Singkawang Hakka (; Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: Sân-gú-yòng Hak-ngî; ) is a variety of Hakka predominantly spoken by the Hakka Chinese community in the northwestern part of West Kalimantan, Indonesia, particularly in and around the Singkawang region. It originates from the Hakka dialects spoken in Guangdong, China, though it has evolved with some differences influenced by local influences. Singkawang Hakka differs from Pontianak Hakka, which is rooted in the Meixian dialect. In contrast, Singkawang Hakka is based on the Hailu dialect, with significant influence from Hopo and Wuhua dialects. Singkawang Hakka is colloquially known as yinghua (硬話) 'hard speech' among the local Chinese community. In contrast, Pontianak Hakka, spoken in areas south of Bengkayang, including Pontianak, Mempawah Regency, and Kubu Raya Regency, is commonly referred to as ruanhua (軟話) 'soft speech'. Today, Singkawang Hakka has a wide geographical spread. Besides being used in Singkawang, Pemangkat, and Sambas, it is also commonly spoken among the Chinese migrants from Singkawang in Jakarta.
Hakka is the predominant language spoken among the Chinese communities in Singkawang, although there are also small Teochew-speaking communities present. Additionally, many Hakka in Singkawang are multilingual, fluent in Mandarin, Indonesian, and the local Malay dialect. Code-switching and code-mixing are common among the Singkawang Chinese, who frequently alternate between Hakka, Malay, and standard Indonesian. This is especially prevalent in informal settings, such as local markets, where people from various ethnic backgrounds interact. Additionally, since the majority of Singkawang's population is Hakka, many non-Chinese residents in the area are also able to speak and understand Hakka.
History
The Hakkas began migrating to the coastal regions of western Borneo in the 17th century. While the majority originated from the interior of Guangdong (specifically areas around Meizhou, Huizhou, Jieyang, and other areas), a smaller number came from Tingzhou in western Fujian. These immigrants brought their language and culture with them. By the late 19th century, there were already immigrants in the Singkawang region of West Kalimantan speaking Hailu Hakka. Additionally, Hopo immigrants from Jiexi had been documented in West Kalimantan as early as the late 18th century. The Hakka dialect spoken in Singkawang today is likely the result of a historical blending of the Hailu and Hopo dialects, which has endowed it with the distinct characteristics of both varieties.
From the late Qing dynasty to the early establishment of the Republic of China, wars and chaos were frequent on the Chinese mainland. As a result, many Hakka people, to avoid military conscription and forced labor or to earn a living, were forced to follow shuike (水客, suihak), brokers who specifically brought people to Southeast Asia, to Malaya or Bangka-Belitung, where they became contract laborers in tin mines. After their contracts ended, many workers moved to the region under the rule of the Sultan of Sambas, particularly to Singkawang and its surroundings, to seek a new life. At that time, a large group of Hopo immigrants arrived and rented land from the local government for farming. Those with skills or relatives in Singkawang chose to settle and engage in small businesses there, selling cakes or working as laborers. By that time, there were already many traditional medicine shops, bookstores, barbershops, and others. Because many small stalls in the rural areas were owned by Hakka people, to facilitate transactions and blend in with the grassroots community, the tycoons of Singkawang, whether Teochew or Hokkien, were inevitably compelled to learn Hakka. Thus, Hakka became the lingua franca in Singkawang, while Teochew and Hokkien are only spoken at home.
Most of the Hakkas who migrated to present-day Singkawang came from impoverished backgrounds and were invited by the Sultanate of Sambas to work as miners. They formed kongsis (associations) for business purposes, particularly in gold mining, in the interior regions of West Kalimantan. One of the most well-known kongsis in West Kalimantan was the Lanfang Kongsi. Its founder was Luo Fangbo, in the 18th century. He not only succeeded in establishing kongsis but also became the governor for the Chinese community in West Kalimantan, headquartered in Mandor (about 100 km from Pontianak). During that time, Monterado and Mandor were well-known as centers of gold mining, attracting Chinese people from various ethnic groups. Singkawang, on the other hand, served merely as a trade city and not as a resource-producing area like Monterado and Mandor.
The "Red Bowl" incident (Indonesian: ) that occurred at the end of 1967 saw the Indonesian government expelling hundreds of thousands of Hakka Chinese from rural areas, so 99% of this Hakka-speaking exodus group was forced to settle in Singkawang and its surrounding areas. Before the government prohibited Chinese people from entering Indonesia in 1949, new arrivals from the Teochew and Hokkien-speaking communities were almost nonexistent. However, Hakka speakers arrived in large numbers, around 10–20 thousand people, thus increasing the Hakka population in Singkawang. As time passed, the first generation of Teochew, Hokkien, and Hakka speakers became increasingly rare. They were mostly elderly and rarely gathered together, so communication in their native languages became less frequent. Meanwhile, the second generation, although they initially mastered their mother tongue, found themselves communicating with Hakka in daily life and social interactions.
Geographical distribution and usage The Hakka language in West Kalimantan is divided into two types: the Pontianak Hakka, which is more related to the Meixian Hakka dialect, and Singkawang Hakka, which is more related to the Lufeng (Hailu) Hakka dialect. These two varieties differ slightly in tone, vocabulary, and pronunciation. The areas that use the Meixian Hakka dialect include Pontianak, Sekadau, Sintang, Sanggau, and Mempawah. Meanwhile, the areas that use the Lufeng Hakka accent include Singkawang, Sungai Duri, Sambas, and Pemangkat. In areas with a significant Hakka population, non-Chinese residents also understand and speak Singkawang Hakka. Many Malays, Dayak, and even Javanese residents are proficient in Hakka and actively use it to communicate with the Chinese community. Meanwhile, many elderly Chinese residents are either unable to speak or are less fluent in languages other than Hakka. Today, Singkawang Hakka is spoken widely beyond Singkawang, Pemangkat, and Sambas, extending to the Chinese business community in Jakarta, specifically in western Jakarta, where many migrants from Singkawang have settled.
Hakka is widely spoken throughout Singkawang, with estimates suggesting that over 60% of the local population use it in their daily conversations. Many Chinese in Singkawang, in addition to Hakka, are also fluent in Sambas Malay, the local Malay dialect. Code-switching or code-mixing between Hakka and Sambas Malay is very common, particularly when conversing with non-Chinese individuals. In addition, most elders in Singkawang could speak both Hakka and Mandarin, as they learned the latter when educated in Chinese language schools before they were closed during the New Order. Few also spoke Teochew or other Chinese dialects. Currently, following the lifting of the ban on learning Chinese, many young people have enrolled in Chinese schools where they are taught to speak and read Mandarin. Most Chinese residents, especially the younger generations are also fluent in standard Indonesian, the national language. The usage of Indonesian is typically limited to formal settings, such as government interactions or educational environments, where formal Indonesian is preferred. Nonetheless, there is currently a growing trend in the use of the Hakka in official communications in Singkawang. Mayors and government officials frequently incorporate Hakka in various official functions, including meetings, public addresses, and interactions with the local community.
There is a slight difference in the Hakka dialects spoken in Singkawang city proper, Sambas, Pemangkat, and Bengkayang, primarily in their phonological features and pronunciations.
Phonology
Consonants The Singkawang Hakka dialect has 21 initials, including one zero initial [∅]. The list is as follows: +Singkawang Hakka initialsLabialAlveolarPostalveolarVelarGlottalApicalLaminalBilabialLabiodentalNasal門 (mun⁵⁵)難 (nan⁵⁵)牙 (ŋa⁵)Plosive/ Affricate布 (pu³¹)精 (t͡sin⁵³)等 (ten²⁴)主 (t͡ʃu²⁴)貴 (kui³¹)盤 (pʰan⁵⁵) 趣 (t͡sʰi³¹)同 (tʰuŋ⁵⁵)重 (t͡ʃʰuŋ⁵³)開 (kʰoi⁵³)武 (bu²⁴)Fricative紅 (fuŋ⁵⁵)線 (sien³¹)水 (ʃui²⁴)去 (hi³¹)雲 (ʒiun⁵⁵)Lateral連 (lien⁵⁵) Notes: The zero initial, like in 鴨 (IPA: /ap³⁴/), is not listed in the table above.
Rhymes Singkawang Hakka features five vowel phonemes: i, e, a, o, and u. Additionally, it includes one medial i, three open nasal codas (-m, -n, -ŋ), and three checked codas (-p, -t, -k). This yields eight open finals, seven vocalic finals, twenty nasal finals, seventeen stop finals, and two syllabic nasals. In total, there are 54 rimes.
Pure vowels FrontCentralBackClose第 (tʰi²⁴)故 (ku³¹)Mid姐 (t͡se⁵⁵)老 (lo²⁴)Open爬 (pa⁵⁵)
Diphthongs and triphthongs +DiphthongsTriphthongsia 寫 (sia²⁴)iu 有 (ʒiu⁵³)oi 灰 (foi⁵³)iau 橋 (kʰiau⁵⁵)io 茄 (kʰio⁵)ai 大 (tʰai²⁴)ui 跪 (kʰui²⁴)ie 蟻 (ŋie³¹)au 爪 (t͡sau²⁴)eu 後 (heu²⁴)
Syllabic consonants BilabialVelarNasal毋 (m̩⁵⁵)魚 (ŋ̍⁵⁵)
Nuclei with nasal codas -mam 減 (kam²⁴)em 揞 (em⁵³)im 金 (kim⁵³)iam 添 (tʰiam⁵³)iem 弇 (kiem⁵³)-nan 山 (san⁵³)en 朋 (pʰen⁵⁵)in 新 (sin⁵³)ian 遠 (ʒian²⁴)ien 見 (kien³¹)ion 軟 (ŋion⁵³)iun 軍 (kiun⁵³)on 肝 (kon⁵³)un 粉 (fun²⁴)-ŋaŋ 硬 (ŋaŋ²⁴)iaŋ 平 (pʰiaŋ⁵⁵)ioŋ 香 (hioŋ⁵³)iuŋ 胸 (hiuŋ⁵³)oŋ 講 (koŋ²⁴)uŋ 東 (tuŋ⁵³)
Checked rhymes -pap 胛 (kap³⁴)ep 澀 (sep³⁴)ip 汁 (t͡ʃip³⁴)iap 帖 (tʰiap³⁴)-tat 舌 (ʃat⁵)et 蝨 (set³⁴)it 日 (ŋit³⁴)iat 越 (ʒiat⁵)iet 節 (t͡siet³⁴)ot 刷 (sot³⁴)ut 骨 (kut³⁴)-kak 隻 (t͡ʃak³⁴)iak 錫 (siak³⁴)iok 腳 (kiok³⁴)iuk 玉 (ŋiuk⁵)ok 索 (sok³⁴)uk 屋 (buk³⁴)
Tones In Singkawang Hakka, there are a total of six tones. The tones and their characteristics are shown in the table below: Upper/Dark Lower/Light No.NameContourSandhiedExamplesNo.NameContourSandhiedExamplesLevel 1陰平 yim-pin[˥˧] (53)[˧] (33)抽 [t͡ʃʰu˥˧], 豬 [t͡ʃu˥˧]2陽平 yong-pin[˥˥] (55)[˧] (33)才 [t͡soi˥], 人 [ŋin˥]Rising 36上聲 song-sang[˨˦] (24)[˨] (22)助 [t͡su˨˦], 好 [ho˨˦]-Departing 5陰去 yim-hi[˧˩] (31)[˧˩] (31)唱 [t͡soŋ˧˩], 菜 [t͡ʃoi˧˩]-Entering 7陰入 yim-ngip[˧˦] (34)[˨] (3)竹 [t͡ʃuk˧˦], 桌 [t͡sok˧˦]8陽入 yong-ngip[˥] (5)[˥] (5)局 [kʰiuk˥], 白 [pʰak˥]
Tone sandhi The pronunciation of a single character is referred to as the base tone (本調). However, when two or more characters are combined, tone changes occur, resulting in what is called tone sandhi (變調). Tone sandhi can be categorized into two-character consecutive tone sandhi and tone sandhi involving three or more characters. For example, the word /kieu˨²⁴/ (狗) 'dog' is pronounced with a rising tone [˨˦] (24). However, when combined with another syllable, such as /ŋiuk⁵/ (肉) 'meat', it becomes /kieu²⁴⁻²².ŋiuk⁵/ (狗肉) 'dog meat', where the original word is now pronounced with a low tone [˨] (22). Another example is the word /t͡ʃuk˧˦/ (竹) 'bamboo', which is pronounced with a high checked tone [˧˦] (34) when it stands alone. However, when combined with another word, such as /ʒiap⁵/ (葉) 'leaf', it becomes /t͡ʃuk³⁴⁻³.ʒiap⁵/ (竹葉) 'bamboo leaf', where the original word is now pronounced with a mid-level tone [˧] (3).
The combinations of tone sandhi in Singkawang Hakka can be summarized in the following rules:
Tone [˥˧] 53 (yingping) and tone [˥˥] 55 (yangping) change to tone [˧] 33 when followed by any syllables, except for tone [˧˩] 31 (yinqu), tone [˧˦] 34 (yinru), or tone [˥] 5 (yangru), where no change occurs. Tone [˨˦] 24 (shangsheng) always changes to tone [˨] 22 regardless of the tone of the following syllables.