They speak their own Hlai language, a member of the Tai – Kadai language family, but most can understand or speak Hainanese and Mandarin — and it is also common for Li people to learn and speak Cantonese because many Li in Hainan relocate to Cantonese-speaking areas in southern mainland China near Hainan such as Guangzhou and Hong Kong.

Glossika divides the Min languages into eight: Northern Min ( Min Bei in Nanping prefecture in Fujian, but Jian ' ou dialect is the standard dialect of Min Bei ), Shaojiang ( eastern Nanping and surrounding areas ; in broader classifications treated as a dialect of Min Bei ), Eastern Min ( Min Dong in Fuzhou and Ningde prefectures ), Central Min ( Min Zhong in Sanming prefecture ), Puxian Min in Putian prefecture, Southern Min ( Min Nan in Zhangzhou, Quanzhou, and Xiamen ( Amoy ) prefectures and on Taiwan ( Hokkien dialect ), and in eastern Guangdong province ( Teochew dialect ); Hokkien and Teochew are sometimes considered separate languages ), Leizhou ( on the Leizhou Peninsula in Guangdong ), and Hainanese ( on Hainan Island ; in broader classifications Leizhou and Hainanese are treated as a Qiongwen language or as dialects of Min Nan ).

Minnan is one of the sub-languages of the Chinese language and is mainly spoken in southern Fujian, Taiwan, Hainan and parts of Guangdong, with the main standard dialects being Hokkien, Teochew and Hainanese.

Hainanese chicken rice is a dish of Chinese origin, and is most commonly associated with Hainanese, Singaporean and Malaysian cuisines, although it is also commonly sold in Thailand.

It is based on the well-known Hainanese dish called Wenchang chicken ( 文昌雞 ), due to its roots in Hainan cuisine and its adoption by the Hainanese overseas Chinese population in the Nanyang area ( present-day Southeast Asia ).

The chicken is prepared in traditional Hainanese methods which involve the boiling of the entire chicken in a pork and chicken bone stock, reusing the broth over and over and only topping it up with water when needed, in accordance with the Chinese preferences for creating master stocks.

Hainanese chicken rice is often considered as the " national dish " of Singapore, and is often served at international expositions and global events abroad, and in Singaporean-run restaurants overseas.

Hainanese chicken rice is also one of the few local dishes served on Singapore Airlines flights.

In Singapore, Hainanese chicken rice is served at stalls and food courts.

Hainanese chicken rice is a common dish in Thailand where it is called khao man kai (), literally meaning ' oiled rice chicken '.

Similarly, the Lim in Sondhi Limthongkul's name is the Hainanese pronunciation of the name Lin ( 林 ).

The temple, built by the Hainanese community living in Kuala Lumpur, is dedicated to Goddess Tian Hou ( The Heavenly Mother ).

Wenchang is the source of most overseas Hainanese migrants, with the majority of Singapore's Hainanese population having ancestral roots in Wenchang.

Wenchang Hainanese is considered to be the most prestige accent of the Hainanese language and is used by the provincial broadcasting media.

Hainanese chicken also appears as a speciality in Vietnamese cuisine.

Of these, 56 % are Teochew ( also commonly spelled as Teochiu ), 16 % Hakka and 11 % Hainanese.

Hainanese (), also known as Qiongshan – Wenchang () or Qióng yǔ ( 瓊語 / 琼语 ), is a variety of Min Nan Chinese spoken in the southern Chinese island province of Hainan and part of a language family that sometimes includes Leizhou Min spoken on the neighboring mainland Leizhou Peninsula.

* Singapore-style Western food, Chinese interpretations of European cuisine, although Malay versions also exist ; Hainanese cooks in Singapore hybridised Western dishes for local palates during the British colonial era, creating such dishes as stewed pork chop in tomato sauce served with green peas, Hainanese curry rice and chicken chop-a sauteed chicken breast dish served with a soft bread bun and fries

The local Han Chinese speak Hainanese as their mother tongue ; it is a Min-Nan dialect and is also known as Qiongwen.

On October 11, 1987, a 2, 000-strong gathering was held by the United Chinese School Committees Association of Malaysia ( UCSCAM, the association of Chinese school teachers and trustees, also known as Dong Jiao Zong ) at the Hainanese Association Building, beside the Thean Hou Temple in Kuala Lumpur, which was joined by politicians from the Malaysian Chinese Association ( MCA ), the Democratic Action Party ( DAP ), GERAKAN and other Chinese-based parties.

Char siew rice can also be found in Hainanese chicken rice stalls, where customers have a choice of having their char siew rice served with plain white rice or chicken-flavoured rice, and the same choice of garlic chilli and soy sauces.

* Son, used in Hainanese

* Tan, used in Teochew in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Min Nan ( including Taiwanese ), and Hainanese

The term " Hainanese " was frequently used by the Hainanese Han ( 海南漢人 ) who are the majority in the island, to identify themselves overseas.

Because of this, many argue that the Hainanese dialect is in fact, a separate language altogether.

Most Hainanese Han people were originally fishermen from the Fujian and Guangdong provinces who later settled in Hainan, while the Li natives came to the island earlier from the mainland.

These ethnic Chinese arrived from southern mainland China and were mainly Chinese people of Cantonese ( Vietnam ), Hakka ( India, East Timor ), Hokkien ( Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, Myanmar ), and Teochew / Chaozhou ( Cambodia, Laos, Thailand ) stock and pockets of Hainanese, Hokchew and Henghwa in some countries.

* The Fujianese people, the Min-speaking Han subgroups, including the Hoklo, Teochew, Hainanese, Foochow, and Putian people.

In wider scope, the Hoklo people can include speakers of other Min Nan languages, such as Zhongshan Min, Zhenan Min, Teochew dialect, and Hainanese.

The Teochew people, Hoklo people and Hainanese people are all Min Nan dialect groups.

This committee was the largest association of Chinese merchants in the country, and it was required by the organization's constitution to include on its fifteen-member board six people from the Teochiu dialect group, three from the Cantonese, two from the Hokkien, two from the Hakka, and two from the Hainanese.

The people of Hainan ( Chinese: 海南人 ), known as Hainanese and Hainan people, usually refers to people who originate from Hainan Island, the southernmost and smallest Chinese province.

Category: Singaporean people of Hainanese descent

Category: Hainanese people

The Teochew are native to eastern Guangdong ( Chaoshan ), the Hoklo to southern Fujian and Taiwan, and the Hainanese to Hainan.

The Hainanese migrated from the Hainan province in China, mostly from the north-eastern part of the province, to Singapore.

* Hainanese chicken rice (), steamed chicken served with rice cooked in chicken stock ; normally eaten with chili sauce, dark soy sauce, and ginger paste ; a common variation is using roast chicken instead of steamed chicken ; this is considered the landmark dish of Singapore ; it is available in Hainan, where it originated in WenChang City, however, the Singapore variation of the dish bears only a slight resemblance to the original dish as served in Hainan

Rice Rhapsody ( alternative title Hainan Chicken Rice ) ( Chinese: 海南雞飯, literally meaning " Hainanese chicken rice ") is a 2005 film directed by Kenneth Bi.

However, Hainanese speakers are generally able to pick up on other Min-Nan dialects easily due to some similarities.

Guangdong Romanization refers to the four romanization schemes published by the Guangdong Provincial Education Department in 1960 for transliterating Cantonese, Teochew, Hakka, and Hainanese.

How would a Japanese soldier discover if a Chinese was a Hainanese ( a provincial categorization ) without a local informant?

In Singapore the government has a Speak Mandarin Campaign ( SMC ) which seeks to actively promote the use of Mandarin over other Chinese languages, such as Hokkien ( 41. 1 %), Teochew ( 21. 0 %), Cantonese ( 15. 4 %), Hakka ( 7. 9 %) and Hainanese ( 6. 7 %).

He spoke English, Russian, Malay as well as a number of Chinese dialects, including Cantonese and Hainanese.

The Singapore Department of Statistics defines " Chinese " as a " race " or " ethnic group " and " Chinese in Singapore " as referring to persons of Chinese origin such as the Hoklo, Teochew, Cantonese, Hakka, Hainanese, Hockchias, Foochows, Henghuas, Shanghainese, and so on.

The more common dialects of Chinese spoken in Peninsular Malaysia are Cantonese, Mandarin, Hokkien, Hakka, Hainanese, and Foochow.

Singaporean Chinese cuisine is largely derived from the cuisines of the Hokkien, Teochew, Hainanese, Cantonese, and Hakka dialect groups that comprise the majority of the Chinese population in Singapore.

The Chinese in Cambodia represented five major linguistic groups, the largest of which was the Teochew ( accounting for about 60 %), followed by the Cantonese ( accounting for about 20 %), the Hokkien ( accounting for about 7 %), and the Hakka and the Hainanese ( each accounting for about 4 %).

What is clear, however, is that among the first ethnic Chinese to settle in Cambodia were the Hokkiens, while the Cantonese and Hainanese seem to have arrived towards the end of the 17th century, followed in the 19th and 20h centuries by the Teochiu and Hakka.