A trip to revise the History of Romanized Vietnamese Writing

 A trip to revise the History

of Romanized Vietnamese Writing

Many people in the martial arts community set themselves apart with their skill. However, very few people are proficient in both martial arts and research and reference writing.

Master Tran Nguyen Dao, who chairs the World Council of Masters of the World Vovinam-Viet Vo Dao Federation, is one of these exceptional men.

Several books on technological tasks and the history of Vovinam-Viet Vo Dao (Amazon.fr : tran nguyen dao). have been written by him. He has recently concentrated on academic research on Vietnamese culture. Written in both French and Vietnamese, his debut book is named "The Theory of Romanized Vietnamese Writing".

This is a highly valuable piece of academic research.

The author has dispelled long-held myths by providing convincing evidence to answer a number of historical questions.

Grand Master Tran Nguyen Dao traveled to Hanoi at the invitation of the Vietnamese government to participate in the "Spring in the Homeland 2026" initiative as the Lunar New Year of the Horse (Bính Ngĩ) draws near. Vietnamese expatriates, notably business owners and prominent personalities in global sports and culture, are the target audience for this program.

Grand Master Tran Nguyen Dao and Ms. Diane Thu Dung, President of the Association for the Preservation of Vietnamese Culture in Paris, were welcomed on February 10, 2026, at 10:00 AM by Mr. Eric Soulier, Cultural Cooperation and Action Advisor and Director of the French Institute in Vietnam at the French Embassy in Hanoi. In addition, the advisor discussed his thoughts on the book "The Theory of Romanized Vietnamese Writing." He enthusiastically welcomed the release of this book on behalf of Mr. Olivier Brochet, the French Ambassador, and stated that he would like to foster communication with Mr. Olivier Tessier of the French School of Asian Studies (Viện Viễn Đông Bác Cổ) in Ho Chi Minh City in order to promote its distribution and build a cooperative relationship.

Mr. Nguyen Xuan Dung, Director, and Ms. Nguyen Ngoc Anh, Deputy Director, welcomed Grand Master Tran Nguyen Dao to the Vietnam National Library on February 11, 2026, at 8:00 AM. In order to start and finish joint research projects, Mr. Nguyen Xuan Dung promised to get in touch with researchers in Vietnam and present his work to them at their meeting. Additionally, Grand Master Tran Nguyen Dao gave the Vietnam National Library a presentation of his book during this event.

Le 11 février 2026, à 8 heures, le grand maître Tran Nguyen Dao a reçu un accueil chaleureux de la part de M. Nguyen Xuan Dung, directeur, et de Mme. Nguyen Ngoc Anh, directrice adjointe, à la Bibliothèque nationale du Vietnam. Au cours de cette discussion, M. Nguyen Xuan Dung a pris l'engagement d'entrer en contact avec des chercheurs du Vietnam et de leur faire découvrir l'ouvrage dans le but d'initier des travaux de recherche collaboratifs et de les mener à terme. En outre, lors de cet événement, maître Tran Nguyen Dao a offert son ouvrage à la Bibliothèque nationale du Vietnam.

Still in Hanoi, Grand Master Tran Nguyen Dao met with the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism at 51 Ngo Quyen Street on February 11, 2026, at 3 p.m. with Ms. Diane Nguyen Duc, President of the Association for the Preservation of Vietnamese Culture in Paris, and Mr. Nguyen Xuan Hai, Chairman of the Community Social Protection Project Development Fund and Editor-in-Chief of Vietnam-Germany Magazine.

During the meeting, Dr. Nguyen Phuong Hoa, Director General of the Department of International Relations, received the book and emphasized, “In keeping with the spirit of this meeting, our Ministry supports and encourages academic exchanges related to this research work. We also advocate for the wider international dissemination of Vovinam to highlight Vietnam’s cultural values and human energy.” Furthermore, Dr. Nguyen Phuong Hoa, representing Ms. Lam Thi Phuong Thanh, Permanent Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, took possession of the book. She has been deeply involved in establishing relationships with Vietnamese academics, intellectuals, and academic institutions to ensure the completion of this project and the continued revision of the history of the Romanized Vietnamese Writing.

Masters Tran Nguyen Dao and Chau Minh Hay had the privilege of paying a visit to Mr. Nguyen Dinh Tu, a 106-year-old senior scholar, in Ho Chi Minh City on February 17, 2026, the first day of the Lunar New Year (Year of the Horse). In addition to wishing him a happy new year, they asked for his thoughts and recommendations on how to make Master Tran Nguyen Dao's work better.

In addition to enhancing the history, the book "The Theory of Romanized Vietnamese Writing" hopes to reexamine viewpoints of the individuals involved in the finalization of the Vietnamese writing system based on the Latin alphabet.

The French missionary Alexandre de Rhodes was thought to have invented it for centuries! This regrettable misunderstanding results from books and documents that have been published in Vietnam over a long period of time. As a result, Alexandre de Rhodes comes to mind whenever the Latinized Vietnamese alphabet is addressed. Thankfully, with the use of contemporary resources, Vietnamese and French scholars have reexamined historical documents from the 17th century that have been kept in the archives of the Vatican, the Jesuit order, Portugal, and Spain. They have found evidence that permits a reexamination of the narrative. They now think that the Latinized Vietnamese alphabet was actually created by Francisco de Pina, a Portuguese missionary!

Nevertheless, these findings have not yet produced a comprehensive analysis or a logical and all-encompassing summary of the development of the Romanized Vietnamese script (Quốc-ngữ). As a result, numerous questions are still unresolved:

• From what sources did Alexandre de Rhodes create his 1651 "Catechism for Candidates for Baptism, Divided into Eight Days" and Annamese-Portuguese-Latin dictionary?
• Were there any other contributors than Alexandre de Rhodes and Francisco de Pina?
• What happened throughout the Quốc-ngữ creation process?
• Were Vietnamese persons involved in this process?
• What caused Quốc-ngữ to so quickly replace Vietnamese (Nôm) and Chinese (Hán) scripts?
• Why When neighboring Asian nations failed to Romanize their scripts, why did the Vietnamese embrace Quốc-ngữ?

In order to shed light on Quốc ngữ's origins and reestablish its actual authorship, Grand Master Tran Nguyen Dao's research attempts to address earlier queries by referencing a number of reliable sources. Additionally, the author hopes that academics, historians, and cultural leaders will take part in the research and sharing of this updated and genuine history of the Romanized Vietnamese script.

Master Chau Minh Hay