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what language is spoken in taiwan

In Taiwan, there is a diverse linguistic landscape with several languages being spoken. Here are the main languages:

Official Language

Mandarin Chinese: This is the official language of Taiwan, introduced in 1945 and widely used in education, government, media, and formal communication. It is also known as "Taiwanese Mandarin" or "Guoyu" and is spoken by nearly everyone in Taiwan2 4 5.

Vernacular Languages

Taiwanese Hokkien (Taiwanese): This is the most-spoken native language in Taiwan, spoken by about 70% of the population. It is a subgroup of Southern Min languages and is widely used in everyday life, especially outside of Taipei2 3 5.
Hakka Chinese: Spoken by the Hakka ethnic group, primarily in northern and central Taiwan. Although it is still maintained by the Hakka community, it is slowly declining due to the dominance of Mandarin and Taiwanese Hokkien2 3 5.

Indigenous Languages

Formosan languages: These are the languages of the indigenous peoples of Taiwan, comprising at least 16 languages within the Austronesian language family. However, many of these languages are endangered, with only a small percentage of the indigenous population still speaking them1 3 5.

Immigrant and Foreign Languages

Southeast Asian languages: Languages such as Vietnamese, Indonesian, Tagalog, and Javanese are spoken by immigrant communities in Taiwan2 3.
English: Widely taught as a foreign language and increasingly important for international commerce. There are proposals to make English a second official language by 20302 5.
Japanese: Still spoken by some older generations due to the Japanese occupation of Taiwan from 1895 to 19452 4 5.

Overall, Taiwan's linguistic landscape is characterized by the coexistence of Mandarin Chinese as the official language, alongside various vernacular and indigenous languages.