What is the relationship between Chaoshan dialect and Minnan dialect?

Chaozhou dialect (Chaoshan dialect) is widely used in Chaoshan area along the eastern coast of Guangdong and overseas Chinese. It is a well-known old saying, which contains many elements of ancient Chinese and belongs to Minnan language. Its vocabulary is highly corresponding to Zhang Quan dialect, and its pronunciation and intonation are obviously different from those of Zhang Quan dialect, making it difficult to communicate with each other.

Chaoshan dialect belongs to the sub-dialect of Minnan dialect, one of the eight major language families of Chinese dialects.

According to relevant historical records, Chaozhou dialect originated in Qin and Han Dynasties, formed in Tang and Song Dynasties, and formed its own independent language system in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties.

The characteristics of Chaozhou dialect can be summarized as follows: special grammar, rich vocabulary, unique phonology and many ancient semantics. There are four kinds of ancient tones: Ping, Shang, Qu and Ru, and Chaozhou dialect is divided into Yin Ping, Yin Shang, Yin Qu, Yin Ru, Yang Ping, Yang Shang, Yang Qu and Yang Ru.

Due to the special geographical location of Chaozhou, although the Central Plains has experienced several major language changes (especially the melting of the northern minority languages), it has little impact on it, so Chaozhou dialect still retains many characteristics of ancient Chinese.

Due to historical changes, some of these ancient Chinese words have become local dialects because of homophony or retaining the original sound, so they are called "living fossils of ancient Chinese" by relevant linguists.

Baidu encyclopedia-Chaoshan dialect