Mother Tongue, Why?

Primary sikul naupang lehkha zir nan pianpui ṭawng a ṭhat bikzia hi tawi kim si, chiang fek fawka sawi thiam a chakawm hle mai. Sawi tur a tam a, sawi fiah thiam a har bawk. Thu ril deuh luhchilh dawn ila, a ngaihnawm lo hle dawn si. Ṭawng hi kan hnam thih leh dam hriltu (survival issue) pakhat a nih ve miau avangin, thiam lo chung chung pawha kan sawi uarna lamah kan ṭhahnemngaihna ṭawngkamte a lo hriam palh deuh a nih pawhin chhiartute dawhtheihna leh hriat thiamna ka han dil hmasa a ni.

Zirna ṭha (quality education) atan factor pawimawh tam hle mah se, mal thlanah ngat chuan ‘ṭawng’ hi a pawi mawh ber. Zirtirtu, zirtu leh zirlaibute suih zawmtu pawimawh ber chu ‘ṭawng’ a ni. Ṭawng ringawt pawh zir tham tak a nih laiin, ṭawng thiamna hmangin thil chi hrang tam tak kan la zir leh chhawng a ni. Hei vang tak hian zir bul ṭanna primary education bikah chuan pianpui ṭawng, an ṭawng thiam sa ngei hman tur a ni. Naupang tan a fiah ber a, thil zir an thiam thei ber bawk. Ṭawng hriat loh hmanga lehkha zir chu harsa tak a ni. Pianpui ṭawng hian ngaihtuah thiamna (thinking skills) a chhawm tel tlat mai a, ṭawng zir chawp-ah chuan a hul tlat.

Pianpui ṭawng ni lo ṭawng dang hmanga primary school naupang zirtir ṭhat lohzia zir chiangtute ṭawngkam lar tak pakhat chu ‘submerge’ (hnim pil) tih hi a ni. Tui hleuh zir lo leh hleuh thiam lo tui thuk taka hnim pilte thaw pikzia leh khawngaihtlakzia nen an tehkhin a ni.

Zirtirna (teaching)-a thil ṭul tak chu naupang dah pawimawhna (child-centred education) a ni. Zirtirtu chuan zirlaibu kal phung ringawt emaw, ama tui zawng leh nuam tih zawng, a duh dan milin naupang a zirtir tur a ni lo va; naupang rilru, taksa leh thinlung mil tawkin, an mamawh leh an phak tawk ang zelin a zirtir tur a ni.

Child-centred education-ah chuan naupang a thlamuangin a tlangnel a, eng thawl leh zalen takin a awm thei. A duh zawng a sawi ve ngam a, an thil zirte a thiam thei bik. Primary education hi ‘child-centred’ a nih theih nan pianpui ṭawng ngei hman a ṭul. Pianpui ṭawng chu ‘child-centre’ nihtirtu, a ti-‘child-centre’- tu ber a ni zawk nghe nghe. Ṭawng dang (English medium etc)-ah chuan zirtirtu a langsar a, naupang an tim. Zirtirtu a phusa hle a, naupang erawh an chechang ngai meuh lo. An duh leh mamawh an sawi ngam lo va, an sawi thiam hek lo. An thil zir ber lah an hre thiam hek lo! Ṭawng hriat loh hmanga kan zirtir chuan, zirna chu naupang ta a ni tawh lo. Zirtirtu ta (teacher-centred) liau liau a ni zawk. Khawvel huap au hla lar tak tak- Education for All te, Universalisation of primary education te pawh an hlawhtlinna tur pawimawh ber chu ‘Mother tongue - Based Primary Education’ a ni.

Ṭawng lam zir mi (linguist)-te ṭawng-kam han phawrh zauh ila. Mould Theory peng pakhat ‘Sapir-Whorf pinciple’ chuan ṭawng, rilru (ngaihtuahna) leh culture invialchial dan min hrilh. Ṭawng chu ngaihtuahna kaihruaitu a nih avangin, ngaihtuahna ril leh chhui dawn ngai, subject harsa deuh (science, mathematics etc) atan phei chuan an ṭawng thiam sa (pianpui ṭawng) ngeia an zir a ṭul zual hle. Kan sawi tawh ṭhin angin, thil awmzia leh a kal phung ṭobul (basic concepts & fundamental processes) zuk varpawh nan pianpui ṭawng a ṭha ber. English la thiam mang hlei lo English hmang khera science leh mathematics han zir/ zirtir chu thiam tak tak theih a ni lo. Insengso leh chapo zet maia at kan so tlat mai hi a va lungchhiatthlak tak em!

Tin, Mizo naupang chuan primary education chu ṭawng dangin zir daih mai se, kum za tam tak lo inthlung chho tawh Mizo rilru put hmang leh ngaihtuah dan phung (Mizo psyche) aṭang hian a bo pil daih mai dawn a ni. Pianpui ṭawng thiam chianna hi kan hnam identity hum himna kulhpui pawimawh tak a ni si a.

Theory dang pakhat - ‘linguistic determinism’ chuan ṭawng a danglam ang bawkin kan khawvel thlir dan a danglam ṭhin tih min hrilh. Keini chuan hriau chu beng kan neihtir a, sap ho erawh chuan hriau mit (eye of the needle) an nei thung. Mizo chu kan piang mai a, sap ho erawh chu an zei lo deuh nge ni an nute’n an hring ṭhin! Ṭawng hrang engmah hi inlet chhuak dik thlap thei an awm lo niin an sawi. Mizoram leilung leh a chhunga cheng Mizote nun hrilh fiah chiang thei ber chu Mizo ṭawng a ni a, sawi kim dap thei chu Mizo ṭawng chauh a ni.

Learning theory aṭanga thil hlu tak kan chhar chhuah chu ‘transfer of learning’ a ni. Miin thil chi khat ṭha taka a zir thiam chuan, chumi a thiamna chu thil dang zir nan a hmang ṭangkai thei tih a ni. Thing mistiri tan cement mistiri hna emaw, alluminium mistiri hna emaw chu zir thiam a awlsam bik tura ngaih a ni. Mizo naupangin Mizo ṭawngin primary education zir zo ta se, ṭawng bulṭhut ṭha tak a lo nei tawh ang. Chumi ṭawng bulṭhut hmang chuan English emaw, Hindi emaw a zir leh chuan a thiam thei em em a, a thiam dan pawh a bulfukin a chiangkuang zawk tura ngaih a ni.

Chawhmeh hi a siam tui dan te, a chan mawi dan te, a chhawp mawi dante leh ei mawi dante chu pawimawh ve bawk mah se, puarna leh chakna, hriselnate kha kan ei chhan bulpui ber an ni. Ṭawng pawh hi inbiak pawhna leh hriatna kan dawn theihna bulpui ber a ni a, dang nal leh aw-phawi nalh (fluency/ accent etc) te hi chu a behbawm thil mai an ni.

Tunlai Mizote erawh chu thil tak tak aiin a pawnlawi bel mawi chawp lamah kan buai tlat. Behbawm thil lei nan kan ro hlu hralhin, lan mawi nan kan khuavang chhinchhiah meuh pawh kan nawt reh ngam a nih hi. Bike leh mobile phone lei nana mahni in luah lai hralhtu kha kan level-pui tho a lo ni e!

Chhungte’n min hau min hau chung pawha cowboy thawnthu (western) kan chhiar ṭhin lai khan thil pakhat kan zir chhuak: Pistol phawi rang aiin kap fuh thei an dingchang zawk fo tih hi. Dang nal aiin sawi tur ṭangkai hria leh sawi fiah thiam an hlu zawk. Tlangval pakhat hian naupang hnenah, “Rang takin dawt sawi la, cheng hnih ka pe ang che” a ti a. “Eheeeee - cheng nga i tia nih khaaaa” a lo ti vat. Cheng sawm lai a pe ta zawk a. Mahse a lawmman lak chhan hi a ropui lem lo.

Rualawhna (dik vek lem lo) leh intihhmuh thil mai maiin English medium kan chawi vul a, mi tam zawk hi chu ‘sephung kaw ram lai’ tluk lek kan la ni ngei ngei dawn si. Kir leh nachang kan hriat loh chuan, ram/hnam ṭhenkhat lo tlakhawlh tawhna leilawt-ah hian kan la tla hlum hial mai thei a ni. “Ka Nuchhimi chhuak bawk, ka sakhi rai lai chhuak bawk” tih ang maiin, Mizo ṭawng thiam kim lo, sap ṭawng hman tlak tak tak thiam bawk si lo, hna thawh kawr leh Mizo culture hmusit tawk leka chapo kan thar chhuak rem rum mai dawn chu a ni si a. Zo nun aia English, American, Korean etc ngai sang zawk- Zo-lish, Zo-rican, Zo-rean te kan thelh suau suau mai dawn zawng a ni e!

Ṭawng bulṭhut nei fuh lo mihring hlauhawm theihzia kan hnam hian a taka a hmuh hunah chuan, an laka min hum him turin JAC leh SRS tih vel aia hming sei fe kan din a ṭul tawh ang. Chutih huna buaithlak ber tur zawk erawh chu hlawh nei lova vantlang tana rim taka thawk duh tur mi an awm tawh mang lo tur chu a ni!

UNESCO meuhvin nasa taka beia ‘world-wide research’ hmang meuhva a lo zir chhuah tawh, naupangte’n an pianpui ṭawng hmangin an thiam thei zawk (children learn better in their mother tongue) tih hi i ring ngam ang u. Private school-te pawh hian primary education chin hi chu Mizo ṭawngin zirtir se, sawrkar primary sikulte pawh English medium-a let mai lovin, sawrkar hian zirtirtu thiam leh zirna hmanrua changtlung zawkin thuam belh sauh sauh rawh se. Bul dik lo chuan rah ṭha ziktluak a chhuah thei dawn si lo va.

- L.B.Tluanga