" 
 ::No no, The term ""Hokkien"" is what we define it to be. In everyday usage, it refers to the Amoy dialect (or the Quanzhou-Zhangzhou area dialect). 
 ::You're basically taking two definitions and confusing them with each other. For example, ""Beijing"" can refer to either the urban area of Beijing, or the municipality of Beijing. So taken in one sense, Beijing and Shunyi are separate, while in another sense, Shunyi is a part of Beijing. So you can't say, ""if Shunyi is outside Beijing, how can you say Shunyi is inside Beijing?"" Shunyi is outside URBAN Beijing, but inside Beijing MUNICIPALITY. Similarly, Teochew is outside Hokkien in the colloquial sense (just the Amoy dialect), but inside Hokkien in another, less common sense (the entire Min Nan group).    July 7, 2005 03:37 (UTC)"