Amoy is an island, city, and dialect in the southern part of China's Fujian province. Although the English word "Amoy" is closer to how the word is pronounced in the local Amoy dialect, the location is referred to as Xiamen under the Mandarin-based pinyin system. Thus the city and island usually referred to by that name in present-day English writing, although the dialect is often still referred to as the "Amoy Dialect," as well as a host of other names including Southern Fukienese, Southern Fujianese, Min-nan (the Mandarin name), Bân-lâm (what the dialect's speakers call it), and Hokkien or Hok-kiàn (what people in Southeast Asia call it).
Today there are approximately 30 million speakers of the Amoy dialect in Xiamen and Taiwan. The city of Amoy's early importance as a port of call for western traders in the Early Modern period meant that numerous English words have their origins in the Amoy dialect, including "satay," "ketchup," "tea," "cumshaw," and of course the word "Amoy" itself.