What do you know about my country?

[manutdvn]

Hi guys,

This is the first time I visit Chat chit box. I would like to say Hi and wonder, what do you know about my country?

I come from Vietnam and I have run Manchester United Fan Club in Vietnam forum for 1 year.

The first quiz, Do you know vietnam's capital name?

(Dont search via Google or you dictionary ), very easy question, right? Just let it come up from your mind

[slappy]

The ancient capital was Hue.

The capital of the country is now Hanoi.

When I was there the country was divided into two parts, North Vietnam and South Vietnam. The capital of North Vietnam was Hanoi. The capital of South Viet Nam was then called Saigon, but was renamed Ho Chi Minh City after 1975.

Regards,

[Greps]

easy. Hanoi (or is it Ha Noi?)

[Chousho]

Hi guys,

This is the first time I have visited Chat chit box. I would like to say Hi and wonder, what do you know about my country?

I come from Vietnam and I have run Manchester United Fan Club in Vietnam forum for 1 year.

The first quiz, Do you know vietnam's capital name?

(Dont search via Google or you dictionary ), very easy question, right? Just let it come up from your mind

Haha, Man UTD eh? Nice nice!

As far as Viet Nam goes, I have some friends, and I've gotten interested in reading in history, etc.

Capital is Hanoi, and they speak ... bac? I forgot the exact spelling, but my friend speaks it, haha.

Hmm, something else? The people who inhabited Viet Nam came from the islands south up, and from southern China down. There was a Chinese derived language used for writing, but a latin based one is used now.

There are a bunch of imported words (apartment, etc) that are taken from French, as well.

Oh, speaking of the language, aren't phrases one syllable, or something like this? I think I read that when looking up the etymology of Viet words a while ago.

Off topic things, hmm... the girls are cute, pho ga is good, and my friend calls me diem cho. That's about all I can think of off hand.

[slappy]

Actually, Viet Nam was a provence of China for nearly 3000 years and the people speak a tonal language with five tones, similiar in construction to some of the Chinese languages. There are major differences between spoken "North Vietnamese" and "South Vietnamese", although mostly in pronunciation. There are also dialects of the centrial highlands and ancient peoples known as the Hmongs, Montanyards and Nungs who have lived in the central highlands of Vietnam and adjoining countries for centuries.

The country was stolen by the French in the 1840's, when Europeans were grabbing "Colonies" all over the world and the current spelling of the Vietnamese language and the accent marks were devised by a Portuguese priest who wanted to give the Vietnamese a Roman Style alphabet, rather than the Chinese Characters they had been using for writing for several thousand years.

Regards,

[Chousho]

There are also dialects of the centrial highlands and ancient peoples known as the Hmongs, Montanyards and Nungs who have lived in the central highlands of Vietnam and adjoining countries for centuries.

Haha, funny you mention this. My uncle, when he was over there, told us of the Montanyards, saying how nice the people were, etc.

I also have some Hmong friends, and got interesting in learning Hmoob. It's interesting reading on Hmong history, and the different ones (White Hmong, etc) and traditions like tossing the ball. Sometime I'm going to see if there are any classes offered so I can learn, as I have only an online resource to help me look up words, and have no idea how to pronounce things like "kuv hlub ntsias", haha.

[manutdvn]

Haha...thank you, thank you.

You are right and we passed the first quiz.

You guys seem to be like historians You know must know much better than me

@Sappy: No doubt, You are historian hihi...
@Chouso: you have Hmong friends, haven't you? Great, I just see them on tivi where do you live?

Actually, I am living in japan (about 5 years) and One time, I asked my classmates about my country, some guys said that they just know Vietnam is in Asian, near China and that's it and one more, they know "Pho ga" ( a kind of noodle).

Now, the 2nd quiz, it is a little bit more difficult than first one

Do you know what the name of traditional cloth in Vietnam? (especially for girls)

[Joe Gronlund]

Do you know what the name of traditional cloth in Vietnam? (especially for girls)

People in Vietnam wear cotton clothes. Styles differ in northern and southern Vietnam. Many people wear sandals made of old tire rubber(North). (South) Many men and women wear western styled clothing. Some women still wear the traditional au dai.

In most rural areas women wear loose white-shirts with skirts. Men in rural areas wear western clothes too. The Vietnamese typically wear lightweight clothing. Rural women wear loose-fitting dark-pants and blouses that are often embroideredin brilliant colors.

Conical nats called non la shield their faces from the sun. In the cities, many girls and women wear the traditional au dai, a long tunic worn with loose-fitting pants. However, a growing number of urban women wear dresses and shirts. Rural and working class men typically wear simple shirts and trousers. City men generally wear Western-style clothing.

[slappy]

Looks like Joe's information came from:

http://library.thinkquest.org/CR0213...g/Vietnam.html

As I mentioned about the differences in pronunciation between North Vietnamese and South Vietnamese languages, the "Ao Dai" is pronounced 'ao yai' in the south, but 'ao zai' in the north.

When I was there the Ao Dai was more frequently worn by younger women and generally worn with pants underneath. Many people, both male and female, wore what were called “pajamas” by westerners, loose shirt like tops and loose pant like bottoms.

manutdvn - I am not a historian by profession, but as a part of my military service I studied the South Vietnamese language, including the country's history and culture, very intensely for a year, followed by a year of living "in country," first in "Saigon," and then in a city in the Mekong Delta.

Regards,

[Chousho]

@Chouso: you have Hmong friends, haven't you? Great, I just see them on tivi where do you live?

Actually, I am living in japan (about 5 years) and One time, I asked my classmates about my country, some guys said that they just know Vietnam is in Asian, near China and that's it and one more, they know "Pho ga" ( a kind of noodle).

Haha, I live in NY. Thanks to the Internet, I have friends all over the world, lol. Many Hmong that live in the US are centered around California, Wisconsin or... Minnesota (I think).
It's funny, but I've noticed alot of people pronounce Nguyen as "New Jen" in the US.

As I mentioned about the differences in pronunciation between North Vietnamese and South Vietnamese languages, the "Ao Dai" is pronounced 'ao yai' in the south, but 'ao zai' in the north.

I remember my uncle mentioning something about Southern pronuncation of "d" is different than North. So D = Y, then? All I can remember off hand is that in the north "ch" = "j", haha. Even though circumstances, I would have loved to study intensly and lived in Vietnam (or any country, I love languages).

[slappy]

One draw back of the time when I was there was a little thing called "war." Tends to somewhat impede good close cross cultural relationships, although speaking the Vietnamese language to some degree was a definite advantage in the effort to make friends among the population.

After 1975, thousands of Vietnamese, many of whom were of ethnic Chinese ancestry, left the country and many ended up in the U.S. There had always been some friction between the ethnic Chinese/Vietnamese and the Vietnamese existing from the time of the country’s status as a province of China. After the country was reunited in 1975, some of this "ethnic" tension resurfaced and, despite the fact that China had been a supporter of "North" Vietnam during its effort to regain control over "South" Vietnam, Vietnam had a couple of border wars with China along Vietnam's northern common border.

There is a fairly large populations of Vietnamese immigrants in California and Texas, among other places, and California also has a fairly large group of Hmong immigrants, particularly in the Central Valley region of the State.

Regards,

[manutdvn]

I think, it had better when we talk about culture, geography, food...than talk about the war

Yeah, as you know, vietnam has divided into 3 main areas. Hanoi (North), Hue(Middle) and SaiGon(South), each areas we have different "language", I mean, sometimes, it is a little bit difficult for me (in the North) to understand what they say. Specially, we have 54 government recognized ethnic groups of Vietnam with almost Kinh ethnic. (about 85%), and we have 54 languages in each ethnic groups of Vietnam. In my case, I just can speak Kinh

Do you know, which country has more than 54 languages (accept China)?

In the 3rd quiz, I would like to aks you, which art form is the most popular in Hanoi? (it seems to be very interesting for foreigners) and where will they (almost) visit when they go to Saigon? (Hint: it is very famous place during the war).

[slappy]

No one has been talking about "war" other than to mention its potential effect on intercutural relationships.

I noticed you are still using "Saigon" for what is now "officially" Ho Chi Minh City. I am fairly certain the "very famous place during the war" to which you refer would be the Tunnels of Chu Chi (sometimes spelled Cu Chi) which were used by the Local Viet Cong and NVA Forces during the war and eventually extended all the way from Chu Chi into what was then Saigon.

The "popular art form" of which you speak might be "roi nuoc":

The thousand-year-old art of roi nuoc, or water puppetry, is unique to northern Vietnam and easily ranks as one of Southeast Asia's most beautiful and complex art forms. Through the use of bamboo rods and a system of pulleys and levers, master puppeteers stand waist deep at the back of a pond (usually behind a curtain) and make their marionettes literally walk on water. Shows usually depict scenes from rural life and Vietnamese legend.

Night Life in Vietnam is discussed here:

http://www.liveitup.com/travel/Go-Hanoi_Viet_Nam/section-nightlife/overview.dest

Bowling has become quite popular. While I was there, the Americans built, and left behind, a couple of Bowling Alleys at Ton Son Nhut Air Base in what was then Saigon.

Regards,

[Chousho]

No one has been talking about "war" other to mention its potential effect on intercutural relationships.

I noticed you are still using "Saigon" for what is now "officially" Ho Chi Minh City. I am fairly certain the "very famous place during the war" to which you refer would be the Tunnels of Chu Chi (sometimes spelled Cu Chi) which were used by the Local Viet Cong and NVA Forces during the war and eventually extended all the way from Chu Chi into what was then Saigon.

The "popular art form" of which you speak might be "roi nuoc":

The thousand-year-old art of roi nuoc, or water puppetry, is unique to northern Vietnam and easily ranks as one of Southeast Asia's most beautiful and complex art forms. Through the use of bamboo rods and a system of pulleys and levers, master puppeteers stand waist deep at the back of a pond (usually behind a curtain) and make their marionettes literally walk on water. Shows usually depict scenes from rural life and Vietnamese legend.

Night Life in Vietnam is discussed here:

http://www.liveitup.com/travel/Go-Hanoi_Viet_Nam/section-nightlife/overview.dest

Bowling has become quite popular. While I was there, the Americans built, and left behind, a couple of Bowling Alleys at Ton Son Nhut Air Base in what was then Saigon.

Regards,

Yeah, all of my friends have told me, "the name might be Ho Chi Minh city, but nobody calls it that".


Thanks for the link, your post has also made me interested in seeing this water puppet show.

[manutdvn]

So greatttttt, Slappy , as I said, you are historian

I totally agree with your answers

I had lived in Hanoi more than 10 years before I came to Japan, but during that time I am ashamed to say that I have never been in Water puppet theatre, just only see on tivi. May be, I am not interested in it.

I wonder, why do you think water puppet is interesting? (I hope, you can change my mind and maybe I will go there when I return Vietnam)

Well, we will move to 4th quiz.

As you know, streets are named for the person who had a special contributions for Vietnam. Can you list 3 of them and give me a short illustration about them?

@Chousho: Please visit Vietnam, you wont be disappointed