C Customer (A.)
TD Taxi driver (K.)
S Shopkeeper (J.)
T Teacher (S.)
Citation form tones are shown below, improvised with extra characters when they couldn't be produced as single character (e.g., the verb to be [si]). It wasn't always practical to use the same spellings we used in class, so some church romanization spellings are used, e.g., the asterisk instead of the superscript n for nasal endings of words, the double o instead of the o with a superscript dot.
(In parentheses: suggestions for non-verbal language]
[In square brackets: English meaning]
C: Ùn-chiàng! [Driver!] TD: Sío-chía, lí hó. _ _ Lí si Tâi-oân-lâng á-si Tiong-kok-lâng? [Hello, Miss. Are you Taiwanese or Chinese?] _ C: Góa si Tiong-kok-lâng. [I'm Chinese.] TD: Siá*? [(Irritated/incredulous) What? (Goes back to reading newspaper instead of preparing to drive customer.)] _ C: Góa si Tâi-oân-lâng. [I'm Taiwanese.] ' _ TD: Hó. Jip-lâi. Lí aì khì tó-ui? [Okay, get in. Where do you want to go?] C: Lâu Tiàm. [The Liu Family Store.] ' _ ' TD: Chin che lâng kóng hit keng Tiàm ê mih-kia* chiok siok, _ _ m-kù góa m-bat khì-kòe. _ ' _ Tiàm ti sím-mih sóo-chai? [Many people say their goods are quite cheap, but I have never gone there. Where is it?] _ _ ' _ C: Si ti îu-kiok au-piah. [It's behind the Post Office.] ' _ . TD: Sin îu-kiok, si bô? [The new post office?] _ ' C: Si. Tùi chia it-tit kîa*, _ _ te sa* ê loo-kháu oat chìa*-chhíu-pêng. ' _ Îu-kiok ti tò-chhíu-pêng. [Yes. From here go straight, at the third intersection go right, and the Post Office is on the left.] _ _ ' _ _ _ . TD: Si ti hak-hau ê tùi-bin, si bô? [Opposite the school?] ' C: Tioh. [Yes.] >>>DURING THE RECKLESSLY DRIVEN TRIP, CUSTOMER ASKS TAXI DRIVER TO DRIVE MORE CAREFULLY. TAXI DRIVER RESPONDS WITH "Hó, hó." BUT DOESN'T MAKE ANY REAL CHANGES.<<< . ' _ TD: Kàu a. Sì-chap-ji khoo. [Here we are. NT$420.] ' _ C: Hó. Góa lâi bé mih-kia*. [Okay, I'm going to shop.] _ TD: Góa ia beh lâi. [I want to go, too.] _ C: Si àn-chóa*? [(Annoyed) Why?] _ ' TD: Góa ia beh khoà* chit-ê. [(Oblivious to C's being annoyed) I want to look around.] S: Sío-chía, Sin-se*, lí hó. [Hello, Miss. Hello, Sir.] C: Thâu-ke-nîu, lí hó. [Hello, shopkeeper.] TD: Lí hó. [Hello.] S: Sit-lé, sin-se*, _ _ ' _ lí be-sái ti chia chiah "bin-láng". [I'm sorry, sir, You can't eat "bin-lang" here.] TD: Ooh. [Oh. (Looks around for someplace to spit, then spits in pocket.)] ' S: Lín aì beh bé sím-mih? [What would you like to buy?] _ _ . C: Lí u be pío-á bô? [Do you have watches?] ' S: Chin che khóan. Lí aì tó chit-khóan pío-á? _ Góa u Eng-kok pío-á, Bí-kok pío-á, Tek-kok pío-á.... [Many kinds. What kind would you like? I have British watches, American watches, German watches,...] C: Hó, hó. Góa beh khòa* Tek-kok pío-á. [(Interrupting Shopkeeper) May I see a German watch?] S: Tek-kok pío-á chin súi. [German watches are very beautiful.] _ _ C: Goa-che chî*? [How much?] S: Kaù-chheng chhit pah khoo. [NT$9700.] TD: Chiok kuì! [How expensive!] S: (Noticing but ignoring TD's comment) _ _ Góa ia u chit-ê Eng-kok pío-á. Bô kuì. [I also have this British watch. It's not expensive.] TD: Sî-kan bô chún! [The time is wrong!] _ C (to TD): Mài kóng-oe! _ _ ' ' _ Lí m-si kóng lí beh khòa* pat ê mih-kia*? [Be quiet! Didn't you say you wanted to look at some other things?] TD: Sit-lé. _ _ _ Thâu-ke-nîu, cha-poo ê pian-sóo ti tó-ui? [Excuse me. Shopkeeper, where is the men's bathroom?] S: (Pointing) ' It-tit kîa*, oat tò-chhíu-pêng. [Go straight, then left.] _ TD: To-sia. [Thanks.] ' C: Thâu-ke-nîu. Góa aì khoà* tò-pêng hit-ê. [Shopkeeper, could I see the one on the left?] _ S: Chit-ê Bí-kok pío-á chin súi. Bô kuì. _ Sî-kan ia chún. [This American watch is very beautiful. It's not expensive. (Somewhat sarcastically:) And the time is correct.] _ _ C: Goa-che chî*? [How much?] ' _ S: Lak-chheng goo. [NT$6500.] _ ' ' C: Góa si hak-seng, bô sím-mih chî*. . . . . _ _ ' ' Lí e-sái be siok chit-sut-á bô? [I'm a student and don't have much money. How about a small discount?] ' _ S: Hó. Lak-chheng ji. [Okay. $6200.] _ C: Hó, to-sia. (Pays money.) [Great, thanks.] T: A-ché, lí hó! [Big sister, hi!] _ S: Sío-moe, lí hó! _ . Chit ui sío-chía tú-tú a bé chit-ê chin súi ê pío-á. [Little sister, hi! This woman just bought this beautiful watch.] C: Lí hó. [Hello.] T: Lí hó. _ _ _ ' Góa si ti Tâi-oân tai-hak kà Eng-bûn. / . Tú-tú tùi Bí-kok tng-lâi. [(To Customer) Hello. I teach English at National Taiwan University. I just got back from America.] ' _ C: Lí khì Bí-kok sím-mih sóo-chai? [Where did you go in New York?] _ ' T: Góa khì Níu iok tai-hak kà Tâi-gí. [I went to New York University to teach Taiwanese.] . _ _ _ ' _ _ S: Sío-moe, lí u be Níu-iok ê mih-kia* hoo góa bô? [Sister, did you buy the New York goods for me?] _ TD: Thâu-ke-nîu, chhía*-mng, _ _ _ . lí kóng cha-poo ê pian-sóo ti chìa*-chhíu-pêng, si bô? [(Interrupting the conversation) Shopkeeper, excuse me, you said the men's bathroom was on the right, didn't you?] S: (Somewhat irritated.) _ ' _ _ M-tioh. He si cha-bóo ê pian-sóo! [No, that's the woman's bathroom!] TD: Ooh. Sit-lé. [Oh, sorry.] _ _ _ . T: Chit ui si lín ang, si bô? [Is this your husband?] _ C: I kan-na si ùn-chiàng. [He's just the taxi driver.] _ _ TD: Góa si; Hoo Kian-Siông. _ _ Chhía*-mng, lí si... [(Ignoring C's remark) I'm Kian-Siong Hoo. And you are...] _ . . T: Hoo sin-se*, lí hó. _ _ Góa si thâu-ke-nîu ê sío-moe. [Hello, Mr. Ho. I'm the shopkeeper's younger sister.] ' _ TD: Chin hoa*-hí kap lí sek-sai. _ _ Lí kám-ia-si thâu-ke-nîu? [Nice to meet you. Are you also a shopkeeper?] _ _ _ _ T: M-si. Góa si lau-su. _ _ _ _ M-kú góa ti níu-iok ke bé Loo-lê pío-á hoo a-ché. [No, I'm a teacher. But I buy Rolex watches on the streets of New York. (Gives Rolex watches to Shopkeeper.)] C: (Looks at watch more carefully, suspicious of its quality, then looks at shopkeeper. Turns to Taxi Driver.) Ùn-chiàng... [Driver...] / . . TD: Sío-chía, lí aì tng-khì bô? [Miss, did you want to go back?] . ' _ T: Lí chiah-pá boe? _ Chin u-mîa ê Lí An beh lâi góan chhù. ' _ Lán lâi chò-hóe chiah-png. [Have you eaten yet? The famous Ang Lee is coming over. Let's eat together.] S: (Makes "shush-ing" motions to Teacher when Teacher mentions Ang Lee.) _ _ C: Sit-lé, góa u tai-chì. Góa seng lâi cháu. [Sorry, I have to go. I'll be going now.] ' TD: Sío-chía, sit-lé. ' _ Góa aì kap Lí An sek-sai. [Miss, I'm sorry. I want to meet Ang Lee.] _ ' C: Lí si sím-mih khóan ê ùn-chiàng? . _ _ / C: Hó, góa e-hiáu kiâ* loo tng-khì. [(Annoyed at unexpectedly not having a ride back.) What kind of a taxi driver are you? Fine, I can walk home.] _ TD: Hó. Chài-hoe. [Okay, bye.] _ _ ' . S: Sío-moe kóng-m-tioh a. ' Lí An kin-á-jit bô beh lâi. [My sister was wrong. Ang Lee is not coming.] TD: I bô beh lâi? Boâ-kín. ' _ Lán lâi chiah-png. [He's not coming? That's okay. Let's eat.] ' _ S + T: Góan lâi chiah-png. [(Emphasizing *Góan* as opposed to *Lán* while pushing Taxi Driver out of store.) *We'll* eat, not you.] TD: Sío-chía! [Miss!]