Haklau, or Hai Lok Hong , also known as Haifeng dialect or Hailufeng Minnan, is a variety of Southern Min spoken in Shanwei, Guangdong province, China. While it is related to Teochew and Hokkien, its exact classification in relation to them is disputed.

Etymology

The word Haklau (學佬 Ha̍k-láu, also written as 福佬) is the Southern Min pronuciation of Hoklo, originally a Hakka exonym for the Southern Min speakers, including Hoklo and Teochew people. Although originally it was perceived as a derogatory term, speakers of the Hai Lok Hong Min in Shanwei self-identify as Haklau and distinguish themselves from Teochew people. Overseas Hai Lok Hong people still do not like this appellation. Historically, the Hai Lok Hong region was not a part of Teochew prefecture (潮州府, the region currently known as Teo-Swa or Chaoshan), but was included in the primarily Hakka-speaking Huizhou prefecture (惠州府). Modern Huizhou city (particularly the Huidong County) also has a Haklau-speaking minority. The word Hai Lok Hong (海陸豐 Hái-lio̍k-hong) is a portmanteau of Hai Hong (海豐, Mandarin Haifeng) and Lok Hong (陸豐, Mandarin Lufeng), where it is mainly spoken. The character 陸 has multiple pronunciations in Southern Min: the reading le̍k is vernacular, it is common in Teochew, but rarely used in Hokkien and Hai Lok Hong itself; the reading lio̍k (Hokkien, Hai Lok Hong) or lo̍k (Teochew) is literary and commonly used in Hokkien and Hai Lok Hong, but not Teochew, yet its Teochew rendering is the source of English Hai Lok Hong.

Classification

The Language Atlas of China classifies Hai Lok Hong as part of Teochew. Other classifications pinpoint the phonological features of Hai Lok Hong that are not found in Teochew, but instead are typical for Chiangchew Hokkien. These features include: Still, Hai Lok Hong also has features typical for Teochew, but not Hokkien, such as: Lexically, Hai Lok Hong also shares some traits with Teochew: 個 kâi '(possessive particle)', 愛 àiⁿ 'to want', 睇 théi 'to see' — compare Hokkien 兮 --ê, 卜 beh and 看 khòaⁿ.