1. General

The Mǐn 閩 languages are a branch of the Sinitic language family spoken in a wide geographical area including Fújiàn province (except its far western part), the southern part of Zhèjiāng, the eastern part of Guǎngdōng, the Léizhōu 雷州 peninsula, Hǎinán island, and Táiwān, as well as among immigrant communities in Southeast Asia: the Philippines, Malaysia (Malacca and Penang), Singapore, Indonesia (Java), and North America (U.S.A. and Canada).

The Mǐn languages fall into six s…