The Vietnamese language does not just live within Vietnamese people. Vietnamese can touch the heart of the world if we truly know how to cherish and preserve it...
These days, both at home and in many countries around the world, the Vietnamese community joyfully organizes activities to celebrate the "Day for Honoring the Vietnamese Language in the Overseas Vietnamese Community" (September 8th). As a teacher of Vietnamese for foreigners, I want to share the feelings of someone who goes out to sow the seeds of language with all my love.
Stepping out into the world
I was born in a poor rural area in Quang Nam - a place with a rustic but sincere accent. In 1992, after graduating from Hue University of Education, majoring in Literature, I left my homeland with its rice fields stretching along the roads, with fragrant lotus ponds surrounded by hills of purple myrtle flowers; left behind the small house hidden behind bamboo rows and the image of my parents working hard every early morning, to head South and North, struggling to make a living. Finally, my feet stopped in the sunny and windy Southern region. I took my first steps from middle schools and high schools, then moved on to university lecture halls in Ho Chi Minh City.
In 2009, my life unexpectedly took a different turn. That was when I officially became a lecturer at the Faculty of Vietnamese Studies, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Viet Nam National University Ho Chi Minh City - one of the prestigious universities in Vietnam.
I "fell in love" with the job of teaching Vietnamese language, literature, and culture to foreigners from then on. And over 16 years of dedication to this difficult yet fascinating work, I have had countless unforgettable memories. The job has brought me many beautiful relationships, long journeys to connect and promote the Vietnamese language and culture to international friends, and especially, it has nurtured within me a deep and intense love for the country, people, language, and culture of Vietnam.
From Ho Chi Minh City, I had enough fate to step out into the world. And now, I am living and teaching Vietnamese at National Chengchi University, Taiwan - China.
The crystallization of the national soul
Since when, the Vietnamese language, to me, has not only been a means of communication but also the soul of the nation; it is a repository of memories, emotions, and the Vietnamese soul for thousands of years. Vietnamese is also where I belong; it is the lullaby of my mother, the words of my father, the singing, the greeting; it is the unending nostalgia... Those are all the childhood memories I gathered from those arduous but warm years.
Vietnamese sings by the cradle, mother's love is boundless
Guiding children into life with poetry, storks flying across dreams…
(Vietnamese Love Song - Ha Minh Quang)
Those "Vietnamese love songs" carry a glimpse of the sincere and gentle taste of the countryside, evoking in me an unending nostalgia for my homeland and my roots; for the starting point of a person's life.
When becoming a lecturer teaching Vietnamese to foreigners, I realized even more deeply that: Vietnamese is not merely words but also culture, soul, and the identity of an entire nation.
Language of my country! Four thousand years of sorrows and joys
Crying and laughing following the nation's destiny, oh country
Language of my country! Mother's language since the cradle
Thousands of years have passed, becoming my heart's voice, oh country!
(Love Song - Pham Duy)
Therefore, when teaching Vietnamese to international students, I feel as if I am passing on to them both a love for the language and a love for my homeland, as well as the beautiful aspects of the Vietnamese people's soul. I feel proud because few nations have such cultural depth expressed through the extremely rich way of addressing or the importance of greetings as the Vietnamese people do: "A greeting is worth more than a feast." That is the reason why Vietnamese becomes a "hard-to-swallow" language but also holds a special attraction for foreigners.
A bridge for culture and integration
Vietnamese has now crossed borders and national boundaries to reach many new lands, becoming a bridge connecting Vietnam with friends across the five continents. As people with the mission of spreading the Vietnamese language and culture, we understand that each lecture is a bridge to bring the image of our country closer to international friends.
I am a person who always believes in "fate". I think I have the "fate" to be faithfully attached to my profession and to walk with many students through their youth. Among my students, there are those who have come to love the Vietnamese language and the country and people of Vietnam with a love that is almost like blood, to then choose this land as their second home.
Every time I remember the more than 15-year journey with the Vietnamese language of my Korean student Kang Young Ran, I am moved with deep emotion. From a short-term Vietnamese learner, that Korean girl continued to pursue her Bachelor's, then Master's, and Doctoral degrees in Vietnamese Studies. I have accompanied her from the very first days until now in many different capacities: teaching, guiding scientific research, supervising internships, advising Master's theses, and finally guiding her doctoral dissertation. Honestly, recounting these things, I do not intend to speak of a teacher's success but want to express my pride in the wonderful appeal of our ancestors' language and culture.
Or I was once moved to tears when reading a letter from an American student when he left Vietnam to work in another country. I could feel the startled realization of a foreigner when leaning on the verse of Che Lan Vien in nostalgia for the old days: "When we stay, it is only a place to stay. When we leave, the land has become a soul." That was also the moment I realized: Vietnamese does not just live within Vietnamese people. Vietnamese can touch the heart of the world if we truly know how to cherish and preserve it.
Anchoring the souls of those living far from home
Although I have been away from my homeland for more than 30 years and have set foot in many new lands, whenever I close my eyes, the image of my homeland appears to me like a green dream - rustic, quiet, yet profound. And no matter where I live, there is one thing in me that has never changed, and that is my love for the Vietnamese language - the mother tongue that nourished my soul, the bridge that connects me to my homeland and brings me closer to international friends.
I have loved the language of my country since I was born, dear one
My gentle mother lulled with distant verses
A-a-oi! The lullaby of eternity…
(Love Song - Pham Duy)
Honestly, teaching Vietnamese to foreigners is my way of connecting with my homeland every day. I not only teach language but also tell them stories about Vietnam: from simple yet meaningful folk verses, fairy tales rich in humanitarian spirit, epic literary works affirming national sovereignty: "Southern mountains and rivers, Southern Emperor resides," to heroic songs echoing across the roads of the Fatherland during the years of war; from the story of the green Banh Chung and red watermelon during Tet to the graceful Vietnamese Ao Dai... I am proud because the image of my homeland exists in every moment.
That is a pride not only mine but of every child of Vietnam. No matter where they go, Vietnamese people always preserve the language and culture of their nation: "They pass on their dialect for their children to practice speaking. They carry with them the name of the commune, the name of the village in every migration" (Nguyen Khoa Diem).
I believe that the love for the Vietnamese language itself will be the bridge connecting Vietnamese souls living far away with our beloved Motherland. Just like me, I once anchored myself to the Vietnamese language to keep my soul at peace during my years of living abroad:
Vietnamese still lives within everyone,
our Vietnamese soul remains whole and complete
Preserve the Vietnamese language for future generations,
those words of the homeland are words of ironclad faith.
(Vietnamese Love Song - Ha Minh Quang)
Now, even though I am 55 years old, I still diligently and devotedly do the work I love with all my heart. If I still have the health and the opportunity, I will continue to sow the seeds of the Vietnamese language, wherever I may be. I not only teach Vietnamese but also spread the love for the homeland to those who have never set foot in this S-shaped land.
Thank you, Vietnamese language, for being the bridge connecting me with international friends. Thank you to the dear, rustic first words of my parents that gave me a homeland to return to. Thank you to the generations of students who helped me see more clearly: Vietnamese is a truly beautiful language that can fly far, touch hearts, and connect strangers through love.
Thank you for all the fate in my life that allowed me to experience and share!
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