The process through which languages change by developing new characteristics while keeping the ancestral characteristics is called generic classification (Morehouse). Languages change as they interact with other cultures, resulting in the adaptation of the original language through the adoption of new and loss of old words, sounds, and structures. This process is repeated over and over and the original language continues to evolve as cultures intersect. Linguists track, predict, and extrapolate these changes through mapping these languages or shared words in a tree diagram. The example shown in class was the word mother.
Vietnamese belongs to the Austroasiatic language family, specifically part of the Mon-Khmer branch (AWL 2016). The most obvious periods of contact that affected the language is with China and France.
Vietnamese, like many of its neighbors, until the early 10th century BC, was a tributary state of China; Vietnam would offer tribute to the Chinese Emperor in exchange for protection. The relationship between the two, resulted in Vietnam borrowing classical Chinese script called in Vietnamese as chữ nôm for its governmental and scholarly documents (Wikipedia). Chữ nôm is a combination of standard Chinese characters and characters designed specifically for Vietnamese words (AWL 2006). Along with a shared script, are shared vocabulary and proverbs, described as Sino-Vietnamese vocabulary. For example, law (法/pjap/phép) and gừng càng già càng cay (the older the ginger, the spicier it is). Approximately over half of Vietnamese vocabulary is borrowed from Chinese and there are compounds that combine Vietnamese words and Chinese borrowings (AWL 2016). An example of compounding is 'table chair' or bàn ghé. Additionally, the Vietnamese system of classifiers is similar to that of China.
When the French occupation of Vietnam occurred, the Chinese script was replaced with a Latin-based alphabet still used today. As a result, French words were also adopted into the Vietnamese language. For example, bia for 'beer' (bierre in French) and ca phé for 'coffee' (café in French). Furthermore, the sound /p/ in Vietnamese only occurs in words borrowed from French.
The relation between Vietnamese, Chinese, and French is important to consider especially in literature and in a more scholarly setting. While there are now words that have replaced some Sino-Vietnamese vocabulary, in settings like news reporting, Sino-Vietnamese words are still used for reasons such as they sound more beautiful, correct, educated, etc. Additionally, this knowledge is helpful in understanding the idea of why and how Vietnam developed as a country. Along with borrowing classical Chinese script, Vietnamese also followed Confucius teachings. This influenced many aspects of the culture, including how the individual relates to the state, how parents are viewed, why the Vietnam flag is red and yellow, etc.
If you want to read more about the Vietnamese language, http://aboutworldlanguages.com/vietnamese is a good website.
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