--lah, --honnh, --ooh, and --leh signal things like seeking confirmation, softening a statement, or expressing mild surprise.

6 Classifiers & Measure Words

While Mandarin and Hokkien both use classifiers, the default "generic" classifier in Taiwanese is ê (的) rather than Mandarin's 個 (gè), and many specific classifiers differ between the two languages.

7 Orthographic Ambiguity

There is no single universally accepted writing system. People variously use Chinese characters, the Church Romanization system (Pe̍h-ōe-jī, developed by missionaries in the 19th century), the newer Tâi-lô romanization promoted by Taiwan's Ministry of Education, or mixed scripts.

This lack of standardization is itself a sociolinguistic issue tied to debates about identity and language policy.

Folktales

Traditional Taiwanese Folktales

Taiwanese folktales have played an important role throughout generations — leveraged to teach moral lessons, explain natural phenomena, and preserve cultural values. Select a story below and read it in the book viewer.

Hóo-Koo-Pô: The Tiger Aunt

A traditional Taiwanese folktale

An ancient tigress spirit disguises herself as a kindly aunt to prey upon two young sisters — but one clever girl refuses to become a meal.

1

2

Page 1 of 1

Interview Taiwanese International Student in the Bay Area on 虎姑婆 (Aunt Tiger)

There's a traditional Taiwanese folktale called 虎姑婆 or "Aunt Tiger." It is both a story used to scare kids into behaving, and also a lullaby used to put kids to sleep. For my family, I deeply remember this lullaby, because it was often sung to me by my parents for both of the described purposes. My grandparents also used to sing this lullaby to me to put me to sleep, and I remember one time getting curious about the lyrics, asking my parents, and seeing them slightly panic while contemplating whether they wanted to tell me the truth or not. It was funny to see, even back then.

Mandarin

好久好久的故事是媽媽告訴我
在好深好深的夜裡會有虎姑婆
愛哭的孩子不要哭他會咬你的小耳朵
不睡的孩子趕快睡他會咬你小指頭
還記得還記得瞇著眼睛說
虎姑婆別咬我乖乖的孩子睡著囉

English

A story from a long, long time ago — it's one my mother told me
Deep in the night, Aunt Tiger will appear
Don't cry, child, or she will bite your ear
Go to sleep, child, or she will bite your fingers
I still remember, while barely awake, saying,
"Aunt Tiger don't bite me, I will go to sleep now"

Overall, even a simple lullaby like Aunt Tiger was enough to give me something to reminisce about my childhood. It also shows that these simple, seemingly unimportant folktales, passed on from generation to generation, can still — perhaps surprisingly — have a massive effect on the current generation. In my case, I still remember this lullaby to this day, and I will be singing it to my children in the future.

Customs

Taiwanese Customs & Traditions

Taiwanese traditions have been passed down through generations and continue to influence contemporary society on the island today. From tea ceremonies to ancestral worship, this section dives into the nuances of these practices that have been central to Taiwanese culture for centuries.

Holidays

Taiwanese Holidays & Celebrations

Taiwanese holidays like the Lantern Festival and Dragon Boat Festival uniquely blend traditional practices passed down generations with modern innovation. This section explores the origins, traditions, and modern celebrations of Taiwan's most important holidays, showing how these festivals continue to unite families and preserve cultural identity across generations.

Interview Bay Area High School Student on Lunar New Year

My family celebrates Lunar New Year each year by organizing family gatherings. They're sometimes big with all of our extended family, and sometimes it's just my grandparents coming over. We usually exchange red envelopes and we eat a lot of food. One of the traditions my family has is eating fish and saving the head and tail as leftovers. I think living in the US has definitely affected who is available and able to visit us.

I think these celebrations definitely help me stay in touch with my mom's side of the family. Her extended family is very big and I don't think I'd see them as much without celebrations such as Lunar New Year.

Children Interviews

Interviews with Taiwanese Children

This section gives a glimpse into Taiwanese life and culture through the perspectives of local community members. It captures Taiwanese students interviewing members of their community and family, and is an authentic experience into the rich culture of the island.