Language Use by Hakka in Sabah

Hakka is one of the Chinese ethnic groups that have scattered across Southern China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and regions of Southeast Asia. Hakka people have experienced a long history of diaspora. Their language was the lingua franca among various Chinese waves of Chinese migrations during the 1950s in Sabah, Malaysia. Language use by the Hakka peoples was profoundly affected during the last century. Although the Hakka population continues to remain the majority in Chinese community in Sabah, Hakka language in the Hakka community is facing language shift as the language is failing intergenerational transmission. The Hakka community maintains strong organisations to slow linguistic decline.