VIETNAMESE GEOGRAPHY & HISTORY
FACTS IN BRIEF
Location: South‑East Asia
North shares border with China
West with Laos and Cambodia
East & South with South China Sea
Shape: Letter S
Capital: Hanoi
Official Language: Vietnamese
Area: 332 559 square meters
Coastline: 2309 km
Longest distances North‑South: 1657 Km
East‑West: 612 Km
Shortest distance East‑West: 50 km
Elevation Highest: 3143 m above sea level
Lowest : sea level
Population: approx 87,5 million [2011]
Distribution : 60 % rural, 40% urban
Main products : Agricultural ‑ rice
Manufacturing ‑ cement, iron & steel, paper, textiles.
Mining ‑ coal
Money : Basic unit ‑ Ðồng
A$1 is equivalent to about 16,535 đồng (March 2016).
IMPORTANT DATES
111 B.C. Chinese conquered what is now northern Vietnam.
939 A.D. China ended its rule over Vietnam. Independence started.
1802 Emperor Nguyễn Ánh united the country and called it Vietnam.
1858‑1883 France took control of Vietnam.
1940‑1945 Japan controlled Vietnam during World War II.
1946 War began between France and Việt Minh
1954 Việt Minh defeated the French. The Geneva Conference divided Vietnam into two states. Vietnamese communists to the north of the 17 parallel, nationalists south.
1957 Communist terrorists began to attack vilages in South Vietnam. The fighting developed into the Vietnam War.
1973 U.S. paticipation in the Vietnam War ended.
1975 Vietnam war ended when north Vietnam took over the South on
April 30.
1976 Vietnamese communists unified North and South into one nation.
1977 Vietnam was admitted to the United Nations.
1978 Vietnam lent its armed forces to support Kampuchean rebels against the Pol Pot regime.
1979 Phnom Penh fell to the Vietnamese and their Kampuchean allies on January 7. On February 17, war with China on northern border issues. Conflict lasted 16 days.
Nov 1991 Withdrew army from Cambodia and started regaining normal relations with Communist China and regional and western countries.
Feb 1994 US abandoned its economic embargo against Vietnam.
BRIEF HISTORY
The name VIETNAM, meaning "Land [or People] of the South" came to Western use in 1946 to describe the Eastern part of French Indo-China from the Chinese border in the north to the Mekong Delta areas in the south. Much earlier it was called Nam‑Việt [Southern Land] by the Chinese, who conquered it in the 3rd century B.C. The people of Nam Việt were the ancestors of the present day ethnic Vietnamese, who belonged to a Mogoloid race. They have a recorded history of over 2000 years, during which they spread from north of the Red River Delta southward to the Mekong Delta.
By about the 3rd century B.C. they had established a kingdom called Tonkin, centred in the north. Tonkin was attacked repeatedly by tribes such as Thais, Mwong, Meo from Kwangtung Province in southern China and eventually was conquered by the Chinese whose cultural influence then extended over most of the area constituting modern Vietnam.
After 938 A.D., the country was ruled by three dynasties: the LÊ, the TRỊNH and the NGUYN. With French aid, reunification was achieved at the end of the 18th century by Emperor Gia‑Long [Nguyễn‑Ánh] in 1802. The capital was initially at Hanoi but was later transfered to Huế, in central Vietnam. With the advancing of technology early in the 17th century, European countries were looking for raw materials and markets for their products. Colonialism was born and the French took Vietnam as one of their colonies. This also marked the birth of the Vietnamese language when the French missionaries had tried to invent an alphabetic language in order to bring Christianity to Vietnam. Europeans, mainly French, had been trading with Hanoi since early in the 17th century. Gia‑Long successors tried to oust them by restricting trade and persecuting missionaries and converts. In retaliation, French took Saigon and occupied several provinces of the Mekong Delta in 1859, and Hanoi in 1873. From the 1860's, there was sporadic resistance to French rule and from the early 1900's nationalist movements began to gather strength. A Vietnam Communist Party was founded in 1930 under the leadership of Nguyễn‑Ái‑Quốc, who was later known as Hồ‑Chí‑Minh. Although Vietnam was occupiedby the Japanese in 1940, the French administration continued to operate until 1945.
In 1941, Hồ‑Chí‑Minh, who had long been in exile in China and elsewhere, returned to Vietnam and organised a revolutionary movement known as the Vietminh [which included non‑communist nationalists as well as communists, but was effectively dominated by the latter] to wage guerrilla warfare against the Japanese.
After the Japanese surrender, the Việt Minh proclaimed the establishment of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. Most of the non‑communist elements withdrew from the Việt Minh at this point.
In 1949, the French set up a nominally self‑governing State of Vietnam headed by Bảo‑Ðại, the former Emperor. The USA gave diplomatic recognition to the government and US aid followed.
The war continued between the French forces assisted the National Army of the State of Vietnam on the one hand and the Vietminh on the other. The French was defeated in 1954 at Ðiện‑Biên‑Phủ, North VN.
In July 1954, a peace agreement was signed in Geneva between 5 great powers. The French left Vietnam and the country was divided at the 17th parallel. North Vietnam under the control of the Vietminh and South Vietnam under the Government of the State of Vietnam.
After a referendum in the South in 1955, Ngô‑Ðình‑Diệm replaced Bảo‑Ðại as the Head of State and he remained the President of the Republic until 1963 when he was assassinated. There were several coups by military leaders and in 1965 General Nguyễn‑Văn‑Thiệu became the President.
In spite of the direct involvement of rapidly increasing number of American and allied forces, including Australian, the military situation in the war against the communist insurgence from the North deteriorated. The Communist advance continued until April 1975 when Saigon was occupied and the government surrendered.
Large numbers of refugees fled from South Vietnam and were admitted to the US and other western countries around the world, including Australia. And this is still going on, even after over 14 years; and now most of the refugees are from the north, who are classified as economic refugees rather than political ones, even though it is true that only until now that they have found a way to get away from the regime that they know that they can never tolerate.
ECONOMY
The economy of Vietnam was seriously disrupted by the war. The two halves of the country remain economically different, with the socialist system well established in the north, while in the south, a considerable amount of private enterprise was still permitted. Some moves, however, were made towards agricultural collectivisation. "New Economic Zones" had been set up in the south to increase the area under cultivation and to transfer the population from urban centres to the countryside.
The economy, especially in the south, is predominantly agricultural. The staple crop is rice. While considerable efforts are being made to increase agricultural output by mechanisation, production rose only 4% from 1965 to 1975, while population rose by 26% over the same period. This contributed to Vietnam's failure to become self‑sufficient in food.
Industry is mainly concentrated in the north. Although heavy bombing from 1965 to 1973 destroyed an estimated 70% of Vietnam's production capacity.
The principal industries are food‑processing, cement, metallurgy, chemicals, paper, [off shore] oil exploration by BP, coal and iron ore mining, engineering and textiles.
Due to bad management of the economy, compounded with unfavourable climatic conditions, Vietnam is now one of the poorest countries in the world with the average earning per head is only about 3,2 Million đồng or $A190 per year (Nov 2015).
Vietnamese economy has changed for the better since the abandonment of the US economic embargo as from February 1994.
ETHNIC COMPOSITION
The ethnic Vietnamese, who constitute about 80 per cent of the population of Vietnam, belong to a southern Mongoloid race. Minority groups include the Montagnards [tribesmen of the central highlands], the Chinese and the Khmer of the south.
A large percentage of the present Vietnamese population in Australia are ethnic Chinese.
LANGUAGE
Vietnamese, which is basically a mono-syllabic, non-inflective tonal language, is spoken by the majority of Vietnamese.
The Vietnamese language has been strongly influenced by the Chinese language. In the past, for nearly 2000 years it had been borrowing Chinese words. At present, about a quarter of the words in ordinary use are from Chinese. The first Vietnamese writing was similar to Chinese, i.e. with Chinese characters. Later Catholic missionaries invented a Roman transcription using a modified alphabet with accents for all phonetic distinctions and tones. This system became "The National Language" and is the Vietnamese language being used today.
During the period under the French domination, French was the official language and most educated Vietnamese were fluent in it. Since 1954, Vietnamese has been the official language for education and administration. Chinese is spoken by the ethnic Chinese population. English has been taught at high schools as a second language and has been widely used among young people and officials. Today, English is still gaining popularity.
There is a slight difference in the pronunciation and even the use of certain words between Vietnamese who come from the North, Central or South Vietnam. An example which foreigners to the language should take note when listening to a Southern Vietnamese is that he/she would pronounce V as /z/ rather than /v/ and interchange accents ? and ~.
NAMES AND FORMS OF ADDRESS
The Vietnamese way of writing names is in the reverse of the Australian name. A typical Vietnamese name has three words. For example:
NGUYỄN - VĂN - NAM
[family] [middle] [given]
In the above order [usually with hyphens], NGUYỄN, the family name comes first; VĂN, the middle name comes seconds [Văn is for a male and Thị or Kim is for a female]; and NAM, the given name comes last.
A Vietnamese would be addressed as "Mr Nam" which is equivalent to a "Mr Brown" when one addresses Mr David Brown in Australia. In other words, the use of a family name in Australia is equivalent to the use of a given name in Vietnam.
The use of the given name by itself only [similar to the use of a given name in English] NAM [or David] is permissible when a person is on a more friendly and intimate terms with, or at a higher rank than, the person he/she is talking to.
In Vietnamese, the usual form of address is the use of an appropriate personal pronoun, representing the level of relationship between the two persons concerned, preceeded by the polite word THƯA, where required only, with no mention of either family or given names.
Fig. 1 below shows the Kinship System of the Vietnamese extended family.
Great-grandparents: CỤ [ông & bà] and Great-grandchildren: CHẮT [trai & gái] are not included in the diagram.
MARRIAGE
Traditionally, marriage has been a family affair and arranged by the parents. Only recently have young people been given greater freedom, though for many this may simply mean the right to veto, not of independent choice. Astrology is a serious matter among ethnic Vietnamese when choosing a marriage partner. Adolescents are often not instructed by their parents in sexual matters, and may be ignorant and naive on these matters.
WOMEN
Traditionally, women are supposed to be subordinate to men in the family, but in real life, women in Vietnamese society enjoy much wider roles. The man may be the head of the household, but the skilful and perceptive wife understands enough practical psychology to have her ideas followed most of the time. Most husbands, even now, hand in almost all of their pay packets to their wives, for them to run the household!
CHILDREN
The Confucian concept that the main purpose of marriage is to ensure sufficient sons to perpetuate ancestor veneration is still followed by most Vietnamese families. Children are brought up to respect their parents, and elders; and to treat them with politeness, obedience and great reserve.
The major role in the maintenance of the home and the raising of children is with the mother, while the father is normally the bread-winner. Fathers assist in the raising of the children with their homeworks and overall education. Most grand-parents show their affection to their grand-children, and almost never punish or give them a hard time.
The Vietnamese children usually have considerable physical and emotional attention from their parents. This may be taken as a good or a bad point; since the child could become too dependent, even when they reach adolescence. This could be why Vietnamese youngsters are normally seen as less mature than those of the same age from western societies.
RELIGIONS
Most of the Vietnamese habits, customs and traditions are rooted in, and are conditioned by, religious beliefs. The main religions in Vietnam are Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Christianity and two indegenous sects Cao-Ðài and Hòa-Hảo. About two thirds of Vietnamese regard themselves as Buddhist, though only a small proportion practice their religion in an organised way. The Buddhism in Vietnam is of the Mahayana variety and has been strongly influenced by Confucianism.
Taoism ['Tao' means 'the way'] was essentially a philosophy of passivity, Chinese in origin, characterised by the ideal of 'wu-wei' [meaning 'no action'] and an emphasis on simplicity, selflessness, frugality, tranquillity, and accord with nature.
Confucianism [Confucius 551-479 B.C.] is a philosophy of social order which venerates status, age, obedience [to the superiors, parents, husbands ...] and virtue.
Christianity was introduced into Vietnam in the 16th century by Catholic missionaries from France, Spain and Portugal. The number of Catholics in South Vietnam in 1975 was about 2 millions. The main Protestant church in Vietnam is the Baptist Church.
Cao-Ðài originated early in the 20th century. It is a mixture of Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism and Christianity. Hòa-Hảo is a Buddhist sect which was founded in 1909 in the village of Hòa-Hảo in the Mekong Delta, in South Vietnam.
The ideals of Confucianism have played an important part in the Vietnamese ways of life. The virtues of filial piety and obedience are still the basis of ancestor worship, and support an extended family system in which age is the basis of authority. This could well be the reason why some found it more at home with Christianity while living in a westernised society, where the idea of an extended family does not exist as such, and where emphasis is put to the individual rather than to the family; and also to the practical side of life, rather than to the idealistic side of religion.
FAMILY, SOCIETY AND CUSTOMS
Social Order
Before the introduction of Christianity, Vietnam owned a purely oriental culture. The social order in Vietnam was based on three basic relationships: King-Subject, Teacher-Student and Father-Son.
Total submission and loyalty are expected from the latter in each relationship.
Nowadays, under the influence of the affluent western ways of life, some of the customs and beliefs are likely to be less prevalent; but some traditional families and most rural people are still very much influenced by traditional behaviour patterns, particularly in relation to teachers and submission to the head of the family.
The Extended Family System
Like almost all Eastern cultures, the Vietnamese society is based upon an extended family system, rather than on the smaller nuclear family as found in Western society.
As Vietnamese family tend to be large. Children are gifts from God - and may well be the old age pensions when a person gets old. There are many younger members to raise, support and educate.
Having extensive family connections is also one of the means by which the average family can sustain itself and provide opportunities for advancement for the children. Elder ones may look after the younger ones for instance. Grand-parents can look after younger grand-children rather than sending them to the almost non-existing child care centres. And in turn the elderly do not have to live by themselves or live in 'other' institutions.
For the Vietnamese, the family is the centre of the universe. Anything a Vietnamese does, he/ she does out of family consideration rather than for him/ herself. The Easterner cannot, and ought not to act freely, but must act in accord with his/ her parents, his/ her distant relatives, and his/ her fellow villagers etc., who are proud of his/her good deeds and ashamed of the bads ones.
His/ Her concern is not only to the living, ancestor worship encourages him/ her to consider how his/ her deceased forbears would view a particular action.
Ancestral spirits are regarded as always present to witness happenings in the family. Most Vietnamese are devotees of ancestor veneration, a custom which has origin from Confucian teachings; even the Vietnamese Catholic Church permits ancestor veneration as a cultural expression of the commandment to honour thy father and thy mother.
POPULAR CELEBRATIONS AND FESTIVALS
There are many popular festivals which are celebrated by every Vietnamese family. The major traditional feasts are: Tết Nguyên-Ðán [or the Lunar New Year]; the Ðoan-Ngọ Feast [the Fifth of May Festival]; The Vu-Lan [Wandering Souls' Day] and the Trung-Thu Festival [or the Mid-Autumn Festival for the children].
Tết Nguyên-Ðán [New Year Festival]
The most important of all festivals is The Nguyên-Ðán, i.e. the Lunar New Year's Day, or simply Tết. The festival marks the end of one lunar year and the beginning of another.
The festival starts seven days earlier when the Kitchen 'God', Ông Táo, leaves the house to report on the conduct of the family in Heaven.
Tet is both a gay and happy festival and yet also a solemn one, which is usually celebrated in the family for at least three days. It is also an occasion for the reunion of all members of the family as well as of the ancestral spirits.
Tết Trung Thu [Mid-Autumn Festival]
The Mid-Autumn Festival is a Festival for children and is celebrated on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month.
This is also a festival to celebrate the Moon. There are moon cakes and tea for the adults and moon cakes and coloured lanterns for the children, made of paper or cellophane for procession.
This festival is some what similar to the 'Halloween' which is celebrated by Americans on the night of the 31st of October each year.
KINSHIP TERMS USED AS PRONOUNS
The pronoun which a Vietnamese uses to call him/herself [i.e. 'I' or 'Me' in English] depends on whom he/ she is talking to, because this pronoun represents his/ her relationship with respect to the person he/ she is addressing.
To a parent I is CON. To elder brother or sister, it is EM.
To a younger brother or sister, it is ANH for a male, and CHỊ for a female.
To a grand-parent or uncle, or aunt, CHÁU.
On the other hand, to a child of your own, BA [Dad] or MÁ [Mum].
To a grand-child, ÔNG for Granddad, and BÀ for grandma, and
To a niece or nephew: CÔ [aunt] or CHÚ [uncle] or BÁC, etc ...
2nd-Person Pronouns [for English pronoun YOU]:
ÔNG if the 2nd Person is a gentleman, and
BÀ for a lady
CÔ a young lady [younger than 1st Person]
CẬU a young man [younger]
ANH a young man [younger or older]
CHỊ a young lady [elder]
EM a young child
CỤ an elderly person [male or female]
GREETINGS
CHÀO ÔNG/ BÀ/ CÔ/ CẬU... Good Morning/ Afternoon/ Evening
ÔNG/ BÀ... MẠNH CHÚ? How are you?
TÔI MẠNH, CÁM ƠN. I'm fine, Thank you.
CÒN ÔNG/ BÀ...? And you?
MẠNH LẮM, CÁM ƠN ÔNG/ BÀ... Very well, Thank you.
INTRODUCTION
ĐÂY LÀ BÁC SĨ NAM. This is Dr Nam.
ĐÂY LÀ CÔ THU. This is Miss Thu.
TÔI LÀ MỘT NGƯỜI ÚC. I'm an Australian.
TÔI LÀ NGƯỜI VIỆT NAM. I'm Vietnamese.
ÔNG/ BÀ CÓ BIẾT NÓI TIẾNG ANH KHÔNG? Do you speak English?
TÔI NÓI TIẾNG VIỆT ĐƯỢC. I can speak Vietnamese.
HÂN HẠNH ĐƯỢC GẶP ÔNG/ BÀ... How do you do.
TÔI MỪNG ĐƯỢC GẶP ÔNG/ BÀ... I'm glad to meet you.
GẶP ÔNG/ BÀ... SAU. See you later.
CHÀO ÔNG/ BÀ... Good Bye.
FACTS IN BRIEF
Location: South‑East Asia
North shares border with China
West with Laos and Cambodia
East & South with South China Sea
Shape: Letter S
Capital: Hanoi
Official Language: Vietnamese
Area: 332 559 square meters
Coastline: 2309 km
Longest distances North‑South: 1657 Km
East‑West: 612 Km
Shortest distance East‑West: 50 km
Elevation Highest: 3143 m above sea level
Lowest : sea level
Population: approx 87,5 million [2011]
Distribution : 60 % rural, 40% urban
Main products : Agricultural ‑ rice
Manufacturing ‑ cement, iron & steel, paper, textiles.
Mining ‑ coal
Money : Basic unit ‑ Ðồng
A$1 is equivalent to about 16,535 đồng (March 2016).
IMPORTANT DATES
111 B.C. Chinese conquered what is now northern Vietnam.
939 A.D. China ended its rule over Vietnam. Independence started.
1802 Emperor Nguyễn Ánh united the country and called it Vietnam.
1858‑1883 France took control of Vietnam.
1940‑1945 Japan controlled Vietnam during World War II.
1946 War began between France and Việt Minh
1954 Việt Minh defeated the French. The Geneva Conference divided Vietnam into two states. Vietnamese communists to the north of the 17 parallel, nationalists south.
1957 Communist terrorists began to attack vilages in South Vietnam. The fighting developed into the Vietnam War.
1973 U.S. paticipation in the Vietnam War ended.
1975 Vietnam war ended when north Vietnam took over the South on
April 30.
1976 Vietnamese communists unified North and South into one nation.
1977 Vietnam was admitted to the United Nations.
1978 Vietnam lent its armed forces to support Kampuchean rebels against the Pol Pot regime.
1979 Phnom Penh fell to the Vietnamese and their Kampuchean allies on January 7. On February 17, war with China on northern border issues. Conflict lasted 16 days.
Nov 1991 Withdrew army from Cambodia and started regaining normal relations with Communist China and regional and western countries.
Feb 1994 US abandoned its economic embargo against Vietnam.
BRIEF HISTORY
The name VIETNAM, meaning "Land [or People] of the South" came to Western use in 1946 to describe the Eastern part of French Indo-China from the Chinese border in the north to the Mekong Delta areas in the south. Much earlier it was called Nam‑Việt [Southern Land] by the Chinese, who conquered it in the 3rd century B.C. The people of Nam Việt were the ancestors of the present day ethnic Vietnamese, who belonged to a Mogoloid race. They have a recorded history of over 2000 years, during which they spread from north of the Red River Delta southward to the Mekong Delta.
By about the 3rd century B.C. they had established a kingdom called Tonkin, centred in the north. Tonkin was attacked repeatedly by tribes such as Thais, Mwong, Meo from Kwangtung Province in southern China and eventually was conquered by the Chinese whose cultural influence then extended over most of the area constituting modern Vietnam.
After 938 A.D., the country was ruled by three dynasties: the LÊ, the TRỊNH and the NGUYN. With French aid, reunification was achieved at the end of the 18th century by Emperor Gia‑Long [Nguyễn‑Ánh] in 1802. The capital was initially at Hanoi but was later transfered to Huế, in central Vietnam. With the advancing of technology early in the 17th century, European countries were looking for raw materials and markets for their products. Colonialism was born and the French took Vietnam as one of their colonies. This also marked the birth of the Vietnamese language when the French missionaries had tried to invent an alphabetic language in order to bring Christianity to Vietnam. Europeans, mainly French, had been trading with Hanoi since early in the 17th century. Gia‑Long successors tried to oust them by restricting trade and persecuting missionaries and converts. In retaliation, French took Saigon and occupied several provinces of the Mekong Delta in 1859, and Hanoi in 1873. From the 1860's, there was sporadic resistance to French rule and from the early 1900's nationalist movements began to gather strength. A Vietnam Communist Party was founded in 1930 under the leadership of Nguyễn‑Ái‑Quốc, who was later known as Hồ‑Chí‑Minh. Although Vietnam was occupiedby the Japanese in 1940, the French administration continued to operate until 1945.
In 1941, Hồ‑Chí‑Minh, who had long been in exile in China and elsewhere, returned to Vietnam and organised a revolutionary movement known as the Vietminh [which included non‑communist nationalists as well as communists, but was effectively dominated by the latter] to wage guerrilla warfare against the Japanese.
After the Japanese surrender, the Việt Minh proclaimed the establishment of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. Most of the non‑communist elements withdrew from the Việt Minh at this point.
In 1949, the French set up a nominally self‑governing State of Vietnam headed by Bảo‑Ðại, the former Emperor. The USA gave diplomatic recognition to the government and US aid followed.
The war continued between the French forces assisted the National Army of the State of Vietnam on the one hand and the Vietminh on the other. The French was defeated in 1954 at Ðiện‑Biên‑Phủ, North VN.
In July 1954, a peace agreement was signed in Geneva between 5 great powers. The French left Vietnam and the country was divided at the 17th parallel. North Vietnam under the control of the Vietminh and South Vietnam under the Government of the State of Vietnam.
After a referendum in the South in 1955, Ngô‑Ðình‑Diệm replaced Bảo‑Ðại as the Head of State and he remained the President of the Republic until 1963 when he was assassinated. There were several coups by military leaders and in 1965 General Nguyễn‑Văn‑Thiệu became the President.
In spite of the direct involvement of rapidly increasing number of American and allied forces, including Australian, the military situation in the war against the communist insurgence from the North deteriorated. The Communist advance continued until April 1975 when Saigon was occupied and the government surrendered.
Large numbers of refugees fled from South Vietnam and were admitted to the US and other western countries around the world, including Australia. And this is still going on, even after over 14 years; and now most of the refugees are from the north, who are classified as economic refugees rather than political ones, even though it is true that only until now that they have found a way to get away from the regime that they know that they can never tolerate.
ECONOMY
The economy of Vietnam was seriously disrupted by the war. The two halves of the country remain economically different, with the socialist system well established in the north, while in the south, a considerable amount of private enterprise was still permitted. Some moves, however, were made towards agricultural collectivisation. "New Economic Zones" had been set up in the south to increase the area under cultivation and to transfer the population from urban centres to the countryside.
The economy, especially in the south, is predominantly agricultural. The staple crop is rice. While considerable efforts are being made to increase agricultural output by mechanisation, production rose only 4% from 1965 to 1975, while population rose by 26% over the same period. This contributed to Vietnam's failure to become self‑sufficient in food.
Industry is mainly concentrated in the north. Although heavy bombing from 1965 to 1973 destroyed an estimated 70% of Vietnam's production capacity.
The principal industries are food‑processing, cement, metallurgy, chemicals, paper, [off shore] oil exploration by BP, coal and iron ore mining, engineering and textiles.
Due to bad management of the economy, compounded with unfavourable climatic conditions, Vietnam is now one of the poorest countries in the world with the average earning per head is only about 3,2 Million đồng or $A190 per year (Nov 2015).
Vietnamese economy has changed for the better since the abandonment of the US economic embargo as from February 1994.
ETHNIC COMPOSITION
The ethnic Vietnamese, who constitute about 80 per cent of the population of Vietnam, belong to a southern Mongoloid race. Minority groups include the Montagnards [tribesmen of the central highlands], the Chinese and the Khmer of the south.
A large percentage of the present Vietnamese population in Australia are ethnic Chinese.
LANGUAGE
Vietnamese, which is basically a mono-syllabic, non-inflective tonal language, is spoken by the majority of Vietnamese.
The Vietnamese language has been strongly influenced by the Chinese language. In the past, for nearly 2000 years it had been borrowing Chinese words. At present, about a quarter of the words in ordinary use are from Chinese. The first Vietnamese writing was similar to Chinese, i.e. with Chinese characters. Later Catholic missionaries invented a Roman transcription using a modified alphabet with accents for all phonetic distinctions and tones. This system became "The National Language" and is the Vietnamese language being used today.
During the period under the French domination, French was the official language and most educated Vietnamese were fluent in it. Since 1954, Vietnamese has been the official language for education and administration. Chinese is spoken by the ethnic Chinese population. English has been taught at high schools as a second language and has been widely used among young people and officials. Today, English is still gaining popularity.
There is a slight difference in the pronunciation and even the use of certain words between Vietnamese who come from the North, Central or South Vietnam. An example which foreigners to the language should take note when listening to a Southern Vietnamese is that he/she would pronounce V as /z/ rather than /v/ and interchange accents ? and ~.
NAMES AND FORMS OF ADDRESS
The Vietnamese way of writing names is in the reverse of the Australian name. A typical Vietnamese name has three words. For example:
NGUYỄN - VĂN - NAM
[family] [middle] [given]
In the above order [usually with hyphens], NGUYỄN, the family name comes first; VĂN, the middle name comes seconds [Văn is for a male and Thị or Kim is for a female]; and NAM, the given name comes last.
A Vietnamese would be addressed as "Mr Nam" which is equivalent to a "Mr Brown" when one addresses Mr David Brown in Australia. In other words, the use of a family name in Australia is equivalent to the use of a given name in Vietnam.
The use of the given name by itself only [similar to the use of a given name in English] NAM [or David] is permissible when a person is on a more friendly and intimate terms with, or at a higher rank than, the person he/she is talking to.
In Vietnamese, the usual form of address is the use of an appropriate personal pronoun, representing the level of relationship between the two persons concerned, preceeded by the polite word THƯA, where required only, with no mention of either family or given names.
Fig. 1 below shows the Kinship System of the Vietnamese extended family.
Great-grandparents: CỤ [ông & bà] and Great-grandchildren: CHẮT [trai & gái] are not included in the diagram.
MARRIAGE
Traditionally, marriage has been a family affair and arranged by the parents. Only recently have young people been given greater freedom, though for many this may simply mean the right to veto, not of independent choice. Astrology is a serious matter among ethnic Vietnamese when choosing a marriage partner. Adolescents are often not instructed by their parents in sexual matters, and may be ignorant and naive on these matters.
WOMEN
Traditionally, women are supposed to be subordinate to men in the family, but in real life, women in Vietnamese society enjoy much wider roles. The man may be the head of the household, but the skilful and perceptive wife understands enough practical psychology to have her ideas followed most of the time. Most husbands, even now, hand in almost all of their pay packets to their wives, for them to run the household!
CHILDREN
The Confucian concept that the main purpose of marriage is to ensure sufficient sons to perpetuate ancestor veneration is still followed by most Vietnamese families. Children are brought up to respect their parents, and elders; and to treat them with politeness, obedience and great reserve.
The major role in the maintenance of the home and the raising of children is with the mother, while the father is normally the bread-winner. Fathers assist in the raising of the children with their homeworks and overall education. Most grand-parents show their affection to their grand-children, and almost never punish or give them a hard time.
The Vietnamese children usually have considerable physical and emotional attention from their parents. This may be taken as a good or a bad point; since the child could become too dependent, even when they reach adolescence. This could be why Vietnamese youngsters are normally seen as less mature than those of the same age from western societies.
RELIGIONS
Most of the Vietnamese habits, customs and traditions are rooted in, and are conditioned by, religious beliefs. The main religions in Vietnam are Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Christianity and two indegenous sects Cao-Ðài and Hòa-Hảo. About two thirds of Vietnamese regard themselves as Buddhist, though only a small proportion practice their religion in an organised way. The Buddhism in Vietnam is of the Mahayana variety and has been strongly influenced by Confucianism.
Taoism ['Tao' means 'the way'] was essentially a philosophy of passivity, Chinese in origin, characterised by the ideal of 'wu-wei' [meaning 'no action'] and an emphasis on simplicity, selflessness, frugality, tranquillity, and accord with nature.
Confucianism [Confucius 551-479 B.C.] is a philosophy of social order which venerates status, age, obedience [to the superiors, parents, husbands ...] and virtue.
Christianity was introduced into Vietnam in the 16th century by Catholic missionaries from France, Spain and Portugal. The number of Catholics in South Vietnam in 1975 was about 2 millions. The main Protestant church in Vietnam is the Baptist Church.
Cao-Ðài originated early in the 20th century. It is a mixture of Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism and Christianity. Hòa-Hảo is a Buddhist sect which was founded in 1909 in the village of Hòa-Hảo in the Mekong Delta, in South Vietnam.
The ideals of Confucianism have played an important part in the Vietnamese ways of life. The virtues of filial piety and obedience are still the basis of ancestor worship, and support an extended family system in which age is the basis of authority. This could well be the reason why some found it more at home with Christianity while living in a westernised society, where the idea of an extended family does not exist as such, and where emphasis is put to the individual rather than to the family; and also to the practical side of life, rather than to the idealistic side of religion.
FAMILY, SOCIETY AND CUSTOMS
Social Order
Before the introduction of Christianity, Vietnam owned a purely oriental culture. The social order in Vietnam was based on three basic relationships: King-Subject, Teacher-Student and Father-Son.
Total submission and loyalty are expected from the latter in each relationship.
Nowadays, under the influence of the affluent western ways of life, some of the customs and beliefs are likely to be less prevalent; but some traditional families and most rural people are still very much influenced by traditional behaviour patterns, particularly in relation to teachers and submission to the head of the family.
The Extended Family System
Like almost all Eastern cultures, the Vietnamese society is based upon an extended family system, rather than on the smaller nuclear family as found in Western society.
As Vietnamese family tend to be large. Children are gifts from God - and may well be the old age pensions when a person gets old. There are many younger members to raise, support and educate.
Having extensive family connections is also one of the means by which the average family can sustain itself and provide opportunities for advancement for the children. Elder ones may look after the younger ones for instance. Grand-parents can look after younger grand-children rather than sending them to the almost non-existing child care centres. And in turn the elderly do not have to live by themselves or live in 'other' institutions.
For the Vietnamese, the family is the centre of the universe. Anything a Vietnamese does, he/ she does out of family consideration rather than for him/ herself. The Easterner cannot, and ought not to act freely, but must act in accord with his/ her parents, his/ her distant relatives, and his/ her fellow villagers etc., who are proud of his/her good deeds and ashamed of the bads ones.
His/ Her concern is not only to the living, ancestor worship encourages him/ her to consider how his/ her deceased forbears would view a particular action.
Ancestral spirits are regarded as always present to witness happenings in the family. Most Vietnamese are devotees of ancestor veneration, a custom which has origin from Confucian teachings; even the Vietnamese Catholic Church permits ancestor veneration as a cultural expression of the commandment to honour thy father and thy mother.
POPULAR CELEBRATIONS AND FESTIVALS
There are many popular festivals which are celebrated by every Vietnamese family. The major traditional feasts are: Tết Nguyên-Ðán [or the Lunar New Year]; the Ðoan-Ngọ Feast [the Fifth of May Festival]; The Vu-Lan [Wandering Souls' Day] and the Trung-Thu Festival [or the Mid-Autumn Festival for the children].
Tết Nguyên-Ðán [New Year Festival]
The most important of all festivals is The Nguyên-Ðán, i.e. the Lunar New Year's Day, or simply Tết. The festival marks the end of one lunar year and the beginning of another.
The festival starts seven days earlier when the Kitchen 'God', Ông Táo, leaves the house to report on the conduct of the family in Heaven.
Tet is both a gay and happy festival and yet also a solemn one, which is usually celebrated in the family for at least three days. It is also an occasion for the reunion of all members of the family as well as of the ancestral spirits.
Tết Trung Thu [Mid-Autumn Festival]
The Mid-Autumn Festival is a Festival for children and is celebrated on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month.
This is also a festival to celebrate the Moon. There are moon cakes and tea for the adults and moon cakes and coloured lanterns for the children, made of paper or cellophane for procession.
This festival is some what similar to the 'Halloween' which is celebrated by Americans on the night of the 31st of October each year.
KINSHIP TERMS USED AS PRONOUNS
The pronoun which a Vietnamese uses to call him/herself [i.e. 'I' or 'Me' in English] depends on whom he/ she is talking to, because this pronoun represents his/ her relationship with respect to the person he/ she is addressing.
To a parent I is CON. To elder brother or sister, it is EM.
To a younger brother or sister, it is ANH for a male, and CHỊ for a female.
To a grand-parent or uncle, or aunt, CHÁU.
On the other hand, to a child of your own, BA [Dad] or MÁ [Mum].
To a grand-child, ÔNG for Granddad, and BÀ for grandma, and
To a niece or nephew: CÔ [aunt] or CHÚ [uncle] or BÁC, etc ...
2nd-Person Pronouns [for English pronoun YOU]:
ÔNG if the 2nd Person is a gentleman, and
BÀ for a lady
CÔ a young lady [younger than 1st Person]
CẬU a young man [younger]
ANH a young man [younger or older]
CHỊ a young lady [elder]
EM a young child
CỤ an elderly person [male or female]
GREETINGS
CHÀO ÔNG/ BÀ/ CÔ/ CẬU... Good Morning/ Afternoon/ Evening
ÔNG/ BÀ... MẠNH CHÚ? How are you?
TÔI MẠNH, CÁM ƠN. I'm fine, Thank you.
CÒN ÔNG/ BÀ...? And you?
MẠNH LẮM, CÁM ƠN ÔNG/ BÀ... Very well, Thank you.
INTRODUCTION
ĐÂY LÀ BÁC SĨ NAM. This is Dr Nam.
ĐÂY LÀ CÔ THU. This is Miss Thu.
TÔI LÀ MỘT NGƯỜI ÚC. I'm an Australian.
TÔI LÀ NGƯỜI VIỆT NAM. I'm Vietnamese.
ÔNG/ BÀ CÓ BIẾT NÓI TIẾNG ANH KHÔNG? Do you speak English?
TÔI NÓI TIẾNG VIỆT ĐƯỢC. I can speak Vietnamese.
HÂN HẠNH ĐƯỢC GẶP ÔNG/ BÀ... How do you do.
TÔI MỪNG ĐƯỢC GẶP ÔNG/ BÀ... I'm glad to meet you.
GẶP ÔNG/ BÀ... SAU. See you later.
CHÀO ÔNG/ BÀ... Good Bye.