Teochew Dialect - Classification

Classification

Teochew is a member of the Southern Min or Min Nan dialect group, which in turn constitutes one of the seven major dialect groups of the Sinitic language family. As with other varieties of Chinese, linguists have not yet agreed on whether Teochew should be treated as a language or a dialect although it is mutually unintelligible with other "dialect groups" of China but mutually intelligible with some other Southern Min Languages, such as the dialects of Zhangzhou (漳州话) and Quanzhou (泉州话). Even within the Teochew varieties, there is substantial variation in phonology between different regions of Chaoshan and between different Teochew communities overseas.

The Chaozhou language in China, in terms of their closeness, can be roughly divided into 3 sub-groups:

1. Chaozhou sub-group (潮州片)： including Chaozhou (潮州), Shantou (汕头), Jieyang (揭阳), Chenghai (澄海), Nan'ao County (南澳) and Raoping (饶平),
2. Chaopu sub-group (潮普片)： including Chaoyang (潮阳), Puning (普宁), Huilai (惠来), and
3. Hailufeng sub-group (海陆丰片)： including Shanwei (汕尾), Lufeng (陆丰) and Haifeng (海丰)