Question 1

Can we use our Mainland Mandarin recording for Taiwan?

Accepted Answer

Not without it being noticed. Taiwanese Mandarin lacks the erhua retroflex ending typical of northern Mainland speech, its intonation is softer, and a good deal of everyday vocabulary differs — which is the register most corporate and eLearning scripts live in. A Taiwanese audience places a Mainland reader within a sentence. We cast native Taiwanese speakers and keep a separate roster for Mainland Mandarin.

Question 2

Traditional or Simplified characters?

Accepted Answer

Traditional for Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao; Simplified for the Mainland and Singapore. They are different character forms rather than different fonts, so this is not something that can be swapped late. Simplified subtitles shown to a Taiwanese audience are harder to read and, more importantly, mark the content as produced for somewhere else. Settle it before any on-screen text is designed.

Question 3

Can we just convert our Simplified script to Traditional automatically?

Accepted Answer

Conversion gets you most of the way and then leaves the errors that matter. Some Simplified characters map to more than one Traditional character depending on meaning, and vocabulary differences survive conversion untouched — the text ends up technically Traditional but still reading as Mainland copy. We have a native Taiwanese linguist adapt it rather than relying on the conversion alone.

Question 4

Do you record Taiwanese Hokkien?

Accepted Answer

Not currently. Taiwanese Hokkien is a separate language rather than a variety of Mandarin, and we do not hold Hokkien talent, so we would rather say so than approximate it. This page covers Mandarin as spoken in Taiwan. If your project specifically needs Hokkien, tell us and we will come back to you honestly about what we could arrange.

Question 5

Do you have Taiwanese voices based in London?

Accepted Answer

Yes, three of our five. You can filter the library above for London-based talent, which also makes attended sessions in our Central London studios straightforward if you want to direct in the room rather than over a link.

Question 6

Should we produce Taiwan and Mainland versions together?

Accepted Answer

If both markets matter, yes, and scheduling them together is cheaper than commissioning them separately. What we would not recommend is producing one and stretching it to cover both — the text needs different characters and the audio needs different actors, so the saving evaporates once you account for the re-cut.

Question 7

Will our English timings still work?

Accepted Answer

Usually with some slack. Mandarin tends to run shorter than English in syllable count, which more often leaves room than takes it — though dense technical content can go the other way. We flag anything awkward at translation stage rather than compressing the read.

Question 8

What do you use Taiwanese Mandarin voice over for?

Accepted Answer

Corporate video and internal communications, eLearning and compliance training, advertising aimed at the Taiwanese market, technology and semiconductor-sector content, tourism, documentary narration, and app and product localisation.

Question 9

What audio formats and specs do you deliver?

Accepted Answer

Whatever your project needs — broadcast-standard WAV, MP3 or split stems, at the sample rate, bit depth and loudness (LUFS) you specify. Share your delivery spec and we'll match it.

Taiwanese Mandarin voice over services

We're expanding our Taiwanese Mandarin roster

The first decision is the character set, not the voice

What to know before you record

Traditional characters for Taiwan

No erhua

Everyday vocabulary differs

Taiwanese Hokkien is a separate language

How we can help

One partner for the whole Taiwan job

Taiwanese Mandarin voice over for every kind of content

Most common questions

Services that pair with Taiwanese Mandarin

Sound Taiwanese to a Taiwanese audience

Professional voice over services for your audio and video productions

Voice over

Translation

Subtitling

Transcription