Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Do you realize that in the Vietnamese language, there aren’t two neutral addressing words like I and You in English? Everyone in the country call each other by the terms used in the family – cháu (hay con) and cô, dì, chú, bác, ông, bà; anh chị em.

This cultural strait is very unique Vietnamese. It means, for thousands of years we Vietnamese have treat everyone in the nation as our family members. That explain why we have had such a strong unity to beat all the aggressive powers who have invaded our land.

We are one family. That is the strength of our nation. Never forget this fundamental fact.

There is on word that is an exception – that is “tôi.” This word sticks out like a sore thumb. It doesn’t fit anywhere. It doesn’t even sound like Vietnamese language. After studying the use of “tôi” for many years, I have come to the conclusion that it is a Chinese term, in “kẻ bầy tôi” (we the lowly) or “tôi tớ” (lowly servant). That must be the word the Vietnamese used to address themselves in conversations with the ruling Chinese officials when China was dominating Vietnam. That is a shameful relic of history.

We only have intimate familial terms in our addressing system. We are one family.

With compassion,

Hoành

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