Vietnamese French (dialect)
Encyclopedia
Vietnamese French is a dialect of French
spoken in Vietnam
. Vietnam is the largest of the three Francophone nations in Asia, the others being Laos
and Cambodia
, and the language is spoken by over 5% of the population and sometimes used in international relations.
coast. When the French replaced the Portuguese as the primary European power in Southeast Asia in the 1850s by attacking and conquering Vietnamese cities, they introduced the French language to locals. French became the governing language of French Indochina
, which included present-day Vietnam, Laos
and Cambodia
. Many Vietnamese began learning French, which replaced the native Vietnamese
and royal court Chinese
languages and eventually the Vietnamese language's official script was in the Latin Alphabet
. The building of missionary and government schools spread the French language among educated Vietnamese and soon became the language of the elite classes by the end of the 1800s. By the early 1900s, the French language began spreading to the urban masses and became the primary language of education. A French pidgin called Tây Bồi was developed among Vietnamese servants in French households and those who spoke partial French. Nevertheless, at the French language's height in Vietnam between the 1900s and 1940s, a large number of Vietnamese did not speak French well or learn the language and some revolutionaries refused to learn the colonial language, though ironically speeches and papers written to promote independence were written in French. During World War II
, Japan briefly occupied Vietnam and established Vietnamese as the sole official and educational language.
The French language in Vietnam slowly began to decline after World War II as revolutionary movements increased and their works began to be written more in Vietnamese. Poorer and generally, more rural populations began to resist French rule and guerrilla forces, the Viet Minh
attacked the French and sparked the First Indochina War
. The French language however, continued its presence in government, education and media in urban and semi-urban areas not held by the Viet Minh. By the early 1950s, the war had become unpopular in France and French forces were losing to guerrilla forces. At the Battle of Dien Bien Phu
, the Viet Minh defeated the French and Vietnam gained its independence though the nation was divided into a communist north
and democratic, pro-French government in the south
. Fearing persecution of the communist government, hundreds of thousands fled to the south, including French-educated and speaking elite and French continued to be an unofficial administrative and educational language in the south and illegally, border areas of the north. French forces remained in South Vietnam until 1956, the year that elections were to be held to unify Vietnam under a single government. Despite the Vietnam War
erupting shortly afterwards, French continued a healthy presence in South Vietnam until the 1970s. The sharpest decline of the French language in Vietnam was after the Fall of Saigon
in 1975 as the communist government imposed Vietnamese as the sole official and educational language on the entire nation, including the south, which was in a transitional phase until 1976.
The number of students receiving their education in French in Vietnam declined to about 40% by the 1980s and continued to decline well into the 1990s. Additionally, a large number of French-speakers who were anti-communist fled Vietnam and immigrated to nations such as the United States
, France
, Canada
and Australia
. As of 2000, only about 5% of students received their education in French, mostly concentrated in private education. Meanwhile, the rise of the English language
further declined French's status in Vietnam as English is seen as the language of international trade, commerce and diplomacy and is now the most studied foreign language. In recent years however, the French language has revived in education in Vietnam and the nation is a member of La Francophonie
and French has somewhat of a diplomatic language position in Vietnam. In higher education and professions, French is the principal language and Vietnamese elites continue to speak French today as well as the elderly population, a legacy of the colonial era.
Vietnamese French is based on standard Parisian French, but contains words that have been influenced not only by Vietnamese but also by Chinese and English, the latter due to U.S. presence in the south during the Vietnam War. Additionally, the pronoun vous used as the formal and plural form of you, is used not only to address elders but also to adults of the same age unlike Standard French, where tu is used among adult friends of the same age. Below are notable words of French used in Vietnam that differ from Standard French.
, circulate in Vietnam. News broadcasts as well as TV programs in French are shown on Vietnamese television channels daily. Radio broadcasts in French are also present.
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
spoken in Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
. Vietnam is the largest of the three Francophone nations in Asia, the others being Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
and Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
, and the language is spoken by over 5% of the population and sometimes used in international relations.
History
The French language's presence in Vietnam began in the 18th century when French explorers and merchants began sailing near the IndochinaIndochina
The Indochinese peninsula, is a region in Southeast Asia. It lies roughly southwest of China, and east of India. The name has its origins in the French, Indochine, as a combination of the names of "China" and "India", and was adopted when French colonizers in Vietnam began expanding their territory...
coast. When the French replaced the Portuguese as the primary European power in Southeast Asia in the 1850s by attacking and conquering Vietnamese cities, they introduced the French language to locals. French became the governing language of French Indochina
French Indochina
French Indochina was part of the French colonial empire in southeast Asia. A federation of the three Vietnamese regions, Tonkin , Annam , and Cochinchina , as well as Cambodia, was formed in 1887....
, which included present-day Vietnam, Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
and Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
. Many Vietnamese began learning French, which replaced the native Vietnamese
Vietnamese language
Vietnamese is the national and official language of Vietnam. It is the mother tongue of 86% of Vietnam's population, and of about three million overseas Vietnamese. It is also spoken as a second language by many ethnic minorities of Vietnam...
and royal court Chinese
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
languages and eventually the Vietnamese language's official script was in the Latin Alphabet
Latin alphabet
The Latin alphabet, also called the Roman alphabet, is the most recognized alphabet used in the world today. It evolved from a western variety of the Greek alphabet called the Cumaean alphabet, which was adopted and modified by the Etruscans who ruled early Rome...
. The building of missionary and government schools spread the French language among educated Vietnamese and soon became the language of the elite classes by the end of the 1800s. By the early 1900s, the French language began spreading to the urban masses and became the primary language of education. A French pidgin called Tây Bồi was developed among Vietnamese servants in French households and those who spoke partial French. Nevertheless, at the French language's height in Vietnam between the 1900s and 1940s, a large number of Vietnamese did not speak French well or learn the language and some revolutionaries refused to learn the colonial language, though ironically speeches and papers written to promote independence were written in French. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Japan briefly occupied Vietnam and established Vietnamese as the sole official and educational language.
The French language in Vietnam slowly began to decline after World War II as revolutionary movements increased and their works began to be written more in Vietnamese. Poorer and generally, more rural populations began to resist French rule and guerrilla forces, the Viet Minh
Viet Minh
Việt Minh was a national independence coalition formed at Pac Bo on May 19, 1941. The Việt Minh initially formed to seek independence for Vietnam from the French Empire. When the Japanese occupation began, the Việt Minh opposed Japan with support from the United States and the Republic of China...
attacked the French and sparked the First Indochina War
First Indochina War
The First Indochina War was fought in French Indochina from December 19, 1946, until August 1, 1954, between the French Union's French Far East...
. The French language however, continued its presence in government, education and media in urban and semi-urban areas not held by the Viet Minh. By the early 1950s, the war had become unpopular in France and French forces were losing to guerrilla forces. At the Battle of Dien Bien Phu
Battle of Dien Bien Phu
The Battle of Dien Bien Phu was the climactic confrontation of the First Indochina War between the French Union's French Far East Expeditionary Corps and Viet Minh communist revolutionaries. The battle occurred between March and May 1954 and culminated in a comprehensive French defeat that...
, the Viet Minh defeated the French and Vietnam gained its independence though the nation was divided into a communist north
North Vietnam
The Democratic Republic of Vietnam , was a communist state that ruled the northern half of Vietnam from 1954 until 1976 following the Geneva Conference and laid claim to all of Vietnam from 1945 to 1954 during the First Indochina War, during which they controlled pockets of territory throughout...
and democratic, pro-French government in the south
South Vietnam
South Vietnam was a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the "State of Vietnam" and later as the "Republic of Vietnam" . Its capital was Saigon...
. Fearing persecution of the communist government, hundreds of thousands fled to the south, including French-educated and speaking elite and French continued to be an unofficial administrative and educational language in the south and illegally, border areas of the north. French forces remained in South Vietnam until 1956, the year that elections were to be held to unify Vietnam under a single government. Despite the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
erupting shortly afterwards, French continued a healthy presence in South Vietnam until the 1970s. The sharpest decline of the French language in Vietnam was after the Fall of Saigon
Fall of Saigon
The Fall of Saigon was the capture of Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, by the People's Army of Vietnam and the National Liberation Front on April 30, 1975...
in 1975 as the communist government imposed Vietnamese as the sole official and educational language on the entire nation, including the south, which was in a transitional phase until 1976.
The number of students receiving their education in French in Vietnam declined to about 40% by the 1980s and continued to decline well into the 1990s. Additionally, a large number of French-speakers who were anti-communist fled Vietnam and immigrated to nations such as the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. As of 2000, only about 5% of students received their education in French, mostly concentrated in private education. Meanwhile, the rise of the English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
further declined French's status in Vietnam as English is seen as the language of international trade, commerce and diplomacy and is now the most studied foreign language. In recent years however, the French language has revived in education in Vietnam and the nation is a member of La Francophonie
La Francophonie
Francophonie is an international organization of politics and governments with French as the mother or customary language, where a significant proportion of people are francophones , or where there is a notable affiliation with the French language or culture.Formally known as the Organisation...
and French has somewhat of a diplomatic language position in Vietnam. In higher education and professions, French is the principal language and Vietnamese elites continue to speak French today as well as the elderly population, a legacy of the colonial era.
Dialect characteristics
| Vietnamese French | Standard French | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| ma-đam | madame | ma'am, Mrs. |
| ga | gare | train station |
| xà bông | savon | soap |
| tivi | télévision | television |
| búp bê | poupée | doll |
| bánh ga-tô | gâteau | cake |
| phanh | frein | brake |
| ma-ki-dê | maquiller | make up |
Media
Despite the decline of French in the late 1970s to 2000s, Vietnam continues to have a French-media market and presence. A small number of French-language newspapers, most dominately Saigon Eco and Le Courrier du VietnamLe Courrier du Vietnam
Le Courrier du Vietnam is the main French language newspaper published in Vietnam. - External links :**...
, circulate in Vietnam. News broadcasts as well as TV programs in French are shown on Vietnamese television channels daily. Radio broadcasts in French are also present.