As most readers of this site know, Taiwan has approached romanization and signage with a sloppiness that sometimes beggars belief. Although the situation has improved somewhat this decade, many errors remain. And even where there are not errors, people still must often contend with a variety of romanization systems.
Thus, my list of Taiwan place names may come in handy.
I made the list more than a year ago but put it on another website and never drew much attention to it. Now I’ve moved it here to Pinyin Info, where it may do more good.
The list, which is arranged by county and then by city, gives Chinese characters, Hanyu Pinyin (both with and without tone marks), Tongyong Pinyin (ugh!), and a commonly seen older form (usually bastardized Wade-Giles).
I have not bothered to include MPS2, because it is seen more on street signs than on maps. And, anyway, it’s on its way out. I strongly recommend using Hanyu Pinyin.
Mark,
I’m ashamed to say I’ve only just discovered your blog. (I’ve known about your site for some time.) It’s very impressive. I intend to write about it on my own blog at http://www.chinesepod.com in the next couple of days. First I have to delve into the very significant archives you’ve put together.
Ken Carroll
Just a little quibble – in Tainan City the Zhong and Xi districts were amalgamated a few years ago to produce Zh?ngx? (???). Otherwise, great work!
Ken: It appears we’re in much the same boat, as I’ve heard lots of good things about your site but hadn’t seen your blog yet. And I only today signed up for your free trial. It seems I’ve got a lot of reading (and listening) to do!
Taffy: Many thanks for the correction. (Serves me right for using Taiwan gov’t sources.) The revised file is up now.