Saturday, May 17, 2008

Language Play and Acquisition

There is a language game called NOI LAI that she knows about, though she said she rarely did it herself. It consists of switching the tones of two words and their order (or that of their first consonants.) For example:

Chu-ah hong -> ho-ang chu-ah
Unmarried pregnancy -> Are you scared?

She had a deal more to say about language acquisition and the treatment of children. Children are, evidently, much cared for in Vietnamese society; when the child shows the slightest distress, the parents will be there in a moment to find out what's wrong. When speaking to a child, a soft voice and simple words are used. Children are generally expected to keep quiet, especially in social settings. Teachers are supposed to be respected in similar fashion.

My partner seemed to find this rather restraining, noting that a girl-child is not considered an adult until married, even though by law it's when she's 18. Indeed, Vietnamese parents tend to be preoccupied with their children even after this point. Typically, Vietnamese get married in their 20s (counting women, so it seems they don't get married at a much younger age than the men.) They will have 2 or so children on average and will frequently find work with the help of their family contacts.
I found it interesting that she was somewhat disdainful of this system, she seemed very enamored of the American equivalents.

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