Yuehai (Chinese: 粵海; Jyutping: jyut6 hoi2; pinyin: Yuèhǎi) is the main branch of Yue Chinese, spoken in the Pearl River Delta of the province of Guangdong, as well as Hong Kong and Macau. It is commonly called Cantonese, though that name is more precisely applied to the Guangzhou topolect of Yuehai.

Yuehai
粵海
Native toChina
RegionPearl River Delta, Guangdong
Native speakers
(13 million? cited 1998)[1]
Dialects
  • Guangfu
  • Sanyi
  • Xiangshan
  • Guanbao
Language codes
ISO 639-3None (mis)
Glottologyueh1236
Linguasphere79-AAA-ma
The four main Yuehai languages, at right, are shaded in pink

Topolects

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Yuehai is divided into four principal dialects, each of which contains various subdialects. Cantonese is the prestige form.

References

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  1. ^ "Guangfu" (apparently = all of Yuehai) in Olson, An Ethnohistorical Dictionary of China