Many learners find Vietnamese personal pronouns so annoying. While there are only “I” and “you” in English, Vietnamese language is much more difficult, with so many personal pronouns depending on who you are talking to. But let’s think about it.

It is the very first lesson not only about language but also about culture that learners should learn if they want to move forward in Vietnamese language.

Personal pronouns help to show respect.
Vietnamese – a language in which you cannot say hello without telling your listener exactly what you think about them, and how to address them properly (chào em, chào anh, chào chị, chào ông, chào bà, …). Without saying terms such as “please”, you can still let people know your respect to them by the way you address them.
When I speak English with native speakers, no matter how old they are, I feel that we are on the same level, not so difference in age. Why? Because of their personal pronouns (“I” and “you”). English language treats the speakers and listeners the same. “You” can be used to address an old lady, a man, a woman, a girl, or even a kid, … On the other hand, diversity of personal pronouns in Vietnamese reminds us about how much the age gap is between two people. When I say “chào cô”, I have a thought in my mind that I am treating her like my mom or my auntie in our conversation. When I say “Dạo này mày đẹp quá!” (You are so beautiful these days), I know that we are very close and I am treating her like my close friend.

Personal pronouns help to show friendliness
In Vietnamese, a pronoun usually confers a degree of family relationship or kinship. For instance, ”anh” is your older brother. You also say “anh” to any one you know who is the same or similar age to your older brother. “Bà” is grandma, and of course, you can say “chào bà” to an old lady you meet somewhere in your life, because in your mind, you are distinctly treating her like your grandma. The coziness comes easily to you by choosing proper personal pronouns.
Only “chào” is thought to be rude in Vietnamese. It should be “chào + personal pronoun”

Personal pronouns help to show that you care about them.
Let’s think about “cám ơn” and “xin lỗi”.  Vietnamese people prefer “cám ơn anh” and “xin lỗi anh” to saying “cám ơn” and “xin lỗi”. When you want to thank somebody, saying “cám ơn anh” lets people know that you care about them, care about who you say thanks to, not just “thanks” as a routine.

Does it sound funny when a Vietnamese has to study Vietnamese? What will they study? Why do they have to study mother tongue?

Many Viet Kieu return to Vietnam for many purposes (doing business, working, traveling, visiting their family, studying, or just to know where they come from, etc). No matter what reasons, when the learning inspiration inside them becomes strong enough, they decide to learn their mother tongue.

To me, Viet Kieu is quite a special type of students who need more specifically designed curriculum for Vietnamese learning. Although currently there are not wide variety of sources of learning Vietnamese language, some books on the market are somehow useful depending on what you need. But the materials for Viet Kieu are not much, and if there are any, they are not very instructional.

These are the reasons why Viet Kieu need a different teaching approach:

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Many Americans participated in the Vietnam War. I am not going to mention the war in this article, but want to discuss the learning of the Vietnamese language. Have you ever wondered that if American soldiers could speak some Vietnamese through the war time when they were very close to Vietnamese people? Or wondered if the Vietnamese language was too difficult for them to study?

If you want to run business effectively in one country, you have to understand that country culture, language, geography, and history). Similarly, American were supposed to understand Vietnam in order to fight in this land.

Where did American soldiers learn Vietnamese in the war?

Not many American soldiers took the official Vietnamese classes because they were not based in one place. The military life meant travelling throughout the country to all regions. Just some American military personnel were given some Vietnamese lessons to help them speak and understand some basic Vietnamese. Those courses were usually 6 weeks long. Some senior personnel who were advisors or communication specialists took Vietnamese courses, which were 35 weeks or 47 weeks long.  The 35-week course was Saigon dialect, and the 47-week course was Hanoi dialect, and there were Vietnamese professors who provided the instruction. The teachers were rotated every two weeks, so the students would hear various dialects and the differences in male and female speakers. The communications specialists were taught to listen to the radio broadcasts in Vietnamese.

In general, most soldiers and sailors had no language training. They learned a few words and phrases, as they needed them, for their work and off duty time.

What was the technique of the Army’s Defense Language Institute?

Over learning!

Students were exposed more than they could possibly remember. Therefore, what they did remember was embedded in their mind forever.

Even at universities, learners followed a method devised for special troops dropped into the China, Burma and India theaters of the World War II.

Learners drilled with a native speaker under the supervision of an academic linguist who might not speak the language at all. It worked because the Army selected students who were good with puzzles, remembering sounds, and having musical ability. 


Great thanks to Pete Young for helping me write this post. He used to be a soldier in Vietnam from 1967 to 1973. You may not know this fact: he still remembers quite a lot of Vietnamese although it's over 40 years since he left Vietnam.