Two Hakka Books Released To Promote Hakka Language Transmission

Taiwan Hakka Culture Development Center (THCDC) held a virtual book launch in November for two Hakka books—“Be Familiar with Our Mother Tongue: The Encounter between Basel Missionaries and Hakka People (熟識阿姆个話─巴色差會傳教士與客家的邂逅)” and “How Have You Been? Anna! (恁久好無？安娜！)”.

Under the Hakka publication plan launched by THCDC in 2019, picture book “How Have You Been? Anna!” was published this March.  The book was created by professor Lee Yu-chung (李毓中) of National Tsing Hua University, professor Yu Pei-yun (游珮芸) of National Taitung University, and illustrator Tsao I-chu (曹一竹).

Working with another NTHU professor, Cheng Ying (鄭縈), professor Lee authored the book “Be Familiar with Our Mother Tongue,” which came out this August.

From the perspective of a Hakka child, the story in the picture book, intertwined with the present and past, depicts how western missionaries preserved Hakka language materials in Hakka settlements at the beginning of the 20th century. The book comes with a CD in the Hakka language, Mandarin, Japanese, and English, complemented by simple words and colorful illustrations. Not only can it increase the children’s interest in learning but also provide guidance for learning different languages, perfectly suitable as Hakka supplementary educational material or a book for parents and children to read together. 

The history book “Be Familiar with Our Mother Tongue: The Encounter between Basel Missionaries and Hakka People” conveys the uniqueness of minority languages and the common value of human beings in the world. The authors, after combing through the historical material of the Hakka language, have presented their research results relating to the abstruse ethnic language and historical records.  From the perspective of promoting the Hakka language, it is hoped their research results can be translated into easy-to-understand texts for the general public to read, permitting more people to learn about the uniqueness of the Hakka language and the importance of cultural preservation.