What is Hokkien?

What is Hokkien?

Hokkien is a group of dialects of Min Nan Chinese, similar to Amoy and Taiwanese.
It is spoken in southern Fujian, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore and by many overseas Chinese throughout Southeast Asia. 
It belongs to ancient Han language and Min language.
It is originated from the same dialect in southern Fujian and is mutually intelligible with the Hokkien in Taiwan.

What other names of Hokkien language?

Hokkien is not a term used in mainland China.
Instead, it is known as Minnanhua (閩南語) or Southern Min, and some would say it as Fulaohua(福佬話). Also, it is named Quanzhou–Zhangzhou as it comes from the two main Hokkien city centers – Quanzhou(泉州) and Zhangzhou (漳州). 
In Taiwan, the dialect is called Taiwanese(台語).

Welcome Aboard

Hello everyone! 

We are Mandy Lo, Vicky Yuen and Yuffie Yu who major in Language and Communication in the University of Hong Kong. Inspired by UNESCO’s International Mother Language Day, we are conducting a research on the Hokkien community in Hong Kong for the course LCOM3001 Cultural dimensions of language and communication.

Here’s a brief history of Hong Kong Hokkiens. Due to political instability in China during 1930s and 1940s, a lot of Chinese immigrants came from the mainland to Hong Kong. Among them were the Hokkiens. Time flies and their grandchildren have been mostly born and raised in Hong Kong. Apparently, the community has been assimilated into the Cantonese-speaking Hong Kong family. How do they identify themselves? Do they still speak Hokkien? Interviewing one Hokkien family and few Hokkien post-80s, we are going to investigate into the language maintenance, shift and attitude of Hokkien in Hong Kong across three generations.

We hope you all enjoy it!