Hi
Henrietta
First Id like to say how
refreshing it is to find information regarding Hakka culture on the
net.
My parents are from of the
New Territories and I was born, bred and educated in Northern
Ireland.
I speak Hakka related to
that region in China and I would like to think that I was a Hakka person,
as well as British/Irish.
My parents made a point of
teaching me Hakka as a child so that I could communicate with
my family members, especially my grandmothers.
I think that being able to
speak Hakka allows a deeper appreciation however is not
essential. Many of my cousins who speak one or more Chinese dialects and
those who do not speak any Chinese would still regard themselves to be
Hakka.
A generalisation that I
have picked up from my mother and from reading the Hakka pages is that migration
is in the "Hakka Blood". All of my aunts and uncles from both parents sides have
moved from Hong Kong and all of their children speak a degree of Hakka
however English tends to be the main language.
I intend to teach my
children (when they arrive) Hakka in the sense that I want them to be
able to communicate with their maternal grandparents in the language that
they grew up with, they'll learn English at school like I
did.
I would be interested in
hearing from overseas Chinese that feel that they may find or have found it
difficult/easy in teaching their kids Hakka.
Regards
Trisha