(VOVworld) – Vietnam is home to many ethnic minority groups, each with a different languages. Linguists say unless effective measures are taken, ethnic languages will die out.

At a recent workshop on audio digitization of minority languages hosted by the French Cultural Center in Hanoi, Vietnamese and French linguists introduced an audio library of ethnic minority languages in Vietnam. This project undertaken over the past 30 years is compatible with other digitized audio libraries in Southeast Asia. The audio library provides users with information concerning the origin of the language, the pronunciation, and even recorded folk verses and songs of that ethnic group. Recordings of 11 minority languages with very few speakers such as the Odu, the Ruc, the Arem, the Ma Lieng are also available. Prof. Dr. Tran Tri Doi, Director of the Center for Study and Development of Ethnic Groups and Mountainous Areas, stressed the urgent need to create these kinds of  libraries: “This audio library preserves sounds and voices, including folk verses and songs of ethnic minority groups. It is very helpful for linguists. For example, the language of the Ruc is similar to ancient Vietnamese. The library is also considered a means to popularize ethnic languages and culture”.

Sounds are digitized on the website lacito.vjf.cnrs.fr

The sound library contains data of ancient Viet language and culture as well.

Sung A Chenh of the Mong ethnicity in Pa Co commune, Mai Chau district, Hoa Binh province, says the library is very helpful for him, since he is obsessed with finding a way to teach his mother tongue to the local people. Sung A Chenh said: “Other ethnic people know our Mong language and even write it very well. It inspires me to compile books and open class to teach the Mong language. It was so difficult to find material inputs. But now that a sound library is established, it has been very convenient for my work”.