Honoring Vietnamese language abroad

Along with the growth of the Vietnamese community abroad, the position of Vietnamese is increasingly appreciated in other countries. This is partly due to the silent and persistent contributions of the community and foreigners who love Vietnamese in maintaining and developing the official language of Vietnam in the international environment.

Honoring the Vietnamese Ambassadors.

The silent "messengers"

Born in a poor rural area in the northern part of Laos, without much contact with Vietnamese people or the Vietnamese language, Lanny Phetnion has a strong passion for Vietnamese. In grade 12, when she was awarded a scholarship from the National University of Laos for winning a high prize in a district-level excellent student competition, she decided to enroll in a Vietnamese major, despite many people's dissuasion.

“Many people ask me why I learn Vietnamese, and whether I will use it after I learn it. However, because of my love for Vietnamese, I still decided to learn this foreign language,” said Lanny, when she came to Vietnam to attend the closing ceremony of the Vietnamese Language Honor Day 2024 and the Gala Program “Dear Vietnamese”, organized by the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese (NVNONN), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam in coordination with other organizations on September 8, on the occasion of the Vietnamese Language Honor Day in the NVNONN community.

After 5 years of studying, Vietnamese has become as familiar as Lanny's mother tongue. Currently, she is a lecturer at the Vietnamese Language Department, National University of Laos. In addition, she opened a Vietnamese language center, worked as a Vietnamese news presenter at Lao National Television, provided translation support for many Vietnamese delegations visiting and working in Laos, and hosted Lao-Vietnamese programs for events. She also set up Vietnamese language teaching channels on social networks, compiled Vietnamese language textbooks for not only Lao people but also foreigners in Laos who share the same passion. Actively spreading the beauty of Vietnamese lifestyle, customs and practices to those around her, Lanny said that this is also a way for her to contribute to fostering the special friendship between Laos and Vietnam.

Meanwhile, Dr. Nguyen The Duong's commitment to teaching and learning Vietnamese in a foreign environment comes from his time as a graduate student in Australia, when he realized that many Vietnamese parents in Australia want their children to preserve their Vietnamese language. "Preserving Vietnamese means preserving the children's ties to their roots," said Mr. Duong, explaining the reason for organizing free Vietnamese classes for Vietnamese children living near his home.

Realizing that teaching Vietnamese to NVNONN children still lacked textbooks and teaching methods, since the end of 2016, Dr. Nguyen The Duong and two colleagues compiled a book series called “My Vietnamese”. In 2019, the book series was published and by 2021, it was awarded the Second Prize, the highest prize in the Contest for Compiling Books and Teaching and Learning Materials for NVNONN organized by the Ministry of Education and Training .

Ceremony to honor Vietnamese language and open Vietnamese bookcase in France in July 2024.

Mr. Duong said: “This is the first set of textbooks to teach Vietnamese as a second language, not a first language. Because children are born and raised abroad, the first language they speak is the language used in that country. With this approach, we compiled the book series in an easy-to-learn direction. Thanks to that, the book series is very popular not only in Australia but also in other countries, and is very positively received by students, teachers, and parents.”

After “My Vietnamese” was released, Mr. Nguyen The Duong brought the book series to Australia and, together with a colleague, opened the school “Love Vietnamese”, which specializes in teaching Vietnamese to NVNONN children through online learning. To date, the school has attracted thousands of students from more than 30 countries and territories, from the US, Australia, UK, France, Germany, Japan to places with very few Vietnamese people living such as Guinea, Cameroon, Saudi Arabia to register to study. Among them, there are also foreigners who love and want to learn Vietnamese.

Lanny Phetnion and Dr. Nguyen The Duong are 2 of 5 people receiving the title of "Vietnamese Ambassador" in the 2024 Competition to find Vietnamese Ambassadors in the NVNONN community.

On June 11, 2024, the Board of Supervisors of the City and County of San Francisco, California (USA) passed a resolution deciding that Vietnamese will be used as one of the official languages of this city, along with English, Chinese, Spanish and Filipino. This is a premise for recognizing Vietnamese as an official administrative language in other places with a large Vietnamese population.

Spread Vietnamese language to all five continents

In 2022, the Prime Minister approved the Project on Vietnamese Language Honor Day in the NVNONN community for the period 2023 - 2030. This is considered a breakthrough in the work of maintaining and developing Vietnamese language in the NVNONN community, creating an important driving force to promote teaching and learning activities and meet the aspirations and practical needs of the community.

According to the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese, after 2 years of implementation, the Project has received much attention from agencies, unions, social organizations, the business community and especially the response of overseas Vietnamese. In particular, the Vietnamese community in many countries has actively coordinated with representative agencies to organize activities in response to the Vietnamese Language Honor Day such as establishing specialized Vietnamese Language Committees in associations; opening new or expanding the scale of Vietnamese language schools and classes... Especially the series of activities on the Vietnamese Language Honor Day and the Contest to find Vietnamese Language Ambassadors in the Overseas Vietnamese Community. After 2 years of organization, the contest has selected and honored 10 Vietnamese Language Ambassadors in different locations and ages.

According to Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Chairwoman of the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese Le Thi Thu Hang, the existence and development of a sustainable community depends on maintaining the original language and culture. Therefore, the “Vietnamese language ambassadors” are a team of teachers, including non-professionals, who volunteer to teach Vietnamese in places where Vietnamese people live, contributing to building the foundation for the Overseas Vietnamese community through preserving and promoting the Vietnamese language. This not only helps the younger generation maintain connections with their roots, but also creates conditions for stronger ties between members of the community.

The results achieved in the implementation of the Project on Honoring Vietnamese Language in the Vietnamese Community for the period 2023 - 2030 in the past time affirm that the correct policy of the State, the consensus and cooperation of society, especially the Vietnamese community, will create a spreading effect of the noble values of the national language and culture, not only in the Vietnamese community but also to international friends, contributing to creating the "soft power" of Vietnam.

Article and photos: HA DUNG

Source: https://nhandan.vn/ton-vinh-tieng-viet-o-nuoc-ngoai-post831095.html