…is not one of those languages you just “pick up”.  Vietnamese, particularly the dialect spoken in Central Vietnam is melodious, delicious to the ear. Understanding it and being understood while speaking it, however, is a whole different deal.  Vietnamese is a tonal language, there are six different tones that come into play while using it.

So a word can have a number of different meanings based on the tone used when pronouncing it. The word “ma” can mean either “mother” or “ghost” depending on your pronunciation.  Or, if you accidentally let your accent slide down while using “ma”, you’re talking about a grave.

With the romance languages I’ve always been able to fake it to some extent.  In France or Spain, I can follow the gist of a conversation, if not literally, at least generally. Not so with Vietnamese.  Most of the time I’m just lost.

That is why the interpreter and researcher on this project, my Granddaughter Lynda Huynh, has been critically important to our success.  Lynda is patient and thorough, not always easy in the situations she gets thrown into.  Now and then in a particularly animated interview with Vietnamese speakers, there are a number of people all speaking at once.  Sorting it out so the conversation gets us information that is both useful and accurate is Lynda’s job — and she’s doing just great.