Minnan

Minnan, also known as Southern Min or Hokkien, is a branch of the Min group of Sinitic languages. The name refers to its traditional home along the southern coast of Fujian Province in southeastern China. The Minnan language cluster comprises several closely related varieties, including Hokkien, Amoy (Xiamen), and Quanzhou and Zhangzhou speech forms. A major offshoot is Taiwanese Hokkien, spoken in Taiwan and in many overseas communities.

Minnan varieties are spoken in southern Fujian and by the overseas Chinese diaspora. In Taiwan, Taiwanese Hokkien is the predominant form of Minnan used in daily life. Overseas, Minnan is spoken in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and among communities in the Americas and elsewhere. The languages sit within the Min subdivision of the Sinitic family and are distinct from Mandarin and other major Chinese varieties, though they have interacted with them through trade and migration.

Writing systems: Traditionally written with Chinese characters; phonetic transcriptions include Pe̍h-ōe-jī (POJ), developed by 19th-century missionaries, and later the Taiwan-based Latin orthography Tâi-lô. In mainland contexts, late-modern standardization uses characters, while Romanizations are common in linguistic works and local education materials.

History and culture: Minnan-speaking communities have long inhabited Fujian's southern coast and became a major component of the Fujianese diaspora worldwide. The culture includes distinctive music such as Nanyin, and regional theater, as well as cuisine influenced by Fujian traditions and coastal trade. In Taiwan, Minnan culture appears in temples, festivals, and everyday life.