Preserving online culture through Vietnamese domain names.

Promoting the use of Vietnamese email addresses and domain names with diacritics is not just a technical solution, but is being recognized as a core strategy to protect national cultural identity in cyberspace.

Protecting the "soul" of the nation in cyberspace.

This was the central message delivered at the "Asia-Pacific Regional Multilingual Domain Name Universal Acceptance Workshop" (UA Day 2026), organized by the Vietnam Internet Center (VNNIC) on April 17 in Hanoi .

According to UNESCO statistics, current internet infrastructure still relies heavily on the Latin alphabet. Nearly 90% of online content is produced in only 12 languages, with English accounting for almost half. This imbalance is putting thousands of local languages ​​at risk of disappearing in the digital age.

Mr. Nguyen Truong Giang, Acting Director of VNNIC, shared at the event.

Photo: Contributor

Mr. Nguyen Truong Giang, Acting Director of VNNIC, emphasized that the most important reason for popularizing Vietnamese domain names is the preservation of the national language. "In cyberspace, without the presence of our mother tongue, our cultural identity will gradually fade," Mr. Giang shared.

Allowing users to directly type domain names with diacritics (for example, bánhmì.vn instead of banhmi.vn) is an important step in asserting digital sovereignty and maintaining the richness and sophistication of the Vietnamese language on a global platform.

Removing language barriers related to Vietnamese domain names.

Besides cultural factors, Vietnamese domain names directly address the issue of digital inequality. Currently, a large segment of the population, especially those in rural and mountainous areas or disadvantaged groups, still face significant obstacles due to English language proficiency when accessing technology.

Representatives from the International Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) pointed out that typing and recognizing brands in one's native language makes accessing information much faster and easier for people. Instead of having to remember English phrases or words without diacritics that can easily cause confusion, people can directly access online public services, educational portals, or local business websites in their everyday language.

To achieve this goal, VNNIC is actively implementing programs to provide free Vietnamese domain names with the extensions "id.vn" and "biz.vn" to young people and businesses, creating a habit of accessing the digital environment in the most natural way.

Despite its significant benefits, the roadmap for popularizing Vietnamese domain names still faces two major challenges. Technically, while platforms like Microsoft offer good support, Google's email system (Gmail) currently only supports sending and receiving emails, not creating accounts directly using domain names with diacritics. From a user perspective, the habit of typing without diacritics in browser address bars is deeply ingrained and will take time to change.

To solve this problem, VNNIC is implementing a dual strategy: On the one hand, it is promoting and encouraging government agencies to use Vietnamese domain names for public services to make them easier for citizens to use; on the other hand, it is proactively working with global technology giants to upgrade its technical systems. The ultimate goal is to ensure that all citizens and businesses can enjoy the benefits of the digital economy without language barriers.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/bao-ton-van-hoa-tren-mang-tu-ten-mien-tieng-viet-185260418090438869.htm