Some Amazing Facts And History About The Vietnamese Language

Vietnamese is one of the most culturally rich languages in the world. Native to the country of Vietnam it has a very deep history that dates back to 10th century BC.

History

The exact date for the invention of the Vietnamese language is a bit blur however some written evidence suggests that the Vietnamese language had been around in 10th century BC. At that time Vietnam was a part of China and because of this, the language is greatly influenced by the Chinese language. The Vietnamese language at that time was a combination of special Chinese characters called Chu-Nom and specifically designed Vietnamese characters. The Vietnamese language also shares a history with the Khmer language. 

Facts About The Vietnamese Language

Quoc Ngu

The Vietnamese language in the written form is known as Quoc Ngu. Quoc Ngu translates to National Language.

Originally An Oral Language

For many years, the Vietnamese language wasn’t available in written form. It was only a verbal language. Modified Chinese characters were used in order to write Vietnamese.

Language Family:

It belongs to the Vietic Language family and the Austroasiatic language family.

Native Speaker:

The Vietnamese language has about 90 million native speakers all over the world.

Where Is It Spoken?

The language is dominantly spoken in the country of Vietnam. It is also a native language in two of China’s provinces i.e. Guangxi and Dongxing. The Vietnamese language is spoken all over the world where there are Vietnamese communities. The most prominent of them is the Czech Republic. It might come as a shock to some people because of the distance between the two countries but the Vietnamese language is considered a minority language in the Czech Republic.

Modifications:

With time some languages die while others evolve. The Vietnamese language has evolved several times over the past few centuries. Vietnamese scholars and European missionaries are considered the pioneers of modern Vietnamese as they helped with the modern script of the language.

Script:

The Vietnamese language is influenced by the Chinese language but it no longer needs Chinese characters. The Vietnamese language has its own alphabets which are written in a Latin script. However, there are some regions in the country where people still use traditional Chu Nom.

Number Of Letters:

In regards to the alphabet, the Vietnamese language contains a total of 29 letters.

Accents:

The Vietnamese language has three dominant accents which are Northern Vietnamese, Southern Vietnamese, and Central Vietnamese. Northern Vietnamese is the most common Vietnamese accent and is easily understood by everyone living in the country. 

Tones:

The tone of your voice communicates more than the words you use. Where other languages don’t have any defined tones, the Vietnamese language has a total of six tones. You have to use one of the six tones to communicate your words. A slight change in tone can completely change the meaning of the word.

These are some of the amazing facts about the Vietnamese language. It is a rich and culturally strong language that has stood the test of time. 

Street in Hanoi Vietnam