A beginner’s guide to Taiwanese English

Taiwan’s most widely-used language is Mandarin Chinese, the language of government and industry.Taiwanese is also widely spoken, especially here in the south.There’s also Hakka, 16 officially-recognized indigenous languages, two recognized dialects, and of course Taiwanese Sign Language.English isn’t official, but English words are used liberally in everyday life. Just not in the way you might expect…Here are 25 of the Taiwanese English terms I’ve picked up these past few years, along with their definitions:APPLiterally an app, but pronounced “A-P-P”.“Have you installed your bank’s APP?”bye-bye“Baī-baī” (in a high tone) is Chinese for goodbye. But to non-Chinese speakers, it sounds like the way someone would say goodbye to a baby.“See you next time, bye-bye!”business hotelA budget hotel, not for business travelers.“I’d avoid that business hotel.”carCan literally mean a car, but also other types of transport including trucks, vans, and scooters.“It started raining when I was riding my…