The Ministry of Education yesterday announced the official launch of its Taiwan Hoklo Input Method Editor (台灣台語輸入法) application on Google Play and the App Store, aiming to promote the use of the Hoklo (commonly known as Taiwanese) on mobile platforms.
The ministry said in a statement that it has developed a reference table of Hoklo characters based on pronunciation and their closest meanings to Han Chinese characters, a move supported by online policy petitions to promote the digitization of Hoklo.
It has been using the reference chart to develop the input method editor since 2024, the ministry said.
Photo: Rachel Lin, Taipei Times
After incorporating the table into its operating system and releasing it with iOS 26, Apple became the first international company to offer systemic support for localized language on a digital platform, the ministry said.
The input method editor not only allows users to type Hoklo using the Pinyin system, but also supports a speech-to-text system, the ministry said.
For mobile platforms that cannot display the system's characters, the system would automatically seek the closest suitable Han Chinese word, it said.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Education
The input method editor should promote the use of Hoklo on mobile devices and increase the language's visibility, the ministry added.
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