Min Nan (閩南語 / 闽南语 Bân-lâm-gú)
Spoken in:	People's Republic of China, Taiwan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Philippines, Vietnam, and other areas of Min Nan and Hoklo settlement
Region:	Southern Fujian province; the Chaozhou-Shantou (Chaoshan) area and Leizhou Peninsula in Guangdong province; extreme south of Zhejiang province; most of Taiwan; much of Hainan (if Hainanese or Qiong Wen is included)
Total speakers:	49 million
Ranking:	21 (if Qiong Wen is included)
Genetic classification:
Official status
Official language of:	None (Legislative bills have been proposed for Taiwanese (Amoy Min Nan) to be one of the 'national languages' in the Republic of China); one of the statutory languages for public transport announcements in the ROC
Regulated by:	None (Republic of China Ministry of Education and some NGOs are influential in Taiwan)
Language codes
ISO 639-1	zh
ISO 639-2
SIL
See also: Language – List of languages

Min Nan, Minnan, or Min-nan (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: 閩南語; Pinyin: Mǐnnányǔ; POJ: Bân-lâm-gú; "Southern Min" or "Southern Fujian" language) refers to a family of Chinese languages/dialects which are spoken in southern Fujian and neighboring areas, and by descendants of emigrants from these areas in diaspora. In common parlance, Min Nan usually refers to Xiamen speech (better known as the Amoy language/dialect), which is usually called Taiwanese by residents of Taiwan, and Hokkien by residents of Southeast Asia. Amoy is a combination of Quanzhou and Zhangzhou speech. The Min Nan family also includes Teochew and Qiongwen, which have limited mutual intelligibilty with Amoy.

Min Nan (Southern Min) forms part of the Min language group, alongside several other divisions. The Min languages/dialects are part of the Chinese language group, itself a member of the Sino-Tibetan language family. Min Nan is not mutually intelligible with Eastern Min, Cantonese, or Mandarin. As with other varieties of Chinese, there is a political dispute as to whether Min Nan should be called a language or a dialect. (See Identification of the varieties of Chinese for greater detail.)

Geographic distribution

Min Nan is spoken in the southern part of Fujian province, two southern counties of Zhejiang province, the Zhoushan archipelago off Ningbo in Zhejiang, and the eastern part of Guangdong province (Chaoshan region). The Qiong Wen variant spoken in the Leizhou peninsula of Guangdong province, as well as Hainan province, is classified in some schemes as part of Min Nan and in other schemes as separate.

A form of Min Nan akin to that spoken in southern Fujian is also spoken in Taiwan, where it has the native name of Tâi-oân-oē or Hō-ló-oē. The (sub)ethnic group for which Min Nan is considered a native language is known as the Holo (Hō-ló) or Hoklo, the main ethnicity of Taiwan. The correspondence between language and ethnicity is generally true though not absolute, as some Hoklo have very limited proficiency in Min Nan while some non-Hoklos speak Min Nan fluently.

There are many Min Nan 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). In general, Min Nan from southern Fujian is known as Hokkien, Hokkienese, or Fukien in Southeast Asia, and is extremely similar to Taiwanese. Many Southeast Asian ethnic Chinese also originated in Chaoshan region of Guangdong province and speak Teochew, the variant of Min Nan from that region. Min Nan 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 people’s language").

Classification

Southern Fujian is home to three main Amoy accents. They are known by the geographic locations to which they correspond:

• Amoy (Xiamen) (廈門)
• Changchew (Zhangzhou) (漳州)
• Chinchew (Quanzhou) (泉州)

As Xiamen (Amoy) is the principal city of southern Fujian, the Xiamen accent is considered the most important, or even prestige accent. The Xiamen accent is a hybrid of the Quanzhou and Zhangzhou accents. Xiamen 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 of Min Nan spoken in Zhejiang province are most akin to that spoken in Quanzhou.

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.

Those Min Nan variants that are collectively known as "Hokkien" in Southeast Asia also originate from these variants.

The variants of Min Nan in the Chaoshan region of eastern Guangdong province are collectively known as Teochew or Chaozhou. Teochew is of great importance in the Southeast Asian Chinese diaspora, particularly in Malaysia (where Teochew people form a substantial part of the ethnic Chinese population), Vietnam, Thailand and other locations.

The Min Nan variant spoken around Shanwei and Haifeng differs markedly from Teochew and may represent a later migration from Zhangzhou. Linguistically, it lies between Teochew and Amoy.

In southwestern Fujian, the local variants in Longyan and Zhangping form a separate division of Min Nan on their own.

Among ethnic Chinese inhabitants of Penang, Malaysia and Medan, Indonesia, a distinct form of Zhangzhou (Changchew) Hokkien has developed. In Penang, it is called Penang Hokkien while across the Malacca Strait in Medan, an almost identical variant is known as (in Indonesian).

Tones

In general, Min Nan variants have seven to eight tones, and tone sandhi is extensive. There are minor variations between the Quanzhou and Zhangzhou tone systems. The Teochew tone system differs significantly from Quanzhou and Zhangzhou speech. Taiwanese tones follow the same scheme as Quanzhou and Zhangzhou, depending on the area of Taiwan. See Amoy and Teochew for examples of Min Nan tone systems.

Comparison

Xiamen speech is a hybrid of Quanzhou and Zhangzhou speech. Taiwanese is also a hybrid of Quanzhou and Zhangzhou speech. Taiwanese in northern Taiwan tends to be based on Quanzhou speech, whereas the Taiwanese spoken in southern Taiwan tends to be based on Zhangzhou speech. There are minor variations in pronunciation and vocabulary between Quanzhou and Zhangzhou speech. The grammar is basically the same. Additionally, Taiwanese includes several dozen loanwords from Japanese. In contrast, Chaozhou speech is significantly different from Quanzhou and Zhangzhou speech in both pronunciation and vocabulary.

Mutual intelligibility

Main article: Mutual intelligibilty

• Spoken: Quanzhou speech, Xiamen (Amoy) speech, Zhangzhou speech and Taiwanese are mutually intelligible. According to www.glossika.com, Chaozhou (Teochew) speech and Amoy speech are 84.3% phonetically similarhttp://www.glossika.com/en/dict/research/mutint/phon/minnan.php and 33.8% lexically similarhttp://www.glossika.com/en/dict/research/mutint/lex/minnan.php, whereas Mandarin and Amoy Min Nan are 62% phonetically similarhttp://www.glossika.com/en/dict/research/mutint/phon/minnan.php and 15.1% lexically similarhttp://www.glossika.com/en/dict/research/mutint/lex/minnan.php. In comparison, German and English are 60% lexically similarhttp://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=deu In other words, Chao-Shan, including Swatow (both of which are variants of Teochew), has very low intelligibility with Amoyhttp://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=nan, and Amoy and Teochew are not mutually intelligible with Mandarin. However, many Amoy and Teochew speakers speak Mandarin as a second or third language.
• Written: Min Nan dialects lack a standardized written language. Min Nan speakers are taught how to read Standard Mandarin in school. As a result, there has not been an urgent need to develop a writing system. In recent years, an increasing number of Min Nan speakers have become interested in developing a standard writing system (either by using Chinese Characters, or using Romanized script). For a phonological and lexical comparison of major Sino-tibetan languages (including prominent varieties of Min Nan), see .

Scripts and orthographies

Like most ethnic Chinese, whether from mainland China, Taiwan, Singapore, or other parts of Southeast Asia, when writing Chinese, Min Nan speakers use Chinese characters as in Standard Mandarin, although there are a number of special characters which are unique to Min Nan and sometimes used in informal writing (as is the case with Cantonese). Where standard Chinese characters are used, they are not always etymological or genetic; the borrowing of similar-sounding or similar-meaning characters is a common practice.

Romanization

Min Nan, especially Taiwanese, can be written with the Latin alphabet using a Romanized orthography called Pe̍h-ōe-jī, or POJ (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: 白话字; Pinyin: báihuà zì; literally "vernacular writing"). POJ was developed first by Presbyterian missionaries in China and later by the indigenous Presbyterian Church in Taiwan; use of the orthography has been actively promoted since the late 19th century. The use of a mixed orthography of Han characters and romanization is also seen, though remains uncommon. Other Latin-based orthographies also exist.

Earlier scripts in Min Nan can be dated back to the 16th century. One example is the "Doctrina Christiana en letra y lengua china," presumably written after 1587 by the Spanish Dominicans in the Philippines. Another is a Ming Dynasty script of a play called Romance of the Lychee Mirror (1566 AD), supposedly the earliest Southern Min colloquial text.

Vowels

IPA

a

ap

at

ak

aʔ

ɔ

ɔk

ɔ̃

ə

o

e

ẽ

i

ɪɛn

iŋ

Pe̍h-ōe-jī

a

ap

at

ak

ah

aⁿ

o

ok

oⁿ

o

o

e

eⁿ

i

ian

eng

Revised

a

ap

at

ak

ah

aN

oo

ok

ooN

o

o

e

eN

i

ian

ing

a

ap

at

ak

ah

ann

oo

ok

oonn

o

o

e

enn

i

ian

ing

Pumindian (普闽典)

a

ap

at

ak

ah

na

oo

ok

noo

o

o

e

ne

i

ien

ing

PSDB ()

a

ab/ap

ad/at

ag/ak

aq/ah

va

o

og/ok

vo

oi

oi

e

ve

i

ien

eng

DT ()

a

ap

at

ak

ah

ann/aⁿ

or

ok

onn/oⁿ

o

o

e

enn/eⁿ

i

ian/en

ing

zhuyin

ㄚ

ㄚㆴ

ㄚㆵ

ㄚㆶ

ㄚㆷ

ㆩ

ㆦ

ㆦㆶ

ㆧ

ㄜ

ㄛ

ㆤ

ㆥ

ㄧ

ㄧㄢ

ㄧㄥ

example (traditional Chinese)

亞 ?

壓 ?

警 察

沃 ?

牛 肉

三 ?

烏 ?

中 國

澳 ?

澳 ?

下 ?

醫 ?

鉛 ?

英 ?

example (simplified Chinese)

亚 ?

压 ?

警 察

沃 ?

牛 肉

三 ?

烏 ?

中 国

澳 ?

澳 ?

下 ?

医 ?

铅 ?

英 ?

Vowels

IPA

ɪk

ĩ

ai

aĩ

au

am

ɔm

ṃ

ɔŋ

ŋ̩

u

ua

ue

uai

uan

ɨ

u

Pe̍h-ōe-jī

ek

iⁿ

ai

aiⁿ

au

am

om

m

ong

ng

u

oa

oe

oai

oan

i

un

Revised

ik

iN

ai

aiN

au

am

om

m

ong

ng

u

ua

ue

uai

uan

ir

uN

ik

inn

ai

ainn

au

am

om

m

ong

ng

u

ua

ue

uai

uan

ir

unn

Pumindian (普闽典)

ik

ni

ai

nai

au

am

om

m

ong

ggn

u

ua

ue

uai

uan

i

nu

PSDB ()

eg/ek

vi

ai

vai

au

am

om

m

ong

ng

u

ua

ue

uai

uan

i

nu

DT ()

ik

inn/iⁿ

ai

ainn/aiⁿ

au

am

om

m

ong

ng

u

ua

ue

uai

uan

i

unn/un

zhuyin

ㄧㆶ

ㆪ

ㄞ

ㆮ

ㆯ

ㆰ

ㆱ

ㆬ

ㆲ

ㆭ

ㄨ

ㄨㄚ

ㄨㆤ

ㄨㄞ

ㄨㄢ

ㆨ

ㆫ

example (traditional Chinese)

翻 譯

病 院

愛 ?

歐 ?

暗 ?

阿 姆

王 ?

黃 ?

有 ?

歌 ?

講 話

奇 怪

人 員

example (simplified Chinese)

翻 译

病 院

爱 ?

欧 ?

暗 ?

阿 姆

王 ?

黄 ?

有 ?

歌 ?

讲 话

奇 怪

人 员

Consonants

IPA

p

b

pʰ

m

t

tʰ

n

nŋ

l

k

g

kʰ

h

tɕi

ʑi

tɕʰi

ɕi

ts

ʣ

tsʰ

s

Pe̍h-ōe-jī

p

b

ph

m

t

th

n

nng

l

k

g

kh

h

chi

ji

chhi

si

ch

j

chh

s

Revised

p

b

ph

m

t

th

n

nng

l

k

g

kh

h

zi

ji

ci

si

z

j

c

s

p

b

ph

m

t

th

n

nng

l

k

g

kh

h

zi

ji

ci

si

z

j

c

s

Pumindian (普闽典)

b

bb

p

m

d

t

n

l

g

gg

k

h

zi

li

ci

si

z

l

c

s

PSDB ()

p

b

ph

m

d

t

n

nng

l

k

g

q

h

ci

ji

chi

si

z

j

zh

s

DT ()

b

bh

p

m

d

t

n

ng

l

g

gh

k

h

zi

r

ci

si

z

r

c

s

zhuyin

ㄅ

ㆠ

ㄆ

ㄇ

ㄉ

ㄊ

ㄋ

ㄋㆭ

ㄌ

ㄍ

ㆣ

ㄎ

ㄏ

ㄐ

ㆢ

ㄑ

ㄒ

ㄗ

ㆡ

ㄘ

?

example (traditional Chinese)

報 ?

閩 ?

普 ?

請 問

豬 ?

普 通

過 年

雞 卵

樂 ?

價 ?

牛 ?

客 ?

煩 ?

支 ?

漢 字

支 持

是 ?

報 紙

熱 ?

參 ?

司 ?

example (simplified Chinese)

报 ?

闽 ?

普 ?

请 问

猪 ?

普 通

过 年

鸡 卵

乐 ?

价 ?

牛 ?

客 ?

烦 ?

支 ?

汉 字

支 持

是 ?

报 纸

热 ?

参 ?

司 ?

Tones

IPA	a˥˥	a˥˧	a˨˩	ap˩˩ at˩˩ ak˩˩ aʔ˩˩	a˧˥	a˥˧	a˧˧	ap˥˥ at˥˥ ak˥˥ aʔ˥˥
Pe̍h-ōe-jī	a			ap at ak ah			ā	a̍p a̍t a̍k a̍h
Revised	a1	a2	a3	ap4 at4 ak4 ah4	a5	a2 (6=2)	a7	ap8 at8 ak8 ah8
Pumindian (普闽典)	ā	ă		āp āt āk āh		ă		p t k h
PSDB ()	af	ar	ax	ab ad ag aq	aa	aar	a	ap at ak ah
DT ()	a			āp āt āk āh	ă		ā	ap at ak ah
zhuyin	ㄚ	ㄚˋ	ㄚᒻ	ㄚㆴ ㄚㆵ ㄚㆶ ㄚㆷ	ㄚˊ	ㄚˋ	ㄚ⊦	ㄚㆴ̇ ㄚㆵ̇ ㄚㆶ̇ ㄚㆷ̇
example (traditional Chinese)	公司	報紙	興趣	血壓 警察 中國 牛肉	人員		草地	配合 法律 文學 歇熱
example (simplified Chinese)	公司	报纸	兴趣	血压 警察 中国 牛肉	人员		草地	配合 法律 文学 歇热

• Note: The bopomofo extended characters in the zhuyin row require a UTF-8 font capable of displaying Unicode values 31A0–31B7 (ex. Code2000 true type font).

Computing

The language Min Nan is registered per RFC 3066 as zh-min-nan [2].

When writing Min Nan in Chinese characters, some writers create 'new' characters when they consider it impossible to use directly or borrow existing ones; this corresponds to similar practices in character usage in Cantonese, Vietnamese chữ nôm, Korean hanja and Japanese kanji. These are usually not encoded in Unicode (or the corresponding ISO/IEC 10646: Universal Character Set), thus creating problems in computer processing.

All Latin characters required by Pe̍h-oē-jī can be represented using Unicode (or the corresponding ISO/IEC 10646: Universal character set), using precomposed or combining (diacritics) characters. Prior to June 2004, the vowel akin to but more open than o, written with a dot above right, was not encoded. The usual workaround was to use the (stand-alone; spacing) character Interpunct (U+00B7, ·) or less commonly the combining character dot above (U+0307). As these are far from ideal, since 1997 proposals have been submitted to the ISO/IEC working group in charge of ISO/IEC 10646—namely, ISO/IEC JTC1/SC2/WG2—to encode a new combining character dot above right. This is now officially assigned to U+0358 (see documents N1593, N2507, N2628, N2699, and N2713). Font support is expected to follow.

Further reading

• Chung, R.-f. (1996). The segmental phonology of Southern Min in Taiwan. [Taipei]: Crane Pub. Co. ISBN 9579463468

External links

• 台語-華語線頂辭典, Taiwanese-Mandarin on-line dictionary
• 臺灣本土語言互譯及語音合成系統, Taiwanese-Hakka-Mandarin on-line conversion
• Voyager - Spacecraft - Golden Record - Greetings From Earth - Amoy, includes translation and sound clip
• : (The voyager clip says: Thài-khong pêng-iú, lín-hó. Lín chia̍h-pá bē? Ū-êng, to̍h lâi gún chia chē ô·! 太空朋友，恁好。恁食飽未？有閒著來阮遮坐哦!)
• 台語詞典 Taiwanese-English-Mandarin Dictionary

See also

• Fuzhou dialect
• Hakka language
• Languages of China
• Languages of Taiwan
• Chinese in Singapore

edit Chinese: Spoken varieties
Generally accepted first-level categories:	Mandarin | Wu | Cantonese | Min | Hakka | Xiang | Gan |
Often accepted first-level categories:	Jin | Hui | Ping
Unclassified:	Danzhouhua | Shaozhou Tuhua
Subcategories of Mandarin:	Northeastern | Beijing | Ji-Lu | Jiao-Liao | Zhongyuan | Lan-Yin | Southwestern | Jianghuai | Dungan
Subcategories of Min:	Min Bei | Min Dong | Min Nan | Min Zhong | Puxian | Qiong Wen | Shaojiang
Comprehensive list of Chinese dialects
Historical phonology:	Old Chinese | Middle Chinese | Proto-Min | Proto-Mandarin | Haner
Chinese: Written varieties
Official written varieties:	Classical Chinese | Vernacular Chinese
Other varieties:	Written Vernacular Cantonese