Tạp chí Khoa học Ngôn ngữ và Văn hóa ISSN 2525-2674 Tập 7, số 2, 2023

SCRIPT ISSUES OF ETHNIC MINORITIES IN VIETNAM

Mai Ngoc Chu1; Phan Thi Ngoc Le2
1
The University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi
2
The University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi
 lehang6778@gmail.com
(Received: 03/07/2023; Revised: 11/08/2023; Accepted: 31/08/2023)
Abstract: The purpose of the article is to provide a comprehensive overview of script issues
of 52 ethnic minorities in Vietnam in five main areas: Truong Son Tay Nguyen, Tay Bac,
Viet Bac, Central Vietnam, and Southern Vietnam. To achieve this aim, the researchers
adopted an interdisciplinary approach, which is language-culturology, language-
ethnography/ anthropology, along with a sociolinguistic approach. With the combination of
two main methods, namely Field Research Methods of Linguistics and Expert Interviews,
the study analyzes the relationship between script and culture, the importance of script in
preserving information and ethnic culture in Vietnam, the advantages as well as the
limitations of traditional and new scripts existing among ethnic minorities in Vietnam. From
the findings, the researchers made recommendations on the creation of scripts for ethnic
groups without written language and on the preservation of the traditional scripts with highly
ethnic cultural value, which is regarded as National Cultural Heritage.
Keywords: Language, scripts, ethnic groups, ethnic culture

1. Introduction
Language is one of the elements of culture. For each ethnic minority, language is the most
important element of ethnic culture, so when determining the composition of an ethnic group,
scientists are often interested first in the language they use. Language is one of the important
criteria to form ethnic groups. It is no coincidence that ethnologists classify ethnic groups
according to language family. An obvious example is the classification of Asian ethnic groups
into such groups as (1) the Indo-European ethnic groups, (2) the Austroasiatic ethnic groups, (3)
the Austronesian ethnic groups, (4) the Sino-Tibetan ethnic groups, (5) the Tai-Kadai ethnic
groups, (6) the Smit-Khmit ethnic groups, (7) the Tuyeec ethnic groups, (8) the Altaic ethnic
groups, and (9) the Hmong - Yao ethnic groups (Mai Ngoc Chu, 2015).
Besides, language is not only a component of culture but also a means of recording and
transmitting the culture of the ethnic group. For the ethnic groups that do not have a written script,
the language ‘records’ the ethnic culture in the form of oral transmission from one generation to
another. Of course, ‘words are but wind’, so ‘recording’ by word of mouth is greatly limited by
space and time. To overcome those limitations, people have created a script system, which is a
great invention of mankind and an effective means of recording and transmitting ethnic culture.
Since the introduction of scripts, the folklore treasures of the ethnic groups have not fallen into a
state of being lost or embellished, exaggerated, and added to with each retelling, which can be
compared to the popular proverb ‘a tale never loses in the telling’.
Script is a system of symbols used to record spoken language. It is regarded as a
description of spoken language through the use of symbols or signs. The earliest scripts that were
found on the walls of caves of prehistoric people were associated with artwork. In the
development history of human society, script has played a very important role, especially as a

131
 Tạp chí Khoa học Ngôn ngữ và Văn hóa ISSN 2525-2674 Tập 7, số 2, 2023

means of recording information. Without script, it would be impossible to have books and
newspapers recording the inventions and scientific and technical achievements of ancestors to
pass on to their descendants. Undoubtedly, the spoken word is a physical manifestation of
language, which still has certain restrictions and limitations. Therefore, it is not likely to transmit
information clearly and broadly, nor can it keep information as long as the written scripts. It can
be seen that the limits of spoken language are transcended by written language1. Script is a
wonderful and great achievement of mankind that is the ideal medium for information
transmission, knowledge storage, and creativity stimulation. It may be claimed that since script
was invented, human society has advanced to an era of civilization that is far higher than it was
when human language just had one form, the sound language2.
The scripts of ethnic groups in the world are quite diverse because there have been
thousands of scripts existing in ethnic groups3 so far. However, if categorized, they fall into the
following three broad categories:
Ideograph4. This is the oldest human script. The principle of ideograph is that each script
represents the meaningful content of a word. The ideograph has no relation to the sound aspect
but only to the meaning of the language. The relationship between ideas and scripts is a direct
relationship between Script and Idea. Sinograph (Chinese character) is a typical example of the
ideograph.
Phonograph. Unlike the ideograph, the phonograph does not care about the content and
meaning of the word, but only records the sound sequence of that word. The phonograph is a
representation of phonetics rather than meaning. The relationship between scripts and ideas is an
indirect relationship through sound: Script, Sound and Idea. A series of European scripts such as
English and French are phonographs.
Mixed scripts. This is a combination between ideograph and phonograph. Pali - Sanskrit
script belongs to this category (Mai Ngoc Chu, 2015).
Spoken language was first developed with the emergence of humans, but written scripts
appeared later. Up to now, both globally and in Vietnam specifically, many ethnic groups do not
have the written form of their own languages. Therefore, creating scripts for these ethnic groups
and improving scripts of the ethnic groups with their available scripts is a crucial task that multi-
ethnic countries have been undertaking. This effort, to which UNESCO given considerable
attention and consistent supports, has profound political relevance in addition to cultural
significance.
Vietnam is a multiethnic, multilingual nation. Since the establishment of the Democratic
Republic of Vietnam (1945), and after the unification of the nation (1975), the Government and
people of Vietnam have made significant efforts in preserving and developing the ethnic
languages. One of the practical things to accomplish the goal of equality among ethnic groups is
to create scripts for the existing ethnic groups in the territory of Vietnam. Then from the
establishment of scripts, Vietnam has introduced some scripts of ethnic minorities to teach in
schools. The Institute of Linguistics, Hanoi Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh Vietnam
National University and the Ministry of Education and Training have implemented many useful
activities in the creation and dissemination of ethnic scripts. Up to now, after a period of

132
 Tạp chí Khoa học Ngôn ngữ và Văn hóa ISSN 2525-2674 Tập 7, số 2, 2023

implementation, there needs to be an in-depth study on this topic, that is, on the script issues of
ethnic minorities in Vietnam.
With the aforementioned method of stating the problem, this article aims to provide a
thorough, comprehensive, and systematic view of the script issues of ethnic minorities in
Vietnam. From that basis, the present study can initially make some suggestions in creating scripts
for the ethnic groups that have not had written languages yet and improving those of the ethnic
groups that have already had scripts.
2. Theoretical background
Before 1975, Vietnam was divided into two regions, with the existence of two states: The
Democratic Republic of Vietnam in the North and the Republic of Vietnam in the South. A good
thing in common is that studies of ethnic languages was methodically conducted by linguists and
ethnologists in both regions. In the North, there were two notable research centers, namely Hanoi
Vietnam National University and the Institute of Linguistics, and in the South, there was the
Summer Institute of Linguistics.
Linguists and ethnologists in the Northern Vietnam emphasized studying languages of
ethnic groups in Tay Bac, Viet Bac and North Central regions. Linguists from the Summer
Institute of Linguistics in the Southern Vietnam focused on the languages of ethnic groups in the
Truong Son Tay Nguyen region. Researchers in the North studied ethnic languages mainly from
the theoretical viewpoints of Russia and Prague (Functional Linguistics School) with the aim of
finding out the linguistic typological features of the ethnic languages, setting scripts for ethnic
groups that have not had a written script, and improving the written language of ethnic groups
who have already had traditional scripts. Meanwhile, with the support and coordination of
American linguists, who followed the American Descriptive School and pragmatic purposes,
researchers in the South primarily investigated ethnic languages in order to create scripts for
native speakers of Truong Son Tay Nguyen. At that time, scripts were established based on the
Latin alphabet for 18 ethnic languages in this area (Ly Tung Hieu, 2017).
After the reunification of the country (1975), the creation and modification of the script
as well as the implementation of teaching languages and scripts of ethnic groups continued to be
conducted. In the north, they were Tai, Hmong and Tay-Nung languages. In the South, some
ethnic languages with traditional scripts were soon taught in schools. Cham and Khmer languages
have been experimentally taught since the 1977-1978 school year. Then, in the early 1980s,
numerous languages of ethnic groups in Tay Nguyen that had written scripts and large populations
such as Rhade, Bahnar, and Jrai were also taught experimentally in schools. The introduction of
these languages into teaching was carefully prepared from the curricula and materials to the
teaching staff, so the quality of teaching and learning was getting better and better. On the basis
of experimental teaching results, the Ministry of Education and Training coordinated with
localities to develop and issue a number of programs and textbooks for ethnic languages. By 2017,
the Ministry of Education and Training had issued eight ethnic language programs (Cham,
Khmer, Jrai, Bahnar, Rhade, Hmong, Mnong, Tai) and six sets of ethnic language textbooks
(Cham, Khmer, Jrai, Bahnar, Hmong, Rhade).
Thus, in Vietnam, a number of ethnic languages have already had scripts and some of
these script systems are also being taught in schools. However, there are still many ethnic

133
 Tạp chí Khoa học Ngôn ngữ và Văn hóa ISSN 2525-2674 Tập 7, số 2, 2023

languages that have not had scripts yet, and the current script system also has many controversial
problems.
The above scientific content has been investigated by many researchers. Some notable
authors and works can be named as follows. Hoang Thi Chau (2006) discussed the situation and
policy of establishing and popularizing ethnic minority scripts in Vietnam, Nguyen Huu Hoanh
et al. (2013) studied the language and script of ethnic minorities in Vietnam; Ly Tung Hieu (2017)
approached the cultural studies of the Truong Son Tay Nguyen area, Ta Van Thong and Ta Quang
Tung (2017) studied the languages of ethnic groups in Vietnam, and Mai Ngoc Chu (2005)
examined the ethnic languages in Vietnam from a regional perspective. Other scholars in the filed
include Dang Nghiem Van (2003), Doan Van Phuc et al. (2019), and Schroch et al. (1966).
Drawing on the results from these scholars, this study continues to deeply explore the
issue from the perspective of sociolinguistics, language and culture, and language and ethnicity.
3. Data and methods
Vietnam currently has 53 ethnic languages, in which the Kinh ethnic group (the
Vietnamese) has the largest population (85.4% of the population with 78.32 million people). The
Vietnamese language of the Kinh people (the Vietnamese) became the national language and the
script of the current Vietnamese language is the Quoc Ngu script. The remaining 52 ethnic
languages account for 14.6% of the population. The materials for this article were taken from 52
ethnic minority languages throughout the territory of Vietnam5. Specifically, the researchers took
data on ethnic languages in five areas where ethnic minorities live as follows:
- The first area is the Tay Bac region, according to ethnic-cultural characteristics, including the
provinces of Son La, Dien Bien, Lai Chau, Lao Cai, Yen Bai and a part of Hoa Binh province.
Compared to other regions in the whole territory of Vietnam, Tay Bac region is the most
linguistically ‘dense’ area, which means that this is an area with the greatest number of ethnic
languages. There are 22 ethnic languages here, and some provinces like Lai Chau and Dien Bien
have up to 15 ethnic languages. The two most common languages are Tai and Hmong.
- The second area is the Viet Bac region, including the provinces of Cao Bang, Bac Can, Tuyen
Quang, Lang Son, Thai Nguyen and Ha Giang. Viet Bac is also a region containing many ethnic
minority languages with a total of 16 languages spoken here. The province with the leading
number is Ha Giang, which has 12 languages. The most common language is Tay - Nung.
- The third area is the Central region of Vietnam (The Middle), which is a long and narrow piece
of land, belonging to the provinces of Quang Binh, Quang Tri, Thua Thien - Hue, Quang Nam,
Da Nang, Quang Ngai, Binh Dinh, Phu Yen, Khanh Hoa, Ninh Thuan, and Binh Thuan. Many
ethnic languages in this area belong to the Mon - Khmer group (Bahnar, K’ho, O’du, Paco –
Ta’oih, Bru - Van Kieu) and Malayopolynesia (Cham, Raglei, etc.).
- The fourth area is the Truong Son Tay Nguyen region, including the provinces of Kon Tum,
Gia Lai, Dak Lak, Lam Dong and Dak Nong. This is an area with many Austronesian languages,
which are related to those in Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei (Rhade, Chru, Jrai, etc.).
- Lastly, Nam Bo (the Southern region of Vietnam) includes provinces surrounding Ho Chi Minh
City and Can Tho City such as Dong Nai, Binh Duong, Long An, Tien Giang, An Giang, Kien
Giang, Ben Tre, Tay Ninh, Ha Giang, Binh Phuoc, and Ba Ria - Vung Tau. In this area, Khmer

134
 Tạp chí Khoa học Ngôn ngữ và Văn hóa ISSN 2525-2674 Tập 7, số 2, 2023

is the most common language, which is available in 10 provinces. In addition, this area also has
languages such as Stieng, Maa, Choro, and Mnong.
For the present study, the researchers adopted an interdisciplinary approach, which is
language - culturology, language - ethnography/anthropology. The rationale behind this approach
stems from the fact that the script issues are not only within the scope of linguistics but also
related to many fields of culture, anthropology, and ethnology. With an interdisciplinary
approach, the script issues will be viewed in a more comprehensive and inclusive way.
Additionally, within the scope of linguistics, the researchers approached and addressed issues in
the field of sociolinguistics.
In the process of investigation and study, the researchers used two main methods, which
are Field Research Methods of Linguistics and Expert Interviews.
Field Research Methods of Linguistics is about going to the places where ethnic
minorities reside to get ‘living’ materials about the existence or non-existence of ethnic scripts.
The posed questions include: Is the ethnic script traditional or newly created? Is there one or are
there many sets of scripts? Who is the author of the script? How popular is the ethnic script? How
ethnic scripts are taught? What are the aspirations of the indigenous people about the ethnic
script? and among others. The study subjects are indigenous people of different ages, genders and
educational levels. The research sites are some provinces in Truong Son Tay Nguyen, Tay Bac,
Viet Bac, Central Vietnam, and Southern Vietnam, where ethnic minorities in Vietnam are
concentrated.
Expert Interview is an ‘in-depth’ interview method. Experts here are regarded to be
intellectuals such as teachers, leaders, managers, culturists, artists, and researchers. In addition to
answering the above questions, experts were also interviewed in depth about their opinions and
views on the issues being raised and how to solve them. Our many years of fieldwork experience
show that the opinion of indigenous intellectuals is extremely important because they really
represent the voice of the ‘insiders’, for their ethnic group. However, during the fieldwork
investigation, only after obtaining ‘living’ materials from ordinary indigenous people, did the
researchers interview experts to avoid prejudices imposed from the beginning. Moreover, when
there are ‘living’ materials in hand, listening and exploiting expert’s opinions will be more
effective because the researchers can ask the experts questions that arise during the data collection
process. In addition, in the expert interviews, the researchers paid special attention to the opinions
of shamans, fortune-tellers, and healers who frequently use sets of traditional scripts. It can be
said that they possess a profound and thorough mastery of the traditional script of the ethnic
group to which they belong. Thus, their viewpoints are crucial, especially in conserving the
traditional script and addressing its flaws.
In addition to the two main methods of Field Research Methods of Linguistics and Expert
Interview, the researchers also employed several other techniques that are frequently used by
linguists.
First, a method of theory synthesis was used, offering the possibility of collating,
evaluating and combining theories for practical use of the study. The synthesis was divided into
three stages: (i) synthesis preparation, in which portions of pertinent theories were extracted and
summarized; (ii) synthesis, in which theories were compared for points of convergence and

135
 Tạp chí Khoa học Ngôn ngữ và Văn hóa ISSN 2525-2674 Tập 7, số 2, 2023

divergence and those points were brought together; and (iii) synthesis refinement, in which the
synthesis was probed for additional theoretical insights. This method helps to collect and refer to
many issues in the field of scripts in general and the scripts of ethnic minorities in Vietnam in
particular.
Second, a method of comparing and contrast was applied to distinguish between scripts
and complementary means of communication, clarifying the similarities and differences between
scripts and these means of communication. Besides, this method helps to compare different
classifications of Vietnamese ethnic scripts.
Third, by a method of analyzing and describing, the study examines the connection
between script and culture, the significance of script in maintaining ethnic culture and knowledge
in Vietnam, and the benefits and drawbacks of traditional and new scripts used by ethnic
minorities in Vietnam.
Fourth, a method of deductive and inductive reasoning was applied to accumulate
knowledge, draw comments and conclusions to offer suggestions for developing scripts for ethnic
groups without written languages and for preserving traditional scripts that place a high priority
on ethnic culture.
Last, quantitative statistical methods were applied for the data analysis process. A
descriptive statistical method was used for summarization, calculation, and description of data
related to the number of ethnic languages, language families, languages of each language family,
and ethnic groups with or without scripts. Then, an inferential statistical method was used to
estimate typical ethnic scripts with high frequency of use. From those results, the researchers
could draw the trend of classification and script usage of ethnic minorities in Vietnam.
With the above research methods, some of the obtained results will be presented in the
subsequent section.
4. Findings and discussion
In terms of the language family, the 52 ethnic languages in Vietnam belong to four
language families as follows: 1) Austroasiatic, 2) Tai-Kadai, 3) Austronesian, 4) Sino-Tibetan.
The Austroasiatic language family has 29 languages: Bahnar, Bru - Van Kieu, Choro,
Cor, K’ho, Katu, Yao, Jeh-Tariang, Hmong, H’re, Khmer, Maa, Mnong, Muong, Pa-Hng, San
Diu, Ta'oih, Sedang, Stieng, Brau, Cheut, Khang, Khmu, Tho, Mang, Hakka Chinese (Ngai),
O’du, Rmam, Sinmul. The Tai-Kadai language family has 11 languages: Tai, Tay - Nung, Lao,
SanChay, Bouyei, Gelao, Nhang, Lachi, Laha, Lu, Qabiao. The Sino-Tibetan language family
has seven languages: Hoa, Hani, Yi, Lahu, Phunoi, Sila, and Pula. The Austronesian language
family has five languages: Cham, Rhade, Jrai, Chru, and Raglei.
The Austroasiatic language family has 19 scripts: Bahnar, Bru - Van Kieu, Choro, Cor,
K'ho, Katu, Yao, Jeh-Tariang, Hmong, H’re, Khmer, Maa, Mnong, Muong, Pa-Hng, San Diu,
Ta'oih, Sedang, Stieng. The Tai-Kadai language family has four scripts: Tai, Tay - Nung, Lao,
and SanChay. The Sino-Tibetan language family has three scripts: Hoa, Hani, and Yi. The
Austronesian language family has five scripts: Cham, Rhade, Jrai, Chru, and Raglei. The ratio of
languages that have scripts over the total language number of the language family is as follows:

136
 Tạp chí Khoa học Ngôn ngữ và Văn hóa ISSN 2525-2674 Tập 7, số 2, 2023

Austroasiatic 65.4% (19/29), Tai-Kadai 36.3% (4/11), Sino-Tibetan 42.8% (3/7), and
Austronesian 100% (5/5).
Overall, 31 of the 52 ethnic minority languages have scripts, making up 62.2% of the
total. The other 21 languages, which account for 37.8% of the total, lack written scripts.
Therefore, theoretically, Vietnam still needs to establish script systems for 21 ethnic languages.
The explanation is that all ethnic groups have equal cultural rights, including the right to have
their own scripts, in accordance with the principles of UNESCO. It is important to note that the
aforementioned 21 ethnic minorities are all small-population ethnic groups, and linguistic
communication primarily occurs among middle-aged and senior members of the community.
Besides, many families today, especially those with young children, exclusively speak the
national language, which is Vietnamese. Therefore, a large number of languages are at risk of
disappearing in the near future. Consequently, the essential mission of Vietnam now (as well as
of multi-ethnic and multilingual countries in the world) is to protect languages that are in danger
of extinction. Obviously, creating scripts for endangered languages and instructing children of
ethnic minorities in both oral and written forms are the greatest ways to preserve them.
Additionally, folklore is extremely abundant among Vietnam's ethnic minorities, particularly in
the form of folk songs, proverbs, riddles, poetic stories, epics, myths, fables, fairy tales, and so
on. However, folklore is only passed down orally in ethnic groups without a script; therefore, a
lot of it ‘falls off’ with time. The aforementioned sorts of folklore will be accurately recorded
when there are written languages. That is one of the most efficient ways to support the protection
and maintenance of ethnic culture. Therefore, despite the fact that it has not been formally taught
in schools, it is vital to urgently create scripts for the 21 ethnic groups that lack a written language.
Another issue is that, once a script has been established for ethnic groups without written
languages, it is crucial to spread that script throughout the entire community; otherwise, the
created script will soon perish prematurely. Experience in introducing scripts to ethnic minorities
demonstrates that script teaching is not only for young people but also for the elderly. Of course,
teachers apply various cutting-edge techniques according to the learners’ ages. For children,
scripts can be taught through comics. For the elderly, it is possible to teach scripts associated with
the recording of folk works that have long existed only in oral form. Teaching the elderly to
rewrite the folk songs, folk verses, idioms, proverbs, riddles, etc. that they have memorized will
make them thrilled and proud of their traditional culture. When native speakers are able to write
and use the script, the community's sense of protecting their mother tongue will be enhanced.
Therefore, with 21 ethnic groups that do not have a written script, the establishment and
dissemination of script is the top task in protecting ethnic culture.
Among the 31 scripts of ethnic minority languages, they can be classified into two groups:
traditional scripts and new scripts.
The group of traditional scripts was largely acquired from the two great cultures of the
East, namely China and India. From China, Chinese characters were transmitted to Vietnam and
received by Vietnamese Confucianists. This script is associated with the popularity of
Confucianism and Northern Mahayana Buddhism. Then, on the basis of Chinese characters, a
type of script with Southern characteristics was born, which is the Nom script of the Vietnamese
people, of the Tay - Nung people, etc. Nom script is a cultural achievement that has been evaluated
to be of great value by the scientific community, and needs to go through the procedures to request

137
 Tạp chí Khoa học Ngôn ngữ và Văn hóa ISSN 2525-2674 Tập 7, số 2, 2023

UNESCO to recognize it as a world cultural heritage. The Sanskrit script spread from India to
many Southeast Asian nations, including Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam,
which are known for their devotion to Brahminism and Theravada Buddhism. Khmer, Cham, Tai,
and Lao scripts fall under this category in Vietnam. Because the Khmer population is concentrated
in the Southern provinces, the Khmer script is the most widely used and has the greatest vitality
among the four scripts mentioned above. Khmer became the primary language in a sizable region
and the Khmer script (appearing from the sixth century) was formally taught in schools. The
survey results show that, among the scripts of ethnic minorities in Vietnam, Khmer script has the
widest spread and teaching Khmer script also achieves the greatest success. Not only can almost
100% of the children of the Khmer ethnic group use Vietnamese language and Vietnamese script
(the national language), but they can also master Khmer language and Khmer script (the language
of the ethnic group). The Cham script, the oldest in Southeast Asia, was created no later than the
fourth century and was preserved by scholars and dignitaries of the Cham people. Traditional
Cham culture is a famous culture in Southeast Asia associated with the Champa state in history.
Cham script has become a means of recording the imprint of Champa culture. However, unlike
Khmer script, Cham script is less likely to have the power to spread to the community. Today,
the Cham ethnic group is divided into many different branches, some of which keep the traditional
Brahmin culture and the other that switch to Islamic culture. The religious and dialectal variances
have prevented the Cham community from using a single traditional Cham script that is unified
for the entire community. The Tai script, which was developed in the sixth century and had eight
different character types, was derived from the Indian Sanskrit script through the Khmer alphabet.
In the cultural treasures of the Tai people, the traditional Tai script is considered a spiritual
heritage, crystallizing the wisdom of the ancestors. It is preserved in ancient books recording
literature, customs, customary law, history or in family annals, genealogies, and it has scientific
value in literature, local studies, ethnology, anthropology, history of social development of the
Tai ethnic group (Ly Tung Hieu, 2017). Lao script is also used among Laotian intellectuals to
document traditions, ceremonies, and other things. Thus, it can be affirmed that all traditional
scripts of ethnic minorities in Vietnam have high historical-cultural values. It is necessary to
consider them as National Heritage in order to have effective policies and preservation measures.
The group of new scripts adopted the Latin graphology, appearing later. The earliest are
four sets of scripts born in the late 19th century and early 20th century created by French scholars,
namely Bahnar script (1861), Jrai script (1918), Rhade script (1923), K’ho script (1949). New
sets of scripts were established by scientists from the Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL) in the
South, in the second half of the 20th century. Meanwhile, in the North, new sets of scripts were
created by scientists of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. These are scripts such as Sedang,
Mnong, Raglei, Bru - Van Kieu, Katu, Ta’oih, Tai, Tay - Nung, etc. There are 26 ethnic minorities
in all having Latinized scripts. Remarkably, in some ethnic minorities, although they have the
Latin alphabet, there is not one but many Latin script systems or many variations of a script
system. The K’ho script is an example. The earliest script was developed by the French in 1949,
followed by another writing system created by SIL in 1960, and finally a modification of this
system by Vietnamese linguists in 1983. Besides, ethnic groups such as Katu, Ta’oih, Bru - Van
Kieu have both written scripts made by SIL and by the National Front for the Liberation of the
South (Ta Van Thong & Ta Quang Tung, 2017). Then there is the case in which the same ethnic
group, such as Tai, Tay-Nung, Hmong and Cham, uses both a traditional script and a Latinized

138
 Tạp chí Khoa học Ngôn ngữ và Văn hóa ISSN 2525-2674 Tập 7, số 2, 2023

script. The question of which script system should be adopted requires a formal response from
linguists and executives.
Looking back at how ethnic minorities have attempted to address their writing issues in
the past, it becomes clear that simply abandoning traditional scripts in favor of Latinized scripts
is not always the most efficient approach. Latin letters are phonographs that are easy to read and
write, thus teaching students to read and write more rapidly. This is an advantage. However, this
benefit only achieves optimal results when the ethnic group uses the Latinized script, which is the
only type of script used by that community. This is not always the case for ethnic communities
who have already used a traditional script. The lesson on the use of Latinized Tai script is an
example. The sixth century saw the beginning of the traditional Tai script, as was already
mentioned. The Latinized Tai script was approved in 1981 and is now used to print ethnic art
pages in regional books and periodicals as well as a Tai-Vietnamese dictionary. However, those
who acquired the Latinized Tai script cannot access the Tai cultural heritage recorded in the
traditional Tai script. Therefore, after two unsuccessful attempts to issue a new Tai script, in light
of the survey findings of eight different types of ancient Tai script characters, the authors of the
Tai Studies Program have completed the unified Vietnamese Tai script and deployed it to seven
provinces where Tai people live. Likewise, the Cham script is in a similar situation. Those who
learn the new Akhar Thrah Cham script cannot read the Akhar Thrah on texts and epitaphs (Ly
Tung Hieu, 2017).
As mentioned above, script is a means of recording and transmitting ethnic culture. With
the function of reflecting and preserving, the script of an ethnic group is closely related to the
history, beliefs, customs and cultural values of that ethnic group. And once attached to the ethnic
community for a long time, the script becomes an organic element constituting the ethnic culture,
a means of preserving, practicing, and promoting the beliefs, customs and habits of the ethnic
group. The populace in ethnic groups will feel as though they have lost a significant piece of their
history and culture if the script is taken away. Therefore, it requires careful planning to replace
the traditional script with a completely new set of script; otherwise, the ethnic community will
respond harshly and the replacement will be ineffective. Reality shows that only what is too
unreasonable of the traditional script system should be modified.
In addition to the traditional scripts and latinized new scripts, in some ethnic minorities
in Vietnam, there are sets of ‘ancient’ scripts. These are the pictographs of the Pa-Hng ethnic
group and the cuneiform scripts of the Yi ethnic group. These two types of script can be found in
texts with religious themes. The pictographs of the Pa-Hng ethnic group represent things and
phenomena that are real or only in their imagination. The cuneiform script of the Yi ethnic group
is regarded as a ‘sacred relic’ used to record ceremonial offerings. However, because these scripts
are incomplete, they are not used by native speakers. They are only taken into account as
historical vestiges of the emergence of ethnic scripts.
According to another classification, the ethnic scripts of Vietnam can be divided into
three types as follows.
Ideograph systems: These are script systems with a history of many centuries: Hoa script,
Hakka Chinese (Ngai) script, San Diu script, and Pa-Hng script.

139
 Tạp chí Khoa học Ngôn ngữ và Văn hóa ISSN 2525-2674 Tập 7, số 2, 2023

The script systems that are half-ideographic and half-phonographic (combining

ideograph and phonograph): Nom Tay script, Nom Nung script, Nom Kinh script, and Nom Ngan
script.
Phonograph systems: Sanskrit graphological scripts such as traditional Tai script,
traditional Cham script, Khmer script, Lu script, Lao script, and Latinized graphological scripts
such as Jrai, Rhade, K’ho, Chru, Choro, PaCo – Ta’oih, Bru - Van Kieu, Katu, Raglei, Tay -
Nung, Muong, Bahnar, H're, Cham (Hroi), Cor, and Sedang.
In terms of graphology, the scripts of ethnic minorities in Vietnam can be classified into
five types:
- Sanskrit graphology: traditional Tai script, traditional Cham script, Khmer script, Lao
script, and Lu script.
- Square graphology: the traditional script of the Tay - Nung, Trai (Cao Lan), and Yao.
- Pictograph graphology: the script of the Pa-Hng ethnic group.
- Cuneiform graphology: the script of the Yi ethnic group.
- Latin graphology: Bahnar, Rhade, K’ho, Jrai, Sedang, H’re, Raglei, Cor, Chru, Paco –
Ta’oih, and Bru - Van Kieu.
In general, it can be said that the scripts of ethnic minorities in Vietnam are quite diverse
and rich in terms of origin, formation and graphology (Ta Van Thong & Ta Quang Tung, 2017).
The variety of scripts is one of the ‘proofs’ for the diversity of ethnic culture in Vietnam.
5. Conclusions
Through surveying the script issues of ethnic minorities in Vietnam, some comments and
recommendations can be made as follows.
Firstly, Vietnam is a multi-ethnic, multi-language country. Most of the ethnic groups in
Vietnam have written scripts (31/52 languages). The scripts of ethnic minorities in Vietnam are
classified into two types: traditional scripts and new scripts. The traditional scripts adopted
characters from China and India. These are precious, rare, and highly valuable sets of scripts in
terms of ethnic culture. Traditional scripts are used and preserved by ethnic intellectuals,
shamans, fortune-tellers, geographers, healers, and so on. Traditional scripts are used to record
the laws of belief, religion, folklore works, customs and traditions, rituals, etc. of the ethnic
groups. Meanwhile, the new scripts were established according to the Latin alphabet. The new
scripts have the advantage of being easy to learn and remember. The dissemination of the new
scripts among young people is generally favorable. Many new scripts have been introduced into
the school's teaching and have brought about good effects.
Secondly, in Vietnam, up to now, there are still 21 ethnic languages without scripts. In
principle, these ethnic groups need to have their own written language, so developing scripts for
these ethnic groups is an important and urgent task. Moreover, in Vietnam today, the languages
of the ethnic groups without scripts are endangered languages. Creating scripts for these
languages and teaching them to ethnic minorities will be one of the good ways to ‘save’ those
languages from disappearing. It also means contributing to ‘saving’ an ethnic culture that is
standing on the edge of the abyss. Endangered languages can be compared to patients, and the
140
 Tạp chí Khoa học Ngôn ngữ và Văn hóa ISSN 2525-2674 Tập 7, số 2, 2023

written script is like one of the medicines that contribute to the recovery of the sick. The evidence
demonstrates that ethnic languages with written scripts, particularly those taught in schools, are
more vibrant and have a stronger capacity to ‘defend them’ against the threat of extinction brought
on by the dominance of powerful languages.
Thirdly, at present, the phonemic phonograph in the Latin alphabet is easy to learn and
remember. Thus, when creating scripts for ethnic groups that do not have a written script, they
should follow the phonemic phonograph system. In order to establish the script correctly,
Vietnamese phonetics – phonology researchers need to carefully investigate the phonemic
systems of ethnic languages that do not have a written script. In the past, Vietnamese linguists at
the Institute of Linguistics, Hanoi Vietnam National University, and Ho Chi Minh Vietnam
National University conducted many field investigations to collect data on phonetics – phonology
systems of most ethnic languages in Vietnam, especially the ethnic minorities in Tay Bac and Tay
Nguyen. These are valuable materials that can be exploited to develop scripts for ethnic groups
who do not have a written language.
Fourthly, traditional script is a valuable ethnic cultural heritage that needs to be protected.
The correction of the traditional script, if necessary, needs to be implemented carefully with the
consensus input of linguists, ethnologists, anthropologists, cultural scientists, and especially the
opinion of the ethnic community who is the owner of that script. Protecting traditional scripts is
both a legitimate aspiration of ethnic minorities and a unified view of social and humanities
scientists. However, how to protect it is something that needs to be considered and studied in a
methodical way to be able to achieve the highest efficiency. In our opinion, for the traditional
scripts in Vietnam today, on the one hand, it is necessary to preserve the positive elements with
historical and cultural value to the fullest extent possible. On the other hand, it is still required to
correct the limitations in terms of linguistics to make the script better, more complete, and to
improve its ‘power’ in preserving ethnic culture.
Fifthly, up to now, some ethnic minority scripts have been taught in schools. This is a
great effort of the Ministry of Education and Training along with the leaders of the provinces.
However, it is not enough for the dissemination of scripts to rely solely on schools, even if schools
are the best places to teach literacy. The written scripts need to be made available to the entire
population in a variety of ways. The more the script ‘sticks’ to each person in the community, the
more vitality it has. From our viewpoints, the folklore treasures of the ethnic minorities in
Vietnam today are extremely rich and diverse. In order to both preserve the traditional culture of
the ethnic group and promote the role of archiving information of the ethnic script, all folk
compositions such as folk songs, idioms, proverbs, riddles, fairy tales, fables, poetry stories, epics
and so on should be recorded in the script of that ethnic group. This practice also contributes to
raising national pride, encouraging love for the language, script and culture of the ethnic
community.
Sixthly, currently, in the whole territory of Vietnam, only eight ethnic languages (Hmong,
Cham (Hroi), Khmer, Jrai, Bahnar, Rhade, Tai, Mnong) have been taught in schools methodically
with the four skills of speaking, listening, reading and writing. This is the best way for ethnic
minority languages to be effective, to have deep and wide dissemination, which contributes to
protecting ethnic languages from being weakened and endangered. However, at present, in
Vietnam, many languages are in a ‘critical’ condition. According to researchers, the number of

141
 Tạp chí Khoa học Ngôn ngữ và Văn hóa ISSN 2525-2674 Tập 7, số 2, 2023

endangered languages in Vietnam today is 28 (Nguyen Van Loi, 1999). Therefore, in the coming
time, the Ministry of Education and Training needs to increase the number of ethnic languages
taught in schools. For ethnic groups with a very small population (under 1000 people), if they
cannot organize teaching ethnic languages in a methodical manner with four skills, special classes
need to be organized for students to learn the script of their own ethnic group. In the context of
Vietnam, from our perspectives, it is advisable to develop a model of special classes in as many
ethnic groups as possible. Not only does that work have practical effects in the dissemination of
ethnic scripts, but it also contributes to ‘instilling’ the love for their mother tongue into the hearts
of children.
Lastly, as mentioned above, in some ethnic groups of Vietnam today, there is a situation
that many sets of scripts exist in parallel. For example, in ethnic groups such as Tai, Tay, and
Nung, there are both traditional scripts and new scripts in Latin graphology; In the Cham ethnic
group, there are three types of script: The traditional phonographic Cham script in Sanskrit
graphology, the Cham Bani script and the Cham Jawi script in Arabic graphology, and the new
Cham script in Latin graphology. There are also ethnic groups that have only one type of Latin
script, but there are two variations appearing at two different times. For example, in the K’ho and
the Raglei ethnic groups, one version of Latin script was created in the early 20 th century and
another version was in the 1960s and 1970s. In the Hmong ethnic group, around 1901 saw the
creation of one Latin script variant, and 1961 witnessed the creation of another. When teaching
Latin script, which has numerous varieties, the most recently created script is usually chosen to
use. That is absolutely appropriate because the new script variant has been edited, removing the
limitations of the older version. However, the situation is more complicated for ethnic groups like
the Tai, Tay, Nung, and Cham, who use both traditional and new scripts. Currently, new scripts
are taught in schools so that students can read and write more effortlessly and easily. That is the
right approach for the school. However, as mentioned above, perhaps, in addition to teaching new
scripts in schools, there should also be special classes in ethnic communities that teach traditional
scripts so that later, there would be still indigenous people to read and exploit the ancient texts of
their fathers, which have high cultural values. It is also a way to preserve traditional scripts.
Notes
1. First of all, it is spatially limited. On the part of the speaker, no matter how delicate, thin and
tight the vocal cords are, the sound output will only reach a certain height. On the part of the
listener, if the listener stands too far away from the speaker, he/ she will not be able to perceive
the sound and meaning of the words that the speaker emits because the human ear can only hear
other people's voices within a certain limited range. In the old days, when two people lived in two
different villages, it would not be possible to communicate with each other using the language of
sounds. Spatial distance clearly becomes a problem for communication between people. Sound
language is also limited in terms of time. Spoken words are received only at the time they are
spoken. Past that time, ‘words are but wind’. It is due to the fact that the sound does not exist
anymore. The memory of spoken words depends on the memory of each person. For the previous
society, when the means of recording, playing back and transmitting sound had not yet developed,
the later generations could not store and transmit the voice of their ancestors. Today, we cannot
imagine the voices of great men several thousand years ago because of the limitations of the sound
language. Being aware of the limitation of sound language as regards space and time, people have
developed techniques to get beyond spatial and temporal shortcomings of sound language.
142
 Tạp chí Khoa học Ngôn ngữ và Văn hóa ISSN 2525-2674 Tập 7, số 2, 2023

Through a long process, humanity's ‘effort’ has paid off: Script systems were born one after
another (Mai Ngoc Chu, 2015).
2. In the history of script, people often refer to the early script systems, which have made great
contributions to the history of human civilization. They are Egyptian script, Mesopotamian script,
Indian script and Chinese script. According to researchers, the Egyptians' creation of the script to
record their voices around 5,000 years ago was one of their most significant inventions. Today,
it has been reported that the Egyptian script symbol system includes about 750 hieroglyphic
symbols and 20 phonographic symbols. Egyptian hieroglyphs are carved in stone, on the walls of
temples, shrines, palaces and pyramids. In Mesopotamia, the Sumerian script appeared around
the fourth millennium BC. This script system has about 600 characters. Like the Egyptian script,
the Mesopotamian script (which is represented by the Sumerian script) is a great spiritual asset of
the inhabitants of this area. Archaeological evidence shows that the inhabitants of Mesopotamia
used their own script to record scientific knowledge, literary works, political and economic
situations, and so on. The Indian script was born more than 2000 years ago. However, that early
script no longer exists. Around 800 BC appeared the Kharosthi script, then the Brami script. Then
from these two scripts, in the sixth century BC, to record Indo-European languages, people
modified the Devanagari alphabet. From here, the Sanskrit script was created. Later in northern
India, in order to spread Buddhism easily, the Sanskrit script was modified into a simpler script:
the Pali script. The Tai, Lao, Cham (Hroi) and Khmer scripts in the Indochinese Peninsula were
also created on the basis of the Pali - Sanskrit script of India (Mai Ngoc Chu, 2009).
3. Before the script officially appeared, mankind had some complementary means of
communication. The similarity between script and complementary means of communication is
that both rely on visual impressions (different from audio communication based on auditory
impressions). This has prompted some people to incorporate complementary means of
communication in the written script, making the concept understood in a very broad sense. For
example, in some tribes of the Americas, people have a form called Wampum. These are sets of
seashells, mussel shells with different colors and arrangements that are strung and worn on the
belt to remember the events. Complementary forms of communication are not just artifacts but
they can be paintings. Compared with the use of artifacts, the complementary form of
communication through drawings is somewhat close to the original form of writing, i.e.
pictograph (Nguyen Thien Giap, 1995). However, it should be emphasized that these
complimentary means of communication have many limitations. The contents that they convey
are not understood by everyone. The written script is different, because it is made for everyone.
Additionally, the written script has the power to communicate all the various aspects of social
life, including abstract concepts - which complimentary means of communication cannot ‘reach’.
Therefore, complimentary means of communication are not considered to be script.
4. The most typical examples of ideograph are numbers, marks, for example: 1, 2, 3, +, -, %, >,
<, =, etc. For example, the Vietnamese, Indians, Americans, British, and others can all understand
the number 2 when it is written, despite the fact that people in each country pronounce it
differently. Because each ideographic script directly represents the content and meaning of a
word, in principle the number of symbols created to record ideas must be equal to the number of
words. In spite of not being limitless, a language has a very large number of words; hence, there
will also be a very large number of symbols used to symbolize its meaning. Meanwhile, the

143
 Tạp chí Khoa học Ngôn ngữ và Văn hóa ISSN 2525-2674 Tập 7, số 2, 2023

human brain has a finite capacity for remembering. This is inconvenient, which is the main
limitation of ideographs. Phonograph consists of two types: syllabic phonograph and phonemic
phonograph. For syllabic phonograph, each symbol represents a syllable. Japanese is an example.
For phonemic phonographs, each symbol represents a phoneme. The Vietnamese Quoc Ngu
script, English and French scripts are all phonemic phonographs. The phonograph is simpler than
the ideograph because the number of symbols used for recording syllables and phonemes is much
less than the number of symbols used for recording ideas. In terms of script forms, formerly
phonographic symbols may have been drawings or hieroglyphic lines as in ancient Egyptian
script. Today the phonographic symbols of modern script systems have been perfected to a very
simple level. The Latin alphabet, which is used in many nations, is an obvious example. In
phonograph, phonemic phonograph is significantly simpler than syllabic phonograph because the
number of phonemes in a language is much less than the number of syllables. This is the reason
why in the conclusion section of this article, it is recommended that when creating scripts for
ethnic minorities in Vietnam that do not have a written language, they should choose phonemic
phonograph.
5. Ethnographically, Tay and Nung are considered two different ethnic groups, so Vietnam is
regarded as a country with 54 ethnic groups, in which Kinh (the Vietnamese) is the main ethnic
group, and the remaining 53 are ethnic minorities. However, linguistically, Tay and Nung
languages are the same language, which is called the Tay - Nung language. Therefore, except for
Vietnamese as the national language, there are 52 ethnic minority languages.
References
Condominas, G. (1997). Không gian xã hội vùng Đông Nam Á (Social space in Southeast Asia). Culture
Publishing House (Ngoc Ha, Thanh Hang & Ho Hai Thuy translated from French L’Espace social.
Apropos de l’Asie du Sud-Est, 1978).
Dang Nghiem Van (2003). Cộng đồng quốc gia dân tộc Việt Nam (The Vietnamese National Community).
Ho Chi Minh National University Publishing House.
Doan Van Phuc, Dinh Thi Hang, & Nguyen Minh Hoat (2019). Quan điểm chủ trương của Đảng, chính
sách của nhà nước Việt Nam đối với ngôn ngữ dân tộc thiểu số từ năm 1930 đến nay (Perspectives
of the Party and policies of the State of Vietnam towards ethnic minority languages from 1930 to
present). Journal of Ethnology, Issue 2.
Ethnology Language of the World (1988). Summer Institute of Linguistics, Texas.
Jeffrey, B. (2000). The Sounds of Silence. Newsweek, June 19.
Hoang Thi Chau (2006). Tình hình và chính sách xây dựng và phổ cập chữ viết các dân tộc thiểu số ở Việt
Nam (Situation and policies on establishing and popularizing ethnic minority scripts in Vietnam).
http: //ngonngu.net.
Ly Tung Hieu (2017). Trường Sơn Tây Nguyên, Tiếp cận văn hoá (Truong Son Tay Nguyen, Approaching
cultural studies). Knowledge Publishing House.
Mai Ngoc Chu (2009). Văn hoá & Ngôn ngữ phương Đông (Eastern Languages & Cultures). Oriental
Publishing House.
Mai Ngoc Chu (Ed) (2015). Nhập môn ngôn ngữ học (Introduction to Linguistics). Education Publishing
House, Hanoi.
Mai Ngoc Chu (2005). Các ngôn ngữ dân tộc ở Việt Nam từ góc nhìn khu vực học (Ethnic languages in
Vietnam from a regional perspective). Science Journal of Vietnam National University, Hanoi,
Issue 1.

144
 Tạp chí Khoa học Ngôn ngữ và Văn hóa ISSN 2525-2674 Tập 7, số 2, 2023

Ngo Duc Thinh (1993). Văn hoá vùng và phân vùng văn hoá Việt Nam (Regional culture and cultural
zoning of Vietnam). Social Science Publishing House.
Nguyen Huu Hoanh (Ed), Nguyen Van Loi, & Ta Van Thong (2013). Ngôn ngữ, chữ viết các dân tộc thiểu
số ở Việt Nam (Những vấn đề chung) (Language and writing of ethnic minorities in Vietnam
(Common issues)). Social Science Publishing House.
Nguyen Thien Giap (Ed), Doan Thien Thuat, & Nguyen Minh Thuyet (1995). Dẫn luận ngôn ngữ học
(Introduction to Linguistics). Education Publishing House, Hanoi.
Nguyen Van Huy (Ed) (2001). Bức tranh văn hoá các dân tộc Việt Nam (Cultural picture of ethnic groups
in Vietnam). Education Publishing House.
Nguyen Van Loi (1999). Các ngôn ngữ nguy cấp và việc bảo tồn sự đa dạng văn hoá, ngôn ngữ tộc người
ở Việt Nam (Endangered languages and the preservation of ethnic languages and cultural diversity
in Vietnam). Journal of Linguistics, Issue 4.
Schroch, J.L., & others (1966). Minority groups in the Republic of Vietnam. Ethnographic study, Cultural
Information Analysis Center, the American University, Washington, D.C.
Suzanne, R. (2007). Preserving Endangered Languages. Language and Linguistics Compass, 1(1-2), 115-
132. Print.
Ta Van Thong & Ta Quang Tung (2017). Ngôn ngữ các dân tộc ở Việt Nam (Languages of ethnic groups
in Vietnam). Thai Nguyen Publishing House.

VẤN ĐỀ CHỮ VIẾT CỦA CÁC TỘC NGƯỜI THIỂU SỐ

Ở VIỆT NAM
Tóm tắt: Bài viết cung cấp một cái nhìn toàn diện về thực trạng tình hình chữ viết của 52
dân tộc thiểu số ở Việt Nam trên địa bàn năm khu vực chính là Trường Sơn Tây Nguyên,
Tây Bắc, Việt Bắc, Trung Bộ và Nam Bộ. Để đạt được mục đích nghiên cứu này, chúng tôi
đã áp dụng hướng tiếp cận liên ngành ngôn ngữ-văn hóa học, ngôn ngữ-dân tộc học/nhân
học, cùng với hướng tiếp cận chuyên ngành ngôn ngữ học xã hội. Với sự kết hợp của hai
phương pháp chính là điều tra điền dã ngôn ngữ học và phỏng vấn chuyên gia, bài viết phân
tích mối quan hệ giữa chữ viết và văn hoá, tầm quan trọng của chữ viết trong việc lưu giữ
thông tin và lưu giữ văn hoá tộc người ở Việt Nam, những mặt tích cực, ưu điểm cũng như
những mặt hạn chế của chữ viết cổ truyền và chữ viết mới đang hiện hữu ở các tộc người
thiểu số ở Việt Nam. Từ kết quả nghiên cứu, chúng tôi đề xuất kiến nghị về việc đặt chữ viết
cho các tộc người chưa có chữ viết và bảo vệ những chữ viết cổ truyền có giá trị cao về văn
hoá tộc người với quan niệm chữ viết cổ truyền là di sản văn hóa quốc gia.
Từ khóa: Ngôn ngữ, chữ viết, tộc người, văn hoá tộc người

145