OUR COMMUNITY very Saturday morning, a group number of people using Chinese dialects Hong Kong performers and few of the of middle-aged people sit quietly other than Cantonese and Putonghua as old ones have remained in the industry. Ewith open notebooks behind their usual language dropped by about When the shows are staged, during the desks neatly arranged in rows. They 15 per cent between 1996 and 2006, Hungry Ghost Festival, mainland actors listen to a teacher describing the from around 340,000 to about 290,000. and musicians have to be drafted in. vowels and grammatical structure of a language that is unfamiliar to most If the use of dialects in the age group Besides, there are now fewer places of us. They diligently jot notes and try of people in their 40s and 50s is low, available to stage the shows, even to pronounce words one by one, as their use among the younger generation during the festival time. “Now we earn instructed by the teacher. is even lower. Few youngsters even very little as fewer people have an bother to learn the dialects of their interest in our performance,” Lau sighs. Community You may wonder what foreign elders. Henry Wong, in his early 20s and language these adults have returned to studying medicine at The University of Still, at least Teochew culture is the classroom to learn. In fact, they are Hong Kong, is a rare exception. He is kept alive and is actively promoted Our learning the Teochew (also known as the youngest student in the Teochew by people like Hui and Lau and by a Chiu Chow) dialect as part of their search class and says he is learning the dialect number of Teochew organizations and for the culture of their place of origin. because he wants to know more about clan associations. Hoklo culture, on his ancestral town and his family. the other hand, does not have such an There are 15 students on the course, impressive array of backers. co-ordinated by the Hong Kong Baptist “But when my friends learn that I am University and Teochew Merchants studying the Teochew dialect, they say Long before the arrival of the British, Mutual Assistance Society Limited. it’s worthless,” he says. the ancestors of the Hoklo people Most of them are in their 40s and 50s. emigrated to Hong Kong from places The medium of instruction is Teochew, His instructor, Hui Pak-kin, who has like Huizhou and Shanwei in Guangdong and most of the students are learning in been teaching Teochew classes for 10 province. They mainly made their living order to communicate better with their years, says the dialect is in decline in by fishing on boats near areas such as elderly relatives and bosses. Hong Kong. It is his aim to preserve San Mun Tsai, a fishing village near Tai not just the language but also aspects Po, and Cheung Chau. Some admit they only became of the culture, such as “Kung Fu Tea”. interested in learning about their Apart from teaching the dialect, Hui Most of them were resettled in culture as they grew older. They were also prepares video clips introducing housing estates in Tai Po and Aberdeen not so eager to learn the dialect when Teochew architecture and organizes in the 1980s. Although their way of living they were young, even though it was field trips for students to experience has changed drastically, most Hoklo commonly spoken by neighbours and the culture. people, especially the middle aged, are Endangered family members. “At that time Hong still mindful of their traditional culture. Kong was a British colony, and I thought Besides what they learn in class, a the dialect was outdated,” Denise Khoe, few students also appreciate Teochew one of the students says. Opera. Sometimes after the Saturday Jennifer Kwok class, they get together to visit Lau Fu Hong kong Khoe’s comments go some way Guang, the chief of the Teochew Opera to explaining the diminishing use of Troupe, to play Teo music together. traditional dialects in Hong Kong today. Lau says these student enthusiasts are Cultures and Dialects Traditional dialects such as Weitou the exception nowadays and that the spoken by New Territories people popularity of this regional opera form is by Chan Ka-yan and Jennifer Kwok (known as Punti), Teochew by Chiu also in decline. Chow people and Hakka by the Hakka or “Guest people”, were once dominant The performances, which are a form within their respective communities in of ritual worship, were popular in the Hong Kong. But with Cantonese, English 1960s, especially in Wong Tai Sin and and now Putonghua prevailing as the Kowloon City. Master Lau’s troupe was a official languages of Hong Kong, their profitable business employing 300 Hong significance has faded. Kong actors and musicians. Denise Khoe comes well- According to statistics from the However, with the fading popularity prepared, with notes and files, for the Teochew class every Census and Statistics Department, the of Teochew opera, there are no new Saturday morning. 40 Varsity NOV 2010 ISSUE 117 NOV 2010 ISSUE 117 Varsity 41 Katherine Chan Sandy So, a self-described post-70s The Hoklo in Hong Kong are not the Jennifer Kwok is they will become fluent and will, in “Dialects themselves are not only a Hoklo, always participates in traditional only people in danger of losing their turn, continue to pass on their ancestral tool for communication, but also reflect activities, such as Hoklo wedding culture. Other dialects such as Weitou tongue to their children. the cultures behind them,” he says. ceremonies. When they lived on boats, and Hakka face a similar threat. family members would put on colourful Also, the association has been given Hoklo costumes and “rowed the dragon “Punti” or local New Territories $100,000 in funding from the Lord “Dialects themselves boat” in front of the bride’s home for people with surnames like Tang, Hou Wilson Heritage Trust to build an online are not only a tool the wedding party. and Liu moved to Hong Kong from Hakka and Weitou Chinese characters’ Guangxi and Jiangxi from the Song pronunciation database to attract for communication, Even though they now live on land, Dynasty onwards. They spoke the young people to learn more about The instructor Hui Pak-kin describes a but also reflect the Community they still follow a modified form of the Weitou dialect and farmed in areas of video clip to students. these dialects. custom. Now, they hold a paddle and the New Territories such as Sheung Shui cultures behind them.” symbolically row it all the way to the and Tai Po. One thing in Lau’s favour is that the bride’s home on land. discouragement from his relatives, he Our Hakka are very proud of their heritage With a new generation of youngsters The Hakka were farmers from insisted on teaching his son and daughter and identity. in Hong Kong and Guangzhou preparing So says many Hoklo customs still Guangdong, first recruited to Hong Hakka when they were children. Lau to fight to preserve Cantonese language exist but this does not mean the culture Kong to help cultivate farmland in the thinks there is a stigma attached to “Hakka people have an old saying: and culture against the encroachment can last. As people become more used early Qing Dynasty. Later they either local dialects. In the past, people always ‘We should never lose our dialect even of Putonghua, the spotlight will fall to urban life after moving ashore, the rented farmland to make a living from thought that those who spoke Hakka or though we have to sacrifice our land,’ on other local dialects too: can they customs have become simpler and local people or cultivated farmland in Weitou must be uneducated. “says Chang Song-hing, a research be sustained, or will they gradually be parents do not instill the tradition in remote valleys such as Sha Tau Kok. professor of the Department of Chinese replaced by dominant languages? their children. “Some of the post-80s “The problem of the diminishing Language and Literature at The Chinese would think ‘rowing a dragon boat’ Keen to help preserve these local dialects is not really about children Lau Chun-fat, the vice precident of the University of Hong Kong (CUHK). Lau Chun-fat, the vice-president of in public and putting up their hair in dialects, the Association for Conservation but their parents,” explains Lau. local dialect presevation group, suggests the indigenous languages association, traditional buns is horrible,” she says. of Hong Kong Indigenous Languages local dialects can be passed down with Chang, who is a Hoklo, says the explains his mission with a metaphor. the next generation’s involvement. was set up in 2008. Lau Chun-fat, Lau and his friends set up the Hakka are enthusiastic about preserving Hong Kong is like a garden, he says, and Also, fewer Hoklo youngsters are the vice president of the association, association to help preserve the dialects. their culture. But he points out that it mainstream languages, like Cantonese, speaking the dialect. So says most is a Hakka. He and his friends often He knows it is an impossible task, but he is hard to carry out research as many of are like red roses. “But it would be too Jennifer Kwok of them understand simple Hoklo lament that dialects like Weitou and feels he does not have a choice. Even the elderly who best know about their plain if there were only red roses all but cannot speak it well.