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| At school, children of ethnic minorities study in the common language (Vietnamese) - Photo taken at Thai Nguyen Boarding School for Ethnic Minorities. |
Lack of native language environment
I often go to the highland markets of Lam Vi, Than Sa, Nghinh Tuong communes, sit in the market stalls and drink a bowl of corn wine with the “forest boys”, listening to them chattering about picking bamboo shoots and catching stream fish. The most interesting thing is to hear the “forest boys” talking to each other in their own ethnic language.
But that was many years ago. In the digital age of the market mechanism, people in the mountain valleys can also buy goods with a click of the mouse, and the shipper will deliver them to their hands. However, the market has not disappeared. The market still holds meetings, and the "forest boys" I met years ago have now become grandparents. The new generation of "forest boys" is more active, they talk to each other in Mandarin.
Sharing with us, Mr. Nong Dinh Long, a Tay ethnic, Khau Dieu hamlet, Binh Yen commune, said: More than 50 years ago, we children did not dare to speak our ethnic language when we went to school, for fear of being teased by our friends. However, when we got home, the elders still spoke to each other in Tay, so we were able to absorb it.
Looking at the mountains with no big trees, the fields being worked by machines instead of human labor, the open concrete roads hugging the mountain range are bringing healthy, young people to industrial zones. They are a new generation of people who know how to seize the opportunity to escape poverty.
Mr. Duong Van Phong, a Mong ethnic person in Dong Tam hamlet, Phu Luong commune, said: Most people of working age go out to work. To facilitate communication, everyone needs to know how to speak the common language. While working far away, people can only speak their own ethnic language when calling their relatives home.
In an environment where many ethnic groups live and work together, of course everyone harmonizes with a common language. Because speaking your own ethnic language also makes you "out of place". Artisan Trieu Van Tuan, a Dao ethnic person in Quan Chu commune, shared: The Party and the State have many preferential policies for ethnic minorities, including preserving their languages, but their languages are still increasingly being lost. Currently, in the San Diu community, there are very few young people who can speak their own ethnic language.
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| In society, children of ethnic minorities communicate in the common language, only when calling home to relatives do they have the opportunity to speak their mother tongue. |
I have met many artisans who are ethnic minorities. They are proud to be fluent in their own language, but they are always sad because their children do not want to learn their mother tongue. Because they are in school. To study well, they need to be fluent in the common language and learn at least one foreign language.
The mother tongue of ethnic minorities is being lost over time. This is inevitable, because ethnic minority children go to school and learn in the common language (Vietnamese). Many children can no longer speak their mother tongue.
Good news
On the porch of the stilt house, Mr. Chu Van Cam, a Nung ethnic group, from Dong Luong hamlet, Quang Son commune, and his grandchildren gathered around a crumpled book. In that book were the origins, customs, and cultural beauties recorded by our elders in Nom Nung script. He proudly told us: When I have free time, I often teach my grandchildren to read each word. The script is difficult to learn, but that is also the time when I supplement my children's knowledge and the language of our ethnic group.
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| Mr. Chu Van Cam, Dong Luong hamlet, Quang Son commune, guides children in learning Nom Nung script. |
From the cradle, how happy it is for a baby to hear his mother lullaby with the song that has been passed down for thousands of years from his ancestors. That lullaby is how mothers teach their children language, a means of communication and preserve the "cultural soul" of their nation.
When we came to Trai Cau commune, asking about the transmission of mother tongue among ethnic minorities, the people in the area immediately mentioned Mr. Trieu Van Thuan, a Dao ethnic person...
When we arrived at the house, we saw a writing board and students diligently practicing writing the Nom script of the Dao people. When asked if they liked learning their mother tongue, the students smiled shyly and said: Yes, but the script of our ancestors is harder to remember than the common script. Mr. Thuan said that for nearly 9 years, about 100 people have come to his house to learn the Nom Dao script.
A good sign is that in areas where many people of the same ethnic group live, such as the Dao hamlets in Trai Cau, Quan Chu, Phu Xuyen communes; Mong hamlets in Phu Luong, Van Lang, Than Sa communes; San Diu hamlets in Tan Khanh, Nam Hoa communes and Phuc Thuan ward... that we visited, there are many people who are fluent in "bilingual" - their ethnic language and the common language.
Sharing with us, Mr. Luc Thanh Lam, Head of Da Bac Hamlet, Tan Khanh Commune, said: The hamlet has more than 210 households, about 1,000 people, 99% of whom are San Diu ethnic group. Most families speak to each other in their mother tongue, so the children basically know how to listen and speak... a little.
Mr. Trieu Trung Nguyen, Dao Khe Khoang hamlet, Yen Trach commune, said: 74 households in the hamlet have only 1 person of another ethnic group (Muong ethnic group). That is why Dao language in the hamlet is the common language.
To limit the loss of mother tongues among ethnic minorities, over the past years, Thai Nguyen province has paid much attention and invested in improving the quality of life for ethnic minorities, especially in preserving their mother tongues.
Hundreds of provincial officials have been organized by the Department of Home Affairs to learn the Tay and Mong ethnic languages. The Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism has strengthened the organization of building cultural models and models among ethnic minorities; cultural and artistic clubs have been established, which is a good environment for ethnic minorities to transmit and preserve their ethnic languages.
Although I can’t speak much, it is a good sign that more and more ethnic minorities are participating in learning their mother tongue, showing their awareness of preserving the “national soul”. But I am sure that there is no better environment for preserving and maintaining the language of ethnic minorities than the family, clan and ethnic community. That is both the family home and the first school of each person.
Source: https://baothainguyen.vn/van-hoa/202507/nguoi-dan-toc-thieu-so-giu-gin-tieng-me-de-bb9230b/
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