Friday, October 10, 2008

Chinese Dialect - Teochew

Teochew is spelled in english, in some other words, it can be Teochiu, Tiuchiu, Tiochiu, or Diojiu. It is a Chaozhou language. Teochew is dialect of the Southern Min Chinese language, spoken in the Chaoshan region of eastern Guangdong. An approximately of 2-5 million speakers in overseas.Chaoshan was one of the major sources of Chinese emigration to Southeast Asia during the 18th–20th centuries, forming one of the larger dialect groups among the Overseas Chinese.

As a result, Chaozhou is now spoken in many regions outside of Chaoshan. One of it is our country Malaysia.In Singapore, Teochew has become one of the native language of many Chinese people and is the second largest Chinese group in Singapore, after the Hokkien. In Malaysia, most Teochew people is staying in an area located in a few parts of the places in each states.

No comments: