Adoption and Use
Tongyong Pinyin was the official romanization system in Taiwan but its use was voluntary. The romanization system one encounters in Taiwan varies according to which government authority administers the facility. Street signs in most areas employ Tongyong Pinyin, including the cities of Kaohsiung, Tainan, and surrounding counties. This contrast could be seen in the two entities that now make up the municipality of Taichung — Taichung County used Tongyong, while Taichung City has used Hanyu pinyin since at least 2004. Taipei uses Hanyu Pinyin exclusively. Taipei County (now New Taipei City) used Tongyong Pinyin, but in Taipei Metro stations, Tongyong Pinyin was given in parentheses after Hanyu Pinyin. Modified Wade-Giles spellings are still popularly used for many proper names, especially personal names and businesses.
The political impasse stalled Ministry of Education goals of replacing Zhuyin with pinyin to teach pronunciation in elementary school. Zhuyin is still widely used to teach Mandarin pronunciation to schoolchildren. Children's books published in Taiwan typically display Zhuyin characters next to Chinese characters in the text.
On September 17, 2008, the Ministry of Education announced that the government standard for romanization will be switched to Hanyu Pinyin nationwide, effective January 1, 2009. Individuals will retain the choice of what spellings to use for their names. This effectively scraps Tongyong Pinyin as the ROC's standard.
Read more about this topic: Tongyong Pinyin
Famous quotes containing the word adoption:
“Frankly, I adore your catchy slogan, “Adoption, not Abortion,” although no one has been able to figure out, even with expert counseling, how to use adoption as a method of birth control, or at what time of the month it is most effective.”
—Barbara Ehrenreich (b. 1941)