WRITING SYSTEMS OF ETHNIC MINORITY LANGUAGES IN VIETNAM AND THE CASE OF NUNG

Abstract


 There are over 33 writing systems of ethnic minority languages in a truly multilingual country of Vietnam, some of them are traditional writing systems, while others have been created in recent decades. This paper provides an overview of writing systems of ethnic minority languages in Vietnam. It also presents a closer look at the way the language policy is implemented in Vietnam and the effect it has over language competence, language use and language attitudes of Vietnamese people towards their writing systems. Despite the fact that a great number of minority ethnicities in Vietnam have their own writing systems and some of them have more than one writing system, very few ethnic minorities can use their local writing systems as the levels of literacy are quite low. The paper reveals that although Vietnam has gained remarkable achievements in preserving and promoting languages and writing systems of ethnic minorities, there is still a lot to be done. The advantages of the current language policy of Vietnam regarding the ethnic minority languages and writing systems are quite substantial. At the same time the study also notes the disadvantages that cause difficulties in preserving and promoting languages of ethnic minorities in Vietnam, including the case of Nung language.