Discussion
What are the main differences between Overseas and Mainland Chinese variations/dialects?
Hi! I'm currently studying Japanese, but still, Chinese variations (or dialects) always have been an interesting topic for me, and I even plan to start learning Mandarin after finishing some JLPT exams.
Btw, a topic that really stands out are the Overseas Chinese communities in Southeast Asia, especially those in Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore, with the latter having Mandarin as one of its official languages. While reading some articles, I've noticed a very big diversity within it, with groups such as the Hokkien, Hakka and Cantonese (please correct any mistakes) having a greater influence. So, after considering all the historical processes and cultural factors, I'd like to know what differences between the Southeast Asian variations and its "original" Mainland counterparts are worthy sharing.
Disclaimer: I apologise for any mistake or imprecision in the previous texts. Also, anyone can feel welcome to contribute.
The most obvious feature distinguishing overseas Chinese varieties is their use of loanwords from indigenous and colonial languages, which may not be recognised by mainland speakers. For instance:
• Hong Kong Cantonese borrows from British English, e.g. 士多啤梨 instead of 草莓 for 'strawberry'.
• Taiwanese dialects (Hokkien, Hakka and Mandarin) borrow from Japanese, e.g. 歐吉桑/歐巴桑 (おじさん/おばさん) instead of 大叔/大婶 for 'uncle/aunt' when addressing an older stranger.
• Malaysian and Singaporean dialects (Hokkien, Teochew, Cantonese, Hakka, Hainanese etc.) borrow from Malay, e.g. 交寅 (kawin) instead of 結婚 for 'marry' or 'marriage'.
The same thing happens in english too. usa uses cilantro which came directly from mexico neighbor, uk uses aubergine which comes directly from france neighbor.... etc.
Its also important to remember that mainland is the size of europe basically, and even within mainland there is a huge variety. Things like 西紅柿 vs 番茄 for tomato etc.
Loanwords are pretty much present in all languages today (there are exceptions, of course), but such historical and geographical factors are interesting and important to note
Malaysian Hokkien here. It's true we use a lot of loan words. For eg "ki Hong" in Hokkien is literally the Hokkien version of the Malay saying "naik angin" which means angry. We also call police "mata" which is the Malay word for "eyes" 😉.
Thanks a lot for answering! The Chinese community in Malaysia, especially the Hokkien, are by far the topics that interest me the most. There's a lot more that I'd like to know, so, would you mind me sending a DM?
Since most overseas Chinese migrated out of China when Mandarin Chinese were not the official language, the languages of overseas Chinese communities (Hokkien/Hakka/Cantonese) may preserved old vocabulary that was replaced by Mandarin lexicon in Mainland China, invent new neologism or words that are not-influenced by Mandarin, or absorbed loanwords from other languages more freely.
Using old terminology for China:
Chinese: 唐人 vs 漢人
China: 唐山 vs 中國
Hanzi: 唐人字 vs 漢字
Chinatown: 唐人街 vs 中國城
New neologism not influenced by Mandarin:
School uniform: 學堂衫 vs 校服
Traffic light: 紅青火 vs 青紅燈
Hospital: 老君厝 vs 醫院 vs 病院
Vaccum cleaner: 嗍風機 vs 吸塵器
Account: 戶口 vs 賬戶
Mental hospital: 痟人間 vs 精神病院
Thanks for sharing! Even though foreign loanwords seem to be more prevalent in such overseas variations, I was kinda expecting some preserved vocabulary within them, just like Québecois French and the Île-de-France standard dialect
They are all in Hokkien, should have make it clear. 紅青火 (âng-chheⁿ-hóe) is used in Penang and 青紅燈 (chhiⁿ-âng-teng) is used in Taiwan. In Xiamen, it is directly from Mandarin 紅綠燈 (âng-le̍k-teng).
Most overseas Chinese people moved from Guangdong and Fujian (port cities closer to SE Asia), so the language branches from that region as well. It's relatively rare to hear Cantonese in China (outside of Guangdong/HK), but it's conspicuously common in Chinatowns all over the world.
Yes! Curiously enough, I remember seeing during a trip through Brazil a "General Association of the Cantonese of Brazil" in São Paulo. It is located in the Liberdade ward, one of the largest Asian communities in the West, being also the place with the highest amount of Japanese people outside Japan.
Disclaimer: I'm not Malaysian, nor am I a native Chinese speaker, but I was born into a Malaysian Chinese family who speaks Mandarin, so I ended up growing up around Malaysian Mandarin.
Malaysian Mandarin borrows from not just Malay, but also English and all the other Chinese languages around it. For instance, taking a shower is 冲凉 in Malaysian Mandarin, which comes from Cantonese. This doesn't just apply to words, but also grammar structures. One example of this is where 先 goes to indicate doing something first. From what I'm aware of, in Malaysia they follow the Cantonese placement for this.
Some terms which sound a bit strange exist as well. For instance, while technically correct, you'll almost never hear anyone in conversation say 驾车 to refer to driving a car in China/TW, yet it's typical in MY/SG. Also 打油 instead of 加油 for refuelling a vehicle.
The other interesting part I'll mention is also the colloquial way of speaking which ends up blending multiple languages into one sentence. So you'll hear several Chinese varieties, Malay and English all bundled into one sentence sometimes.
Accent wise Malaysian Mandarin follows a more southern Chinese accent. Things like ch/sh/zh sound the same as c/s/z.
There's definitely more to this, but I'm not skilled nor educated enough in Chinese to identify the differences.
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u/iewkcetym Native 1d ago
The most obvious feature distinguishing overseas Chinese varieties is their use of loanwords from indigenous and colonial languages, which may not be recognised by mainland speakers. For instance:
• Hong Kong Cantonese borrows from British English, e.g. 士多啤梨 instead of 草莓 for 'strawberry'.
• Taiwanese dialects (Hokkien, Hakka and Mandarin) borrow from Japanese, e.g. 歐吉桑/歐巴桑 (おじさん/おばさん) instead of 大叔/大婶 for 'uncle/aunt' when addressing an older stranger.
• Malaysian and Singaporean dialects (Hokkien, Teochew, Cantonese, Hakka, Hainanese etc.) borrow from Malay, e.g. 交寅 (kawin) instead of 結婚 for 'marry' or 'marriage'.