May 30, 2005

Here's a quick observation"

I find when Taiwanese people give a series of digits, such as ID numbers or phone numbers (which range from 8 - 10 digits), they usually blurt out the entire number in rapid-fire fashion. This is as opposed to what I'm used to in English, where we give 3 to 4 digits at a time. What's equally interesting is that the people here who are getting the numbers have no problem understanding it.

Taiwanese way:
"So, what's the number?"
"0939384855"
"Ok, thanks."

Canadian way:
"So, what's the number?"
"6-0-4"
"6-0-4"
"5-5-5"
"5-5-5"
"1-2-3-4"
"1-2-3-4. Ok, thanks."

Me getting a number in Taiwan:
"So, what's the number?"
"0939384855"
"0-9... and then?"

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