From the academic perspective, Southern Min is one of the Chinese Language families, a dialect. Specifically, Taiwanese Southern Min(TSM) has resulted from a mixture of Formosan languages, Dutch, Japanese and Mandarin by way of language contact. It has preserved the basic structure, but is quite different from the Southern Min spoken in Mainland China. TSM is the natural result of a mixture of different accents.
The author has dedicated his research life to the study of TSM, and the profound result of his study is revealed in this book.
本書從宏觀語言學角度介紹臺灣閩南語的各種問題。首先介紹臺灣閩南語的基本觀念；其次敘述三百多年來閩南語 在臺灣的發展；然後從語音、語法、詞彙角度說明臺灣閩南語的語言特色；再其次詳細介紹臺灣閩南語的語音結構等問題；最後對曾經或目前正在使用的漢字、教羅 等書寫方式，做一簡單的介紹。書後有「研究參考書目、分韻俗諺、音節結構表」三個附錄，相信對閱讀本書正文或深入研究臺灣閩南語，應有一定助益。