Hàn-jī 垃圾話 | ||
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Pe̍h-ōe-jī Lap-sap-ōe / Lah-sap-ōe Tâi-lô lap-sap-uē / lah-sap-uē | ||
Hokkien is one of the largest language groups worldwide. Chinese dialects are languages in their own right, unlike dialects of Indo-European languages, and are not readily mutually intelligible. The main reason why they have not historically been accorded language status is that they have no extensive literary tradition apart from opera librettos. Many dialect words have not been assigned a standardised Chinese character to represent them. Thus, it is almost impossible to find these common expressions in any form of literature despite the popularity of their use in everyday life for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. Many regard Hokkien as having the highest frequency of crude expressions in daily conversation, a characteristic which lends it a unique flavour.