(baosonla.vn) - Currently, Son La city has 12 ethnic groups living together, with a population of about 110 thousand people, of which the Thai ethnic group accounts for 49.7% of the province's population. The culture of the Thai ethnic group is diverse and rich, reflected in all areas of social life. But in reality, many people, especially the young people of the Thai ethnic group, can only speak their mother tongue but cannot read or write Thai.
Ms. Lo Mai Cuong teaches Thai at a community class in Chau village, Chieng Coi ward.
To preserve the language and writing of the ethnic group, Son La city has organized many Thai language classes, serving a wide range of subjects, from officials to the community, through Thai ethnic cultural clubs. In Chau village, Chieng Coi ward, Ms. Lo Mai Cuong is an expert in researching and teaching Thai language. Not afraid of difficulties, she opened a free class for students. Ms. Cuong shared: The class has no age limit, every week, the class takes place on Saturday and Sunday, lasting about 3 months. Besides teaching Thai language, I also tell stories about Thai ethnic history, integrate Thai songs into the lecture, helping students understand more deeply about Thai ethnic culture.
Ms. Tong Thi Hoa, a student who just completed the course at the Chau Ban community Thai language class at the end of 2024, excitedly said: Before, I only knew how to speak but not how to read or write. Thanks to attending the class, I can now write Thai fluently. 100% of the students can read and write Thai. This makes us very happy.
Closing ceremony of Thai language class in Chau village, Chieng Coi ward.
Thai classes in Son La city are organized flexibly, suitable for the time budget of each group of students. For workers, classes are held in the evening so as not to affect their daytime work. For students, classes are organized in batches, mainly during the summer so that they have the best time to study.
Ms. Lo Chiem, Deputy Head of Lau Village, Chieng Le Ward, who was a student of the Thai language class, shared: Learning Thai helps me in managing the village and mobilizing young people to participate in learning to preserve identity and strengthen solidarity in the community.
Learning Thai is not easy, it requires perseverance and passion. Unlike Mandarin, Thai has its own pronunciation and spelling. If you do not master the alphabet, you will have difficulty in spelling and reading fluently. Thai is written together, without periods, commas, and is not capitalized. A consonant can combine with three vowels to create three different words.
Thai language class at Son La College.
Students attending the class will go through the content, learn 19 pairs of Thai letters, including 19 consonants "tố" and 19 vowels "may"; practice reading, rhyming, understanding the meaning of words and sentences, practice writing poems and rhymes in Thai letters. The teaching is carried out by teachers who are knowledgeable about the language and have a lot of experience.
Son La College is one of the pioneers in teaching Thai. In 2024, the school organized 8 Thai language classes, mainly for officials, civil servants and public employees, each class had 50 - 70 students.
Ms. Khanh Huyen, Provincial Center for Disease Control shared: I am a Kinh ethnic, before going to school I was worried that I would not be able to learn, but after attending the class, I found Thai writing beautiful and meaningful. Now, I can write fluently and read well, which helps me communicate with Thai patients more easily during work.
Ethnic writing is at risk of being lost if not preserved in time. Classes in Chau village, Lau village, Son La College... are bright spots in the effort to preserve and promote the cultural identity of the Thai ethnic group, which needs to be promoted and expanded.
According to: Son La Newspaper