The Phonological Characteristics of Hopo Hakka in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia: A Three-Generation Family Case Study

1 马来西亚砂拉越古晋河婆客家话语音特点 ——以一个家庭三代人的语音演变为个案

Abstract

 Abstract

       Hakka is one of the predominant Chinese dialects in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia, with the Hopo accent being the most prevalent. Following the migration of the Hopo people from Jiexi, China to Kuching during the late 19th century, the dialect has undergone language contact with various local languages and other Chinese dialects, leading to a series of phonetic changes. Compared to Meixian Hakka, which has a wider global distribution, Hopo Hakka has a relatively smaller number of speakers worldwide. Therefore, Kuching has become an essential region for studying the development of this dialect. Systematically and scientifically recording the phonetic differences between Kuching Hopo Hakka and its ancestral origin is of great significance for exploring phonetic evolution and preserving the dialect. This paper employs the traditional dialect survey method to record the phonetic system of Kuching Hopo Hakka and analyses its divergence from the Jiexi variety. In addition, a three-generation family is examined as a case study in order to explore patterns of phonological change. The results indicate that the phonetic changes in initial and final of Kuching Hopo Hakka include (1) internal evolution such as the loss of the medial glide [-i-] in syllables with the initial consonant when occurring with open or closed division-III vowels,  changes triggered by contact with external language such as the shift of initial from [v] to [b]the emergence of
new vowels [ɛi] and [ə], changes resulting from contact with other Hakka subdialects, including the shift of post-alveolar sounds toward denti-alvoelar sounds, the transition of primary vowels in the xie and geng¬¬-rhyme division-II and –IV  characters from [e] to [a], the preservation of more traditional phonetic features than the Jiexi variety, such as the retention of [e] and [ue] instead of [ei] and [uei]. Tonal characteristics remain largely consistent with only minor variations in tone values. Age variation is observed only in the initials where younger and middle-aged speakers show different pronunciation from the old generation. Finally, this paper compares the findings with previous research, aiming to expand the scope of Sarawak Hakka studies and provide a reference case for the development of Hakka dialects in Southeast Asia.

Keywords: Sarawak, Kuching, chinese dialect, hopo hakka, phonological