Colonialism and Language Policy in Vietnam (Contributions to the Sociology of Language, Nr. 19) [Hardcover]

J. Defrancis (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English, Vietnamese

Product Details

• Hardcover: 294 pages
• Publisher: Mouton De Gruyter (December 1977)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9027976430
• ISBN-13: 978-9027976437
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,245,994 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great historical read! Easy! insightful!, May 16, 2004

By 

Mr. Wynn (State of Confusion) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Colonialism and Language Policy in Vietnam (Contributions to the Sociology of Language, Nr. 19) (Hardcover)

I started out researching and found this book. I ended up reading it for leisure!

Yes, it's true. How could aademic discourse be so interesting? Oh, but it is! The country of Vietnam almost becomes like a character in a novel but this entire book is non-fiction! I learned more about the evolution of the Vietnamese language from this book like I learn about the morphing of a character's personality throughout a novel.

DeFrancis does a good job in covering the different cultural influences that have helped mold the Vietnamese language but don't dare consider the langage hybrid! The language is uniquely its own but, like a character in a novel or real life, is affected by those around it and those it encounters.

The book is quite insightful. History buffs will love it. Vietnamese scholars will appreciate it. I simply loved it!