VietNamNet Bridge – There are many challenges that migrants to big cities like HCM City face, including registration and access to healthcare and social services, but one that is not mentioned very often is the spoken language.

The language challenge has two aspects. One is to shift from your accent and dialect to the ones spoken in the city so that you are understood, and the other is to preserve your dialect, and the identity it gives you, from being lost.

It happens often that both migrant parents and their children forget their local dialects and ways of speech after they stay in a city for some time.

This is an understandable development, because, for instance, the accent used by those who are natives of the north-central region, including the provinces of Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Thua Thien Hue, sounds odd to their brethren in other of the country.

Since Vietnamese is a tonal language, the use of accents from a particular location can lead to misunderstandings.

The word ‘cat' means "cut" in English. But with the accent used in the northern part of the central region, people in both northern and southern regions might hear it as a word denoting the male sexual organ.

Each locality around the country has its own dialect. But people in some regions also have their own vocabulary that differs from the common one. This vocabulary contains many words that are difficult for people from other regions to understand.

While people in other regions ask "Sao vay?", denoting "What's wrong with you?", people in the northern central region say "Rang rua?". For "this and that", most people say "day/do", while those from the region use "ni/te".

Migration within the country is usually based on the desire to improve living standards by moving to places with more economic opportunities and higher incomes.

This is true of the large numbers of people who have, over the last few decades, moved from the northern central region to HCM City and adjacent provinces of Dong Nai and Binh Duong for permanent settlement or temporary residency for jobs.

The movement has seen a reduction in the use of local dialects as most migrants adopt a southern accent, and even the small group that retains use of the original dialect switches to the common vocabulary.

The children of migrants, who grow up in a different language environment, for the most part, cannot understand when people speak with the original accents of their parents' native place.

However, there are signs that a revival of original accents and dialects is taking place.

Preserving dialects

Many migrants who want to preserve their local language as a matter of pride have begun teaching it to their children.

They see that it is not just a way of speech that is at stake, but the unique culture that different localities boast, not to mention familiar relationships.

Nguyen Que Dieu, a Nghe An native living in Dong Nai, said his parents and children have become closer to each other after he succeeded in teaching the children his hometown language.

Dieu is now free from the role of being a translator whenever the children visit his hometown and he has become an enthusiastic advocate of teaching local languages and dialects as an effective way of preserving local customs.

Bui Phi Yen, a resident of HCM City, said teaching children the local language can help them realise the diversity of Vietnamese culture and evoke pride in their country and their people.

Natives of Hue are among the most concerned people about preserving their native language and dialect, probably because they have among the richest local vocabularies in the country.

They have many colloquialisms that residents in the rest of the country would not understand if they were unfamiliar with the Hue dialect. "Cay don mi – len coi chon – ma chon – chac," for instances, comprises four phrases that are not used in the common vocabulary, in which, it would mean: "Vo chong may (You and your wife) len giuong (get into bed) – ma dua gion (to play) – voi nhau (with each other) ."

There might not be studies done by linguists to back this assertion, but Hue natives pride themselves on being able to interpret and imitate the accents of almost every locality in the country. They feel they can communicate in a southern accent with such fluency that others do not make out the difference.

On the other hand, Hue natives like to claim a person from the southern region would be spotted very easily if she/he were to try and imitate the Hue accent.

In fact, in a meeting with friends who are all from Hue, a person could be criticised if she or he speaks in a southern accent, and there is even the risk that that person is not invited to the next meeting.

Also, during a visit to the hometown, a Hue native can ill afford to use the accent or dialect of the place she/he has moved to. If she or he speaks with a southern accent, for instance, a warm welcome from relatives, friends and neighbours is not guaranteed.

Hue natives have published a 2,000 page dictionary of the Hue language and an annual Hue Research magazine. The dictionary has been reprinted three times.

Nguyen Nhan Ai, an amateur rapper who lives in Hue, has become well known around the country after his song was posted on youtube. The song, performed with Hue accent and dialects, has received 2,523,177 views.

Talk to Viet Nam News, Ai said: "I feel extremely proud and comfortable to rap in Hue language. It makes the song unique and attractive."

"I do hope that Hue natives, wherever they live, will preserve our language," he said.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News