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Southern Min

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(Redirected fromMin Nan language)
Southern Min
  • Hoklo-Taiwanese
  • Mân Nam ngữ;Mân Nam ngữ
  • Bàn-lâm-gú
Ethnicity
Geographic
distribution
Linguistic classificationSino-Tibetan
Early forms
Subdivisions
Language codes
ISO 639-3nan
Linguasphere79-AAA-j
Glottologminn1241
Southern Min in mainlandChinaandTaiwan

Subgroups of Southern Min in mainland China and Taiwan
Chinese name
Simplified ChineseMân Nam ngữ
Traditional ChineseMân Nam ngữ
Literal meaning"Language of Southern Min [Fu gian ]"
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinMǐnnányǔ
Wade–GilesMin3-nan23
IPA[mìnnǎn ỳ]
Gan
RomanizationMîn-lōm-ngî
Hakka
RomanizationMîn-nàm-ngî
Yue: Cantonese
Yale RomanizationMáhn-nàahm yúh
JyutpingMan5-naam4jyu5
Southern Min
HokkienPOJBân-lâm-gí/Bân-lâm-gú
Eastern Min
FuzhouBUCMìng-nàng-ngṳ̄
Northern Min
Jian'ouRomanizedMâing-nâng-ngṳ̌
Notes
  1. ^ChaozhouShantou
  2. ^Min is believed to have split from Old Chinese, rather than Middle Chinese like other varieties of Chinese.[1][2][3]

Southern Min(simplified Chinese:Mân Nam ngữ;traditional Chinese:Mân Nam ngữ;pinyin:Mǐnnányǔ;Pe̍h-ōe-jī:Bân-lâm-gí/gú;lit.'Southern Min language'),Minnan(Mandarinpronunciation:[mìn.nǎn]) orBanlam(Min Nan Chinese pronunciation:[bàn.lǎm]), is a group of linguistically similar and historically relatedChinese languagesthat form a branch ofMin Chinesespoken inFu gian(especially theMinnan region), most ofTaiwan(many citizens are descendants of settlers from Fu gian ), EasternGuangdong,Hainan,and SouthernZhe gian g.[4]Southern Min dialects are also spoken by descendants ofemigrants from these areasindiaspora,most notably inSoutheast Asia,such asSingapore,Malaysia,thePhilippines,Indonesia,Brunei,Southern Thailand,Myanmar,Cambodia,Southern and Central Vietnam,San Francisco,Los AngelesandNew York City.Minnan is the most widely-spoken branch of Min, with approximately 48 million speakers as of 2017–2018.[5]

The most widely spoken Southern Min language isHokkien,which includesTaiwanese. Other varieties of Southern Min have significant differences from Hokkien, some having limitedmutual intelligibilitywith it, others almost none.Teochew,Longyan,andZhenanare said to have general mutual intelligibility with Hokkien, sharing similar phonology and vocabulary to a large extent.[6]On the other hand, variants such asDatian,Zhongshan,andQiong-Leihave historical linguistic roots with Hokkien, but are significantly divergent from it in terms of phonology and vocabulary, and thus have almost no mutual intelligibility with Hokkien. Linguists tend to classify them as separate languages.

Geographic distribution

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Mainland China

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Southern Min dialects are spoken in southernFu gian,specifically in thecitiesofXiamen,Quanzhou,Zhangzhou,and much ofLongyan,hence the name. In addition, varieties of Southern Min are spoken in several southeastern counties ofWenzhouinZhe gian g,theZhoushan archipelagooffNingboinZhe gian g,the town ofSanxiangat the southern periphery ofZhongshaninGuangdong,[7]and in theChaoshan(Teo-swa) region in Guangdong.

The variant spoken inLeizhou,Guangdong as well as inHainanis classified asHainaneseand is not mutually intelligible with mainstream Southern Min or Teochew.[citation needed]Hainanese is classified in some schemes as part of Southern Min and in other schemes as separate.[example needed][citation needed]

Puxian Minwas originally based on theQuanzhou dialect,but over time became heavily influenced byEastern Min,eventually losing intelligibility with Southern Min.[8]

Taiwan

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The Southern Min dialects spoken in Taiwan, collectively known asTaiwanese,is afirst languagefor most of theHoklo people,the main ethnicity of Taiwan. The correspondence between language and ethnicity is not absolute, as some Hoklo have very limited proficiency in Southern Min while some non-Hoklo speak Southern Min fluently.[9]

Southeast Asia

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There are many Southern Min speakers amongoverseas ChineseinSoutheast Asia.Many ethnicChineseimmigrants to the region wereHoklofrom southern Fu gian and brought the language to what is now present-dayMalaysiaandSingapore(formerlyBritish Malaya,theStraits Settlements,andBritish Borneo),Indonesia(the formerDutch East Indies), thePhilippines(formerSpanish East Indiesand later,US Philippine Islands (P.I.)),Brunei(former part ofBritish Borneo),Southern Thailand,Myanmar(British Burma),Cambodia(formerFrench CambodiaofFrench Indochina),SouthernVietnam(formerFrench CochinchinaofFrench Indochina) andCentralVietnam(formerFrench AnnamofFrench Indochina). In general, Southern Min from southern Fu gian is known asHokkien,Hokkienese, Fukien, or Fookien inSoutheast Asiaand is mostly mutually intelligible with Hokkien spoken elsewhere. ManySoutheast Asianethnic Chinese also originated in theChaoshanregion ofGuangdongand speakTeochew language,the variant of Southern Min from that region, particularlyThailand,Cambodia,Southern Vietnam,Malaysia,Singapore,Indonesia,etc. In thePhilippines,Philippine Hokkienis reportedly thenativeorheritage languageof up to 98.7% of theChinese Filipinocommunity in the Philippines, among whom it is known inHokkienChinese:Ta tiếng người / ta nông lời nói;Pe̍h-ōe-jī:Lán-nâng-ōe / Lán-lâng-ōe / Nán-nâng-ōe;lit.'our people's language'.

Southern Min speakers form the majority of Chinese in Singapore, with Hokkien being the largest group and the second largest beingTeochew.Despite the similarities, the two groups are rarely viewed together as "Southern Min".

Classification

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The variants of Southern Min spoken inZhe gian gprovince are most akin to that spoken in Quanzhou. The variants spoken inTaiwanare similar to the threeFu gianvariants and are collectively known asTaiwanese.

Those Southern Min variants that are collectively known as "Hokkien" inSoutheast Asiaalso originate from these variants. The variants of Southern Min in theChaoshanregion of eastern Guangdong province are collectively known asTeo-Swaor Chaoshan. Chaoshan Min is of great importance in theSoutheast AsianChinese diaspora,particularly inMalaysia,Thailand,Cambodia,Vietnam,Sumatra,andWest Kalimantan.ThePhilippinesvariant is mostly from the Quanzhou area as most of their forefathers are from the aforementioned area.

The Southern Min language variant spoken aroundShanweiandHaifengdiffers markedly fromTeochewand may represent a later migration from Zhangzhou. Linguistically, it lies betweenTeochewand Amoy. In southwesternFu gian,the local variants inLongyanandZhangpingform a separate division of Southern Min on their own. Among ethnic Chinese inhabitants ofPenang,MalaysiaandMedan,Indonesia,a distinct form based on theZhangzhou dialecthas developed. InPenang,it is calledPenang Hokkienwhile across theMalacca Straitin Medan, an almost identical variant[citation needed]is known asMedan Hokkien.

Varieties

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There are two or three divisions of Southern Min, depending on the criteria for Leizhou and Hainanese inclusion:

More recently, Kwok (2018: 157)[10]has proposed an alternative classification, with a divergent Northern branch that includesQuanzhou dialectbut notZhangzhou dialect,as shown below:

Hokkien

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Hokkien is the most widely spoken form of Southern Min, includingAmoy dialectandTaiwanese.Both of these developed as a combination ofQuanzhouandZhangzhouspeech. Varieties in South-East Asia includeSingaporean Hokkien,Penang Hokkien,Southern Peninsular Malaysian Hokkien,Medan Hokkien,andPhilippine Hokkien.

Chaoshan (Teo-Swa)

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Teo-Swa or Chaoshan speech (Triều Sán phiến) is a closely related variant of Southern Min that includes theKekyeo dialect,TeochewandSwatowdialects, and some considerHaklau Minto also be part of. It has limited mutual intelligibility with Hokkien, though they share somecognateswith each other. Chaoshan Min is significantly different from Hokkien in both pronunciation and vocabulary, and mutual intelligibility is difficult.[11]

Phonology

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Southern Min has one of the most diverse phonologies of Chinese varieties, with more consonants than Mandarin or Cantonese. Vowels, on the other hand, are more-or-less similar to those of Mandarin. In general, Southern Min dialects have five to sixtones,andtone sandhiis extensive. There are minor variations within Hokkien, and the Teochew system differs somewhat more.

Southern Min'snasalfinalsconsist of/m/,/n/,/ŋ/,and/~/.


Sino-Xenic comparisons

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Southern Min can trace its origins through theTang dynasty,and it also has roots from earlier periods.Hokkien peoplecall themselves "Tangpeople ", (Tn̂g-lângĐường người/Đường nông) which is synonymous to "Chinese people". Because of the widespread influence of the Tang culture during theGreat Tangdynasty, there are today still many Southern Min pronunciations of words shared by theSino-xenic pronunciationsofVietnamese,KoreanandJapaneselanguages.

English Han characters Mandarin Chinese Hokkien[12] Teochew Cantonese Korean Vietnamese Japanese
book Sách chhek/chheh cêh4 caak3 chaek() sách saku/satsu/shaku(さく/さつ/しゃく)
bridge Kiều qiáo kiâu/kiô giê5/gio5 kiu4 gyo() kiều kyō(きょう)
dangerous Nguy hiểm wēixiǎn / wéixiǎn guî-hiám guîn5/nguín5 hiem2 ngai4 him2 wiheom(위험) nguy hiểm kiken(きけん)
embassy Đại sứ quán dàshǐguǎn tāi-sài-koán dai6 sái2 guêng2 daai6 si3 gun2 daesagwan(대사관) đại sứ quán taishikan(たいしかん)
flag Kỳ kî5 kei4 gi() ki()
insurance Bảo hiểm bǎoxiǎn pó-hiám bó2-hiém bou2 him2 boheom(보험) bảo hiểm hoken(ほけん)
news Tin tức xīnwén sin-bûn sing1 bhung6 san1 man4 shinmun(신문) tân văn shinbun(しんぶん)
student Học sinh xuéshēng ha̍k-seng hak8 sêng1 hok6 saang1 haksaeng(학생) học sinh gakusei(がくせい)
university Đại học dàxué tāi-ha̍k/tōa-o̍h dai6 hag8/dua7 oh8 daai6 hok6 daehak(대학) đại học daigaku(だいがく)

Writing systems

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Both Hokkien and Chaoshan (TeochewandShantou dialects) have romanized writing systems and also respective Chinese characters. Inmainland China,it is known as Mân Nam văn (Bân-lâm-bûn), while inTaiwan,it is known as đài văn (Tâi-bûn). TheHan Chinese charactersare known in mainland China and Taiwan as chữ Hán (Hàn-jī / Hàn-lī). In Malaysia and Singapore, the Chinese characters are sometimes known as đường nông tự / đường người tự (Tn̂g-lâng-jī / Tn̂g-lâng-lī). In the Philippines, the Chinese characters are known as ta nông tự / ta người tự (Lán-nâng-dī) or hán văn tự (Hàm-bûn-dī).

History

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The Min homeland of Fu gian was opened to Han Chinese settlement by the defeat of theMinyuestate by the armies ofEmperor Wu of Hanin 110 BC.[13]The area features rugged mountainous terrain, with short rivers that flow into theSouth China Sea.Most subsequent migration from north to south China passed through the valleys of theXiangandGanrivers to the west, so that Min varieties have experienced less northern influence than other southern groups.[14]As a result, whereas mostvarieties of Chinesecan be treated as derived fromMiddle Chinese,the language described byrhyme dictionariessuch as theQieyun(601 AD), Min varieties contain traces of older distinctions.[15]Linguists estimate that the oldest layers of Min dialects diverged from the rest of Chinese around the time of theHan dynasty.[16][17]However, significant waves of migration from theNorth China Plainoccurred.[18]These include:

Jerry Normanidentifies four main layers in the vocabulary of modern Min varieties:

  1. A non-Chinese substratum from theoriginal languages of Minyue,which Norman andMei Tsu-linbelieve wereAustroasiatic.[19][20]
  2. The earliest Chinese layer, brought to Fu gian by settlers fromZhe gian gto the north during the Han dynasty.[21]
  3. A layer from theNorthern and Southern Dynastiesperiod, which is largely consistent with the phonology of theQieyundictionary.[22]
  4. Aliterary layerbased on thekoinéofChang'an,the capital of theTang dynasty.[23]

See also

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References

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  1. ^Mei, Tsu-lin(1970), "Tones and prosody in Middle Chinese and the origin of the rising tone",Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies,30:86–110,doi:10.2307/2718766,JSTOR2718766
  2. ^Pulleyblank, Edwin G.(1984),Middle Chinese: A study in Historical Phonology,Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, p. 3,ISBN978-0-7748-0192-8
  3. ^Hammarström, Harald;Forkel, Robert;Haspelmath, Martin;Bank, Sebastian (2023-07-10)."Glottolog 4.8 - Min".Glottolog.Leipzig:Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.doi:10.5281/zenodo.7398962.Archivedfrom the original on 2023-10-13.Retrieved2023-10-13.
  4. ^Cai Zhu, Huang Guo (1 October 2015).Chinese language.Xiamen: Fu gian Education Publishing House.ISBN978-7533469511.
  5. ^Southern MinatEthnologue(23rd ed., 2020)Closed access icon
  6. ^Lee, Tong Soon (2009).Chinese Street Opera in Singapore.University of IllinoisPress.ISBN9780252032462.
  7. ^Bodman, Nicholas C. (1985). Acson, Veneeta; Leed, Richard L. (eds.).The Reflexes of Initial Nasals in Proto-Southern Min-Hingua.Oceanic Linguistics Special Publications. Vol. 20. University of Hawaii Press. pp. 2–20.ISBN978-0-8248-0992-8.JSTOR20006706.
  8. ^Lien, Chinfa (2000-09-01). "Denasalization, Vocalic Nasalization and Related Issues in Southern Min: A Dialectal and Comparative Perspective". In Ting, Pang-Hsin; Yue, Anne O. (eds.).In Memory of Professor Li Fang-Kuei: Essays of Linguistic Change and the Chinese Dialects.Taipei: Academic Sinica.ISBN957-671-725-6.Retrieved1 September2024.
  9. ^"The politics of language names in Taiwan".ksc.kwansei.ac.jp.Retrieved2020-06-15.
  10. ^Kwok, Bit-Chee (2018).Southern Min: comparative phonology and subgrouping.Routledge studies in East Asian linguistics. Vol. 2. New York: Routledge.ISBN978-1-138-94365-0.
  11. ^Minnan/ Southern MinatEthnologue(18th ed., 2015)(subscription required)
  12. ^Iûⁿ, Ún-giân."Tâi-bûn/Hôa-bûn Sòaⁿ-téng Sû-tián"Đài văn / Hoa văn tuyến đỉnh từ điển[Taiwanese/Chinese Online Dictionary]. Archived fromthe originalon 6 October 2014.Retrieved1 October2014.
  13. ^Norman (1991),pp. 328.
  14. ^Norman (1988),pp. 210, 228.
  15. ^Norman (1988),pp. 228–229.
  16. ^Ting (1983),pp. 9–10.
  17. ^Baxter & Sagart (2014),pp. 33, 79.
  18. ^Yan (2006),p. 120.
  19. ^Norman & Mei (1976).
  20. ^Norman (1991),pp. 331–332.
  21. ^Norman (1991),pp. 334–336.
  22. ^Norman (1991),p. 336.
  23. ^Norman (1991),p. 337.

Sources

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Further reading

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