Language
The language of the Riau Islands is known as Riau Malay. The Riau Islands are considered the birthplace of the modern Malay language, though it was the classical Malaccan Malay of the Johor court rather than Riau Malay that formed the basis of the standard language.
The Chinese population in Riau (predominantly Hakka, Teochew and Hokkien) speak various forms of Chinese. The most common dialect is Min Nan, which originated in the southern part of Fujian province in the south-eastern part of China.
Read more about this topic: Riau Islands Province
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