Dr. Nguyen Manh Hung – Founder & President THAIHABooks - Honouring Vietnamese Language a practical & necessary initiative

According to Decision No. 930/QĐ-TTg approved by the Prime Minister on August 3rd 2022 upon the Project of setting a day for the honoring of the Vietnamese Language among the Vietnamese communities overseas for the period between 2023 and 2030, the date of September 8th has been chosen to be the official day on which the Vietnamese Language is honored. This Project has been launched to enable Vietnamese everywhere to preserve, honor, and popularize the beauty and the value of the Vietnamese Language, and to contribute to the elevation of the pride in and the promotion of the cultural identity of the Vietnamese people at the same time. Below is Ms. Ashley Ngo's opinion about this special day for honoring the Vietnamese Language.

STARTING FROM SEPTEMBER 8, 2022, THE DAY HAS BEEN SELECTED AS A DAY FOR HONOURING  VIETNAMESE LANGUAGE IN VIETNAMESE COMMUNITIES ABROAD. WHAT IS YOUR OPINION ON THIS DAY?

This is a practical and necessary initiative. I am very happy about this decision. Vietnamese is a beautiful language. The Vietnamese alphabet is very important, especially when we learn foreign languages, such as English, French, German, etc. This year 2023 is the first year that Vietnam has organized the “Day for Honouring Vietnamese Language” and I am confident that we will do very well in the years to come.

Also on this occasion, luckily, Thai Ha Books has secured the copyright and published the book “History of the Vietnamese alphabet from 1620 to 1659” by SJ. Do Quang Chinh and the book has been released in both special and paperback editions.

COULD YOU PROBABLY INTRODUCE BRIEFLY ABOUT THIS BOOK?

“History of the Vietnamese alphabet from 1620 to 1659” by SJ. Do Quang Chinh was initially published in 1972, which is a valuable resource in the field of Vietnamese linguistics. The publication was updated with some corrections by the author in 2007.

The book consists of four chapters: Chapter 1 summarizes some comments from some Westerners about the Vietnamese language; Chapter 2 briefly summarizes the formation of the Latin alphabet from 1620 to 1648; Chapter 3 discusses the work of SJ. Alexandre de Rhodes in compiling and publishing the first two books in the national alphabet in 1651; and finally, Chapter 4 analyzes the handwritten documents from 1659 by two Vietnamese people, Igesico Van Tin and Bento Thien.

IN ADDITION, THE FACT THAT SOME YOUNG PEOPLE TODAY ARE FOLLOWING NEW TRENDS FROM ABROAD AND GRADUALLY FORGETTING THE CULTURAL AND TRADITIONAL VALUES OF THE NATION. WHAT IS YOUR OPINION ON THIS ISSUE?

If this information is true, it is unfortunate. Vietnam has a history of 4,000 years. Our ancestors and fathers were great, very brave, intelligent, and resourceful, and they left behind a great deal of tangible and intangible assets. There are many precious traditions that we can see are wonderful. For example, the culture of bamboo, which is soft but also very strong. Like the culture of gourds, love, help, and mutual assistance. Like the courage to dare and overcome many difficulties and challenges to survive and develop, etc.

WHAT ARE THE KEY FACTORS IN BUILDING A STRONG TEAM OF EMPLOYEES IN A BUSINESS? WHAT IS THE ROLE OF A LEADER?

I think that the role of a leader is very important. The leader is the soul of the business, and must be someone with a long-term vision, always leading by example, and must have a heart - as the saying goes, “big enough to accommodate talented people, wide enough to forgive and tolerate, and strong enough to overcome all the storms of life”. The leader must be inspired in their work and be able to inspire their subordinates and partners. Moreover, if you want a business to be strong and sustainable, you should not put profit first, but should find ways to bring happiness to everyone.

A leader like this will have a good company machine, always looking for ways to serve customers, doing everything to bring the best to customers, whoever they are and wherever they are.

I always believe that the true nature and goal of sales is to help customers succeed. One important thing is to come up with your own way of doing things not just copy. Because you can copy the model and the way of doing things, but no one can copy the soul and essence of others, of other businesses.

IN ADDITION TO SERVING READERS WITH CAREFULLY SELECTED BOOKS, THAI HA BOOKS ALSO SERVES THE COMMUNITY IN VIETNAM AND ABROAD WITH MANY CONCRETE ACTIVITIES. CAN YOU SHARE MORE ABOUT THIS?

When the Covid-19 pandemic broke out, we opened dozens of free ATMs RICE across the country and, with the help of many kind-hearted people, donated a total of over 1,000 tons of rice. Then we opened ATMs BOOK to give away free books during the Covid pandemic. Next, we did ATMs WHITE CANES, giving away white canes to the blind in many provinces and cities across the country.

Currently, we are implementing ATMs BOOKSHELVES, giving away at least 2 bookshelves to every corner of the country, especially in remote areas such as Phu Quy Island, ethnic minority people in Hoa Binh, Lao Cai, Tay Nguyen, etc.

Along with ATMs KINDNESS, we have brought rice and food to the needy people of India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and Cambodia. With ATMs WELL OF WATER, we have donated clean wells to people in waterscarce areas in Gaya, India, following the message of the book “A long walk to water by Linda Sue Park”.

We are truly happy to do good deeds, because I think that even if we cannot do great things, we can do small things with a big heart.

Thank you for sharing.

Saigon New Day

Từ khóa : Tiến sĩ Nguyễn Mạnh Hùng, Chủ tịch HĐQT Thái Hà Books, Tôn vinh tiếng Việt