(VOVworld) - Language is the primary tool of communication for all human beings. Vietnamese people have a saying “Words cost nothing” to teach the importance of language in communication. With the rapid integration of the internet and foreign culture into Vietnam, the younger generation is changing the Vietnamese language.
This short conversation contains several modern words, which are widely used by young Vietnamese. The conversation has slang, borrowed English words and words used on the internet. This is the consequence of the integration of foreign language and internet slang into Vietnam and also the creativity of young people. Language is a social phenomenon, so it changes with society and time. Young people have a rapid pace of life, they make friends quickly and talk very informally. Creativity in language use brings people closer together and creates interest. Nguyen Minh Trang, a student at Hanoi National University, says:.
“I think that using a little bit of English in daily conversations is not bad. For example, when we meet friends, we just say “Hi” or “Hello”. It’s very easy. If we say it in Vietnamese, it sounds strained. When we bid someone farewell, we say “bye”.
For young Vietnamese people who have lived abroad, using a foreign language in their daily conversations is unavoidable. Nguyen Thi Thu Hien lived in the US for 10 years.Hien says “When I returned home, I had some trouble speaking Vietnamese because I had lived away from home for so long time that I could not keep up with the new words that my friends now often use. One of my friends asked me to go on a “phuot” or backpacking tour with her but I didn’t know the word “phuot” then. Sometimes, I have to use English because I don’t know how to say something in Vietnamese”.
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| The word "Phuot" or backpacking tour is popular among young people |
Young Vietnamese are entering a period of language change which is the consequence of social changes. The change makes their communication easier and erases barriers. Young people keep creating new words, which make their communication more lively. They often use slang. Their expressions are diverse and funny. Nguyen Thi Hanh, who used to teach at Phuong Lien Primary School, says: “Young people use many strange words. When I first heard them, I found them very strange, but gradually, after I got used to them, they began to sound very funny”.
Excluding clear abuses of language and certain guilty words, many new words are acceptable because they follow the rule of language development. It’s important to understand the nature of the changes to guide young Vietnamese people to use Vietnamese appropriately without undermining it. Doctor Mai Xuan Huy, Deputy Director of the Language Institute, says: “As a linguist and a Vietnamese language lover, I always hope the Vietnamese language will remain be healthy and pure. I’m a little worried when young Vietnamese overdevelop the Vietnamese language though it is a rule of society”.
Language is inseparable from the cultural identity of a nation. Language can recede and fade or it can enrich and blossom. Vietnam’s rapid modernization and globalization is now posing both challenges and opportunities for the Vietnamese language.