Hoklo on Luzon (Philippines Hokkien), reports from the field

[geraldbai]

encik in Malay and intsik in Tagalog, both came from Hokkien, meaning uncle (father's younger brother), likely two to three hundred years ago, when the word was then pronounced en-tsik in Hokkien.

200 years ago this prefix 'en' was pronounced in Hokkien as 恩 in Mandarin 200 years ago.

This prefix has later become "an" in Xiamen as in "an-tsik", "an-ma" (grandma), "an-kong" (grandpa), "an-ku" (uncle, mother's brother), "an-peh" (uncle, father's elder brother), "an-hnia" (elder brother), or alternatively become "a".

However, this prefix remains as "en" or "eng" in some villages of Nan An City 南安 （泉州）and largely in the Hokkien spoken in southern part of Wenzhou city, Zhejiang Province, this variant of Hokkien is called 浙南闽语.

[geraldbai]

encik in Malay and intsik in Tagalog, both came from Hokkien, meaning uncle (father's younger brother), likely two to three hundred years ago, when the word was then pronounced en-tsik in Hokkien.

200 years ago this prefix 'en' was pronounced in Hokkien as 恩 in Mandarin 200 years ago.

This prefix has later become "an" in Xiamen as in "an-tsik", "an-ma" (grandma), "an-kong" (grandpa), "an-ku" (uncle, mother's brother), "an-peh" (uncle, father's elder brother), "an-hnia" (elder brother), or alternatively become "a".

However, this prefix remains as "en" or "eng" in some villages of Nan An City 南安 （泉州）and largely in the Hokkien spoken in southern part of Wenzhou city, Zhejiang Province, this variant of Hokkien is called 浙南闽语.

[amhoanna]

Gerald Bai, your analysis is great, and your info is so pan-. Which ports of call do U call home? What's your story?