Westerner speaks Quang Nam accent 'like the wind' and the surprising story behind it

The Westerner who is causing a stir with his ability to speak Vietnamese with a distinctive Quang Nam accent is Ben, an Australian currently living in Perth. However, he prefers people to call him by his Vietnamese name, Minh Quan.

Westerners learn "advanced Vietnamese"

The clips of the Australian guy speaking Quang Nam accent mainly record daily communication moments, about the process of learning Vietnamese or interacting with people on social networks. Minh Quan speaks Vietnamese fluently and has clear pronunciation.

Anh Quan married a Vietnamese woman and made a strong impression when he spoke Vietnamese with a Quang Nam accent.

PHOTO: NVCC

Most of the above clips received a huge number of views. Netizens left comments, expressing their delight and excitement at seeing a Westerner speak Vietnamese with a Quang Nam accent for the first time. Some jokingly said that he was learning "advanced Vietnamese".

Sharing with Thanh Nien , the Australian guy is still surprised and happy to receive great attention from many Vietnamese people. "But I don't think I speak well. Other Westerners speak much better than me. Just like other skills, I have to practice a lot, love it and have passion for it to get better," he commented on his Vietnamese speaking ability.

Minh Quan said he has been studying Vietnamese for about 6-7 years. He studied with several different teachers for about a year, then studied on his own. His first two teachers were from the North. However, he studied Vietnamese the most with a teacher from the Central region.

The reason he opened a social media channel to share clips in Vietnamese is to practice this ability. Besides, he also learned Vietnamese through watching comedy, especially from comedians like Truong Giang, who is his idol.

"The hardest part was when I first started learning, there weren't many materials. I had to study for a long time before I could speak with Vietnamese people. I'm especially fond of regional accents, especially the Central region. When I get here, I want to learn the Hue accent as well. But first, I have to practice the Quang Nam accent well, because every time I speak, I have to concentrate a lot, otherwise I'll lose my accent," he shared with a laugh.

Love with Vietnamese wife

Talking about his Vietnamese name, Minh Quan said that his Vietnamese wife (Ms. Trang, 32 years old) chose it for him. He said she is from Da Nang , the two have known each other since 2017 and got married in 2019.

Anh Quan (right) and friends at an event of the Vietnamese community in Australia. PHOTO: CAO AN BIEN

"During my time in Da Nang, I spent a lot of time with my wife's family. What I remember most are the happy memories of eating and drinking with my father-in-law and everyone else. My wife and I currently live in Australia," he added.

Ms. Trang highly appreciates her husband's ability to speak Vietnamese. Although she is not the one who teaches him Vietnamese, she still occasionally communicates with him in Vietnamese. When he has questions, she will explain them to him so that he can understand better.

Ms. Trang commented that Mr. Minh Quan is a humorous, kind and thoughtful husband and father, who always loves his wife and children. In addition, the fact that he loves and respects his wife's family, learns about Vietnamese culture and customs, and always integrates with all family rituals makes her feel lucky to have a husband like him.

Currently, in addition to his main job as a manager of a high-end wine and food store, he is also a content creator on social media. At the same time, he always tries to learn Vietnamese and spend time with his wife and son. Minh Quan and his wife said that although they are in Australia, they always miss their extended family in Vietnam.