Fading Voices of Hakka In Hong Kong
RESULTS
INTERVIEWEES
Ms. Cheung , a 77-year-old native Hakka speaker who came to Hong Kong at the age of 11-12. Since then, she has been learning and speaking Cantonese to make a living. Her sons and daughters know little about Hakka.
Mrs Ng in her fourties, is a housewife in Hong Kong, whose first language is Hakka. She learnt Cantonese, Mandarin and other dialects when went to school in the Mainland. She has a son and a daughter, both of whom are not fluent Hakka speakers.
Mr Ng in his twenties, is son of Ms Ng, one of our interviewees. He is a full-time student whose first language is Cantonese. He cannot speak Hakka but gains a little knowledge of it.
OBSERVATIONS
With reference to the three interviews conducted, we can observe that native Hakka speakers see their language in terms of identity, education and socioeconomic motivation. It can be observed that native Hakka speakers in Hong Kong share an increasingly weakened identity as a Hakka, while developing a sense of being a Cantonese after living in Hong Kong for years. The lack of formal and informal education in Hakka is also a leading reason for the languishment of Hakka. Apart from the lack of Hakka education, Hakka speakers also show unwillingness to send their children to Hakka education even if there is any. The aversion is, in fact, driven by social and economic factors since they do not recognize their socioeconomic advantages associated with being a competent Hakka speaker .
Ms. Cheung
Mrs. Ng
Mr. Ng