愛到才知痛 -Hokkien Dialect 福建话

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• published: 20 Apr 2009
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Hokkien (traditional Chinese: 福建話; simplified Chinese: 福建话, POJ: Hok-kiàn-oē; traditional Chinese: 福佬話; simplified Chinese: 福佬话, POJ: Hok-ló-oē), or QuanzhouZhangzhou, is a variant of Min Nan Chinese spoken in southern Fujian, Taiwan, and by many overseas Chinese throughout South-east Asia. It is closely related to Teochew, though mutual comprehension is difficult, and somewhat more distantly related to Hainanese, with which it shares only minimal intelligibility. Hokkien includes a variety of dialects of which Amoy and the Tainan variant of Taiwanese are considered standards, being in the middle of dialectic divides and thus enjoying the highest intelligibility amongst the varying dialects. Hokkien originated in the Southern regions of Fujian province, an important centre for trade and migration, and has since been spread beyond China, being one of the most common Chinese languages overseas. A form of Hokkien akin to that spoken in southern Fujian is also spoken in Taiwan, where it goes by the name Tâi-oân-oē or Hō-ló-oē. The ethnic group for which Hokkien is considered the native language is the Holo or Hoklo, the main ethnicity of Taiwan. The correspondence between language and ethnicity is not absolute, as some Hoklo have limited proficiency in Hokkien while some non-Hoklos speak it fluently. There are many Hokkien speakers also among overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia. Many ethnic Chinese emigrants to the region were Hoklo from southern Fujian, and brought the language to what is now Indonesia (the former Dutch East Indies) and present day Malaysia and Singapore (formerly Malaya and the British Straits Settlements). Many of the Hokkien dialects of this region are highly similar to Taiwanese and Amoy. Hokkien is reportedly the native language of up to 98.5% of the community of ethnic Chinese in the Philippines, among whom it is also known as Lan-nang or Lán-lâng-oē ("Our peoples language"). Hokkien speakers form the largest group of Chinese in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. Southern Fujian is home to three main Hokkien dialects. They are known by the geographic locations to which they correspond (listed north to south): Chôan-chiu (Chinchew / Quanzhou) (泉州) Ē-mn̂g (Amoy / Xiamen) (廈門) Chiang-chiu (Changchew / Zhangzhou) (漳州) As Amoy is the principal city of southern Fujian, its dialect is considered the most important, or even prestige accent. The Amoy dialect is a hybrid of the Chinchew and Changchew dialects. Amoy and the Amoy dialect have played an influential role in history, especially in the relations of Western nations with China, and was one of the most frequently learned of all Chinese languages/dialects by Westerners during the second half of the 19th century and the early 20th century. The variants spoken in Taiwan are similar to the three Fujian variants, and are collectively known as Taiwanese. Taiwanese is used by a majority of the population and bears much importance from a socio-political perspective, forming the second (and perhaps today most significant) major pole of the language. The variants of Hokkien in Southeast Asia also originate from these variants. Amoy speech is a hybrid of Chinchew and Changchew speech. Taiwanese is also a hybrid of these two dialects. Taiwanese in northern Taiwan tends to be based on Chinchew speech, whereas the Taiwanese spoken in southern Taiwan tends to be based on Changchew speech. There are minor variations in pronunciation and vocabulary between Chinchew and Changchew speech. The grammar is basically the same. Additionally, Taiwanese includes several dozen loanwords from Japanese. On the other hand, the variants spoken in Singapore and Malaysia have a substantial amount of loanwords Malay and to a lesser extent, from English and other languages. Spoken in: People's Republic of China, Taiwan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam, and other areas of Hoklo settlement Region: Southern Fujian province, Taiwan, South-east Asia Total speakers: c. 35 million Ranking: 21 (Southern Min group as a whole) Language family: Sino-Tibetan Chinese Min, Southern Min, Hokkien