Five accents of Taiwanese Hakka and where they are spoken


The Hakka language in Taiwan has five variants, including Sixian accent (四縣腔), Hailu accent (海陸腔), Dapu accent (大埔腔), Raoping accent (饒平腔), and Zhao’an accent (詔安腔).

Five accents of Taiwanese Hakka and where they are spoken

 


1. Sixian accent

The most commonly spoken Sixian accent can be found in the Miaoli region, small part of Taitung County, Hakka settlements in Kaohsiung City and Pingtung County, and Taoyuan City’s Zhongli (中壢), Pingzhen (平鎮), and Longtan (龍潭) districts. The Hakka instructions people hear on trains, at MRT stations, and in other public places are broadcasted in the Sixian-accented Hakka language.


2. Hailu accent

The second most common Hailu accent is usually spoken in the Hsinchu region, small parts of Miaoli and Hualien counties as well as Taoyuan City’s Guanyin (觀音), Xinwu (新屋), and Yangmei (楊梅) districts. Sixian and Hailu are two dominant accents of the Hakka language in Taiwan.


3. Dapu accent

People in Taichung City’s Dongshi (東勢), Shigang (石岡), and Xinshe (新社) districts usually speak the Dapu-accented Hakka language.


4. Raoping accent

The Raoping accent is concentrated in small parts of Hsinchu County and Taoyuan City and Miaoli County’s Zhuolan Township (卓蘭鎮) as well as Changhua County’s Yuanlin City (員林市), Yongjing Township (永靖鄉), and Tianwei Township (田尾鄉).


5. Zhao’an accent

The Zhao’an-accented Hakka language is usually spoken in Yunlin County’s townships of Lunbei (崙背), Erlun (二崙), and Xiluo (西螺) as well as Taoyuan City’s districts of Bade (八德), Daxi (大溪), and Longtan (龍潭).


The accents of Dapu, Raoping and Zhao'an are spoken by a small population at a few scattered locations. Influenced by other common languages, they are not heard easily nowadays.