《客家話大辭典》(寶安腔)
《Hakka Dictionary》 (Bao'an accent)
Introduction to the online version
The online version of 《客家話大辭典》 is based on the Hakka dialect of Bao'an (寶安, Bao'an accent). It notes Hakka synonyms that are relevant to Dongguan (東莞), Huizhou (惠州), Hong Kong (香港), and other areas. The appendix includes the sounds from D. MacIver's 1904 Hakka Index, which provides the Hakka pronunciations of Guangdong. This dictionary is organised into more than 13,400 character entries, including variant characters and vernacular forms, and is illustrated with 68 images. The completion of the three printed editions of this dictionary spanned more than twenty years. The first edition 《客家話辭典》 was published in the Netherlands in September 2008. The revised edition 《惠東寶等地客家辭典》 was also published in the Netherlands in May 2012. The third edition renamed 《客家話大辭典》 was published in Hong Kong by Tianma Publishing Co., Ltd. on October 15, 2014. The fourth revised edition is now available online.
In earlier editions, the phonetic annotations included Hakka accents from other regions, but the current version is entirely based on the Bao'an accent to preserve its unique characteristics. Despite this focus, most of the dictionary remains applicable to Dongguan (東莞), Huizhou (惠州), Hong Kong (香港) and other areas, as the majority of Hakka characters and vocabulary are widely used across these regions.
With this online dicionary, I hope to promote the Hakka language and encourage collective efforts to preserve and pass on the Hakka language and culture. My wish is for the Hakka language to flourish for many generations to come. (January 2020)