Fading Voices of Hakka In Hong Kong

When it comes to langauge education of foreign language learning, extrinsic socioeconomic factors are always crucial element closely associated with leaners’ urge to take up a language. It is because foreign language competence is deemed to be a tool for opening up new opportunities for learners from lower social classes and thus breaking social barriers[1] (Kormos, &Thom, 2015). A desire to gain social mobility to move up the social ladder is often the common reason for learners to acquire linguistic competence other than their first language.

While scrutinizing the impetus for progeny of native Hakka speakers in learning the language in Hong Kong, the economic advantages associated with the language are always a key component. Consulting the conflict theory in sociology of education, language education is usually considered as a tool to attain a high social status and power relationships[2] (Ballantine, J. H., & Hammack, F. M., 2011). This view of language matches with instrumental goals of language learning identified by Gardner (2006), which relates the urge of learning a foreign language with a utilitarian consideration of the values of speaking the foreign language[3] (Gardner, 2006). Living in the international city, Hong Kong, which has frequent transaction and interaction with different countries on a global level, English, as an official language in Hong Kong as well as the lingua franca, is generally acknowledged to be the standard means of communication in different sectors. In addition, Cantonese, as the dominant language in Hong Kong, which has a community of speakers taking up 89.g% of Hong Kong’s population[4] (GovHK, 2014), is undeniably of assisttance ones to be successful, be it on an economic level or that of social status. We can see from our daily practice that the use of Hakka barely effects an influence on bringing speakers economic advantages. The fact that Hakka is of a lower economic value is too supported by our interviewees as they admitted that Hakka is only a language spoken by a minority in society with the dominant language of Cantonese and they don not see any economic advantages the language might bring[5] (Cheung, &Ng, 2015). Due to an indignificant economic advantages of being able to speak Hakka, the majority of Hong Kong people opt for learning Cantonese and English instead. Their reluctance to learn to learn the language can also be explained by neo-liberalism in our society. Under the influence of neo-liberal ideologies, value of a language is inevitably affected the “market”, which stresses greatly on a language’s cost-effectiveness and productivity[6] (Lai, &Lo, 2007). These ideologies render language leaners tend to consider the value of a language only in an economic way and therefore leads to an absence of socioeconomic motivation for younger generation of Hakka to pick up the language.

A language’s ability to aid students’ entrance to tertiary education does exert great influence on their motivation to acquire competence in a particular language. In the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE), which serves mainly for university admission of prospective students, normally, only students’ language proficiency in Chinese and English will be assessedIt is true that Hakka is also a variety of Chinese language, which some may think of its help in enhancing students’ Chinese language capability, however, it is very important to note that Hakka’s orthography, which is Pha̍k-fa-sṳ (白話字), shares significant dissimilarity with the written language that we use in examination. Apart from the reading and writing examination, being competent users in Hakka does not give students edges in completing their listening and speaking examination. Although the Hong Kong Examination and Assessment Authority allows students to take other language subject to replace assessment on Chinese, the six languages offered (French, German, Hindi, Japanese, Spanish, Urdu) do not include Hakka[7] (HKEAA, 2014), and therefore being able to understanding and speak fluent Hakka gives students no advantages in enhancing their academic performance in public examination. Even for students receiving tertiary education like Mr. Ng, the use of Hakka still does not help student on their academic performance. It is because the universal standard academic language is English, and almost all of the existing and to-be-existed academic literature and journals were, are and will be written in English. Moreover, English is the most common medium of instruction in university or other institutions of higher