There are a few long term expats in Cambodia who barely speak Khmer.
Could a barang living long term in Vietnam (say in in Ho Chi Minh, Da Nang or Hanoi) get away with having almost no Vietnamese language skills?
For instance, I am fairly confident I would be absolutely rubbish at a tonal language and would lack confidence in speaking it in case of saying completely the wrong thing. So would a person in Vietnam struggle without the language?
Can a barang get away with almost no Vietnamese skills
- violet
- Suspicious Little Mad Woman
- Reactions: 291
- Posts: 19717
- Joined: Mon Nov 30, 2009 9:48 pm
- Location: About as far away as can be.
Can a barang get away with almost no Vietnamese skills
The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled.
- Plutarch
- Plutarch
- batshitcrazyweirdo
- Batshit Crazy Weirdo
- Reactions: 3
- Posts: 17313
- Joined: Wed May 27, 2015 3:24 pm
- Location: Bat Cave
violet wrote:
> There are a few long term expats in Cambodia who barely speak Khmer.
>
> Could a barang living long term in Vietnam (say in in Ho Chi Minh, Da Nang or Hanoi)
> get away with having almost no Vietnamese language skills?
> For instance, I am fairly confident I would be absolutely rubbish at a tonal language
> and would lack confidence in speaking it in case of saying completely the wrong
> thing. So would a person in Vietnam struggle without the language?
Violet, I can assure you can get along just fine with English almost anywhere. HCMC is very English, Hanoi is getting there. Da Nang is resort city, so it is a prerequisite.
I use body language. Works like a charm.
> There are a few long term expats in Cambodia who barely speak Khmer.
>
> Could a barang living long term in Vietnam (say in in Ho Chi Minh, Da Nang or Hanoi)
> get away with having almost no Vietnamese language skills?
> For instance, I am fairly confident I would be absolutely rubbish at a tonal language
> and would lack confidence in speaking it in case of saying completely the wrong
> thing. So would a person in Vietnam struggle without the language?
Violet, I can assure you can get along just fine with English almost anywhere. HCMC is very English, Hanoi is getting there. Da Nang is resort city, so it is a prerequisite.
I use body language. Works like a charm.
- springrain
- I'm on 3000; na na, na na na
- Reactions: 48
- Posts: 3023
- Joined: Tue Sep 23, 2014 3:25 pm
I taught English in HCMC for a few months and Hanoi for nearly a year and managed just fine. (I hope!) I learnt a few choice phrases, but always came across folk who spoke better English than my pathetic attempts at Vietnamese.
So, yes, I reckon it is perfectly doable.
So, yes, I reckon it is perfectly doable.
'History is a set of lies agreed upon.'
Attributed to Napoleon
Attributed to Napoleon
-
- I've got nothing better to do
- Reactions: 0
- Posts: 92
- Joined: Sun Jul 10, 2011 10:24 am
You do not need to speak Vietnamese to live in Vietnam unless it is necessary for work.
- Hanno
- I am a Special Snowflake !!?!
- Reactions: 206
- Posts: 8104
- Joined: Sun Sep 16, 2012 4:07 pm
- Location: Siem Reap
- Contact:
Most foreigners (no Barang in Vietnam) do not speak much Vietnamese; some have lived there for decades.
"I realized that If I had to choose, I would rather have birds than airplanes."
Charles Lindbergh
Charles Lindbergh
- Steve Zodiac
- Suspicious
- Reactions: 34
- Posts: 1294
- Joined: Fri Dec 18, 2009 12:33 pm
My Vietnamese is only basic conversation ability, but I don't even need that to make it by in Vietnam. It's also a lot easier to read language there as you can guess what words are by their written form if you can use roman characters. You may not know how to write the tones or pronunciation, but it can help when trying to navigate.
Reckless driving cucumber - 成
-
- I need professional help
- Reactions: 0
- Posts: 1017
- Joined: Sun Apr 17, 2011 1:35 pm
- Location: Ba Ria-Vung Tau, VN
Good question, OP. However, it's the visa that's the challenge. If you get a work visa, you're OK. Someone like myself who doesn't work any more will have a hard time putting up with the visa nonsense. Best you can do at the moment is a three-month multi. Expensive and big hassle of leaving every quarter. I know there are lots of back doors for longer visas ($350 to $500US!). But do you want to take the chance the border officers will not accept your re-entry? I've read a lot of horror stories on the Viet FB pages.
"We want our country to develop step by step. But that is such a long way off . . . as far away as the stars."
Jobless father in documentary Cambodia: Country of Scars.
Jobless father in documentary Cambodia: Country of Scars.
- violet
- Suspicious Little Mad Woman
- Reactions: 291
- Posts: 19717
- Joined: Mon Nov 30, 2009 9:48 pm
- Location: About as far away as can be.
Thanks for the replies.
I prefer to make efforst to learn the language of the country I'm in. It's the least I can do as I do have an expectation on non-English speakers making an effort to learn English in order to better assimilate into a country like NZ, Australia, UK. It does change your experience if you speak the local language. So, i guess the question was rasied from that position. However, I it is useful to know that, at least in the main cities and tourist areas of Vietnam, a person can get by with very basic Vietnamese.
I stand corrected on the use of 'barang'
Yes, visas... one reason many end up in Cambodia. Things will get more difficult in Cambodia too. It's already changing.
I prefer to make efforst to learn the language of the country I'm in. It's the least I can do as I do have an expectation on non-English speakers making an effort to learn English in order to better assimilate into a country like NZ, Australia, UK. It does change your experience if you speak the local language. So, i guess the question was rasied from that position. However, I it is useful to know that, at least in the main cities and tourist areas of Vietnam, a person can get by with very basic Vietnamese.
I stand corrected on the use of 'barang'
Valid comment that the reading will be easier!AE86 wrote:My Vietnamese is only basic conversation ability, but I don't even need that to make it by in Vietnam. It's also a lot easier to read language there as you can guess what words are by their written form if you can use roman characters. You may not know how to write the tones or pronunciation, but it can help when trying to navigate.
Yes, visas... one reason many end up in Cambodia. Things will get more difficult in Cambodia too. It's already changing.
The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled.
- Plutarch
- Plutarch
-
- Similar Topics
- Replies
- Views
- Last post
-
-
English lessons in exchange for your 3d rendering skills
by petesaparty » Fri Mar 13, 2020 1:38 pm » in The IT and Techy Forum - 2 Replies
- 1246 Views
-
Last post by Playboy
Fri Mar 13, 2020 2:32 pm
-
-
-
The Black Leaf. Some barang shakedown org.
by RobW » Fri Aug 14, 2020 1:35 pm » in Cambodia Speakeasy - 74 Replies
- 15800 Views
-
Last post by RobW
Wed Sep 02, 2020 10:07 am
-
-
-
Is MSG the reason for so many barang heart attacks?
by Youjellyx » Thu Feb 13, 2020 11:53 am » in Questions and Answers - 58 Replies
- 11825 Views
-
Last post by YaTingPom
Fri Mar 06, 2020 3:55 pm
-
-
-
Shady barang plants dodgy bill on ATM
by Bong Burgundy » Thu Mar 26, 2020 3:41 pm » in Cambodia Speakeasy - 26 Replies
- 8398 Views
-
Last post by Durian Gray
Thu Apr 02, 2020 12:13 am
-
-
-
Are barang and other non-Chinese foreigners persona non-grata in Chinanoukville (Sihanoukville)?
by black69wolf69 » Tue Jul 02, 2019 1:16 pm » in Cambodia Speakeasy - 35 Replies
- 8046 Views
-
Last post by YaTingPom
Sun Jul 07, 2019 9:29 pm
-