Guangdong is actually a small three countries, with Guangfu in the west, Chaoshan in the east and Hakka in the middle. When I was a child, I heard my mother say that there was a friction between Hakka and Chaoshan people, and it ended later (later, Hakka and Guangfu had a heated discussion, and I wonder if Chaoshan people from the west were in danger). Later, Chaoshan became bigger and stronger, went into the sea to do business, and overseas Chinese spread all over the world. With the official status of Guangfu, the situation of Hakka people became more and more unfavorable.
The characteristics of Hakka dialect itself show that the time of its formation will not be earlier than that of Song Dynasty. The name Hakka and the area where they live also indicate that they arrived in the south relatively recently and have nothing to do with Yongjia Rebellion. Relatedly speaking, other southern dialects can also speak the history before the Tang Dynasty, but Hakka dialect is really not. I think it is mainly the language environment.
Before the city was underdeveloped, it was not a problem to use Hakka as the mainstream trade language in a relatively closed language environment. However, the industrious characteristics of Hakka people are doomed to the rapid development of Hakka gathering places, and development means openness. When other languages are more common, the adaptability of Hakka people is reflected in not excluding foreign languages.
Ganzhou still has a long way to go, and it is definitely not rich. We Hakkas have never lacked the hard-working and down-to-earth quality and the courage to set sail. Hakkas have always been pioneers in difficult environments. As long as we Hakka people in Gannan, no matter where we are, can work hard for our own lives and care about our homeland, Ganzhou will naturally become rich and strong, and our hometown will get better and better.
Look at Guangfu in the south, we are still far apart. Needless to say, the cultural influence of Guangfu culture and Hakka culture is far from each other. From the perspective of Hakka culture, Guangdong Hakka cultural circle is prosperous and fruitful, while Gannan Hakka is unknown. Catch up, standing in the mountainous and watery south of Jiangxi, you have to see further.
I am a Hakka in northern Guangdong. I have been in Guangzhou almost every year since 2008. It seems that people who speak Cantonese here will feel superior, while Hakkas will feel inferior because of Hakka dialect. Even when two Hakkas meet, they know that the other is a Hakkas and are still speaking Mandarin. They are much worse than their own language!
Lin Qiu, our hometown, is in a county. At that time, he came to the county seat to perform the finale. However, before he finished singing a song, my classmates dragged me away. It's so boring to say it's vulgar. Almost all the people present are half gone. Many people have forgotten how to speak Hakka, and even many people hate Hakka and deliberately don't educate their next generation to speak Hakka. So sad! As a Hakka, I am deeply saddened to see the decline of Hakka dialect.
When people talk about Puning, the first thing that comes to mind is that Chaoshan people all speak Chaoshan dialect, and then correct themselves as Hakkas. Most people say that they have never heard of the Hakkas in Puning, so they have to explain. Puning is divided into Hakka Chaoshan people, mainly in these two languages. At least there are hundreds of thousands of Hakkas in Puning. Sometimes I feel very tired, as if I have been forgotten by society. Now I can't speak Hakka, unless I meet a fellow villager, I will speak Mandarin.