Pingtung County’s National Neipu Senior Agricultural and Industrial Vocational High School last weekend hosted a meeting involving six schools and their programs for Hakka-language integration into the 12-year national curriculum. The schools shared their experience in incorporating the Hakka language into culinary classes, field trips, symphonic musical arts and natural sciences, with many teachers reflecting on the same, worrying phenomenon: Students are reluctant to use Hakka.
Interestingly, indigenous students are less hesitant to openly express their identity and use their native languages, while students with Hakka backgrounds tend to be more “invisible” in how they present their ethnic identity. This phenomenon was cited as one of the main reasons that Hakka students are less willing to speak the language.
Aside from implementing Hakka language courses in the basic curriculum, celebrating the Hakka ethnic identity and improving interest in the language are also critical components of bringing it back into the public sphere and ensuring the sustainability of the language revitalization project.
Hakka’s “invisibilization” has been exacerbated by the enforced proliferation of Mandarin in modern society, to the point that students with Hakka background have indistinguishable accents from the rest of their class. In addition, long-standing stereotypes have bred anxiety over being labeled and caused Hakka children to avoid making their backgrounds public.
The Hakka Affairs Council should go beyond language education alone, and focus on transforming values and meaningfully engaging with the cultural background, language, customs and history of the people. Hakka culture should be framed and regarded as an integral part of Taiwanese society. For example, “ngang giang spirit” (硬頸) is a Hakka concept describing an indomitable or unyielding nature that can describe not just Hakka groups, but Taiwanese in general and their resilience. The Hakka ethic of respect for resources, and finding ways to repurpose and reuse items are of great relevance in modern Taiwanese society, which is interested in more sustainable forms of consumption and green living practices.
Using Hakka is about more than preserving the culture. Thought should also go into how to localize the language and embed its vocabulary within the broader social context. People used the catchy Hoklo (commonly known as Taiwanese) phrase “Taiwan the strongest” (台灣尚勇) during the 2024 World Baseball Softball Confederation Premier12 tournament. A similar Hakka chant, such as “Taiwan dong kiang” (當慶, sometimes translated as “you rock”), can be used at the World Baseball Classic in March. It would give Hakka a chance to be seen and felt outside of the classroom and through the pulse of the entire country.
Steps like that would embed Hakka more tightly into modern Taiwan’s collective memory and sense of identity.
For Hakka to be used meaningfully and resonate throughout society would mean that it ceases to be the legacy language on the precipice and becomes recognized as cultural capital. The “invisible” can be proud and students would have greater motivation to learn the language. Even non-Hakka students might learn to see Hakka as “dong pai teu” (當派頭, “cool”). Learning would become proactive, and with stronger and more sustainable motivations.
This way, Hakka can continue to thrive, belonging not only to the Hakka people, but to Taiwan as a whole.
Liao Ching-ting is a high-school teacher.
Translated by Gilda Knox Streader
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