Concept
The Hoklo people () are a Southern Han Chinese subgroup who speak Hokkien, a Southern Min language, or trace their ancestry to Southeastern Fujian, China and known by various endonyms or other related terms such as Banlam (Minnan) people () or Hokkien people (). The Hoklo people are found in significant numbers in Mainland China (Fujian), Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia, Brunei, Myanmar, the United States, Hong Kong, and Macau. The Hoklo people have a distinct culture and architecture, including Hoklo shrines and temples with tilted sharp eaves, high and slanted top roofs, and finely detailed decorative inlays of wood and porcelain. The Hokkien language, which includes Taiwanese Hokkien, is the mainstream Southern Min (Minnan), which is partially mutually intelligible to the TeoSwa, Hainamese, Luichew, Hailokhong. In Southern Fujian (Mainland China), the Hokkien speakers refer to themselves as Banlam people () or generally speaking, Hokkien people (). In Mandarin, they also call themselves Minnan people (). In Taiwan (ROC), the term "Hoklo" is usually used for the people. The term Holo () is also used to refer to the language (Taiwanese language) and those people who speak it. The term is likely an exonym originating from Hakka and/or Cantonese that some Hokkien and Teochew speakers, particularly in Taiwan and Mainland China, borrowed from, since the term is not recognized by Hokkien speakers in Southeast Asia. There are three common ways to write Hoklo in Chinese characters, although their etymological correctness is often disputed: an exonym emphasizing the people's native connection to Fujian province. It is not a phonologically accurate transliteration in terms of Hokkien itself although it may correspond to and originate from an actual usage in Hakka. an exonym emphasizing the people's purported long history originating from the area south of the Yellow River. Although used in Mandarin, this term does not exist in the Hokkien language itself.
