Native to China | Region Hainan | |
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Pronunciation [hai˨˩˧ nam˨˩ ue˨˧] (Haikou dialect) Ethnicity Hainanese (Han Chinese) Native speakers Around 5 million in China (2002) Language family Sino-Tibetan
Chinese
Min
Coastal Min
Qiong-Lei (disputed)
Hainanese | ||
Hainanese (Hainan Romanised: Hái-nâm-oe, simplified Chinese: 海南话; traditional Chinese: 海南話; pinyin: Hǎinán huà), also known as Qióng Wén (simplified Chinese: 琼文; traditional Chinese: 瓊文) or Qióng yǔ (瓊語/琼语), is a group of Min Chinese varieties spoken in the southern Chinese island province of Hainan. In the classification of Yuan Jiahua, it was included in the Southern Min group, though is mutually unintelligible with Southern Min varieties such as Teochew and Hokkien–Taiwanese. In the classification of Li Rong, used by the Language Atlas of China, it was treated as a separate Min subgroup. It is sometimes combined with Leizhou Min, spoken on the neighboring mainland Leizhou Peninsula, in a Qiong–Lei group. "Hainanese" is also used for the language of the Li people living in Hainan, but generally refers to Min varieties spoken in Hainan.
Phonology
Hainanese has a simple vowel system.
Hainanese notably has a series of implosive consonants, which it acquired through contact with surrounding languages, probably Hlai.
The phonological system of Hainanese corresponds well with that of Hokkien, but it has had some restructuring. In particular, etymological *anterior plain stops have undergone implosivization (*p > [ɓ], *t > [ɗ], etymological *aspirated stops have spirantized (*pʰ > [f], *tʰ > [h], *cʰ > [ɕ] *kʰ > [x]), and etymological *s have hardened into stops (*s > [t]), and *h > [ɦ]. Additionally, some dialects have [ɡ], and [ʑ] is allophonic with /j/.