I need help on Vietnam?

Question

How are individuals greeted or addressed in veitnam? How are family names passed on in this country?

This for a project in my Global Economics class

Answer 1

Family names are passed on similar to Western cultures, but the names are referred backwards from Western culture. Ex:

Viet: Nguyen Tai Dang Minh (my Grand Dad's name)
Western: Minh Tai Dang Nguyen

Minh is my Grandfather's given or first name. Nguyen is the famiyl name. Tai Dang are the middle names.

There is a short list of Viet family names (approximately 100), with Nguyen being the most popular. Almost 40% of the Viets have Nguyen as their family name.

The Vietnamese language and culture greets others rather formally by their first name. You never say "Minh", but you say Ong Minh (Mr. Minh). It gets very complicated if it's a family member. You greet them in accordance to their relationship to you.

Uncle Hung is Bac Hung - older brother of my mother (I think)
Aunt Be is Co Be - younger sister of my father.

There is no general "you" either. Ex.

Ong co hieu Tieng Viet khong.
Do you (older male,sir) understand Vietnamese?

Ba co hieu Tieng Viet khong
Do you (older female, maam) understand Veitnamese?

The Viets get real pissed if you refer them improperly, which in my opinion is the biggest problem in learning Veitnamese.

The question I would lke to know is how does greetings in Vietnam haev anything to do with global economics?

Answer 2

chow (hello) ong(sir),ba(mrs),co(miss),em(child)