~Thelma Ramthienghlim
The Hmar tribe comes under one of the
sub tribes of the Kuki-Chin-Mizo group belonging to the Tibeto - Burmans
linguistic family in North East India. They concentrate and mostly settled in
states like Mizoram, Manipur, Tripura, Meghalaya and Assam. In the light of
this short background of the Hmars situated in various states of North East
India, I have planned to look at the basic reason of language loss and how
various policies of language maintenance are being carried out within the Hmar
tribe. And I will emphasized two states namely Mizoram (Land of the Mizo
people) and Manipur that constitute a chunk of Hmar population and the largest
confinement of the Hmar tribe in north-east India .In Mizoram ,the total
population of the Hmar was 18,155 according to 2001 census. However, there are
controversial issues regarding the census of 2001 in Mizoram because it
overlooks the Hmars who do not speak the Hmar language. Next, in the hills of
Manipur, 42,933 was the total population pertaining to the census data of 2001.
They are recognized as schedule tribe under the 6th scheduled of the
constitution of India.
‘’It is now very important to realize
that language disappears not only because it is dominated by another but the
speakers themselves decide to abandon it and do not pass it on to their
children.’’ says N. Pramodini.
Language loss in Mizoram:
There are around 30 Hmar villages
approximately in Mizoram and they were all unified under the name of Sinlung
Hills Development Council. Around the Hmar settlement, the most common way in
which language death occurs is lack of transmission of an original language
from parents to children and the collective choice to abandon their own
language in favor of the one they perceived as prestigious language. The Hmar
people in Mizoram used Lushai language(dominant tribal language in Mizoram) in
the domain of home, the most favorable and pivotal space for acquiring language
for the children. And all personal use like prayers, entertainments and filial
interactions between its members are mostly in Lushai language rather than
their own local dialect. Most parents have decided to bring up their children
in Lushai language and the Hmar language is not being taught to the children.
Therefore, the Hmar language is no longer transmitted and can’t pass on to the
next generation. In other words, the parents of the younger generations are
responsible for this because they have failed to fulfill moral obligations to
pass the language rights on to the next children of future generation.
A language is believed to have
continuity of maintenance if it is acquired at least at the same level of
competence by the successive generation to perform the personal and familial
function. Hence, language loss occurs within the Hmar tribe in Mizoram. To substantiate
my argument, let me cite examples from one of the Hmar villages in
Mizoram-Phuoibuong, which has 400 to 500 houses approximately. People interact
and communicate in Lushai dialect in the domain of their home as well as in the
public realm or the community .The Duhlian language is used for transmission of
values to the successive generations or use in the community for communication
between its members for solidarity and expression of collective identity. Thus,
under such circumstances, the Hmar language have no space for survival except
utterly become endangered within its own people. The present generation ranging
from 50 and below has already rejected the Hmar language although they are
quite aware of the fact that they belong to the Hmar tribe. The age trends in
Phuoibuong manifested the extent to which language transmission between
generations has been done. Many Hmar people have already lose their languages
over four or five generation in Mizoram The Hmar community in Phuoibuong, falls
under Michael Kraws terms Moribund-not effectively pass on to the next
generations.
The Hmar language is no longer being
learned as a mother tongue by the children. They have no platform to acquire
and develop their own mother tongue; therefore it lacks intergenerational
transmission within the Hmar communities. A species unable to reproduce itself
is the key factor of language death and loss. The Hmar tribe is the
quintessential example of a species that induce language death and loss because
it is unable to reproduce itself. The need to alert and aware the community to
preserve, renew, give impetus and the importance of using one`s own mother
tongue by the Intellectual elites of the minorities is the need of the hour in
the present state of the Hmars in Mizoram. As John Roberts says that ``language
do not have an allotted life, but it is a life granted by society and culture’
’Language loss in Mizoram takes place independent of external pressure within
the domain of Home The Hmars in Mizoram have a great admiration and prestige
they have over the state supported language-Lushai language. And consequently
reject the traditional local language and decided not to pass on to their
children. The fortunes of languages are bound up with those of its users, so,
the Hmar language disappear because the users have abandoned it and used the
language of their choice. Why do they choose to use the lushai language in the
functional domain of home and community?
It`s because of their negative attitude
towards their own local language. In a multi-lingual state like Mizoram, the
minority groups attitude towards their language further aggravate the
problem of minorities in preserving
their linguistic identities. In the absence of promotion of their language in
various domains like in the domain of education and mass media, the speakers of
the lesser known language like the Hmars assimilated with the dominant language
restricting the mother tongue for the linkage with the past and the older
generations. The younger generations in such circumstances are often swayed
away by the language of their peer group. Thus, a feeling of out datedness
stems from one`s used of one`s own mother tongue and doesn’t fit in the present
need of the society culturally, politically and socially. As a matter of fact,
the minorities’ language speakers like Hmar people volitionally and
conventionally identify oneself with the language of the majority group.
Quoting J.D. Sinate`` the dominant language is associated with status,
prestige, and social success and it is used in the ‘glamour’ contexts in the
wider society for speeches on ceremonial occasions, by news readers on
television and radio, and by those whom young people admire–pop stars, fashion
models and disc jockeys’’. Therefore, the young ones have no strong
motivational force to learn their own mother tongue. As the years goes by, with
fewer and fewer users of the Hmar language among the younger generation .The
trend of getting language loss is incredibly rising and therefore there is no
more possibility of intergenerational language continuity which is sucessful
only if assisted by Fishmen` reversing language shift’. Thus, both the private
and public space in Mizoram, in the context of the Hmar tribe gives space to
the dominant language to thrive and flourished.
The lack of policy and support from the
government:
Languages are increasingly described as
valuable resources to be protected, promoted and developed by the government.
Some of the aboriginal languages of the people in Mizoram are already death
while some are on the point of extinction.
The government of the state of Mizoram
remained ignorant and turns a blind eye on the extinction of other aboriginal
Language varieties. Since its main interest lies with the promotion of only the
lushai dialect and wipe out the other language varieties. In a multi-lingual
state like Mizoram,the main intention lies on the marginalization and
discrimination of other language varieties other than the state supported
language. As L Keivom has pointed out in his article ` `the tenacity with which
its speakers(lushai dialect) jealously hold it close to their chests from being
challenged or harmed by other dialects even at the cost of appearing insular,
intolerant, selfish and unaccommodating’’. This scenario is still in full
display in Mizoram which perhaps explains the uneasiness and nervousness with
which the Lusei speakers look at other aboriginal dialect speakers in Mizoram.
Mizoram government is not willing to organized language awareness policy and
program for safeguarding and preserving the ethnic language of the Hmar tribe,
therefore there has been an ongoing conflict going on between the Hmar People`s
Convention-Democratic and the state government due to the injustice and
marginalization from the government of Mizoram. As mention by the Chairman of
SHDC ``the non-implementation of Mizoram-HPC Accord of 1994 which include the
introduction of Hmar subject at the primary school level in the development
council area’’ is not surprising. The strategy of the Hmar leaders failed and
was not implemented by government of Mizoram so as to hamper and obstruct the
development of the Hmar language. Without the government planning program and
policy, a stateless community like the Hmar tribe in Mizoram is always crushed
even though they endeavor to maintain their own language. ``Today various
communities continue to be marginalized from society due to the development of
practices, policies and programs that met the needs of dominant tribal groups
and not the needs of the marginalized groups themselves’’ says Dr Paul Chonzik.
In the absence of any substantial
support and encourage from the government, one of the language varieties like
the Hmar lost the popularity and usefulness in the public domain. Although the
Hmars are the first settlement in Mizoram; they failed to mobilize their own
people out of their weaknesses and short sightedness. Therefore, intentionally
and unintentionally, they merged into larger tribe due to long period of
political control or cultural influence by larger and strong tribes which only
create a space for the loss of their own language.
Language maintenance and decline in
Manipur.
In the context of Manipur, the domain of Home
serve as a solid foundation or a means of maintaining one`s own language for
the Hmar tribe. Private domain helps in preserving and developing language to a
great extent. Family members communicate and interact in one`s own local
dialect which sustained the vitality and life of language. There is
transmission of values and ideas from one generation to another generation.
Thus, language maintenance is assured and sustained. Unlike Mizoram, people
admire and privilege their own mother tongue over the native language-Meitei.
The domain of the social space is also crucial for maintaining language. And
the Hmar people, who belongs to one of the ethnic tribe of Manipur within the
societal space maintain their language by mingling with their own tribe and all
the social activities are all conducted in one`s own language. So, the social space
gives them firmer ground and thus language is preserve and revives within the
Hmar tribe in Manipur. In the function of the domain of education the Hmar
leaders have worked hard in maintaining their own local language to such an
extent that the speakers will not develop a negative attitude towards their own
language. They strived for recognition and acceptance of their language as a
medium of instruction in Manipur. ``From 1989, the education department of
Manipur Government accorded recognition to the Hmar language as Modern Indian
language and permitted the Hmars to offer a vernacular subject as a half MIL
paper in High school leaving certificate examination’’(Dr Hrilrokhum Thiek) .
And in the year 2000, the Hmar
Vernacular paper was accepted by the council of higher secondary education by
as full MIL paper by the Manipur Government .The Hmar MIL has been taught as an
optional subject under the Manipur University for the last 7 years since 2003.
Additionally, with their awareness that language education can serve as vehicle
for promoting the vitality, versatility and the practical use of language the
success of their work is still manifested in the present generations of the
Hmar community. So, in the school there is a space for using one`s own mother tongue
and thus language promotion and maintenance is assured. The Hmars also run a
vernacular newspaper of their own to preserve and maintain their language. They
also have the opportunity to transmit their program in the all India radio
stationed at Imphal for around 20- 30 minutes although Manipuri and language of
wider communication were the main language to transmit the program. The Hmar
leaders have also documented their languages and produced dictionaries, hymns
and Bible to preserve their own language. They also have four different
versions of the Bible, which can be positively seen as move to enrich
literature among the Hmars.
In Manipur, the 21st century is marked with
rapid growth in economic globalization and is growing hand in hand with the use
of English .Parents and stakeholders feel that education is undoubtedly
available only in English, eventually increasing its value. The Hmar local
language can`t match the output of English books and therefore it is superior.
In Churachandpur district, largest Hmar concentrations in Manipur, all the
education system are in English. In the domain of Education, a person can’t
teach if he or she is incapable of speaking English. The new trend that has
been observed is that the measurement of a person making a mark through his or
her ability is in the use of the most prestigious language-English. However,
the increasing importance of English through globalization is one of the tools
which help in annihilating the indigenous minority language and culture of the
Hmars in Manipur. One of the major effects of globalization has changed the
mindset of the Hmar tribe. There is increasing differentiation between English
and the Hmar language in Manipur. This is made possible on how the Hmar tribe
have adopted value system and life style in Manipur.
The Hmars have imbibed the process of
consolidating and institutionalizing globalization in Manipur intentionally and
unintentionally without being aware of the fact that ,they may succumb to it
without even knowing that it’s killing their own language. Paramodini has
maintained that` `while thinking of development we mustn’t overlook our
languages and culture. Thus, in the pursuit of development and advancement of
societies we overlook our language and culture and consequently create a space
for the loss of language. Additionally, the Hmar tribe had a great admiration
of English since the embracement of Christianity. Watkin Robert was the first
missionary to spread the gospel in Manipur to the Hmar community. And all the
initiator in the evangelizing process are the speaker of English, it is indeed
very true why the Hmar tribe has been tremendously affected with the so called
English language. And if a person can speak English, he or she is perceived as
modern and educated in the eyes of the local people. Hence, the Hmar language
declined. In Manipur, the Hmar intellectuals and leaders hardly organized a
workshop for the development and preservation of the Hmar vernacular perhaps
out of their lousy attitude towards their own local language. Or they don’t
feel it imperative and importance to organize a special language planning
program so as to upheld, promote and demonstrate the value of maintaining
language to the younger generations. Its consequence is mainly felt by the
younger generations of today. children and average speakers’ age ranging to 30
and below have started developing a feeling of being remote and old in using
their own language. Language limitation occurs on account of being seriously
influence by the prestigious English and thus became more proficient and
comfortable in structuring English. Additionally, it’s out of their negligence
in giving less importance or value in their written literature. The younger
generations can’t structure proper sentence in the Hmar language without
including at least one single word in English. A hybrid form of sentence which
includes Hmar and English is the common trend of today`s generation.
In the next 20 or 30 years, there is a
possibility that it will be an endangered language in Manipur as well.
Awareness should be given to the younger generations that the admiration and
prestige they tied up with `English’ should not devalue their own mother
tongue. In other words, we should not overlook our own mother tongue over other
languages just because they have the prestige, status, power and social
success. To revive, preserve and maintain one`s language, the collective will
and support is required and the intellectual leader in the society should
conduct workshop and organized language awareness frequently so as to change
the mindset of the young minds that has been severely damaged by mighty
influence of English.
Therefore` `everyone should be
concerned, because its everyone`s lost’ ’David Crystal
Word count-2,780
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13 April 2015
