Huan-a

Huan-a (Chinese: 番仔; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: hoan-á) is a Hokkien-language term used by Hokkien speakers in multiple countries, namely mainland China, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia, etc. The word itself when dissected means, 番; hoan; 'foreign', + 仔; á; 'diminutive noun suffix', but to the ethnic Chinese that settled overseas in Taiwan and Maritime Southeast Asia, it soon came to refer to the indigenous peoples (natives) in the lands where Hokkien-speaking ethnic Chinese are historical immigrants.

Huan-a
Hàn-jī番仔
Pe̍h-ōe-jīHoan-á
Tâi-lôHuan-á

Etymology

The Hokkien word itself when dissected means, 番; hoan; 'foreign', + 仔; á; 'diminutive noun suffix', resulting in Hokkien Chinese: 番仔; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Hoan-á; lit. 'foreigner', originally from the perspective of ethnic Chinese referring to non-Chinese, especially historically natives of Taiwan and Southeast Asia. In Taiwan, the aboriginal group, Hoanya, retains an older form of the word, where the second syllable retained the obsolete diminutive suffix, 仔; (iá), in Hokkien, which originally came from a weak form of 囝; (kiáⁿ, káⁿ) and today survives in Hokkien as the diminutive suffix, 仔; (á). "番仔; Huán-nià" is attested in the Dictionario Hispanico Sinicum (1626-1642)[1] and use of the obsolete 仔; (iá) suffix is also recorded in Medhurst (1832).[2] Over the centuries, it also varyingly took on derogatory connotations depending on how each Hokkien-speaking community perceived non-Chinese or natives, such as the derogatory taboo status of the term in Taiwan in reference to Taiwanese aboriginal groups in general or to any unreasonable persons, although the word has varying connotations in other Hokkien-speaking communities, such as in Fujian (Mainland China), the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, etc.

In mainland China

Hokkien speakers in mainland China, specifically in Southern Fujian, such as in Amoy (Xiamen), Chuanchiu (Quanzhou), and Chiangchiu (Zhangzhou), use this term to refer to a foreigner or a Westerner, especially those from Europe or the Americas.

In other Chinese languages, such as Mandarin and Cantonese, the word fan-kui (Chinese: 番鬼; pinyin: fānguǐ; Jyutping: faan1 gwai2) is used, which means "foreign ghost", where 鬼 means 'ghost' or 'demon'. This term is used by Cantonese and Mandarin-speaking overseas Chinese to imply non-Chinese people who are known for their bad savage habits or rude character.

In Taiwan

Taiwanese Hokkien and Taiwanese Hakka speakers, as well as non-Chinese speakers in Taiwan, may perceive this term as derogatory owing to historical negative views towards the demographic minority non-Chinese in Taiwan, such as towards the ethnic Taiwanese aboriginals and the ethnic Japanese during imperial Japanese rule over Taiwan.

Huan-á (番仔) is what Taiwanese Hokkien speakers use to refer to the Taiwanese aborigines, but it colloquially took on negative connotations as it was historically used as an ethnic slur when perceived and translated as "barbarian" and may sometimes derogatorily be used to refer to an "unreasonable person".[3] It may also be the origin of the name of the Hoanya people, the Taiwanese aborigines of southwestern Taiwan.

During the Japanese occupation of Taiwan, the Japanese were also called Huan-á by Han Taiwanese, with geisha called hoan-á-ke (番仔雞, lit. "foreign chicken") and the wives of Japanese men called hoan-á-chiú-kan (番仔酒矸, lit. "foreign liquor bottle").[4]

In the Philippines

Meanwhile, Hokkien speakers among Chinese Filipinos in the Philippines use Huan-á (番仔) to plainly refer to native Filipinos or any non-ethnic-Chinese Filipino when the speaker is not familiar with their ancestry, such as Filipino mestizos.[5][6] It is sometimes considered as vulgar by some speakers as well, but depends on the speaker's perceptions and culture on how they grew up to learn to perceive the term, since in the Philippines, non-ethnic-Chinese are the demographic majority and Chinese Filipinos do not have recent historical negative conflict with other ethnic groups in the Philippines. The usage of the term is mostly used neutrally to refer to any non-Chinese Filipinos, especially native Filipinos, depending on the speaker's intentions. It is first attested in the Dictionario Hispanico Sinicum (1626-1642) as "Yndio 番仔; Huán-nià",[1] where Yndio is the Spanish-colonial-era form of Spanish: indio which historically referred to natives of the East Indies, such as Austronesian and Negrito groups in the Philippines.

In Malaysia and Singapore

As for Hokkien speakers among Chinese Malaysians and Chinese Singaporeans, Huan-á (番仔) is used to neutrally refer to ethnic Malays[7] and other indigenous groups, such as those classified as Bumiputra, whereas Ang moh (紅毛) is used to refer to Europeans and Kling na (吉零仔) is used to refer to Tamils or other ethnic groups of India.[8]

It is also sometimes used to refer to the Malay language in Penang Hokkien and Singaporean Hokkien.

In Indonesia

Hokkien speakers among Chinese Indonesians in Indonesia use Huan-á (番仔) to refer to a person descended from the indigenous ethnic groups of Indonesia. The Hokkien speakers among Chinese Indonesians in Sumatra, also use it to refer to ethnic Malays.

See also

References
  1. Dominican Order of Preachers, O.P. (1626–1642). Written at Manila. Lee, Fabio Yuchung (李毓中); Chen, Tsung-jen (陳宗仁); José, Regalado Trota; Caño, José Luis Ortigosa (eds.). Dictionario Hispánico Sinicum (in Early Modern Spanish & Early Manila Hokkien and with some Middle Mandarin). Kept as Vocabulario Español-Chino con caracteres chinos (TOMO 215) in the University of Santo Tomás Archives, Manila (2018 Republished in Taiwan ed.). Hsinchu: National Tsing Hua University Press. pp. 569 [PDF] / 545 [As Written].{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  2. Medhurst, Walter Henry (1832). A Dictionary of the Hok-këèn Dialect of the Chinese Language: According to the Reading and Colloquial Idioms: Containing about 12,000 Characters (in English and Hokkien). Macau: East India Press. p. 736.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  3. Katz, Paul R.; Murray A. Rubinstein (2003). Religion and the formation of Taiwanese identities. Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 279.
  4. Huang, Junjie (2006). Taiwan in transformation, 1895–2005. Transaction Publishers. p. 164. ISBN 978-0-7658-0311-5.
  5. Zorc, David Paul (1982). Core Etymological Dictionary of Filipino: Part 3 (PDF). p. 171.
  6. Chan-Yap, Gloria (1980). "Hokkien Chinese borrowings in Tagalog" (PDF). Pacific Linguistics. Canberra, A.C.T. 2600.: The Australian National University. B (71): 132.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  7. Tong, Chee Kiong (2010). Identity and ethnic relations in Southeast Asia. Springer. pp. 231. ISBN 978-90-481-8908-3.
  8. DeBernardi, Jean Elizabeth (1 April 2009). Penang: rites of belonging in a Malaysian Chinese community. National University of Singapore Press. p. 262. ISBN 978-9971-69-416-6.
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