Rough Guide to Vietnam - Jan Dodd [400]
montagnards French term for Vietnam’s ethnic minority peoples.
mua roi nuoc Water-puppet show.
mui Cape.
mukha lingam Lingam fashioned into the likeness of a deity.
napalm Jellied fuel dropped by US forces during the American War, and capable of causing terrible burns.
ngo Alley.
NGO Non-governmental organization.
nha hang Restaurant.
nha khach Hotel or guesthouse.
nha nghi Guesthouse.
nha tro Basic dormitory accommodation, usually found near stations.
NLF (National Liberation Front) Popular movement formed in South Vietnam in 1960 by opponents of the American-backed Southern regime.
nui Mountain.
nuoc mam Fish sauce.
NVA (North Vietnamese Army) The army of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.
Oc Eo Ancient seaport of the Funan empire, east of modern-day Rach Gia in the Mekong Delta.
ODP (Orderly Departure Programme) A United Nations-backed scheme enabling legal emigration of Vietnamese refugees.
paddy Unharvested rice.
PoW Prisoner of war.
quan District.
R&R (“Rest and Recreation”) Term coined during the American War to describe a soldier’s temporary leave of duty.
roi nuocsee mua roi nuoc.
rong Communal house of ethnic minorities in the central highlands.
RVN (Republic of Vietnam) The official name for South Vietnam from 1954 to 1976.
sampan Small, flat-bottomed boat.
song River.
SRVN (Socialist Republic of Vietnam) The post-liberation amalgamation of the DRV and RVN, and the official name of modern Vietnam.
tai chi Chinese martial art, commonly performed as early-morning exercise.
Tet Vietnam’s lunar New Year.
thung chai Coracle.
Tonkin One of the three administrative regions of French colonial Vietnam, from Ninh Binh northwards.
tunnel rats American soldiers trained for warfare in tunnels such as those at Cu Chi.
VC (Viet Cong) Literally “Vietnamese Communists”; term used by the Americans to describe the guerrilla forces of the NLF.
Viet Kieu Overseas Vietnamese.
Viet Minh Shortened version of Viet Nam Doc Lap Dong Minh, the League for the Independence of Vietnam, established by Ho Chi Minh in 1941.
VNQDD Abbreviation for Viet Nam Quoc Dan Dang, the Vietnam Nationalist Party, founded in 1927.
xe lam Motorized three-wheeler buggy carrying numerous passengers.
xe om Northern equivalent of the Honda om, a motorbike taxi.
Glossaries |
Street names
In travelling around Vietnam, it doesn’t take long before you can recite the street names, a litany of the principal characters in Vietnamese history. Just a few from this cast list of famous revolutionaries, Party leaders, legendary kings and peasant heroes are given below. Other favoured names commemorate the glorious victories of Bach Dang and Dien Bien Phu, and the momentous date when Saigon was “liberated” in 1975: 30 Thang 4 (30 April).
Hai Ba Trung The two Trung sisters led a popular uprising against the Chinese occupying army in 40 AD and established a short-lived kingdom (See "Ethnic minority music").
Hoang Hoa Tham (or De Tham) Famous pirate with a Robin Hood reputation and anti-French tendencies, assassinated in 1913.
Hung Vuong The semi-mythological Hung kings ruled an embryonic kingdom, Van Lang, around 2000 BC.
Le Duan General Secretary of the Communist Party, 1960–86.
Le Hong Phong Leading Communist and patriot who died from torture in Poulo Condore prison (Con Son Island) in 1942.
Le Loi One of the most revered Vietnamese heroes, Le Loi defeated the Ming Chinese in 1427, and then ruled as King Le Thai To.
Ngo Quyen First ruler of an independent Vietnam following his defeat of the Chinese armies in 938 AD (See "The battles of Bach Dang River").
Nguyen Hué Middle member of the three Nguyen brothers who led the Tay Son rebellion in the 1770s (See "Chinese rule"), and then ruled briefly as Emperor Quang Trung.
Nguyen Thai Hoc Founding member of the Vietnam Nationalist Party (VNQDD), executed in 1930 following the disastrous Yen Bai uprising.
Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Prominent anti-colonialist revolutionary of the 1930s, the wife