The Adaptation of French Loanwords in Vietnamese. Due to the influence of France while Vietnam was a French colony, many French words have been adopted by the Vietnamese.

Timeline of Colonization + War:

The French occupied Vietnam from 1887 - 1954, Vietnam was a part of a French colony called French Indochina. The VN/U.S. war started in 1961 and ended in 1975.  My Parents were born in Can Tho Vietnam in 1950, where they spend their first 4 years of life under French rule, from 11 - 25 years old my parents live through the war.  At 29 yrs old they flee Vietnam with a 3 yr old daughter.

I’ve been re working “Loanwords” since its inception in 2015. 

The French Foreign Legion is a military service branch of the French Army established in 1831. Legionnaires are highly trained infantry soldiers and the Legion is unique in that it is open to foreign recruits willing to serve in the French Armed Forces.

Phonological Adaptation of French Loanword Legion in Vietnamese, French, and English : LÊ-DƯƠNG, LÉGION, FRENCH FOREIGN LEGION.

During the First Indochina War (1946–1954), the Foreign Legion saw its numbers swell. The Legion lost a large number of men in the Battle of Dien Bien Phu against forces of the Viet Minh (a member of a Communist-dominated nationalist movement, formed in 1941, that fought for Vietnamese independence from French rule. Members of the Vietminh later joined with the Vietcong).

The operation's purpose was to cut off Viet Minh supply lines into the neighboring Kingdom of Laos (a French ally), and draw the Viet Minh into a major confrontation in order to cripple them.

The Battle of Điện Biên Phủ was decisive; the war ended shortly afterward and the 1954 Geneva Accords were signed. France agreed to withdraw its forces from all its colonies in French Indochina while stipulating that Vietnam would be temporarily divided at the 17th parallel, with control of the north given to the Viet Minh as the Democratic Republic of Vietnam under Ho Chi Minh, and the south becoming the State of Vietnam, nominally under Emperor Bảo Đại, preventing Ho Chi Minh from gaining control of the entire country.

Thích Quảng Đức (1897-1963) was a Vietnamese Mahayana Buddhist monk who burned himself to death at a busy Saigon road intersection on 11 June 1963. Quảng Đức was protesting the persecution of Buddhists by the South Vietnamese Roman Catholic government.

Thich Quang Duc is doused with gasoline while calmly sitting down in the traditional Buddhist meditative lotus position, photographed by Malcolm Browne.

Rebellion. It’s my practice to sit with, understand, and resonate with each collage created. "No news picture in history has generated so much emotion around the world as that one." JFK

Loanwords, “ÉT-XĂNG, ESSENCE, GASOLINE”. Gasoline in Vietnamese, French, and English.

The French occupied Vietnam from 1887-1954, Vietnam was a part of a French colony called French Indochina. The VN/U.S. war started in 1961 and ended in 1975. My Parents were born in Can Tho Vietnam in 1950, where they spend their first 4 years of life under French rule, from 11-25 yrs old my parents live through the war.  At 29 they flee Vietnam with a 3 yr old daughter.

The Adaptation of French Loanwords in Vietnamese. Due to the influence of France while Vietnam was a French colony, many French words have been adopted by the Vietnamese. 

“Bomb”, in Vietnamese, French, English.

On May 4, 1970, members of the Ohio National Guard fired into a crowd of demonstrators at Kent State University. Four people were killed, and another nine were wounded. The group was mostly students protesting the Vietnam War and America’s intention to expand the conflict by sending troops into neutral Cambodia.

Baton (aka a truncheon or nightstick)
a cylindrical club made of wood, rubber, plastic or metal. It is carried as a compliance tool and defensive weapon by law-enforcement officers, correctional staff, security guards and military personnel.

In the Victorian era, police in London carried truncheons about one foot long called billy clubs. This name is first recorded in 1848 as slang for a burglars' crowbar. The meaning "policeman's club" is first recorded 1856. Longer truncheons are called "riot batons" because of their use in riot control .

Foreground image: Tactical Squad marching through Park Blocks during 1970 student strike.

The Adaptation of French Loanwords in Vietnamese, “BA-TOONG, BÂTON , BATON” in Vietnamese, French, and English.