Unique village in Phu Xuyen, speaking in the language of Van Lang-Au Lac period, strangers need an interpreter

This is a village in Phu Xuyen, the only village in Vietnam today that still uses the ancient language in daily communication.

Unique ancient language in Da Chat village

Distance from Hanoi capital center   About 40km away, Da Chat village (Dai Xuyen commune, Phu Xuyen district) is a unique village in the capital that is preserving an ancient language. Although the villagers are all Kinh, they have their own language to communicate, which is very difficult to understand for those who are not villagers. Although the origin of this language has not been clearly identified, for the people of Da Chat, this "strange language" is still considered a treasure passed down from generation to generation.

Da Chat village, located between the confluence of Luong and Nhue rivers, is considered the “big brother” of Dai Xuyen commune, with the peaceful features typical of the suburban countryside with ancient communal houses, pagodas and temples. Coming to the village, you will feel like you are lost in another world , where people use their own language to communicate. If you are not a local, you will need an “interpreter” to understand.

Da Chat village gate. Photo: People's Police

The unique language that the Da Chat people use is extremely rich and hardly borrows words from other places. Not only is it rich in vocabulary, this language – which many consider a type of “slang” – is also very expressive.

According to some people who are knowledgeable and interested in this language, there is an opinion that this could be a language from the Van Lang - Au Lac period that is still left. For example, to refer to a superior or a person of high status, the Da Chat people use the word "chóp bu" - a word that has become popular in modern language today, often used to refer to people of high status in society.

Another word is “xâng xoa,” which is used by the Da Chat people to describe the act of approaching with force, even violence, to do something that another person does not want. Today, this word is also used in common language to describe similar behavior. In addition, the Da Chat people also use the word “xâng” in combination with other sounds to form conversational phrases such as “xâng vu” (building mortar), “xâng dia” (farming), “xâng bet” (building a house).

To refer to beauty, the Da Chat people use the word “choáng.” For example, “bết sáng” (beautiful house), “nhất sáng” (beautiful girl)… And today, people still use this word to refer to things that are stunningly beautiful, such as: “She looks stunning”, “He has a stunning house”…

Not only symbolic and creating associations, the village's counting system was also formed with its own counting methods and not borrowed. "Nhat" (one), "nhi" (two), "tham" (three), "cho" (four), "dau" (five)... ten is "lap." "Lai lap" (twenty), "tham lap" (thirty)... "bich" (one hundred), "bich wide" (one thousand)...

Even some modern items have been translated into their own language by the locals, such as: "sưận nhật" (clock), "sưận mo" (car), "sưận Trì" (ship), "sưận xì thiên" (airplane).

The true origin of the Da Chat village language

Sharing with the People's Police newspaper, Mr. Nguyen Van Doan (born in 1939), an elder in the village, said: "According to the genealogical records of Da Chat village, this is the place to worship Trung Thanh Dai Vuong, also known as Tho Lenh Truong - a commanding general under the Hung King. He was the third son of the Hao Truong of Hong Giang (Red River) region, named Dao Cong Bot - who is considered the ancestor of an ancient language."

During the war between the Thuc Dynasty and King Hung, after winning, he held a feast to reward his troops. At that time, people had to put in a lot of effort to produce rice. Loving the people, he was concerned and decided to invent a mill to help them. The mill making profession has since been passed down through many generations, and to protect the secret of the profession, the craftsmen created this mysterious language.

Mr. Nguyen Van Doan (right) talks about the ancient language of Da Chat village. Photo: People's Police

Associate Professor Dr. Vu Duc Nghieu, a linguistics researcher and lecturer, confirmed in Nguoi Dua Tin Newspaper: "The language of Da Chat village is a form of community dialect. This dialect often includes words with distinct meanings, used to keep secrets within a social group, which can be divided by profession or locality. In this case, the professional dialect has become the common language of the village, originating from the millers, and then passed on to those who do not work in the profession."

Currently, the most suitable hypothesis is that this could be an ancient language, possibly the Van Lang - Au Lac language. Moreover, the people of Da Chat village also passed down a saying: "Born in Bach Hac, died in Ba Luong."

According to the village’s covenant, this ancient language is not only a part of the village’s soul but also a spiritual heritage, a language that our ancestors have painstakingly preserved for centuries. Therefore, although located near other villages such as Co Trai, Thuong Xuyen, Thai Lai, Kieu Dong, Kieu Doai, the residents of these villages do not understand or speak this ancient language.

This ancient language is considered a "treasure" of Da Chat village, Dai Xuyen commune, Phu Xuyen, Hanoi in particular and of the whole nation in general. Therefore, the preservation and conservation of this unique language needs to be respected and promoted.

Source: https://danviet.vn/lang-doc-la-o-phu-xuyen-noi-chuyen-bang-ngon-ngu-thoi-van-lang-au-lac-nguoi-la-can-phien-dich-20250114132659345.htm