làm lương
Definition
- Verb:
- To practice swidden agriculture: The primary meaning of "làm lương" refers to the traditional agricultural method of clearing land by cutting and burning vegetation, then cultivating it for a limited number of seasons before moving to a new plot.
- To cultivate on slash-and-burn land: It describes the action of farming on land prepared through the slash-and-burn technique.
Usage Examples
- Verb:
- Người dân tộc ở vùng núi vẫn làm lương. (Ethnic minority people in the mountainous areas still practice swidden agriculture.)
- Phương pháp làm lương có thể gây hại cho rừng. (The swidden farming method can be harmful to forests.)
Advanced Usage
- The term is specific to the context of traditional agriculture, often associated with ethnic minority groups and shifting cultivation cycles in mountainous regions.
Variants and Related Words
Làm rẫy (v): to practice upland field cultivation, often used similarly to "làm lương."
- Họ lên nương làm rẫy. (They go to the upland fields to farm.)
Phát và đốt rừng (v): to slash and burn forest; a descriptive phrase for the clearing process involved in "làm lương."
- Việc phát và đốt rừng để làm nương rẫy đang bị hạn chế. (Slashing and burning forests for swidden fields is being restricted.)
Synonyms
- To practice slash-and-burn cultivation: The direct English equivalent for the agricultural method.
- To engage in swidden farming: A more technical synonym.
Notes on Usage
- "Làm lương" is a compound verb where "làm" means "to do/make" and "lương" refers to the swidden field itself. It is treated as a single lexical unit for this specific agricultural practice.
- This practice is also known as "shifting cultivation." The term often carries connotations of being traditional, subsistence-based, and potentially environmentally impactful if not managed sustainably.