Three-point proposal forThree-point proposal forpromoting promoting chchữữ Nôm Nôm inin

Vietnamese studiesVietnamese studiesNgô Thanh Nhàn (New York University)

& Ngô Trung Việt (Institute of Informatics)Promote Nôm Studies in the U.S.

Association For Asian StudiesSan Francisco, April 8, 2006

Two Vietnamese scriptsTwo Vietnamese scripts

Vietnamese has two ways to write the sameVietnamese has two ways to write the samewordword—— and and chữ quốc ngữ. A. A or or chữ, , aawritten syllable, represents one written syllable, represents one tiếng, aspoken syllable..

[[chữ Nôm Nôm] is the national script used in] is the national script used inVietnam at least since the Vietnam at least since the Xth Xth Century.Century.

is an is an ““ideographicideographic”” script. Each word is a script. Each word is asyllable. Each syllable is written in a square.syllable. Each syllable is written in a square.

was replaced by a was replaced by a latin latin (roman) script(roman) scriptcalled called chữ quốc ngữ in the 1920in the 1920’’s.s.

Problem #1Problem #1

There exists a monumental amount ofdocuments in chữ Hán-Nôm, anideographic script, used in Vietnam for over1,000 years since its independence in 939 AD,now in danger of further destruction after morethan 100 years of wars.

Hán-Nôm documents and vestiges have beenfound languishing in many European and EastAsian libraries, museums, private holdings, andall over Vietnam.

Problem #2Problem #2

The last national examination using chữ Hán-Nôm was in the 1919. Scholars who masterHán-Nôm are almost extinct.

The surviving Hán-Nôm scholars do not teach,because they did not go through the standardnational pedagogy course work.

Thus, the wars, the politics of anti-feudalism byall sides, and the modern educational systemrequirements jointly aggravate the situation.

Problem #3Problem #3……

In universities, Hán-Nôm Studies belong to theLiterature Department. They logically belong toVietnamese Department, not just literature.

Hán-Nôm teaching materials in Vietnam todayare few, and the official textbooks sorely lackcrucial textual data of those ten centuries.

The traditional teaching method lacksknowledge of pedagogy as well as educationalmaterials.

Problem #3Problem #3

A Hán-Nôm teacher traditionally started withteaching Chinese through Tam ThiênTự “Three thousand characters”—they arewritten in verses by Ngô Thì Nhậm around theend of the 18th Century, with correspondingVietnamese Hán-Nôm characters.

The teacher then began the Confucian Classics Tứ Thư and Ngũ kinh in Chinese.

There are in fact no formal systematic curriculateaching Hán-Nôm.

An alternativeAn alternative

We are left with one alternative: the web with acareful formal approach.

There is a need to create new teaching materialsthat encourage students to study chữ Hán-Nôm,using the web technology with text anddictionary resources.

After six month surveys of Hán-Nôm scholarsin Vietnam in 2005, we have proposed a three-step program for Hán-Nôm from high school tothe university level.

Proposal #1: IllustrationProposal #1: Illustration

We propose every mention in chữ quốc ngữ of ahistorical text, originally written in chữ Hán-Nôm, in high school textbooks, be accompaniedby its original, i.e. a picture of the appropriateoriginal document.

Students are not required to memorize them fortests. The original Hán-Nôm sources are simplythere as “illustrations”.

Teaching materials for teachers can be madeavailable as to the content of the illustrations.

Proposal #1: IllustrationProposal #1: Illustration

The proposal relies on human curiosity:— the obvious visual similarities:

1 syllable = 1 quốc ngữ word = 1 Nôm char.— the obvious visual difference in shapes andpresentation of the two writing systems:

1 syllable [ tiếng] = 1 chữ = 1 . It also relies on the innate language capacity:

recognition of regularities, linearity andstructure in language, as well as in each of thetwo writing systems.

Proposal #1: IllustrationProposal #1: Illustration

chữ Hán-Nôm illustrations arebest being a picture of a historical site, anartifact, a famous book, etc.

For example, on the hill of Đống ̣Đa inHanoi stands the statue of Nguyễn Huệ, ahero who beat the Thanh Dynasty armyat this hill, with his famous words.

Đánh cho để dài tócĐánh cho để đen răngĐánh cho nó chích luân bất phảnĐánh cho nó phiến giáp bất hoànĐánh cho sử tri Nam Quốc anhhùng chi hữu chủ.

Quang Trung, Nguyễn Huệ

We beat you because we like to wear our hairlong.

Beat you because we like to blacken our teeth.Beat you, so none of your war chariots could

run off.Beat you to keep your weapons from going

home.Beat you so history knows the South has its

own king.Nguyễn Huệ, Emperor Quang Trung, 1789

Proposal #1: IllustrationProposal #1: Illustration

On the web, which is mainly visual (or vocal),the Hán-Nôm version and the quốc ngữ versionalways appear side by side.

The web also allow different ways of presentingthe same data (or, stylesheets), which helpsclarifying of the relationship of the two scripts.

For example, Hán-Nôm and quốc ngữ versionscan be presented in pairing formats: characterby character, word by word, sentence bysentence,…

Đánh cho để dài tóc

Đánh cho để đen răng

Đánh cho nó chích luân bất phản

Đánh cho nó phiến giáp bất hoàn

Đánh cho sử tri Nam Quốc anh hùng chi hữu chủ.

Quang Trung, Nguyễn Huệ

Proposal 1: IllustrationProposal 1: Illustration

This proposal recognizes a lack of knowledge ofHán-Nôm among teachers in Vietnam today,accompanied by the lack of Hán-Nôm scholarsin the education system, plus a lack of Hán-Nôm education in textbooks.

As a first step, Hán-Nôm sources are simply“illustrations” added to existing textbooks,without a need to revise them.

It is a temporary step before a total revision ofhigh school textbooks in the educational system.

Proposal #2:Proposal #2: core coursecore course

In the first two years of college, we proposestudents be required to take one 3-creditintroductory course in chữ Hán-Nôm. Collegestudents in Vietnam are well versed in quốc ngữand the Vietnamese grammar.

Students may be required to take core courses inVietnamese history and an introductory coursein Vietnamese linguistics.

The goal is to prepare students for any field ofVietnamese studies in the future.

Proposal 2:Proposal 2: core coursecore course

The core Hán-Nôm course gives students somebasic knowledge in— origin, history, composition, types of texts,famous examples from literature, medicine,demographic, or historical documents,…— basics of language and writing systems,writing systems and computer “language”representation, text manipulations, and basicskills in computer text editors, databases, andweb using chữ Hán-Nôm.

Proposal 2: core courseProposal 2: core course

From current textbooks, by Vũ Văn Kính,Nguyễn Khuê, Nguyễn Tài Cẩn, University ofHanoi… a core course on the web can alreadybe formulated, if we have enough funding…

The advantage of the web is in the presentationwith links. The links allow students to lookupdictionaries, resources, … without having toown a copy, because dictionaries in Hán-Nômtoday are expensive and hard to get.

Character decompositionCharacter decomposition

EnglishEnglishVietnameseVietnamesenômnôm

ideographic scriptideographic script

pillarpillarccộộtt

RomanRomanscriptscript

ququốốc ngc ngữữroman scriptroman script

meaningmộc [tree]

soundcốt [bone]

榾

BinaryBinary decompositiondecomposition

First level

Second level

Third level

Characters are formed by other charactersCharacters are formed by other characters((visvis. words are formed by other words). words are formed by other words)

Spelling is the clueSpelling is the clue

bát đao phân mễ phấn

thiên lý trọng kim chung

Spelling by native speakers gives us thepsychological clue as to how charactersare formed by other characters.

Characters are formed byCharacters are formed byother charactersother charactersChữ Hán Nôm lời “word” can be decomposed:

• lời “word” → khẩu before trời• trời “heaven” → thiên above thượng• thiên “heaven” → nhất above đại

• thượng “above” → bốc above nhất

Basic characters: Basic characters: khẩu “mouth, speech”, nhất “one”, đại “great”, thượng “above”.

Characters are formed byCharacters are formed byother charactersother characters Chữ Hán Nôm lời “word”:

• lời “word” → ba above lợi, lời• lợi “sharp; beneficial”, lời “word”

→ hoà above đao Most basic characters:Most basic characters: [b-], [k-], [m-],

, , , , , ,… Other character for lời , , , , , ,

, , , , , , , , ,…

Representation mattersRepresentation matters

Graphic representation of Vietnamese by anideographic system and by a latin-based systemcomplement each other.

The latin-based system has a one-to-onecorrespondence to the phonologicalrepresentation in IPA.

The ideographic system is identical to theVietnamese syntax and word formation.

The ideographic system records historicaldevelopment of the Vietnamese language.

A poem

ProposalProposal 3: specialization3: specialization

Students in social sciences, such as history,ethnology, arts, theater, literature, architects,linguistics, anthropology, archeology, etc., and afew natural sciences such as medicine, zoology,geography, geology, entomology, etc. must takeat least 2 courses (6 credits) in chữ Hán-Nôm.

Any bachelor, master or doctoral thesisrequiring sources in Vietnamese historical textsmust make references to originals in chữ Hán-Nôm. This should already be in place inuniversities in Vietnam.

ProposalProposal 3: specialization3: specialization

The 6 credit requirements (2 courses) are:(a) one course specific to their field of study,

such as basic vocabularies, concepts,introduction to chữ Hán-Nôm text analysisusing famous classics, such as Truyện Kiều,Đại Việt Sử ký, etc., and

(b) one course (3 credits) for using, accessing,searching chữ Hán-Nôm in computers andinternet. Theses or papers must bepresentable on a website.

Properties of VietnameseProperties of Vietnamese

Language is spoken one syllable after another,Language is spoken one syllable after another,like a string of gems (like a string of gems (lời lời châu ngọc)..

The syllables are strung in patterns of phrases,The syllables are strung in patterns of phrases,sentences, paragraphs and discourses, likesentences, paragraphs and discourses, likepatterns of a brocade (patterns of a brocade (hàng hàng gấm thêu)..

Computer stores and accessesComputer stores and accesses one bit afterone bit afteranother.another.

Computer bits are strung together in patterns ofComputer bits are strung together in patterns ofbytes and blocks, linearly.bytes and blocks, linearly.

Language propertiesLanguage properties

Speakers of a language use their oral system toSpeakers of a language use their oral system toproject sounds, and hearers, theirproject sounds, and hearers, their auditoryauditorysystem to receive sounds.system to receive sounds.

WritersWriters of a language use hands, and readers useof a language use hands, and readers useeyes.eyes.

A writing system A writing system tranforms tranforms oral-auditoryoral-auditoryexchanges intoexchanges into manual-visual exchanges.manual-visual exchanges.

A computer characterA computer character system is a numericsystem is a numeric(encoded) representation of a manual-visual(encoded) representation of a manual-visualsystem.system.

Vietnamese basicsVietnamese basics

Vietnamese is a tonal, monosyllabic language,Vietnamese is a tonal, monosyllabic language,belonging to the Austro-Asiatic Mon-Khmerbelonging to the Austro-Asiatic Mon-Khmerlanguage subgroup.language subgroup.

Each Each tiếng (spoken syllable) has 6 tones:(spoken syllable) has 6 tones:

Each Each tiếng can be split into initial consonantcan be split into initial consonant l-l- andandrhyme rhyme -ai-ai..

lại ““backback””lãilãi ““interestinterest””làilài ““jasminjasmin””lowlowláilái ““to driveto drive””lải ““tirelesstireless””lailai ““mixedmixed””highhigh

Vietnamese grammarVietnamese grammar

Vietnamese is an S-V-O (subject-verb-object)Vietnamese is an S-V-O (subject-verb-object)and Head-Modifier structures.and Head-Modifier structures.

There are two word formationThere are two word formation or head-modifieror head-modifierpatterns, native (head+modifier) and Sino-patterns, native (head+modifier) and Sino-Vietnamese (SV, modifier+head). E.g.Vietnamese (SV, modifier+head). E.g.

dân số (SV) “population” is a synonym ofsố dân (native) “population”.

cf. dân “people”, số “number”.

Vietnamese studies in USVietnamese studies in US

For college and research students in the U.S.,we would propose a 15 credit courses.

Three step program are similar to thoseproposed to the Vietnamese college students.

one 6-credit prerequisite course for basicVietnamese grammar and quốc ngữ: a middlelevel of knowledge of Vietnamese grammar andculture; and a firm knowledge of quốc ngữ—tobe able to access dictionaries and references.

The endThe end