Mayor Ma has said that maybe he’d put up signs in both tongyong and hanyu in some places, cuz “they’re 85 percent the same” (they’re not).
Just for those of you who follow this topic at all, I ran a quick check earlier today on what percentage of Taipei street names would be different in these supposedly “compatible” systems: 41 percent. That’s getting pretty close to half. On a practical level, the difference might be even higher, given that many major roads (with more signs) have different spellings.
I also ran a check on what percentage of street signs could be counted on to provide accurate pronunciation information if all of them were rendered consistently and “correctly” in bastardized Wade-Giles, which has been the de facto “standard.” Only 33 percent would work.
That would have to be either Ba-Teh Road, or Nan-Ging E. Rd. At least in Taipei anyway…
cranky, mayor Ma is just amazing, the poles which hold the street signs are already cluttered with Romanization, Chinese and this Blvd and Ave crap, who exactely is he trying to please? Who knows next week he may decide to put 5 different systems on one sign
We should all feel lucky there is a roman script being used at all and stop complaining. We are a bunch foreigners here anyway. You guys get lost a lot? They can spell the road however they want, and I would still know where I was. What’s the big deal? Cranky, you are fluent in Chinese and can read the sign like a lot of us here anyway.
Ma probably just wants to make some kickbacks from the sign companies as he is a KMT guy and they like to do that kind of thing no?
Cranky, you already know my opinion on all of this from my past posts on this topic. I think I am the only foreigner that doesn’t want HanYu Commie Pinyin used here in Taiwan, even though I learned it in college.
What amazes me is that if you go to Taipei near the train station, it is near impossible to walk on the sidewalk as there are so many scooters, yet the Mayor is more concerned about which Rominization to use.
Dear Mr. Mayor:
Once you get the fucking scooters off the sidewalk (especially in a major shopping district) then you can start to worry about Romanizing street names.
Get it? Taipei can never be and will never be a city worth visiting unless you fix the sidewalks. Then and only then should you concern yourself with making sure that visitors are able to find their way around.
Take a tour of any “real” international city and see how it is done.
Stop wasting money on this goddamned stupidity.
Let it go until you have you have sorted out the shit, because right now glamor girl, no one really gives a toss.
Hobart is right. Most of us who have been here awhile look at the Chinese to figure out what the English means anyway. Or we just recognize the area. The romanized signs are for tourist and newbies.
[quote=“Hobart”]I think I am the only foreigner that doesn’t want HanYu Commie Pinyin used here in Taiwan, even though I learned it in college.
Let the Flames Begin![/quote]
Here’s the first one:
That would be Hanyu Pinyin, please! Spellings like HanYu PinYin, NanJing E. Road etc. are NOT Hanyu Pinyin and in my opinion not very comfortable to read.
“The romanized signs are for tourist and newbies.”
Whilst this displays a certain degree of arrogance towards those who have just got here, (if he wasn’t a newbie himslelf, what is he doing on this site ? go to a local, Taiwanese site…) he has a good point. When did you last see Chinese signs in New York or London ? The fact that the Taiwanese are doing this is quite amazing really. Yes, I agree that they should adopt one system It matters less whether it is right or wrong than whether it is consistent. I’ve got the ubiqutious Taipei street map here which says “Shi Pai” but “Shih Pai Park”. I mean, they are within one inch of each other.
Anyway, why bitch about this issue ? Let the government worry about this and lets worry about our own lives !!!
In the past the most notoriously misspelled roads seemed to be
Hsinyi Road (old spelling, I know) and Hsinsheng South Road.
How are those spelled now? Just curious!
Wow, got an answer from the Preview feature! Those two
streets had three or four different spellings as you went up
and down the street. I had hoped that things would get
better, but it seems unlikely.
But I do agree with the writers who said that getting the
scooters off the sidewalk (moving or parked) is a far bigger
issue.
[quote=“TongueTwister”]In the past the most notoriously misspelled roads seemed to be
Hsinyi Road (old spelling, I know) and Hsinsheng (Xinsheng) South Road.
How are those spelled now? Just curious!
[/quote]
I used to live on Hsingyi Road in Tien Mu (technically Beitou) (next alley up from the unfortunate SA military attache). That was fun getting a taxi home half-cut at three in the morning. “No, not Hsinyi, Hsingyi!” Combine the drunkard’s inability to clearly differentiate “s” and “sh” (never mind “x”) with the Taiwanese inability to differential final “n” and “ng” and you have almost total incomprehensibility on both sides. “OK, Shingey Loo.” / "Er, are you sure that’s Tien Mu “Shingey Loo” / “Ah, Tien Mu Shingey Loo, zai nali ?” / “OK. Hic. Tien Mu Bei Lu yizhi zou…zzzzzzzz”
