Xin chào tất cả mọi người.

[Living_Dust]

Xin chào tất cả mọi người,

*warning* Long post.

I am a 3rd generation Australian Born Vietnamese. My parents are from Vietnam, from the Hà Nam and Hà Ðông province, however moved to Saigon (also known as Ho Chi Minh City) as a child. During my childhood, my parents forced me to learn Vietnamese because it is of vital importance and that one day I will be able to communicate with my grandparents. I studied vigorously during my childhood, often winning prizes for excellence and hard work. I did this for 7 years, beginning at age 6 at a Sunday School in Melbourne.

However, as the years past, I lost touch with my mother's tongue as I rarely spoke Vietnamese due to the fact that I only had parents who spoke Vietnamese to me, and I was too immature to realise the importance of your mother's tongue. I live near a market in Melbourne with a high density percentile of Vietnamese immigrants and I usually visit to purchase Vietnamese delicacies. However, as ignorance is bliss as they say, and I am now 19 years old and cannot speak coherent Vietnamese without uttering English words to substitute my apparent lack of vocabulary. I spoke to my grandma on the phone one afternoon, and her "Bac" (Northern) accent was so apparent that I could not understand a single word, since growing up in a Vietnamese community based around Vietnamese and Cantonese based immigrants from Sài Gòn and Chợ Lớn whom spoke with a "Nam" (Southern) accent. I can translate conversational Vietnamese to English, but not the other way around and understand "Nam" accent Vietnamese, but I can't communicate back. I like to watch TV shows: Bỗng dưong muốn khóc, Ngôi nhà hạnh phúc and Tuyết nhiệt đới and can understand 100%. I often listen to Vietnamese music; Lam Truong and Dan Truong. I often involve myself with Vietnamese cultural aspects, however I have realised that no matter how much you involve yourself in cultural aspects, and listen to Vietnamese and listen to Vietnamese music, it does not help. Only perfect practice makes perfect.

I often see many second or third generation Vietnamese born in Westernised countries often ignore their mother's language and integrate into Western society by having absolute utter ignorance of anything related to Vietnam. Hence, their inability to communicate in fluent Vietnamese (I am an example). This is a sad sight.

I regret not holding onto the roots of my mother's tongue, and wish to learn have a fluent grasp of Vietnamese before I visit Vietnam (one day). I can translate some of this to Vietnamese, but since it is such a long post, I really can't be bothered. Sorry. Here is a brief summary:

Tổng Kết:

Xin chào tất cả mọi người,

Cha mẹ tôi là từ Việt Nam, Hà Nam và Hà Ðông, tuy vậy sống ở Sài Gòn. Như một đứa trẻ, tôi rất chăm học tiếng Việt, tôi thường được giải thưởng cho sự chăm chỉ và quyết tâm. Tuy nhiên, nhiều năm qua, tôi đã quên tiếng mẹ đẻ của tôi và tôi hối hận tại vì tôi không thể nói tiếng Việt nữa, ngu si hưởng thái bình như họ nói. Mặc dù tôi hối hận tại vì tôi không thể nói tiếng Việt, không phải là quá muộn như tôi vẫn còn trẻ. Tôi sẽ học tiếng Việt một lần nữa ... một ngày.