Sanma Issue 10: Taiwanese Speaking Japanese

Sanma Issue 10: "Taiwanese Speaking Japanese" Why do Taiwanese call riding a motorcycle "o-toh-mai"? Do taxi drivers often refer to each other as "Yun-jiang" big brother? Do night market signs frequently feature the word "oishii"? And is the name of Tamsui's "a-gei" actually related to Japanese? What are the subtle connections between these seemingly familiar yet distant terms and Japan? Language is the vehicle of culture. Unlike written text, spoken words often carry a greater sense of everyday life. You can hear older generations' expressions in casual chats and the latest popular terms in convenience stores. Taiwan's language is a true "mixed-blood" tongue, integrating Dutch, Spanish, Hokkien, Hakka, and indigenous languages. Among these influences, Japanese integration is particularly ingenious, forming a unique "Taiwanese-style Japanese." When confronted with "history and literature," we're often quick to judge right and wrong. However, the words we use daily quietly reveal the true face of history. After the "repatriation" of Japanese-born Taiwanese back to Japan in 1946, many of them would still sing a few Taiwanese folk songs in Japan. Taiwanese grandmothers who received a Japanese education have become "goodwill ambassadors" capable of communicating with Japanese people even today. From Beitou, "Nakashi" spread throughout Taiwan, linking the melodies of Taiwanese and Japanese through enka. The intersection of Taiwanese and Japanese lingers in our most familiar daily moments, accumulating over time and becoming interjections in our conversations: "Wow, Taiwanese (Japanese) is also said this way!" Follow the Sanma editorial team as they visit, documenting a lecture on Taiwanese and Japanese literature by Associate Professor Wu Pei-chen of National Chengchi University's Graduate Institute of Taiwanese Literature and Japanese actor Kenji Kasai. Listen to the stories of common people from both regions within literature. Experience the warmth of Taiwanese people through Japanese photographer KOTORI Kawashima's self-study of Taiwanese. And don't forget to visit the "ancient capital" Tainan and join the neighbors of Zhengxing Street in speaking Taiwanese-style Japanese. This summer, let's catch up on the Taiwanese-style Japanese prelude we missed. The first chapter begins by glimpsing the music of historical intersections through Japanese words in Taiwanese!