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.

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.

[10] These Chinese migrants began arriving when the Pontianak Sultanate invited them to engage in mining activities and help revitalize trade.

[12] 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.

[13] 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.

[14] The Chinese community forms the dominant ethnic group in Pontianak, making up an estimated 30% to 40% of the city's population.

Code-mixing and code-switching between Teochew, Hakka, Pontianak Malay, and Indonesian are prevalent in daily interactions.

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.

[16] Proficiency in Mandarin is especially common among older generations and younger speakers who are actively working to reconnect with their cultural roots.

[23] 毛 (mo⁵⁵) 年 (ni⁵⁵) 硬 (ŋe³⁵) Affricate 飛 (pue³³) 中 (tong³³) 水 (t͡sui⁵³) 歌 (kua³³) 跑 (pʰau⁵³) 看 (tʰoi⁵³) 秋 (t͡sʰiu³³) 去 (kʰɯ¹¹) 賣(boi¹¹) 乳 (d͡zu⁵³) 玉 (gek⁴) 三 (sa³³) 何 (ho⁵⁵) 路 (lou¹¹) Notes: There are a total of seven finals in Pontianak Teochew, consisting of three nasal finals and four plosive finals.

[25] In addition, Pontianak Teochew also includes two syllabic consonants, similar to those found in Taiwanese Hokkien.

[27] 來 (lai⁵⁵) 老 (lau³⁵) 椰 (ia⁵⁵) 椒 (t͡sio³³) 友 (iu⁵³) 拖 (tʰua³³) 杯 (pue³³) 悲 (pui³³) 題 (toi⁵⁵) 布 (pou²¹³) 焦 (t͡siau³³) 怪 (kuai²¹³) 愛 (ãĩ²¹³) 好 (hau²¹³) 餅 (piã⁵³) 姜 (kĩõ⁵³) 休 (hiu³³) 單 (tũã³³) 糜 (mũẽ⁵⁵) 胖 (pũĩ²¹³) 第 (tõĩ³⁵) 某 (mõũ⁵³) 苗 (miãũ⁵⁵) 果 (kũãĩ⁵³) 擔 (tam³³) 林 (lim⁵⁵) 添 (tʰiam³³) 繁 (huam⁵⁵) 慢 (man¹¹) 面 (min¹¹) 珍 (tien³³) 文 (bun⁵⁵) 萬 (buan¹¹) 銀 (ŋɯn³³) 幫 (baŋ³³) 猛 (meŋ⁵³) 天 (tʰiaŋ³³) 雄 (hioŋ⁵⁵) 東 (toŋ³³) 拳 (kʰuŋ⁵⁵) 忘 (buaŋ²¹³) 宏 (kʰueŋ⁵⁵) 湯 (tʰɯŋ³³) 答 (tap²¹) 濕 (sip²¹) 捷 (t͡siap⁴) □ (hop⁴) 法 (huap²¹) 力 (lat²¹) 密 (bit⁴) 拔 (poit²¹) 出 (t͡sʰut²¹) 發 (huat²¹) 目 (mak²¹) 肉 (nek⁴) 蔑 (bik⁴) 滅 (miak⁴) 質 (t͡siok²¹) 托 (tʰok²¹) 不 (puk²¹) 閲 (luak²¹) 穴 (huek⁴) 乞 (kʰɯk²¹) 打 (pʰaʔ²¹) 白 (peʔ⁴) 脉 (mẽʔ⁴) 鐵 (tʰiʔ²¹) 食 (t͡siaʔ⁴) 借 (t͡sioʔ²¹) 桌 (toʔ²¹) 膜 (mõʔ²¹) 熱 (d͡zuaʔ⁴) 血 (hueʔ²¹) 物 (uẽʔ⁴) The tonal system of Pontianak Teochew remains largely identical to the original Teochew spoken in Guangdong, particularly the Jieyang dialect.

[29] The rules are summarized below: The word order of existential sentences in Pontianak Teochew mirrors that of Mandarin and other Chinese varieties.

Similarly, sentences with verbal predicates in Pontianak Teochew also generally follow the subject-verb-object word order (SVO) pattern, consistent with other Chinese languages.

However, it can also describe events that are neutral, meaning the interpretation can shift depending on the context, potentially conveying either a positive or negative connotation.

[34] Examples of the usage of diau and dioh are as follows: 我uaMy個kaiPOSS目鏡mak-kiaglasses壞pitbroke掉。diauPERF我 個 目鏡 壞 掉。ua kai mak-kia pit diauMy POSS glasses broke PERFMy glasses broke.阿翔AsiangAsiang撵lengpush著diohPERF孥囝。nongkiachild阿翔 撵 著 孥囝。Asiang leng dioh nongkiaAsiang push PERF childAsiang pushed a child.Each of these three markers conveys a specific meaning from the speaker’s perspective and is used with different types of verbs, such as transitive or intransitive.

[45] In Pontianak Teochew, the basic word order of a intransitive sentence follows a subject-verb structure.

Alternative word orders, such as object-verb-subject (OVS), verb-object-subject (VOS), object-subject-verb (OSV), and verb-subject-object (VSO), are ungrammatical.

However, it has also adopted new features, particularly in vocabulary, while simultaneously retaining certain phonological traits that have become obsolete in the Teochew dialects spoken in China.

However, due to the influence of Indonesian and Malay, many Pontianak Teochew speakers either no longer use tones fully or do not emphasize them as strongly.

Structurally, the order of morphemes and the use of affixes remain largely consistent with Teochew, as seen in reversed compounds like 猪母 (sow), 牛公 (bull), and 人客 (guest), as well as affixed words such as 囝 [kia⁵³], which forms derivatives like 路囝 (road), 刀囝 (knife), and 姐妹囝 (sisters).

[50] Pontianak Teochew shares a significant portion of its vocabulary with the dialects of Jieyang, Chaozhou, and Shantou.

While many words align closely with Jieyang dialect, a smaller number reflect distinct Chaozhou influences.

[51] Some words show similarities with both Jieyang and Swatou dialects, while others exhibit noticeable morphological and syntactic differences.

Additionally, Pontianak Teochew has incorporated a considerable number of loanwords from Indonesian, Malay and English, as well as hybrid formations unique to the local linguistic environment.

[51] Additionally, Pontianak Teochew has been influenced not only by local languages but also by other Chinese dialects, particularly Hokkien, Hakka, and Mandarin.

However, due to its distance from the main Teochew-speaking regions, where the linguistic base has been established for centuries, Pontianak Teochew has developed unique characteristics.

Examples include 唐山 'China' or 'ancestral homeland'; 番囝 'indigenous people'; 痴宫 'psychiatric hospital'; 房宫 'bedroom'; 丛浴 'bathing; 食風屐 'stubbornness'; 霜厨 'refrigerator'; 公司 'public expenses'; 做字 'handle official matters'; and 棒柔 'bribery'.

For instance, 我儂 /ua⁵³.naŋ/ is used for "we/us," and 汝儂 /lɯ⁵³.naŋ⁵³/ for "you (plural)," whereas in Guangdong Teochew dialects, these original terms have disappeared, replaced by 阮 /uaŋ⁵³/ and 恁 /niŋ⁵³/ respectively.

Most of these borrowed words represent concrete concepts, such as geography, minerals, natural phenomena, agriculture, plants, food, fruits, animals, housing, furniture, tools, everyday objects, cuisine, demographics, and education.