English alphabet hi 26 a ni a. Mizo pawhin heng 26 zinga mi hi la chhuaka her danglam deuhin Mizo tawng ziah nan kan hmang mai a ni. Alphabet history hi chiang taka hriat theih a ni lo. B.C 3000 velah chuan Lal hnuaia arsi chanchin zirten symbol mawl tê hmangin tahrikni leh inawpna-chhiarpui chhinchhiah nan te, birthday chhinchhiah nan tea sign an lo hman thin chu alphabet tobul a ni.
Chung ching chhuaktu lalram te chu tute nge an nih - Phoenician, Greek, Egyptian, Arab civilization etc. te an ni a. Greek ho chuan B.C 800 velah chuan A B C D =alpha, Betta, Gamma, Delta etc. Omega thlengin an lo hmang tangkai viau tawh a, zawi zawiin ram fing deuhten an lo fawmkhawm a. Old English - Elizbethan English – Modern English, tiin vawiin kan lo thleng ta a ni.
Chuvangin alphabet hi a bul lam chhui chuan mi pakhat siam leh duan chhuah a ni lo. English pa chal – Geoffrey Chaucer te, Sir William Chamber, Immanuel Kant, William Shakespeare te siam pawh a la ni chuang lo a nih chu. Mizoramah hian “Pu Buangaten A AW B min siam a” kan ti nazen a. “Zirna In School min rawn hawnsak a” ti ila a inhmeh viau a ni. (ref.The New Encyclopedia, Banner Press, New York.1978.)
Mizo tawng zirna bul intannaa bul tumtu, min tan hmasaksaktu ber chu Thomas Herbert Lewin (Thangliana) kha a ni a. Kum 1857 September 9 khan Indian Sepoy Mutiny avangin India ramah a lo chhuak a. England atangin Spain vaukam hrutin Mediterranean tuipuiah – Red Sea, Suiz Canal-ah - Indian Ocean-ah Bombay a rawn kai a. Dt. 15th October 1864-ah Satikang (Chittagong) a rawn thleng chho a. Sepoy Mutiny rilru leh Bengali nungchang a mil loh em em laiin, Mizo leh tlangmi, midang nungchang danglam tak a rawn hmuh khan tlawh chhuah a châk nghal êm êm mai a. Thangluah Lal Rothangpuia thianah a rawn siam thuai a. Tin, Chhimtuipui chhak lam Pawi/Lakher lal Tsendus (Cheindus tia lam tur) te chu tlawh chhuah a châk em em a. A han kal ta ngei a, mahse, Lakher râl rûn tur rammu an tâwk hlauh mai a. Baklengin an tlanchhia a, thi lo a ruangin an chhuak hram a ni (Lewin T.H. The wild Races of North Eastern India).
Kum 1872-a Mary Winchester lak let lai khân Mizo tawng hi a thiam tawk viau tawh a, hemi hma hian Mizo hnahthlak tawng chi hrang hrang a lo zir sil nual tawh a. Heng atang hian Mizo tawng pawh English alphabet hmangin, Roman Script, Sir S.W Jones Method-in Mizo tawng a lo ziak ta a ni. A lehkhabu hmasa ber, “Hills Tract of Chittagong and the Dweller Therein” tihah khan a thu zawhna/lakna, Vai Mizo tawng lam fiah thiam lo zet angin, thumal tam tak a lo ziak tawh a. Tin, kum 1874-a a publish, “Colloquial Exercise of the Lushai Dialect” tihah khan Mizo tawng zir tak tak nâna hman tlak turin a rawn duang ta a. Thu hrilhfiahna, vocabulary, English – Mizo leh Mizo-English te a siam bawk a. Mizo tawng kalhmang Vowels hman dan leh Transliteration – Syntactic leh Semantic a siam a. Tin, Phonetics sign pawh tlêm a siam a. Hei hi chu Mizo tawng zirna Grammar atana hman tlak a ni.
Pu Buanga leh Sap Upa (J.H. Lorrain & F.W. Savidge) khan Mizoram luh an tum khan Inner Line Permit an neih theih loh avangin kum thum vel an hel kual vel a. An hel kualna lamah Chittagong-ah T.H Lewin-a lehkhabu hi an va chhar chhuak ta a. Tripura velah te an vah pah khan, he lehkhabu “Colloguial Exercise of Lushai Dialect” hi an zir a. Tin, Cachar-ah chho lehin Inner Line Permit (ILP) an dil leh a, an nghah pahin Cachar-ah hian kum khat lai an lo zir hman a ni. Kum 1894-a an lo chhuah khan Mizo Tawng (Lusei) thiam sain an lo chhuak a. Chuvangin Aizawl vela Mizo te pawh an be nghal thei mai a. Zanah (Dawrpui M/S hmun nge ni) Puan In kaiha an mut laiin, sakhi kan nân silai an neih leh neih loh te pawh Puan In phen atangin Mizo pain an rawn zawt a, ‘Nei’ kan tih chuan mi kah nân an rawn hmang ang a, ‘Nei lo’ tih a him ang ti in ‘Nei lo’ tiin an chhâng ta a ni. (Kan chhiar pah a kan hriat reng tur chu heng hun lai hian Mizoram hi rambuai ralti tak, indo hlim chhawn, Mizo lalte leh Saphote pawh an la indo zauh zauh reng lai a ni.) An lo thlen hlim pawh hian Mizo tawng an thiam viau a ni. T.H Lewin hi Mizo tawng ziaktu leh zirna siamtu mi hmasa ber niin ka hria a. “Hills Tract of Chittagong and the Dweller Therein With Special Reference to Lushai Vocabularies” tih a, Annexture E a, Mizo thumal a ziah then khat te hi:- Salt=Tchi; White=Ango; Red=Asten; Thin=Atcher: hei hi kum 1869 a publish a ni (Mizo chanchin ziakna lehkhabu hmasa ber a nih ka ring.) English Alphabet hi letter 26 a ni a, Mizo tawng ziak nâna Lewin-an letter min hmansak chu Chemtatrawta thawnthu a ziak atang hian han la chhuak ula; letter min phuah sak Aw, Ch, Ng, te han en hian avaiin letter 25 a ni thung a.
Kan Official leh kan nu leh paten “Kan A AW B hi Pu Buanga te min siamsak” an ti thin a. “Siam” kan hmang dawn a nih chuan T.H Lewin-a siam tih à wm tak a ni. ‘Siam’ tih râlah chuan Geoffrey Chaucer te, Sir, William Chambers te, Immanuel Kant te leh William Shakespear te siam pawh a la ni chuang lo kan tih tawh kha. Alphabet siamtu tih zâwng chuan khawvel pum huap ang pawh hian tu’ma hming hi a lan kan la hre lo. Pu Buanga te siam pawh a ni bawk hek lo. Mahse alphabet te hi mihring tawng puangchhawng (transcribing) chiang vek theitu an ni lo chung hian T. H. Lewin hian a method hi famkim a ti bik chuang lo. Tichuan English letter 26 zînga mi, letter 24 hmangin Mizo tawng chu a lo ziak a. Chu method chu Roman Script an ti a, hemi hnuaiah hian hman dan chi hrang tam tak a awm a. Entirnân – W.M Jones System te, Hunterian System te etc. Chung duan fuh deuh te chu hman lar a lo ni ta zel mai a ni.
Heng a chunga a kan sawi pahnih te hi, Sapho khan South East Asian Nation zîngah an tawng ziah nan an hmang lar deuh a. Lewin-a pawn heng system a hman bak Pu Buangaten an belhchhah êm êm hmuh tur a awm lo niin a lang. Amah Lewin pawn a famkim chu a ti bik chuang lo. A hnua mithiam zawk te rawn chul mam pawh pawi a ti chuang bawk hek lo. ‘Ti hian a sawi a,
“…it would be false pride that would prevent me from putting forth this a small compilation because my successor may discover my many errors.”
Kan mi thiam te hian chul mam dan chu an hriat hmel tho na a, mahse mi originality han tih danglam chu an duh lo a ni mah na. Alphabet indawt dan (sequence order) rem sawn tih mai loh chu tih danglam a awm chuang lo. Alphabet indawt dana lehkha (sentence) ziah lah a ni bawk hek lo. Letter tul tul kan la chhuak a, kan hmang mai a ni. Lewin hian tawng lettu Mizo tawng lam fiah tak phei chu nei se, tûn ai hian a famkim zawk ngei ang. Siam tha lo a inti viau chung hian kum 138 lai chu kan lo hmang ta reng mai a ni.
A METHOD: Ngun deuha en chuan Lewin hi mi thiam tak a nihzia chu a lang thei. Phonetics lam zawnga thlir phei chuan tunlaia Mizo tawng kan ziak dan ai hian a kim chang zawk. Entirnân – Dang chung lamah, kan hahmai hnuaiah lei a bet chho a, a kau thla leh chiah ri lo chhuakah hian - Hnamchawm = hnamtchawm; Chi-Salt = Tchi; Chakma = Tsakma; Chenglung = Tsenglung; Chinduin = Tseindung; Dao = Tchem. Heng a hnuhnung zawk zel hi T. H. Lewin-a hman dan chu a ni. Asia ram tam tak, China ram lamah te Mizoram lama C leh H inkawp “ Chaw” kan hman aiah “ Ts”an hmang thin bawk.
Heng spelling hian vocal chord sound pawh a phur chhuak tha zawk niin a lang. Mizo tawng ziak nân letters, vowels leh syntactic and semantic tlêm a siam tel a, chu chu Grammar lam zirna tha tak a ni. Chung chuan Pu Buangate khan Mizo tawng an thiam phah vat reng a ni, an lo chhuah khan Mizo tawng an hmang thei, Pu Buanga tawngkam heti hian kan hmu:
“…. From the time when we began to speak fluently the people looked upon us as member of their own community and we became fast friends” (A tir atang renga Mizo tawng bah miah lova kan han inbe thei mai khan anmahni mi leh saah min ngaiin kan lo inthian nghet ta viau mai a ni.)
Tin, Lewin hian sawrkar mi te leh Mizote inbiak nân ngawt ni lo, Mizote zingah Education rawn tan tur te tân pawh a lo rilruk tih a chiang; hetiang hian a sawi:
“… not merely to facilitate the intercourse of government officers with the people, but also to pave the way for the introduction of Education among the Tribes at large.”
Kum 1873 vela a sentence siam hi lo thlir ila: Tûn thlengin hren I kai lo em ni? = Have you not put on your waist cloth yet? English letter la chhuaka ziak mai a nih avangin Mizo A AW B anga han rem khawm hi ngaiah a ruat lo a ni mah na. Thu tam tak ziah chuan A AW B a awm a ngai a. Kungawrhi - Lalruanga etc. a ziak teuh mai a ni.
Kan Missionary te hian tlawmngaiin, “T. H Lewin hian kawng min lo sahsak a, a chungah kan lawm hle” tiin Mizo (Native) hriat thiam tur hian tawngkam vawi khat tal chu chhak chhuak sela kan hrethiam ang. Kawng lehlamah T. H. Lewin, England-a a chawlh tawh hnu khan lehkhain a lehkhabu a hman tangkaizia te hrilhin lawmthu a zuk sawi kur dup lawi si a. J.H. Lorrain tawngkam ngei hi lo en ila:
“… after residing sometimes in Eastern Bengal we went to Chittagong. It was here that we came across some books on the Lushai language written by you.”
Hetiang zawnga Mizote buaipui hi Sap, khang lai huna rawn chhuakah khan an awm ngai lo. Mizoram denchhenin lehkhabu pali ngawt a chhuah hman a:
1) Hills Tract of Chittagong and the Dweller Therein
2) Colloquial Exercise of the Lushai Dialects.
3) The Wild Races of South Eastern India
4) A Fly on the Wheel.
T. H. Lewin hian a lo duang purh a, chumi hniakhnung chu Pu Buanga te hian an rawn zawh ta niin a lang, Pu Buanga tawngka bawk lo en leh ila:
“…. And Twelve months passed before the Chief Commissioner of Assam, Sir, W. Ward gave us permission to start. During our stay in Cachar we had come a crossed your vocabulary and folklores and this we learnt by heart”… We also got some help from a little book by a native Doctor of Rangamate”–( Lenvoi, A fly on the wheel.)
He an lehkhabu by-heart hi Conversation hlir exercise 90 vel a siam a, Exercise pakhatah hian sentence 20 vel zel a awm a, 90x20=1800 sentence. Chu bakah Dictionary type, Mizo- English 1250 word, English-Mizo=1117 vel a siam bawk. Hengho hi an lo by-heart vek avangin School pawh an hawng nghal mai reng ni âwm tak a ni. Amaherawhchu, a hniak hnung rawn zuitute hi Chanchin Tha rawn kengtute an nih avangin kan rilruah an thil tha tih hi a lang lian deuh pawh a ni mah na; a à wm tho chuan ka hria.
Heng Mizo tawng thiam nial nual tawh leh Mizo tawng zirna Grammar tha tak nei chunga an lo chhuah vang hi a ni mah na, January 11, 1894-ah Aizawl an lo thleng a, April 2, 1894-ah School an hawng a, Mizo tawng an zirtir nghal a. A bul atanga inzir chawp chu ni se hetiang êm êm chuan an rang thei dâwn em ni a tih theih.
T. H. Lewin hi Mizote nun khuaah hian a lung a lêng êm êm a, a lehkhabuah hian thil tam tak, chhiar apianga chhar chhuah tur a awm thei zelin a hriat. Mizo zingah a rawn chho a, Syhlet Bengali a hmuhsit tak em emzia te pawh a hmuh theih a ni.
Hetih hun lai, Pu Buanga te lo luh lai vel hian Mizoram hi ram buai, Sapho leh Mizo lal indo nasat hlimchhawn a ni kan tih tawh kha. Captain Brown pawn a nun a chân a, hemi pui tura lo chhuak Changsil kaiah Mizo hoin lo kap lehin Lt Swinton pawh a boral ve leh nghal a ni à wm e. Hei bakah mi tam takin hliam an tuar a. Tin, Inner Line Permit (ILP) rule chuan zirtirna hran leh ro hran rel Mizo zinga lo neih a phal lo a. Sawrkar phalna lo chuan anmahni duh thu thua sikul pawh hawng thei an ni lo. Sikul pawh hi J. Shakespear hawn a ni a. Zirtirtu atan Pu Buanga te ho hi a hmang chauh zawk a ni. Mizoram chu Military Expedition-in an thut a, sawrkar phalna zel lo chuan tu’mah ram dang mi (foreigner) luh phal a ni lo. Tin, an nunna himna tur nen lam sipaiho kuta awm an ni. Chanchin Tha thlentu an nih avang a ni ang, kan ti lutuk niin a lang. Anmahni pawh khan Thomas Herbert Lewin-a hnenah chuan lawmthu an zuk hrilh chiam kha maw le!
Ziaktu: C. Vanlal Ruaia
Librarian, Govt. Aizawl College
References
- Lewin T.H Progressive Colloquial Exercise Lushai Dialect. Calcutta 1874.
- Encyclopedia Britannica. 15 Ed.2002
- The New Encyclopedia Banner Press. New York 1978.
- Lorrain J.H. (Lushai-English Dictionary) of the Lushai Language 1940.
- Lewin T.H. Hills Tract of Chittagong and the Dweller Therein – Calcutta 1869.
- Lewin T.H. The Wild Races of South Eastern India Calcutta 1864.