| Population |
52,000,000 in mainland China, 4.5% of the population (1984). Includes 498,000 in Macau. Population total all countries 71,000,000 (1999 WA). |
| Region |
Spoken in Guangdong (except for the Hakka speaking areas especially in the northeast, the Min Nan speaking areas of the east, at points along the coast as well as Hainan Island), Macau, and in the southern part of Guangxi. Also possibly in Laos. Also spoken in Australia, Brunei, Canada, Costa Rica, Honduras, Indonesia (Java and Bali), Malaysia (Peninsular), Mauritius, Nauru, Netherlands, New Zealand, Panama, Philippines, Singapore, South Africa, Thailand, United Kingdom, USA, Viet Nam. |
| Alternate names |
YUET YUE, GWONG DUNG WAA, CANTONESE, YUE, YUEH, YUEYU, BAIHUA |
| Dialects |
YUEHAI (GUANGFU, HONG KONG CANTONESE, MACAU CANTONESE, SHATOU, SHIQI, WANCHENG), SIYI (SEIYAP, TAISHAN, TOISAN, HOISAN, SCHLEIYIP), GAOLEI (GAOYANG), QINLIAN, GUINAN. |
| Classification |
Sino-Tibetan, Chinese. |
| Comments |
The Guangzhou variety is considered the standard. Subdialects of Yuehai are Xiangshan, spoken around Zhongshan and Shuhai, and Wanbao around Dongwan City and Bao'an County. Official language. Grammar. SVO; prepositions; genitives, relatives after noun heads; articles, adjectives, numerals before noun heads; word order mainly distinguishes subjects, objectives, indirect objects; passives usually indicated by adding a word in front of the verb; tonal. Outside of mainland China, many Cantonese-specific characters are used in the writing system. TV. Bible 1894-1981. |
| Brunei |
| Language name |
CHINESE, YUE |
| Population |
3,500 in Brunei, 6.93% of ethnic Chinese (1979). |
| Alternate names |
YUE, YUEH, CANTONESE |
| Comments |
Bible 1894-1981. See main entry under China. |
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| Costa Rica |
| Language name |
CHINESE, YUE |
| Population |
4,500 including Mandarin and Hakka speakers (1981 MARC). |
| Alternate names |
YUE, YUEH, CANTONESE |
| Comments |
Bible 1894-1981. See main entry under China. |
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| Indonesia (Java and Bali) |
| Language name |
CHINESE, YUE |
| Population |
180,000 in Indonesia (1982 CCCOWE). |
| Alternate names |
CANTONESE, YUE, YUEH |
| Comments |
Bible 1894-1981. See main entry under China. |
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| Malaysia (Peninsular) |
| Language name |
CHINESE, YUE |
| Population |
748,010 in Malaysia, including 704,286 in Peninsular Malaysia, 24,640 in Sarawak, 19,184 in Sabah (1980 census). |
| Alternate names |
CANTONESE, YUE, YUEH |
| Dialects |
CANTONESE, TOISHANESE. |
| Comments |
Bible 1894-1981. See main entry under China. |
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| Panama |
| Language name |
CHINESE, YUE |
| Alternate names |
YUE, YUEH, CANTONESE |
| Comments |
Bilingualism in Spanish. Merchants. Bible 1894-1981. See main entry under China. |
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| Philippines |
| Language name |
CHINESE, YUE |
| Population |
6,000 to 7,200 or 1.2% of Chinese population (1982 CCCOWE). |
| Comments |
Bible 1894-1981. See main entry under China. |
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| Singapore |
| Language name |
CHINESE, YUE |
| Population |
314,000 speakers in Singapore (1985), 12.3% of the population, out of 338,000 in the ethnic group (1993). |
| Alternate names |
CANTONESE, YUE, YUEH, GUANGFU |
| Comments |
Bible 1894-1981. See main entry under China. |
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| Thailand |
| Language name |
CHINESE, YUE |
| Population |
29,400 in Thailand, .5% of Chinese-speaking Chinese in Thailand (1984 estimate). |
| Alternate names |
CANTONESE, YUE, YUEH |
| Comments |
Bible 1894-1981. See main entry under China. |
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| Viet Nam |
| Language name |
CHINESE, YUE |
| Population |
900,000 in Viet Nam (1993 Dang Nghiem Van). |
| Alternate names |
SUÒNG PHÓNG, QUANG DONG, HAI NAM, HA XA PHANG, MINH HUONG, CHINESE NUNG, NUNG, LOWLAND NUNG, HOA, HAN, TRIÈU CHAU, PHÚC KIÉN, LIEM CHAU, SAMG PHANG |
| Comments |
Renowned fighters. Came from Canton, China as railroad workers and soldiers several decades ago. They are not the same as the Nung in the Tai family or the Tibeto-Burman Nung (Nu) of China and Myanmar. Chinese calligraphy. Daoist, Christian. Bible 1894-1981. See main entry under China. |
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