The main languages are Traditional Mandarin Chinese and English. Older residents usually cannot speak much English, and very young kids usually cannot either, since the Taiwanese introduce English to children in 3rd grade. Some residents also speak Hokkien, an indigenous language that is also taught as an elective in schools. Taiwan wants to preserve its indigenous langauges, so it offers the local ones to local students in many places. Indigenous is called "原住民", which means "original residents". There is one Mexican native in Jinhu, Kinmen, who only speaks Spanish and owns a taco truck. She makes the best tacos and quesadillas. I went to Jinhu to eat her tacos and spoke Spanish with her. Her husband is Taiwanese and speaks English, Spanish, and Chinese. He usually translates for her but was in China for work. It has been nice getting to know her better and speak with her in her home language. It is kind of like my home language too, because English and Spanish are the most common languages in America, and I spent a lot of time in Hispanic communities. It is also very fun speaking Spanish with one person, English with the next, and Chinese with the next - you can do that in Kinmen!
