Terengganu is a Malaysian language Malay base Tranung/Ganu) is a Malayan language spoken from Terengganu in Malaysia south to Pahang on the coast and northeast Johor. It was once spoken on the Riau Islands' Anambas and Natuna islands, but its speakers (particularly the elderly) are rapidly dwindling and being replaced by local Malay dialects on the islands, as well as Indonesian's national and official standard. It is the most common Malay variation in Terengganu and also serves as the common language for many ethnic groups (the Highly localised Peranakan Chinese minority in Terengganu, known as "Mek Awang" mainly use Terengganu Malay besides their native Hokkien). Despite being classified a Malay variant, Terengganu Malay, along with Kelantan-Pattani Malay, has developed substantial phonetic, syntactic, and lexical characteristics that render it mutually unintelligible for speakers from beyond Peninsular Malaysia. Terengganu Malay, on the other hand, has close linguistic links to the Kelantan-Pattani and Pahang varieties of the Malay group of East Coast Peninsular Malayan languages. Many people outside the region were perplexed by these similarities, and they commonly confused Terengganu Malay with Kelantan Malay, despite significant phonological and vocabulary differences.