Pontianak Teochew (; Peng'im: kung¹ diêng⁶ dio⁵ ziu¹ uê; Pe̍h-ūe-jī: Khun-tiān Tiô-tsiu-uē; Indonesian: Bahasa Tiociu Pontianak) is a dialect of Teochew primarily spoken by the Chinese community in Pontianak, West Kalimantan, Indonesia. Pontianak Teochew was originally spoken by the Teochew people who migrated from the Chaoshan region in Guangdong, China. These migrants and their descendants constitute the majority of the Chinese population in Pontianak and its surrounding areas. Today, however, it serves as the lingua franca for the entire Chinese community in Pontianak. Pontianak Teochew has also become a common trade and marketplace language in Pontianak and its surrounding areas, even among non-Teochew Chinese communities, such as the Hakkas. The Teochew people primarily dominate the city center and the southern suburbs in Kubu Raya, while the Hakkas are more concentrated in the northern suburbs across the Kapuas River and neighboring areas, such as Mempawah Regency.
Unlike in Java, where the use of Chinese languages has declined due to language shift and past discouragement by the Indonesian government, the Chinese dialects spoken in Pontianak and West Kalimantan remain well preserved. Pontianak Teochew continues to be spoken across generations of the Chinese community in Pontianak, including by younger people. It is used in schools and markets, although there is a gradual shift toward Indonesian, particularly among the youth. Code-mixing between Pontianak Teochew and Indonesian is also a common phenomenon. Pontianak Teochew has undergone significant language contact with local languages, making it significantly different from the original Teochew dialect spoken in Guangdong. This language contact primarily involves Pontianak Malay, the native language of the area, and Indonesian, the national language. Additionally, Pontianak Teochew has been influenced by other Chinese varieties, such as Hakka. Many Chinese people in Pontianak are generally multilingual, speaking not only Teochew but also Hakka, Mandarin, Pontianak Malay, and Indonesian.
History
The Teochew people began migrating to what is now West Kalimantan during the 19th century. Originating from the Chaoshan region in southern Guangdong, they were part of a larger migration wave and typically passed through the port of Shantou on their journey. Initially, not all Chinese migrants to West Kalimantan were part of the middle class. Many traveled in groups, and it was common for some to work as farmers or small traders, placing them in the lower class. In contrast to Java and Sumatra, where Cantonese and Hokkien make up the majority of the Chinese population, these two groups form only a small minority in West Kalimantan. The majority in this region are Hakka, who settled in West Kalimantan much earlier, followed by the Teochew. These Chinese migrants began arriving when the Pontianak Sultanate invited them to engage in mining activities and help revitalize trade. The Teochew people have generally steered clear of politics, focusing primarily on trade. As a result, they were largely excluded from the establishment of the Lanfang Republic in the 19th century, which was almost entirely composed of Hakka.
The use of Teochew and other Chinese dialects was significantly discouraged following Indonesia's independence. In the 1950s, several policies were introduced across the archipelago targeting Chinese language and culture. In the summer of 1957, military commanders, intent on eliminating foreign ideologies, closed all Chinese-language schools. Then, in April 1958, a military decree was issued prohibiting the publication of newspapers and periodicals in Chinese. With the onset of the New Order, the government under Suharto introduced the official national policy regarding Chinese religion, beliefs, and traditions through Presidential Instruction No. 14/1967 (Inpress No. 14/1967). This policy mandated that all Chinese rituals and activities be confined to the family and not take place publicly. For more than thirty years, Teochew, along with other Chinese dialects, was explicitly discouraged in Indonesian-medium schools. Teachers encouraged the use of Indonesian and discouraged students from speaking their native languages.
Following the fall of the New Order, President Abdurrahman Wahid initiated significant reforms for the Chinese community by repealing the 1967 national policy through Presidential Decision No. 6/2000 (Keppres No. 6/2000). This was further supported by President Megawati Soekarnoputri, who issued Presidential Decision No. 19/2002 (Keppres No. 19/2002), declaring Chinese New Year a national holiday. These changes marked a shift toward greater acceptance and expression of Chinese culture and language. With Mandarin reintroduced in schools, Teochew is no longer as strictly prohibited as it once was.
Geographic distribution and usage The Chinese community forms the dominant ethnic group in Pontianak, making up an estimated 30% to 40% of the city's population. Of this population, more than half or two-thirds are Teochew, while the remaining portion consists of Hakkas or other Chinese groups.
In Pontianak, two varieties of Chinese are spoken: Teochew and Hakka. The Teochew dialect is the most widely spoken among the Chinese community in Pontianak. The Teochew population primarily resides in the urban areas of southern Pontianak and Kubu Raya Regency, whereas those in northern Pontianak, as well as the suburbs and rural areas, predominantly speak Hakka. However, many Hakka speakers in Pontianak are bilingual, fluent in both Hakka and Teochew—and the same is true vice versa. The Teochew are primarily urban dwellers, including plantation workers, shopkeepers, and traders, while the Hakka were traditionally rural inhabitants, working as miners, farmers, and small traders. However, following the forced migration of the 1960s, predominantly involving Hakka, this pattern was disrupted. The Teochew, being relatively better off and long-established residents of the city, saw their language gradually become the common spoken language for both Teochew and Hakka communities.
Teochew has become the lingua franca of the Chinese community in Pontianak, serving not only the Teochew population but also the Hakka and other Chinese ethnic groups. Code-mixing and code-switching between Teochew, Hakka, Pontianak Malay, and Indonesian are prevalent in daily interactions. Teochew is so deeply embedded in Pontianak that many non-Chinese individuals, especially business owners, can speak it to some extent. Teochew speakers in the region take great pride in their dialect, with younger generations often making a conscious effort to avoid code-mixing with Malay or Indonesian. In addition to learning Teochew as their mother tongue or first language, many Chinese youths in Pontianak also study Mandarin, which serves as the unifying language for ethnic Chinese communities. Proficiency in Mandarin is especially common among older generations and younger speakers who are actively working to reconnect with their cultural roots. Indonesian, the national language, is used in formal contexts such as schools, government institutions, and interethnic communication. Additionally, many Chinese people in Pontianak are fluent in Pontianak Malay, the local Malay dialect. While the majority of Pontianak Malay speakers are ethnically Malay, many non-Malay residents, including Chinese, also speak the local language. The use of Teochew is under threat due to a shift in language preferences. Currently, in daily life, many Chinese people in Pontianak prefers and uses Indonesian or Pontianak Malay. This indicates that the language used by the Chinese community in Pontianak has undergone a shift, especially among the younger generation.
Phonology
Initials In Pontianak Teochew, there are 18 distinct initials. They are: [p], [pʰ], [b], [m], [t], [tʰ], [n], [l], [z], [ts], [tsʰ], [s], [k], [kʰ], [g], [ŋ], [h], and [∅]. +Pontianak Teochew initialsLabialAlveolarVelarGlottalNasal毛 (mo⁵⁵)年 (ni⁵⁵)硬 (ŋe³⁵)Plosive/ Affricate飛 (pue³³)中 (tong³³)水 (t͡sui⁵³)歌 (kua³³)跑 (pʰau⁵³)看 (tʰoi⁵³)秋 (t͡sʰiu³³)去 (kʰɯ¹¹)賣(boi¹¹)乳 (d͡zu⁵³)玉 (gek⁴)Fricative三 (sa³³)何 (ho⁵⁵)Lateral路 (lou¹¹)
Notes: The consonant zero sound [∅], which is not included in the table, is found in the vocabulary 我 [ua⁵³], 爷 [ia⁵⁵], 英 [iŋ³³] and 幼 [iu²¹³]. If [ɯ] is the final vowel and the finals are either [-ŋ] or [-k], they are pronounced as [ɣ].
Finals There are a total of seven finals in Pontianak Teochew, consisting of three nasal finals and four plosive finals. In addition, Pontianak Teochew also includes two syllabic consonants, similar to those found in Taiwanese Hokkien. +FinalsBilabialAlveolarVelarGlottalNasal暗 (am²¹³)安 (an³³)紅 (aŋ⁵⁵)Plosive榻 (tʰap²¹)吉 (kit²¹)骨 (kuk⁴)尺 (t͡sʰioʔ²¹)+Syllabic consonantBilabialVelarNasal姆 (m⁵³)黄 (ŋ⁵⁵)
Rhymes Pontianak Teochew has 11 Vowels in total, comprising 6 simple vowels and 5 nasalized vowels. It also features 20 diphthongs and 4 triphthongs. In total, there are about 87 rimes.
Pure vowels FrontBackSimpleNasalSimpleNasalClose池 (ti⁵⁵)錢 (t͡sĩ⁵⁵)有 (u³⁵) 猪 (tɯ³⁵)關 (kũẽ³³)Close-Mid花 (hue³³)病 (pẽ¹¹)坐 (t͡so³⁵)娘 (niõ⁵⁵)Open早 (t͡sa⁵³)媽 (mã⁵⁵)
Diphthongs and triphthongs DiphthongTriphthongai 來 (lai⁵⁵)au 老 (lau³⁵)ia 椰 (ia⁵⁵)io 椒 (t͡sio³³)iu 友 (iu⁵³)ua 拖 (tʰua³³)ue 杯 (pue³³)ui 悲 (pui³³)oi 題 (toi⁵⁵)ou 布 (pou²¹³)iau 焦 (t͡siau³³)uai 怪 (kuai²¹³)ãĩ 愛 (ãĩ²¹³)ãũ 好 (hau²¹³)ĩã 餅 (piã⁵³)ĩõ 姜 (kĩõ⁵³)ĩũ 休 (hiu³³)ũã 單 (tũã³³)ũẽ 糜 (mũẽ⁵⁵)ũĩ 胖 (pũĩ²¹³)õĩ 第 (tõĩ³⁵)õũ 某 (mõũ⁵³)iãũ 苗 (miãũ⁵⁵)ũãĩ 果 (kũãĩ⁵³)
Nuclei with nasal codas -mam 擔 (tam³³)im 林 (lim⁵⁵)iam 添 (tʰiam³³)uam 繁 (huam⁵⁵)-nan 慢 (man¹¹)in 面 (min¹¹)ien 珍 (tien³³)un 文 (bun⁵⁵)uan 萬 (buan¹¹)ɯn 銀 (ŋɯn³³)-ŋaŋ 幫 (baŋ³³)eŋ 猛 (meŋ⁵³)iaŋ 天 (tʰiaŋ³³)ioŋ 雄 (hioŋ⁵⁵)oŋ 東 (toŋ³³)uŋ 拳 (kʰuŋ⁵⁵)uaŋ 忘 (buaŋ²¹³)ueŋ 宏 (kʰueŋ⁵⁵)ɯŋ 湯 (tʰɯŋ³³)
Checked rhymes -pap 答 (tap²¹)ip 濕 (sip²¹)iap 捷 (t͡siap⁴)op □ (hop⁴)uap 法 (huap²¹)-tat 力 (lat²¹)it 密 (bit⁴)oit 拔 (poit²¹)ut 出 (t͡sʰut²¹)uat 發 (huat²¹)-kak 目 (mak²¹)ek 肉 (nek⁴)ik 蔑 (bik⁴)iak 滅 (miak⁴)iok 質 (t͡siok²¹)ok 托 (tʰok²¹)uk 不 (puk²¹)uak 閲 (luak²¹)uek 穴 (huek⁴)ɯk 乞 (kʰɯk²¹)-ʔaʔ 打 (pʰaʔ²¹)eʔ 白 (peʔ⁴)ẽʔ 脉 (mẽʔ⁴)iʔ 鐵 (tʰiʔ²¹)iaʔ 食 (t͡siaʔ⁴)ioʔ 借 (t͡sioʔ²¹)oʔ 桌 (toʔ²¹)õʔ 膜 (mõʔ²¹)uaʔ 熱 (d͡zuaʔ⁴)ueʔ 血 (hueʔ²¹)uẽʔ 物 (uẽʔ⁴)
Tones The tonal system of Pontianak Teochew remains largely identical to the original Teochew spoken in Guangdong, particularly the Jieyang dialect. Pontianak Teochew has a tonal system with eight distinct tones, which are further classified into yin (陰, "dark") and yang (陽, "light") tones. These tones are classified into four categories: level tones, rising tones, falling tones, and entering tones. Each category includes both voiced and devoiced variations, resulting in a total of eight distinct tones. Due to the influence of Indonesian and Malay, both non-tonal languages, many Teochew speakers in Pontianak have gradually lost the distinction between high and low tones, a defining feature of Teochew as spoken in Guangdong. As a result, some speakers no longer use tones in their speech. +Pontianak Teochew tonesUpper/Dark Lower/Light No.NameContourSandhiedExamplesNo.NameContourSandhiedExamplesLevel 1陰平 im-pêng[˧] (33)[˧] (33)珠 [t͡su³³], 知 [t͡sai³³]2陽平 iang-pêng[˥˥] (55)[˩] (11)銅 [taŋ⁵⁵], 陳 [tan⁵⁵]Rising 3陰上 im-siang[˥˧] (53)[˧˥] (35)感 [kam⁵³], 早 [t͡sa⁵³]4陽上 iang-siang[˧˥] (35)[˩] (11)老 [lau³⁵], 坐 [t͡so³⁵]Departing 5陰去 im-khu[˨˩˧] (213)[˥˧] (53)吊 [tiau²¹³], 教 [ka²¹³]6陽去 iang-khu[˩] (11)[˩] (11)地 [ti¹¹], 謝 [sia¹¹]Entering 7陰入 im-jip[˨˩] (21)[˦] (4)筆 [pit²¹], 急 [kip²¹]8陽入 iang-jip[˦] (4)[˨˩] (21)雜 [t͡sap⁴], 合 [ap⁴]
Tone sandhi The tone sandhi of Pontianak Teochew generally follows the patterns found in other Teochew dialects. The rules are summarized below:
Medium-level (1) and low-level (6) do not change. The entering tones (7 and 8) are interchanged. The low 陽 tones (2, 4, 8) all become low (6, or 7 in the case of 8).
Grammar