A Nguyen is a Nguyen is a Nguyen (Alert : bilingual posting)

A famous Nguyen

The most frequent question all Vietnamese living in Canada (and probably anywhere else but in Vietnam) have heard repeatedly is : «Why are you all called Nguyen?» To save time and energy, I would advise them to print out my post and hand it to the person asking that question. No need to thank me.

Le blog «Langue piquante» du quotidien Le Monde de ce matin porte justement sur ce sujet [http://tinyurl.com/eacve]

«Nguyen & Nguyen

M. Jacques à l'Elysée, M. Dominique à Matignon, ça vous a un petit côté anna, annana, cette familiarité. Quand on nomme le nouveau président vietnamien, Nguyen Minh Triet, doit-on dire M. Triet? M. Minh? M. Nguyen? A la sauce française, c'est M. Nguyen (le patronyme), mais à la vietnamienne ce sera M. Triet (un morceau du prénom Minh Triet, quelque chose comme “brillant philosophe” ou “philosophe éclairé”). Recommençons l'exercice avec le nouveau premier ministre: Nguyen Tan Dung. Pour Nguyen, vous avez compris, prénom: Tan Dung, “avancer avec force”, et voilà M. Dung.

Tant de Nguyen au Vietnam..., alors pleins feux sur le prénom.»

If you can read French, by all means click on the link «Nguyen» for an extremely interesting article on the origin and uses of names in the Vietnamese culture. For my other readers, here’s a brief analysis.

Nguyen is indeed a very common family name in Vietnam, about 50-60% of Vietnamese families carry that name, according to the above-mentioned article. The reason for that is that, historically, the vast majority of the population, composed mainly of farmers and merchants, did not have proper family names. The only ones with a name were princes and war lords, so the population living under their control took on the name of their overlords.

A Vietnamese name is usually composed of three words, e.g. : Nguyen Van Hung for a man or Tran Thi Mai for a woman, whereby :

· «Nguyen» or «Tran» are clan names (belonging to the Nguyen Clan or the Tran Clan). The Nguyen Dynasty being the last one in Vietnam, the Nguyen name is now the most widely shared.

· «Van» or «Thi» are «buffer» names, normally used to denote the gender of the person (in these cases «Van» for man and «Thi» for woman).

· «Hung» or «Mai» are first names. Boys’ names usually denote qualities that are virile, such as Hung (Hero), or intellectual such as Minh (Brightness). Girls’ names usually describe flowers, such as Mai (Plum blossom), or poetic animals and objects such as Nga (Swan or Moon) or Châu (Pearl) and feminine qualities, such as Dieu (Graciousness), Hien (Gentleness), My (Beauty), etc..

As the Langue piquante blog indicates, the polite way to address a Vietnamese is to use his or her first name : Mr. Dung, Miss Thu. The family name is considered more or less sacred and it is neither polite nor auspicious to have it casually bandied about. The following story is very common at international conferences where Vietnamese delegates, being called by their family name, just sat there, not realizing they were being addressed :

"A une conférence internationale, le Président, un Japonais, s'est adressé à M. Nguyen Huu Phu, Vietnamien, en l'appelant par son nom de famille : "Mr Nguyen". M. Phu n'a même pas bougé, ne se croyant pas interpellé, sûr que Mr Nguyen était une autre personne." [http://tinyurl.com/k6k3w]

To complicate matters, the Vietnamese have also adopted the Chinese custom of changing their names at various times in their life, usually after momentous or life-changing events. Famous stateman Ho Chi Minh has had many names before settling for his last famous one (Ho Chi Minh = Ho, he who brings light).

The Vietnamese believe that their name will influence their destiny and that an «unlucky» name could hinder future successes. As a matter of fact, in the old days, and still nowadays in the countryside, children do not received a proper first name until they pass their first (or even second) year of life. In order to protect them from unwanted attention from demons, sickness or other dangers, their parents would call them by nicknames, the uglier the better. Examples, taken from the above-mentioned article : Cu (penis), Hĩm (vagina), Chí (louse), Cóc (frog), Đĩ (prostitute), Bùn (mud) etc.

Finally, let me end this long post with one riddle and two extra pieces of information :

- Ho Chi Minh is called «Uncle Ho» by the Vietnamese population. Why Uncle Ho and not Uncle Minh according to custom? By the same token, why is Mao Zedong called Chairman Mao and not Chairman Dong?

- Vietnamese women keep their family name all through life and do not take on their husband’s name. Children take the father’s name.

- The name and surname systems reflect a westernized point of view. In Asia in general and in Vietnam in particular, people traditionally call themselves and others not by their first name or family name, but by their family ranks and relationships. A Vietnamese child referring to herself would not say «I» or «me» but : con (child), or cháu (grandchild), em (younger sister), chi (older sister), etc. She would call the other members of the family : ba or bo or cha (father) , ma or me (mother), bà (grandmother), anh (older brother). When dealing with non relatives, a Vietnamese would quickly assess the other person’s age, rank and status relative to oneself and call that person : anh (older brother), chi (older sister), chu (younger uncle – father side), cau (younger uncle – mother side), co (younger aunt – father side), mo (younger aunt – mother side), bac (older uncle or aunt, or any older person in general, when you’re not sure) , etc.. Addressing a person by a family rank title, as if he/she were a relative, instead of using the cold and formal «Ông» or «Bà» (Sir, Madam) is a charming custom and a polite and gracious way of expressing good will and inclusiveness. Such a system should be adopted worldwide.

Ho Chi Minh's House

Disclaimer: I am a Nguyen.