1. HAKKA 客家: Among Language
Families in 20th Century Taiwan
Martha Gabriela Camacho // Mauna Griffin
Oscar Lee // Will Hsu
COMM 168 A00 WI16 | Prof. Olga Vasquez
3. 4.6 millionOut of the 23 million people comprising Taiwan’s population are of Hakka
descent (approx. 15-20%).
4. Taiwan (people) Taiwan (language)
● Native Taiwanese Aboriginal Tribes
● Hakka
● Japanese
● Mandarin (e.g. Standard Chinese)
○ Taiwanese Mandarin
● Hakka
● Formosan Languages
○ Hokkien (Native Taiwanese)
● Japanese
● English
● Taiwanese Sign Language
Despite there being much verbal linguistic diversity in Taiwan, all languages except English and most of Japanese are communicated
in writing via Chinese (Traditional) characters.
5. Hakka
Not named after a geographical region, more like a
clan.
Refers to its own:
● Dialect of Chinese
● People - immigrants from mainland China
○ Strong geographical roots in China’s
Guangdong province.
○ Distinction between Hakka and
Cantonese.
Languages embodied:
● Hakka dialect (Chinese)
● Japanese (esp. for people born before 1940)
● Mandarin
客家
kè jīa
Translates literally to “guest families”
6. Migration
● Began with migration to various countries
● Major settlement in Taiwan due to civil unrest
7. Timeline: Hakka in 20th
c. Taiwan History
Qin Dynasty
(221-2016 BC)
Present day
Qing Dynasty
(1661-1722) 1895 1945 1980
Taiwan under
Japanese rule
Kuomintang
administration,
Republic of China
//
8. Official Japanese and Mandarin
● (1895-1945) Japanese introduced as official language
● Implications for that generation
● (1945-Present) Mandarin introduced as official language
● Implications for current generation
● Difference in fluencies
10. Mandarin
● Lingua franca
● Given high prestige and made the official language
○ by the National Languages Committee
○ “Refined” or “pleasing to the ear”
● Discourages inferior languages to be used in the media
● Only sanctioned Chinese variety for use in the media during the 1990s
○ Caused a backlash
11. Comparing
Mandarin & Hakka
-in English phonetic spellings-
*code-switching
Character Meaning Mandarin Hakka
謝謝你 Thank you xie xie ni si-mung-ni
湯圓
Trad. food -
rice ball in
soup
tang yuan ban yan
媽 Mother ma mà
哥 Older brother ge goh
姐 Older sister jie
zia
(pron. tzèh)
14. Postal in Taiwan Postal in United States
1. To [Name Here]
2. Floor (followed by “F”)
3. # or No.
4. Alley
5. Lane
6. Section
7. Street name
8. District
9. City or County
10. Postal code
11. Taiwan (R.O.C.)
1. To [Name Here]
2. # or No.
3. Street name
4. City
5. Postal code
16. Conclusion:
Hakka people in Taiwan have had a rough and ever-changing linguistic history.
From the linguistic influences of Japanese and Mandarin, cultural and
everyday experiences have been situated in a hybridized way.
It’s unknown what the future of Hakka language could be at this time because
relatively little systematic efforts have been established to continue the
language.
History helps us honor and respect language diversity and associated
linguistic identity.
