The Arabic translation of the history of Dien Bien Phu is a special project that was launched during Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's visit to Algeria on November 19th.
"The unique path" of a San Diu ethnic girl.
Ms. Pham Thi Thuy Van (36 years old) is currently the Head of the Department of Arabic Language and Culture at the University of Foreign Languages (Vietnam National University, Hanoi ). She is responsible for teaching and is a professional interpreter at many international events.
In addition, Ms. Van has developed a YouTube channel in Arabic to introduce Vietnam to the international community and share her travels to many countries. To date, she has visited approximately 20 countries with many memorable experiences.
Ms. Pham Thi Thuy Van served as the interpreter for General Secretary To Lam during his meeting with Mr. Azzam al-Ahmad, Secretary General of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization.
PHOTO: PROVIDED BY THE SUBJECT
Van was born into a San Diu ethnic minority family but grew up in the city. "From a young age, I felt I was a little different from my peers. My family always encouraged me to pursue something truly special, and that's how I came to learn Arabic," Van shared.
According to the head of the department, when she chose her major, information about the Arab world in Vietnamese was very limited, mostly focusing on conflict and instability. "When I mentioned I was studying Arabic, some people even asked questions that made me very embarrassed. I didn't dare introduce myself as studying this major," Ms. Vân recounted.
The turning point came when she had the opportunity to study in Egypt. Direct exposure to Arab culture gave her a comprehensive and positive perspective. “When I truly understood it, I genuinely fell in love with the culture and people there. From then on, I could proudly say that I am an Arabic speaker.”
Initially, Van's YouTube channel was in Vietnamese, aiming to introduce Vietnamese people to her travels to Arab countries. However, those trips were interrupted during the Covid-19 pandemic, so she decided to switch to creating content in Arabic to introduce Vietnam to an Arab audience. She realized that Arabs often only knew about Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand when it came to Southeast Asian tourism, not Vietnam.
"Vietnam is also very beautiful. If the content is told in the language they understand best, Vietnam will be more familiar and accessible," Ms. Van shared.
Pioneering steps by young people
In her journey to bring Vietnamese culture and history closer to the Arabic-speaking community, the most important milestone for Ms. Pham Thi Thuy Van was the project of translating General Vo Nguyen Giap's book "Dien Bien Phu" into Arabic.
The meeting between Ms. Thuy Van and Mr. Vo Hong Nam, son of General Vo Nguyen Giap, took place at the General's private residence.
PHOTO: PROVIDED BY THE SUBJECT
The opportunity arose when her group connected with Mr. Vo Hong Nam, the son of General Vo Nguyen Giap. During his visits to Algeria, Mr. Nam noticed the special affection the people there had for the General and their desire for an official translation of the book "Dien Bien Phu" into Arabic. Because of a promise to the Algerian President, in September 2025, Mr. Nam contacted Ms. Van's group and offered to complete the translation in about a month and a half.
"Time was very tight, and this was my first time translating a history book, so I was very nervous. But I couldn't miss such an opportunity," she recalled.
The translation team consisted of three young people: Ms. Vân, Ms. Lê Thị Khuyên (36 years old, lecturer in the Department of Arabic Language and Culture), and Ms. Nguyễn Linh Chi (33 years old, Deputy Head of the Department of Arabic Language and Culture). The team faced numerous challenges due to tight deadlines, a lack of military background, the absence of Arabic equivalents for many terms, the need for independent historical research, consultation of documents in other languages, and support from the Palestinian Ambassador Saadi Salama and other Arabic experts.
Ms. Vân shared: “Some terms like 'division' or 'fortified group' don't exist in Arabic, so our group had to research English and French to find the closest terms. There were times when we were the ones who coined the first Arabic terms for Vietnamese military concepts during the resistance against the French.”
The book was launched during Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's visit to Algeria.
PHOTO: PROVIDED BY THE SUBJECT
A group of three girls translated a history book about Dien Bien Phu into Arabic.
PHOTO: PROVIDED BY THE SUBJECT
On November 19th, although she couldn't attend the book launch due to Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's visit to the Veterans Museum in Algeria, Ms. Van still felt a sense of pride following the event in the press. Shortly afterward, friends from Algeria and Morocco contacted her to inquire about purchasing the book, even though the first print run was only enough to give to cultural institutions.
"Many researchers or students working on their master's theses have contacted me with numerous questions. I think this is a very good start for future projects," Ms. Vân shared proudly.
For Ms. Vân, the greatest significance of the project lies in the direct translation from Vietnamese. For a long time, many documents on Vietnamese history in the Arab world have been translated indirectly from French or English, leading to a distorted perspective. “The Arabic translation will be a primary source of authoritative material, especially important in the future when French is no longer widely spoken and they will return to using their mother tongue,” she said.
Besides "Dien Bien Phu ," the group has completed the translation of a work by the late General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, scheduled for release in early 2026. "Very few Vietnamese books have been translated into Arabic, and very few people learn Arabic to do this work. What we've done may not be perfect, but it will be a very valuable resource for our international friends," Van confided.
Although they understand that being a pioneer always comes with debate and risks, the translation team hopes that this work will be the first building block, inspiring young people to continue bringing Vietnamese culture and history closer to the Arab world.
The role of inspiring the next generation.
Besides wanting to introduce Vietnamese culture and history to the world, Ms. Van also hopes to inspire the younger generation with her Arabic language skills. As an instructor teaching Arabic speaking and interpretation, she has a very clear principle: if she wants her students to be confident, the instructor must be the one to demonstrate it first.
She shared: "I can't hide my love for the Arabic language, and I pass that love on to my students. My youthful and cheerful approach often leads them to use my images and catchy phrases in their presentations."
Ms. Vân understands that students' biggest fear when learning a foreign language is the fear of making mistakes. Therefore, she proactively created a YouTube channel and spoke in Arabic in front of the camera as a way to prove that courage always begins with daring to try.
To ensure students' holistic development, Ms. Van always considers understanding them to be crucial. Young people are sometimes overly confident or easily discouraged when faced with difficulties, so lecturers need to keep up with social media trends to better support and guide them. She always advises: "Just experience things. If it's not dangerous for yourself or society, then try it. Accept mistakes. The most important thing is to persevere. Don't give up."
This approach not only helps students improve their language skills but also inspires them to confidently explore new opportunities, much like her own journey of learning Arabic and promoting Vietnamese history to the world.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/nu-truong-khoa-dua-lich-su-viet-nam-ra-the-gioi-bang-tieng-a-rap-185251205200257835.htm
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