Technology contributes to preserving the languages of ethnic minorities

In the present era, the application of technology to digitize the writing systems of ethnic minorities is an inevitable need, but this work still has many shortcomings, requiring appropriate solutions to avoid the risk of loss.

Risk of extinction

Dr. Phan Luong Hung (Institute of Linguistics) said that in the Vietnamese ethnic community, there are about 33-34 ethnic groups with their own writing systems, but due to the different characteristics of each ethnic group, the need to use the language is also different. It is a fact that some ethnic minority languages are being "forgotten", especially the languages of ethnic groups with a population of less than 1,000 people such as Brau, Si La, Ro Mam, Pu Peo, O Du...

In many ethnic minority villages, tourists can see that the number of people speaking their own language is decreasing. The results of the investigation and collection of socio -economic information of 53 ethnic groups by the General Statistics Office in 2019 showed that the percentage of ethnic minorities under 18 years old who can speak their own language is 58%.

In particular, only about 16% of people aged 15 and over can read and write their own language. Investigations and information collection on the socio-economic situation of 53 ethnic minorities in 2024 have also been conducted. Although the results have not been officially announced, some linguistic experts have commented that the rate of young ethnic minorities who can read and write their own language is not optimistic, if not at risk of further decline due to the impact of cultural integration factors and because local authorities have not yet had effective fundamental solutions to protect and develop the languages of ethnic minorities.

For ethnic minorities with very few people, due to the narrow scope of use, it is difficult to promote the value of language in the cultural life of the community. Because the terrain is mainly distributed in the highlands, the spread as well as the influence of the writing system and culture of these ethnic groups on the community is still limited.

This is also a major barrier to learning, research and preservation. This once again shows that without a consistent policy from state management agencies, the loss of languages, especially the writings of some ethnic minorities, is inevitable.

The United Nations Educational , Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) once published the results of a study stating that half of the world's languages are at risk of disappearing due to the influence of objective and subjective factors such as population, language culture, socio-psychology, policy and implementation of language policy.

The above warning does not exclude the reality in Vietnam, and in the current situation, besides solutions such as enhancing teaching in schools, digitizing ethnic minority languages is necessary, even urgent, as soon as possible.

Digitalization should be prioritized.

Data is a vital story in today's digital life. This is even more important for the protection and preservation of the writing systems of ethnic minorities. In fact, our Party and State have issued many policies to preserve and promote the culture of ethnic minorities, including the protection of ethnic languages as a way to connect and strengthen the strength of national unity.

The project to digitize the languages of ethnic minorities in Vietnam has been implemented by the Institute of Linguistics to concretize these policies, but there are still many difficulties and shortcomings. First, the writing systems of ethnic minorities are different in format. Some languages use a form of writing derived from Sanskrit, some use the Latin alphabet, while others have pictographic or Khmer-like writing.

The diversity of forms in the writings of ethnic minorities is a challenging factor in converting character fonts in the digitalization process. Some ethnic minority fonts violate the regulations of Unicode character standards, so when displayed on the internet, they will be converted to standard Unicode characters, not the ethnic minority characters.

According to technology expert, Dr. Dang Minh Tuan, there needs to be a master plan for character allocation for ethnic minority languages, helping to digitize data in a synchronous, large-scale, and easier-to-implement manner.

Technology is very important, but in digitizing ethnic minority languages, the core is still people, specifically the role of experts. Currently, the number of people who understand ethnic minority languages is very small, the number of people who both understand and are proficient in technology is even smaller. Meanwhile, the digitization of each specific language needs to be based on the research and understanding of researchers. Linguists must participate in building and perfecting the alphabet of each ethnic group, and on that basis, technology experts will encode the characters.

Dr. Phan Luong Hung commented: “Recently, the teaching and learning of ethnic minority languages has been promoted, which is also the basis for obtaining valuable data sources for digitalization. Resolution 57 of the Politburo on breakthroughs, development of science, technology, innovation and national digital transformation is having positive impacts on cultural life, including the digitalization of ethnic minority languages. The project to digitize ethnic minority languages in Vietnam, although facing some difficulties, I think that if there is a proper investment priority in finance and human resources, it can be completed soon.

"There are currently different views on the issue of fonts. Some say it is necessary to build a common set of characters for ethnic minority languages, others say it is necessary to build a set of characters according to regional language systems, and some say it is necessary to reduce everything to the Unicode font system. I think any approach is fine, and there will always be a technological solution for this story. The problem is whether there is enough attention from management agencies, from the State, as well as enough resources to implement it? Currently, I see that the budget for preserving and developing the culture of ethnic minorities is still scattered and unfocused. It is important that we determine which issue to prioritize first," Dr. Phan Luong Hung added.

Preserving and promoting the writings of ethnic minorities is a way of behaving that shows that all ethnic groups, no matter how small or large, are equal in the common "home". In addition, it also contributes to strengthening the connection between ethnic groups, consolidating identity values as a sustainable foundation for developing ethnic culture in the new era. Digitizing ethnic minority languages is urgent and requires the cooperation of the whole community. In addition, it is necessary to promote propaganda so that each person becomes a messenger by preserving and spreading the beauty of culture by speaking and writing their own ethnic language.

VU QUYNH TRANG

Source: https://nhandan.vn/cong-nghe-gop-phan-bao-ton-ngon-ngu-cac-dan-toc-thieu-so-post894902.html