Attaining Proficiency in Written Taiji Romanisation for Penang Hokkien

Attaining proficiency in written Penang Hokkien means you are able to read passages in Penang Hokkien smoothly, without too much stops to determine the meaning of words from context. Taiji Romanization is designed to help you read sentences according to how the writer intends them to be read. This is achieved through the use of heterographs and sandhi tone. The following are some tips to help you attain proficiency.

Reading Penang Hokkien
Always learn new words in their citation form, that is, the form as found in the dictionary. Taking the word "to buy" as example, learn it as beh4, not as beh. Always learn the tone number of each new word that you learn along with the spelling, so that when you see the word in context, you will be able to recognize it according to its intended usage.

Wah1 boh3 pnua1hang2 boek1 beh4. I have nothing to buy.
Wah1 khee1 ban1san1 beh1 chye3. I do to the market to buy vegetables.

Writing Penang Hokkien
When writing in Penang Hokkien, get in the habit of adding the right tone to each syllable. All the subtleties of the language is captured by the tone you use.

Wah1 mm3 cai1 boek1 beh1 ha1mik1. I don't know what to buy.
Ie1 beh4 cit1-leh1, ie1 beh4 heh1-leh1, ka1liau4 ie1 tun1 boek1 beh4. He bought this, he bought that, everything he also wanted to buy.

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