Lin Yi-hsiung believes that saying that Hakka have linguistic talent is not as accurate as saying that they have been forced to learn languages by their environment. He says their language abilities are the result of leaving their hometowns to make a living in unfamiliar places.
「與其說有語言天分，不如說是環境所逼」，林一雄指出，這是離鄉背井、在陌生環境裡謀生，不得不然的結果。