POJ and TL

“Pe̍h-ōe-jī(POJ)” and “Tâi-uân Bân-lâm-gí Lô-má-jī Phing-im Hong-àn(TL)” are the most widely used romanization of “Taiwanese Hokkien”(one of Taiwan’s native language). They each have their own development history and background, and they have many differences in terms of usage rules and usage groups.

The original POJ was created by missionary Rev. W. H. Medhurst at Malaysia in 1810. Then it spread to China, and finally to Taiwan and many Southeast Asian countries. In the process, it was continuously improved by many missionaries and developed into the current version. The peak of the development of POJ in Taiwan was in 1880, but afterwards, due to the oppression of the regimes and the loss of native languages, it has gradually declined. POJ are mainly used in religious affairs, it was brought by missionaries for the purpose of preaching. At that time, most people in Taiwan spoke Taiwanese Hokkien and were illiterate. In order to let the people of Taiwan have the ability to read the Bible, they used POJ because it will be the most suitable text for Taiwanese to learn. The Presbyterian Church in Taiwan still uses POJ till now.

And for TL, in 1991, professor Âng Ûi-jîn and his partners created “Taiwan Language Phonetic Alphabet(TLPA)”, it is based on POJ, and with some changes. In 1998, TLPA was designated as the official phonetic transcription system of Taiwanese Hokkien and Hakka. After that, after many adjustments and integration with POJ, the government announced the integration phonetic transcription in 2006, which is TL, as the new official phonetic transcription system of Taiwanese Hokkien. Because it is the official transcription system, TL is used in official affairs the most, including the offical dictionary and text books. But also, it is tougher than POJ in many aspects, so less people use it.

Next, let’s look at the difference between the writing roles of POJ and TL. These are the main different parts:

1. “o͘ ” in POJ, “oo” in TL.

E. g. The word “all” in POJ is “só͘-ū”, but in TL it is “sóo-ū”.

2. “ch” in POJ, “ts” in TL.

E. g. The word “respect” in POJ is” chun-tiōng”, but in TL it is “tsun-tiōng”.

3. “chh”in POJ, “tsh” in TL.

E.g. The word “find” in POJ is ”chhōe”, but in TL it is “tshuē”.

4. “oe” in POJ, “ua” in TL.

E. g. The word “ground” in POJ is “tōe”, but in TL it is ”tuē”.

5. “oa” in POJ, “ua” in TL.

E. g. The word “Taiwan” in POJ is “Tâi-oân”, but in TL it is “Tâi-uân”.

6. “ek” in POJ, “ik” in TL.

E. g. The word “benefit” in POJ is “lī-ek”, but in TL it is ”lī-ik”.

7. “eng” in POJ, “ing”in TL.

E. g. The word “sacrifice” in POJ is ” hi-seng”, but in TL it is ”hi-sing”.

8. “ⁿ”(mark of nasal) in POJ, “nn” in TL.

E. g. The word “smell” in POJ is “phīⁿ”, but in TL it is ”phīnn”.

In summary, POJ have a very deep historical origin, while TL was developed on the basis of POJ in modern times. The writing rules of the two have almost the same foundation but there are still many differences. POJ are widely used by the folks and churches, while TL is more often used by the government. If you want to learn one of them, but are not sure which one to choose, then I think you can just follow your feelings. No matter which one you choose, they both have their own advantages, and it is not difficult to communicate them.