Lang Son province currently has 7 main ethnic groups living together (Nung, Tay, Kinh, Dao, San Chay, Hoa and Hmong), of which the Tay and Nung ethnic groups account for nearly 80% of the province's population. Both ethnic groups have their own languages belonging to the Tay - Thai language family. Currently, the main language used is still Vietnamese (Kinh), however, in villages with a large population of Tay and Nung people, people still use their ethnic languages for daily communication. Like many other ethnic groups, the language of the Tay and Nung people in Lang Son exists in two forms: written and spoken.
 |
| People's Artist Ha Mai Ven teaches the Nung ethnic language to the young generation. |
Important elements creating Lang Son cultural identity
In terms of language, the Tay and Nung people of Lang Son have had long-standing contact with the Kinh people. The Tay people learn Chinese characters according to Sino-Vietnamese pronunciation, so the Tay language is more influenced by the Kinh language and is closer to the Kinh language. The Nung people used to learn Chinese characters according to Chinese pronunciation, so their language is closer to Chinese. Therefore, the Tay and Nung people can understand each other in communication, but there is a subtle distinction between the Tay and Nung languages in terms of tone. In terms of phonetics, the Nung language often has some words of Chinese origin indicating family relationships that are not found in the Tay language.
Regarding written language, in the book “Traditional Culture of the Tay and Nung” by the group of authors Hoang Quyet – Ma Khanh Bang – Hoang Huy Phach – Cung Van Luoc – Vuong Toan, it is mentioned that in Lang Son around the 17th – 18th centuries, the Tay people created the Tay Nom script, the Nung people also created the Nung Nom script to record poetry, folk tales, contracts, sales, transfers, land registers, customs, beliefs, history, geography and literary works... In 1961, the Government issued the Tay and Nung writing system throughout the country, including Lang Son, following the Latin script. Currently, the Tay and Nung people no longer maintain their own writing, only a small part remains in the system of prayer books and Then books.
Mr. Hoang Van Pao, Chairman of the Provincial Cultural Heritage Association, said: Tay and Nung are two ethnic groups that have many similar characteristics in terms of ethnology, residence, culture, especially language. They often use their own language anytime, anywhere, in daily life when talking to each other. At all Ky Lua markets, the majority of people who go to the market use Tay and Nung languages as the main means of communication to exchange, buy and sell goods and sing Sli and Luon to each other. Whenever they use words like noong (em), chai (anh), pay hang (go to the market), kin khau (eat rice)..., the listener will immediately recognize that they are Tay and Nung people. It can be said that the Tay and Nung languages, both in spoken and written language, are important elements that create the cultural identity of Lang Son.
| At the National Cultural Conference to implement the Resolution of the 13th National Party Congress held in November 2021, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong emphasized: "Pay more attention to preserving, embellishing and promoting national cultural values, tangible and intangible cultural values of regions, areas, and ethnic minorities, combined with absorbing the cultural quintessence of the times". Accordingly, the languages of ethnic groups in general and the Tay and Nung ethnic groups in particular are valuable cultural heritages that need to be preserved and promoted. Recognizing this, in recent years, all levels, sectors and people have had many practical solutions. |
Strengthen propaganda, actively teach
Mr. Phan Van Hoa, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said: The Department has directed specialized departments and affiliated units to increase the collection of documents, written artifacts, audio and video recordings of customs, practices, and folk songs using the Tay and Nung languages; translate works, excerpts of then co, quan lang, co lau, sli and publish them into books for archiving and serving the people's research. At the same time, the Department has instructed districts and cities to promote propaganda, encourage people to use ethnic languages in daily life, encourage the older generation to teach the younger generation; promote the establishment of folk song clubs, which is an ideal environment for the language to be maintained and effectively promoted.
In addition, other agencies and units in the province are also very interested in the work of preserving ethnic languages. Specifically: Lang Son Pedagogical College has opened training and certification courses for Tay and Nung languages (implemented since 2011), mainly Tay language for cadres, civil servants and candidates for civil service exams according to regulations, these training courses are all approved by the Department of Education and Training.
 |
| Cultural and artistic performances at Ky Lua Walking Street, Lang Son City - an attractive destination attracting thousands of tourists every week. (Source: VNA) |
Mr. Nguyen Cac Tam, Director of the Center for Foreign Languages and Information Technology, Lang Son Pedagogical College, said: On average, each year, the school opens from 2 to 7 training classes for hundreds of students in the province. In particular, in 2020, the school was ordered to compile and edit Tay language documents for cadres, civil servants and public employees in the whole province. By 2021, the documents were approved by the Provincial People's Committee for widespread use in the province. In 2023, we are implementing 2 Tay language classes with over 100 students.
In an effort to promote ethnic languages, the Provincial Radio and Television Station has broadcast news, current affairs programs and cultural programs in the Tay - Nung language. Television programs in the Tay - Nung language are also broadcast on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays to serve the people. In particular, since 2018, the Provincial Radio and Television Station has opened a folk song teaching section on television with a duration of 1 episode/month, mainly programs teaching Then and Sli singing of the Tay - Nung people. Since the beginning of 2023, more than 200 episodes have been broadcast, attracting tens of thousands of people's attention and follow-up.
At the same time, the Lang Son Literature and Arts Magazine regularly publishes literary and artistic works in the Tay and Nung languages. Specifically, each month the magazine publishes one issue, in which each issue publishes 2-3 poems, stories or folk songs in the Tay and Nung languages. In addition, many poems and prose works by members of the Lang Son Literature and Arts Association are printed and published, contributing to the preservation of the Tay and Nung languages. Every year, 1-2 bilingual literary books are published, with diverse and rich topics, clearly changing forms, increasingly approaching modern poetry but still maintaining its own nuances, for example, the Tay-Vietnamese bilingual short story collection (Tang/Doi) published in 2013 with 5 short stories by author Hoang Kim Dung; The Tay-Vietnamese bilingual poetry collection (The man who waves in the Tran Ninh season/Sending a wave to Tran Ninh) printed in 2014 with more than 1,500 verses and the Tay-Nung, Vietnamese bilingual poetry collection (The heart is like a mouse/The earth is a father and a mother) printed in 2016 with 23 poems by author Hoang Choong...
Notably, the work of preserving ethnic languages through cultural and artistic activities using the Tay and Nung ethnic languages such as Then singing, Sli singing, Luon singing, etc. is also taught in extracurricular classes by many schools in the province. Up to now, the whole province has 23 schools at the primary, secondary and high school levels that have organized and established Then singing and Tinh lute clubs attracting over 400 students, an increase of 60% compared to 2018...
Language is the soul of every nation, losing the mother tongue is similar to the risk of losing the soul and cultural identity of that nation. With positive solutions from all levels and sectors in the province, it has contributed to gradually preserving and promoting the languages of the Tay and Nung ethnic groups in the current period.
Source
Comment (0)