Vietnamese

Vietnam is a long, narrow country in Southeast Asia, stretching along the eastern coast of the Indochinese Peninsula. It shares borders with China to the north, Laos and Cambodia to the west, and the South China Sea to the east and south. Vietnam boasts diverse landscapes—from lush mountains and terraced highlands in the north to the vast Mekong Delta in the south. Its culture is shaped by thousands of years of history, blending indigenous traditions with strong Chinese, French, and Indian influences. The country was under Chinese rule for over a millennium and later colonized by the French, gaining independence in the mid-20th century. Today, Vietnam is a fast-developing nation with a youthful population, rich cuisine, vibrant cities, and deep-rooted family and ancestral traditions.

The Vietnamese Language

Vietnamese (Tiếng Việt) is the official and national language of Vietnam, spoken by the vast majority of the population as a native or second language. It belongs to the Austroasiatic language family, specifically the Vietic branch, which also includes some minority languages spoken in Vietnam and Laos. Although it is distantly related to languages like Khmer, Vietnamese has developed distinct characteristics due to centuries of contact with other cultures.

A major influence on Vietnamese is Classical Chinese, due to more than 1,000 years of Chinese rule and ongoing cultural and scholarly exchange. This impact is most evident in its vocabulary, particularly in words related to governance, philosophy, and religion. Originally, Vietnamese was written using Chữ Nôm—a logographic script based on Chinese characters—but this was replaced in the 17th century by quốc ngữ, a Latin-based alphabet developed by Portuguese and French Jesuit missionaries. Quốc ngữ became widespread under French colonial rule and is now the official writing system in Vietnam.

Vietnamese is a tonal language, with the Northern (Hanoi) dialect using six distinct tones. These tones are essential to word meaning and are marked with diacritical marks in writing. A single syllable like ma can have six entirely different meanings depending on the tone used.

Grammatically, Vietnamese is analytic and isolating, meaning that it does not use inflection to convey tense, gender, or number. Word order is essential, and additional meaning is conveyed through context and the use of auxiliary particles. The typical sentence structure is Subject–Verb–Object (SVO), similar to English. Time markers such as đã (past) and sẽ(future) are used instead of verb conjugations.

The language also has a complex system of pronouns and kinship terms that reflect social hierarchy, age, gender, and familiarity. This reflects Confucian values deeply embedded in Vietnamese society. For instance, how one refers to another person changes entirely depending on whether the person is older or younger, male or female, or inside or outside the family.

Phonetically, Vietnamese includes a modest inventory of consonants and vowels, but its rich tone system and frequent use of final stops and glottal closures give it a distinctive sound. Dialectal variation is considerable, with the Northern, Central, and Southern regions each having unique pronunciations and tonal patterns. The Hanoi dialect is considered the standard in official contexts, including education and broadcasting.

Asterix in Vietnam: From Bootlegs to Official Publications

The French comic series Astérix, created by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo, has also found its way to Vietnamese readers. In the early years, several unauthorized bootleg editions of Asterix albums circulated informally within Vietnam. However, in recent years, the respected publisher Kim Đồng has taken the initiative to release official Vietnamese translations of the series.

Since 2019, Kim Đồng Publishing House has steadily released high-quality, officially licensed Vietnamese editions of popular Asterix albums. Titles such as Astérix và nữ hoàng Cleopatre (Asterix and Cleopatra), Astérix làm lính La Mã(Asterix the Legionary), and Astérix và người Normand (Asterix and the Normans) are now available. These editions can still be relatively easily found in Vietnamese bookstores and through online retailers, making them accessible to collectors and new fans alike.

Kim Đồng has also worked with the French Institute in Vietnam to promote the Asterix series to younger audiences. Events such as comic festivals and illustration contests have been organized in cities like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, fostering cross-cultural exchange and encouraging interest in French comic art among Vietnamese youth.