The Northern Min language, or Min Bei (simplified Chinese: 闽北; traditional Chinese: 閩北; pinyin: Mǐnběi) is a collection of mutually intelligible dialects of Min spoken in Nanping Prefecture of northwestern Fujian.

The Chinese languages of Fujian were traditionally divided into Northern and Southern Min. However, dialectologists now divide Min more finely.^[1] By this narrower definition, Northern Min covers the dialects of Shibei (in Pucheng County), Chong'an (in Wuyishan City), Xingtian (in Wuyishan City), Wufu (in Wuyishan City), Zhenghe (in Zhenghe County), Zhengqian (in Zhenghe County), Jianyang and Jian'ou.^[1]

The dialects of eastern Nanping are sometimes split off as a separate division of Min, Shaojiang.

[edit] References

1. ^ ^{a b} Zev Handel (2003). "Northern Min Tone Values and the Reconstruction of Softened Initials" (^{[dead link]}). Language and Linguistics 4.1: 47–84. http://www.ling.sinica.edu.tw/publish/LL4.1-03-Handel-paper.pdf. Retrieved 2007-04-25. 

• Branner, David Prager (2000). Problems in Comparative Chinese Dialectology — the Classification of Miin and Hakka. Trends in Linguistics series, no. 123. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. ISBN 31-101-5831-0.