________________________________

Hundreds of Europeans Are Learning Taiwanese Languages

How many languages do you speak? Maybe you speak three: a Taiwanese language,
Mandarin Chinese, and English! Maybe you speak more than three!

你會說幾種語言呢？也許你會一種台灣的方言、中文，還有英文！也許你會的還不只這三種！

Mandarin Chinese and English are the most spoken languages in the world. You
can speak with many, many people! You can learn about many countries.

中文和英文是全世界最普遍使用的語言。你可以用這兩種話跟很多人聊天，認識不同的國家。

Taiwan has many languages. People learning one can also learn about Taiwan.

台灣有很多種方言。學習台灣的方言能讓人更了解台灣！

In France, a school has Taiwanese language courses. Taiwanese teachers teach
them. There are 28 courses.

有一所法國學校開了由台灣老師教的台灣語言課程，總共有 28 門課。

Five courses are on Hoklo. Two are on Taiwanese Hakka. Eight are on Taiwanese
indigenous languages: Amis, Atayal, Bunun, Hla'alua, Paiwan, Puyuma, Rukai,
Saisiyat, and Truku. Thirteen are on Taiwanese Mandarin.

其中有 5 門是閩南話、2 門教客家話，還有 8
門是台灣原住民民族語課。除此之外，還有 13 門中文課！

Hundreds of European students are taking these classes! Most want to learn
about Taiwan. Some have family in Taiwan. They also want to know them better.

好幾百位歐洲學生在上這些課！這些學生想更了解台灣，也有一些人有台灣親戚，所以經由學習語言更了解他們。

Soon, hundreds of Europeans will speak a Taiwanese language! Su? la*!

*TRANSLATION
Su? la (Taiwanese Hokkien) = ?啦 = "Good job!"
________________________________________
Vocabulary

法國的學校不但教學生中文，還有各種台灣的方言。

1. how many 有幾個，或者多少。

How many languages do you want to learn this year? 你今年想學幾種語言?

At least 2! 至少兩種。

2. course 課程。

I even signed up for a Spanish course yesterday.我昨天甚至還報名了西班牙課。

Wow, very ambitious! 真有野心!

3. European 歐洲的。

So you'll learn 3 different languages.所以你要學三種不同的語言。

Right, because I'm traveling to 3 European
countries.對，因為我要去三個歐洲國家旅行。

4. teacher 老師。

Will your teacher tell you how to say, 你的老師會不會教你怎麼說:"Help! I'm
lost!"? [幫幫我，我迷路了]?

I'd like to learn "Help! I'm hungry." 我想學的是[幫幫我，我肚子餓]。

你今天學到哪些單字? how many有幾個，或者多少 course課程 European歐洲的
teacher老師

________________________________________

Quiz
1. What is one of the most spoken languages in the world?
a. Taiwanese Mandarin
b. Mandarin Chinese
c. European

2. Where can you learn a Taiwanese language in Europe?
a. Taiwan
b. France
c. China

3. How many Taiwanese language courses does the school have?
a. Two
b. Twenty-eight
c. Hundreds


Answers
1. b
2. b
3. b

 

________________________________

Hello, and welcome back to all-new episode of News Bites.

I'm Jacob Ingram.

And I'm Jeffrey Mo.

In this episode, we'll be talking about a social media gap in Taiwan, and a
seal in a bar.

And for today's News Flash: the opposition.

Stay tuned for those stories.
________________________________

台灣的社群媒體世代差距
Taiwan's Social Media Gap

You probably use social media (社群媒體) every single day!

A new survey (調查) in Taiwan looked at which apps people use.

It found that different age groups (年齡族群) like very different apps.

This is making an even bigger difference between generations (世代差距)
online.

First, let's look at the apps that almost everyone uses.

The survey found that YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram are the most common.

More than 70% of people use YouTube and Facebook often.

Instagram is also popular, with almost 45% using it.

But when we look at younger people (aged between 18-24), the favorite apps
change!

The most popular apps for this group are Instagram, Dcard, and Threads.

Instagram is huge (非常受歡迎), with 78% using it often.

Dcard and Threads are popular because they let users share their thoughts
without saying who they are (可以匿名表達).

They also let users talk about new and popular things (流行話題) quickly.

Older people like different apps.

People aged between 25-44 like PTT more.

The oldest group, ages 55-65, are the biggest users of YouTube.

People aged between 45-54 love Facebook the most, with almost 80% using it.

This shows there are clear divides between generations (世代分岐).

Young people are on Instagram, Dcard, and Threads, while older people prefer
Facebook and YouTube.

What about messaging apps (通訊軟體)?

The survey looked at those too.

LINE is the Number One messaging app for all ages.

Almost 95% of older adults (between 45 and 65 years old) use it.

Even among young adults (青少年), almost 80% use LINE every day.

Facebook Messenger is the second most common, especially for young people.

However, it's important to remember that social media can affect your mental
health (心理健康).

About 24% of all users feel worried or stressed if they miss updates.

This feeling is strongest for the 18- to 24-year-olds.

Yet more than half of users say they see posts that make them want to try new
things, like new food or events!
超過一半的使用者表示，社群媒體上的貼文會讓他們想嘗試新事物，例如新的食物或活動。

________________________________

Today we have 10-year-old Peter from New Taipei Municipal Tur Ya Kar
Elementary & Junior High School who tells us an interesting fact about the
human body.

***BITE-SIZED BREAK***

Hey, that's interesting, Peter! You know, cats and dogs have stronger scenes
of smell (嗅覺) than humans. I wonder how many scents they can 'store' in
their brains.
________________________________

紐西蘭海豹 自己走進酒吧
A Seal Walks into a New Zealand Bar

Our next story is about a baby seal (小海豹) that wandered into a bar in
Richmond, New Zealand.

It happened on a wet and quiet Sunday evening.

The co-owner (老闆), Bella Evans, first thought it was a dog.

But when she looked again, she realized (意識到) it was a seal - and a very
young one!

Everyone in the bar was shocked.

No one knew what to do (大家都不知所措), because the seal did not want to
leave.

It went into a restroom, and hid under a dishwasher.

The workers quickly unplugged (拔掉電源) the machine to keep the animal safe.

A customer then brought a dog cage (狗籠) from home.

Bella Evans tried to think of a way to get the seal out (想辦法讓牠出去).

Finally, she remembered the bar's special pizza topping: salmon (鮭魚)!

She told her fianc? (未婚夫), 'Grab the salmon!' hoping the food would
attract the seal (吸引小海豹).

Soon, conservation rangers (保育巡守員) arrived.

They were already looking for the seal that day - it was their fourth call
(他們當天接到四次通報)!

Many people in the town had reported seeing the young seal wandering around
(四處遊走).

Rangers said the bar staff did a great job keeping the seal safe.

They took the baby animal to nearby Rabbit Island, a place with no dogs where
seals can rest safely (安全休息).

Experts say young seals sometimes follow rivers far inland, even up to 15
kilometers.
專家表示，年幼的海豹有時會沿著河流一路往內陸移動，甚至可達十五公里。

In fact, this is normal behavior for seals!

New Zealand now has more seals thanks to programs that keep them safe.

Scientists even call this time of year 'silly season' (滑稽的季節), because
seals show up in strange places (奇怪的地方).

Bella Evans joked that the seal - now nicknamed (暱稱為) Fern - was her first
'unruly patron' (不守規矩的客人).

The bar now jokes that it truly has the 'seal of approval' (海豹認證).

Haha! Nothing like a good pun (雙關語)!
________________________________

So in today's News Bites:

Different age groups in Taiwan use different social media apps, creating a
generation gap.

Younger people prefer Instagram, Dcard, and Threads for anonymous expression.

Older people like Facebook and YouTube.

LINE is the top messaging app.
________________________________

And...

A baby fur seal walked into a bar and hid under a dishwasher.

The owner tried to use salmon to attract the young seal.

Conservation rangers found the seal and took the baby animal to a safe island.

Young seals often wander into strange places in New Zealand.
________________________________

Today's vocabulary term is the opposition, or '反對黨' in Mandarin.

In politics, the opposition refers to the political parties that are not in
power.

Even though they are not the ruling party (執政黨), they still play an
important role in democracy.

The opposition watches the government, asks tough questions, and challenges
(質疑) decisions they believe are wrong or unfair.
________________________________

If you have a fun fact, a joke or interesting news story you'd like to share
with us, record your message and send us your Bite-Sized Break to, and you
might hear it in an episode.

We'll see you next time for an exciting new episode of News Bites!