Yuehai () is the main branch of
Yue Chinese
Yue () is a group of similar Sinitic languages spoken in Southern China, particularly in Liangguang (the Guangdong and Guangxi provinces).
The name Cantonese is often used for the whole group, but linguists prefer to reserve that name for ...
, spoken in the
Pearl River Delta
The Pearl River Delta Metropolitan Region (PRD; ; pt, Delta do Rio das Pérolas (DRP)) is the low-lying area surrounding the Pearl River estuary, where the Pearl River flows into the South China Sea. Referred to as the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Ma ...
of the province of
Guangdong
Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020 ...
, as well as
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...
and
Macau
Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...
. It is commonly called Cantonese, though that name is more precisely applied to the
Guangzhou topolect of Yuehai.
Topolects
Yuehai is divided into four principal dialects, each of which contains various subdialects.
Cantonese
Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding a ...
is the
prestige form.
*Guangfu dialects
**
Guangzhou dialect
Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding ar ...
**
Hong Kong dialect
**
Macau dialect
**
Xiguan dialect
**
Wuzhou dialect
**
Tanka dialect
*Sanyi / Nanpanshun dialects
**
Nanhai dialect
**
Jiujiang dialect
**
Xiqiao dialect
**
Shunde dialect
*Xiangshan dialect
**
Shiqi dialect
The Shiqi dialect is a dialect of Yue Chinese. It is spoken by roughly 160,000 people in Zhongshan, Guangdong's Shiqi District, Shiqi urban district. It differs slightly from Standard Cantonese, mainly in its pronunciation and lexicon.
Shiqi ...
**
Sanjiao dialect
*Guanbao dialect
**
Dongguan dialect
**
Bao'an dialect
The Weitou dialect (; Jyutping: Waitau Waa) is a dialect of Yue Chinese. It forms part of the Guan–Bao (莞寶片; , Dongguan– Bao'an) branch of Yuehai. It is spoken by older generations in Luohu and Futian districts in Shenzhen, a ...
(Waitau)
References
Cantonese language
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