In the Zone : Analysis and Verification
4.7.4 Trend of the Mising language : In the light of the above parameters, we may now take the case of the Mising language, its present scenario, direction and future
As has been discussed in Chapter Two, the Mising tribe was in contact with the Assamese-speaking people of the Assam valley for about 700 years. For a considerable length of time the Misings did not yield to socio-cultural or linguistic cross-over from the plains society. But as the contacts continued in an ever- increasing spectrum of social and occupational activities, the dominant culture found its way into the minority ethnic group. The flow reached and affected almost all fields, such as, social life, cultural pursuits, and religious belief. All these changes gave a new dimension to the linguistic behaviour of this group. A large number of elements flowed from the Assamese language to the Mising dialect resulting in the beginning of a bilingual process among the Mising speakers. The bilingualism or
biculturalism gripped this tribe for at least three centuries. When the Assam region came under the British rule after the Yandaboo Treaty of 1826, the medium of communication in the administrative set up came to be English which proved to be the dominant language over all other local languages of the region. Accordingly, another cross-cultural transmission took place with elements of the dominant British culture flowing into the weaker local cultures. The process added elements of a third culture to the Misings. India’s independence in 1947 and the transfer of power from the British to the Indians, did not bring much immediate changes to the cultural practices of the rural people in the north eastern region of the country particularly in the field of language practice. The twentieth century witnessed a significant rise in the use of the English language by the people of the Brahmaputra valley triggered by the modern system of education and the proliferation of electronic media like the radio and the television. The increase which still has an upward trend has engulfed the rural areas as well. This has added a third language to the repertoire of the Misings. After adoption of Hindi as the national language of India, and the various schemes adopted by the Government of India to popularize Hindi and encourage its use, a good number of Mising students study Hindi and can speak the language.
Although generally they are not fluent as English or Hindi speakers, they use Hindi and English words and clauses in course of their discourse.
As there are no Mising medium schools, Mising children are mostly educated in Assamese medium schools. A good chunk of them, particularly those living in the urban areas, are educated in English medium schools. Since the medium of learning largely affects one’s language use, Mising students are highly influenced by Assamese and English although Mising is taught in the lower classes as a language subject in Mising dominated areas. The field studies report that while making oral expressions in L1, on an average, Misings use 35% Assamese words, 7% English words and 1.5% words from Hindi or other languages. This percentage increases to 57%, 18% and 3% respectively in case of the educated and the city/town dwellers leaving just 22% for their ethnic language, i.e., Mising. This group constitutes
approximately 13% of the total Mising population and the rest 87% uses the ethnic language for more than 78% on an average.
It is evident from the above assessment that the interlingual code-switching is more frequent among the educated and city dwellers than among the rural masses comprising illiterates or semiliterates. As observed, notwithstanding their practice of Mising–Assamese code-switching, a strong sense of ethno-linguistic loyalty and awareness exists among the Misings including the educated and the urban dwellers.
This is demonstrated by the numerous measures taken by various organizations particularly the Mising Agom Kebang (Mising Literary Society) for promoting the language. Therefore, as seen from the above reports, the Mising language does not face a threat of displacement in the near future.
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