On the occasion of Vietnam’s National Day on September 2 and the Day for Honoring the Vietnamese Language among Overseas Vietnamese on September 8, Deputy Foreign Minister Le Thi Thu Hang spoke with VietNamNet about the role of the Vietnamese language in preserving identity and connecting Vietnamese communities worldwide, as well as the responsibility of every family to pass the mother tongue on to future generations.

Throughout the formation and development of the country, the Vietnamese language has always carried the cultural soul of the nation. With millions of Vietnamese now living overseas, what role does the language play in shaping identity and connecting the strength of Vietnamese communities around the world?

Deputy Foreign Minister Le Thi Thu Hang: Some things stay with us throughout our lives. For every Vietnamese person, one of them is the Vietnamese language - our mother tongue.

Vietnamese may begin with a grandmother’s or mother’s lullaby, with memories of our homeland and country. It is also where the nation’s history, culture and soul are preserved.

Each person may choose a different path, living in Vietnam or anywhere else in the world, but Vietnamese remains an “invisible yet enduring thread connecting us to our roots.”

In my view, that thread serves two purposes at the same time: connecting people with one another and connecting each person with their own identity.

First and foremost, Vietnamese is the language of family bonds in every Vietnamese household. Even when living far from home in another country, the language continues to connect grandparents with their children and grandchildren, allowing family affection to be passed on fully in their own voice.

Within each locality and each country, Vietnamese brings people together as a community, giving them a source of mutual support far from their homeland. More broadly, it connects Vietnamese communities across countries and continents with their homeland and country.

I was particularly moved by the image chosen for this year’s Beloved Vietnamese Language Gala, themed “A kite soaring high from the mother tongue.” It is a profoundly Vietnamese image.

“A kite can soar high and travel far on the winds of aspiration and integration, but it remains truly steady only when it is tied to the string of its roots.”

For overseas Vietnamese communities, that string is the Vietnamese language.

In other words, preserving Vietnamese does not hinder integration. On the contrary, it enables people to integrate with greater confidence. The more clearly a person understands who they are and where they come from, the stronger the foundation of identity they have when stepping out into the world.

This approach is clearly reflected in Politburo Resolution No. 23, dated August 2, 2026, on overseas Vietnamese affairs.

The resolution affirms that overseas Vietnamese are an inseparable part of the Vietnamese national community and an important strategic resource contributing to the country’s overall strength, while serving as a bridge between Vietnam and the world. It emphasizes that Vietnamese is not merely a means of communication but also a source of national soft power.

Seen from that perspective, every Vietnamese-language class overseas, every Vietnamese book that is preserved, every teacher who patiently passes the mother tongue on to younger generations, and every family that makes the effort to speak Vietnamese with their children is helping nurture Vietnamese identity around the world.

With National Day on September 2 and the Day for Honoring the Vietnamese Language on September 8 taking place so close together, what message would you like to send to overseas Vietnamese families about preserving the language and their cultural roots while living abroad?

There is something very meaningful about National Day on September 2 and the Day for Honoring the Vietnamese Language on September 8 falling so close together.

To me, that proximity carries a profound message: “A nation’s independence always begins with the right to speak its own language. Preserving Vietnamese today, wherever we may be in the world, is also a way of carrying forward that spirit of independence and self-reliance.”

What I would like to say to overseas Vietnamese is this: please begin preserving Vietnamese in your own homes.

Schools, books, programs and technology are all very important. Support from the homeland and the State is indispensable. But no environment can replace a family meal, a phone call home to grandparents, a mother’s lullaby or a story told before bedtime.

“The family is the first and most important Vietnamese-language classroom. Parents are the first teachers - the most devoted and loving ones.”

I would also like to express my particular appreciation for the teachers who tirelessly organize weekend classes around the world, many of them teaching Vietnamese entirely on a voluntary basis. I hope they will continue to keep the love of Vietnamese alive.

To young people, I sincerely hope each of you will feel proud when speaking Vietnamese. Read in Vietnamese, and tell Vietnam’s story in your own language.

For our part, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese will continue accompanying overseas Vietnamese communities so that Vietnamese-language classes, Vietnamese book collections and teachers passing on the mother tongue can continue to receive the support they need.

I believe that from small classrooms and small homes far from the homeland, from those “kites” carrying the mother tongue, love for Vietnam will continue to be nurtured and spread, soaring ever higher alongside the aspirations of the nation.

Thai An – Nguyen Duc