Why I Feel More "Accepted" In Northern Vietnam Compared To The South ( As A European )
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- čas přidán 25. 07. 2024
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Timestamp
00:00 - 00:21 Intro
00:22- 02:17 1. Accents & Confusion
02:18 - 05:08 2. Confused Grab Drivers
05:09 - 06:15 3. No Confusion In The North
06:16 - 07:21 4. Southern Accents
07:22 - 09:18 5. A Flight Of Relief
09:19 - 11:00 6. I Was A VK
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#vietnam #vietnamese #vietnamesefood
Not the type of video i excepted to see pop up in my feed but i like it!
that's funny because as a Viet Kieu who looks Vietnamese and have trouble communicating in fluent Vietnamese, I feel more accepted in the South than the North.......but nevertheless, people in North Vietnam are more cultured and refined while the people in South Vietnam are dynamic and more capitalistic in nature....so you will see people in the South more liberal with their money while the North are more thrifty....Northerners are more concerned with status and appearances....culture is different and may affect how they respond to a foreigner.....from my experience, I find the people in the North are more harsh and people in the South are more friendly
Thanks for sharing your experience! Just one question, what is your accent then? I do agree on most things you said about the differences between the north and the south.
Another difference I wanna add is a type of "alertness" that I noticed many southern locals lack compared to northerners. It's hard to give good examples but yeah. The examples with the grab drivers I give might indicate what I mean. They are just "slower" and less "khôn" and I don't mean it in a bad way
@@perpetuallyabroad my parents are from the south but my grandparents are from the north, and people say i have a northern accent....as far as the alertness you are talking about, I think it has to do with the warmer weather and the amount of more msg they put in the food in the South....I always feel lethargic in the South due to hot weather and flavorful food :)
Interesting! Yes I was thinking it's the water or something because to me the difference is quite stark! Lol! Yeah msg might be the answer then, let's go with that : )
haha I like that. For me I think the culture of the people in Hanoi is what makes this alertness. It is instilled in them from their childhood. In the south it is more laid back. Yes it could be due to the weather always hot year round@@perpetuallyabroad
@@perpetuallyabroad I can share some thoughts on this matter. I was born and raised in the south, my parents moved to SG from Hanoi in the 50's. There are definitely differences in the two cultures and way of living. When I was young I did not hang around with the southerner origins, mostly only play with the northern kids like me until I went to high school then I get exposed to everyone. The northerner usually think and select the proper words to say something while the southerner don't they usually say before they think. That's why sometime it could get into an awkward situation and it takes awhile for both sides to understand each other. However, the southerner are more honest down to earth and easier to get to know them than the northerners.
Thanks for sharing!!!
I thought I was the only one who felt this way. Indeed, Northerners seem to be more agile and responsive than Southerners. I think a key factor is that because the North had more enemies in the past such as the US, China, Cambodia, and France, they tend to always be alert and strong, not sleepy like the Southerners. The South actually has had very few wars as fierce as the North since ancient times and they are further away from the threat of China than the North, as well as during wartime they have fewer conflicts with the US and France than the North. There are fewer threats in the South, so people tend to be sleepy and less alert
Thanks for your comment! I agree completely with this analysis. Glad to hear that it's not only me ( and a few ppl I know ) who noticed this.
Southern việt are pretty much northern Việt who went south to conquer Cham and khmer
@@jerryle379 I think Southerners have Javanese genes so they will look a bit different from Northerners. Southerners look like mixed people
I'm not sure about the origins, I personally guess a lot has Khmer blood. But you can definitely tell the difference from the north most of the time
@@perpetuallyabroad That's right. Due to geography, the South has Khmer people from Cambodia and Javanese people from the South Island, Malaysia, and Indonesia. Northern people are closer in appearance to southern Chinese people. Of course, the North Vietnamese also moved south and combined with the indigenous people to create a unique culture, an cultural interference between East Asia and India. That is the reason for the name Indochina.
It's hard to explain, but I feel like the North is more Confucian. As for the South, it is less because in the past, their civilization was more influenced by India and Java. That is why there are obvious differences in the language, behavior and thinking of the two regions
i love your video ❤❤❤
Thanks for watching
Wow my bro! You arguably have looks to die for when putting a blazer like that👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
I appreciate you taking time to comment. I mean this in the most humble way, but I can't help feeling cringe reading this comment from a man. Nothing personal against you. Thanks for watching
So what if I would say it hihhi@@perpetuallyabroad
I love Vietnam - can’t wait to go back this year again :)
Hope you'll have a great trip
Wow! you look very smart, August.
Idk about that haha
I found it interesting that during a Covid outbreak in Hai Duong City at the height of the pandemic a friend who grew up in a village nearby was afraid to remain at her job in Hanoi (an hour's drive away) because the locals would tell her to go home due to her accent.
In Australia, unless we use regional specific words like "Stobie pole" for power pole or "Potato cake/scallop" it is very hard to tell where anyone comes from.
Thanks for sharing this. I've personally had at least 10 people who don't know anything about me telling me (irl not comments) I sound like someone from the Hai Phong area so for sure there must be truth to it.
But yeah I found it interesting as well when I lived in Oz when ppl told me there are basically no regional accents.
I think as they see you as a foreigner they want to practice English with you. It's also interesting to find someone like myself who has a connection to Vietnam culturally and language. People also always think I am half Vietnamese. I've never been to the North though. Da Nang is the farthest north I've been. I too learned Vietnamese before coming to Vietnam in the Northern Dialect but this slowly changed to Saigon accent. I remember initially not understanding the people in the south but now I find it hard to understand people from Hanoi. Although news and media in the Northern accent is easy for me to understand. I hope to return to Vietnam but this will have to wait until my kids are grown up. Keep up the interesting videos!
Hi! Thanks for your comment! I'm not sure if they want to practice English since most of them are middle aged Grab drivers and also that they go back to speaking Vietnamese after maximum two sentences because they realise that I'm not a normal foreigner. It just that it takes longer for them to realise this in the South. I didn't convey this in a clear way in the video.
It's interesting that your accent is changing. Personally I could've lived in Saigon from age 18 and for the rest of my life and my accent wouldn't even become Southern in the slightest. I know locals too who moved to the south as young people and are now in their 60's but you would never guessed that they lived 40 years in the South. Having that said, there are exceptions of course but it's not common. I guess under normal circumstances it has to do with how ingrained the accent is and the level of Viet too. Hope you can visit north of Da Nang someday! There are many fantastic places to explore there.
One interesting and strange thing is that in the South today, there are many Northerners who have migrated in different periods since 1975. But on the contrary, very few Southerners have gone to the North(of course there has been migration since ancient times, but since 1975 there has been a major migration. in modern times). You can hear a lot of Northern accents in the South but almost no Southern accents in the North. It seems that Southerners are still quite shy and shy about going to the North to interact. According to my observations, Southern people are very gentle and friendly but quite shy. While Northerners are very sociable and extroverted. One of the answers to the problem could be personality? I do not know.
Hi! Thanks for taking the time to comment and share your thoughts! Saigon is the economical power of the country hence you have a large influx from people from various regions. We all have different perspectives and experiences but for me personally the southerners are not shy whatsoever :) the other two descriptions I refrain from commenting on lol. Thanks again and have a good day
One possible explanation is northern people are more reserved and so less likely asking personal questions like ‘where are you from”. Southern people are more open and likely a bit ‘nosy’ with personal questions.
Thanks Kevin for your comment. However in my personal experience it's the opposite. What's interesting about the example I gave is that we already had a full conversation in Vietnamese before he asked where I'm from that's what I find very strange
lol naw brah, Northern are way more openly loud for sure..
Maybe i diferent becuase i live in local areas maybe..but Def Hanoi is a horrible place to live long term...
Saigon has its stressful moments but def way more do able longer
I agree that Saigon is much more livable long term. I couldn't unfortunately never live in Hanoi. We all have different perspectives but to me they are all basically equally loud
I think psychologically you have the need for that social connection through language as you are comfortable with it. You've mastered it. The Grab guy and people in the south in general do also want to connect with you in their own unmastered ways - their version of English. Perhaps, they just want to be a good sport ... or just trying to be jack of all trades in terms of language ... or maybe they're just open to opportunities to interact with non-natives to improve themselves and not purposely to make you feel not connected. You could probably tell them straight in Vietnamese and say ... hey buddy, I know you like to speak English but can we talk in Vietnamese instead ?? I'd like to learn more about your language. See how that goes.
Hi! Thanks for your comment and insight. I realised that maybe I should've presented my thoughts in a better way. Because it's first of all not just grab drivers, it's everywhere in Saigon, but it only happens 10-15% of the time. The rest they just respond to me in Viet like I'm a guy from the north anyway.
Actually nowadays when it happens I just ignore their try of speaking English and I pretend that they are speaking Vietnamese to me. I've tried all methods including what you're saying but "explaining things" in Vietnam simple doesn't work no matter what it's about. The most effective way is just to ignore them completely when they speak English. Also as I've mentioned in other comments, if their English is superb like C2/C1 level I'll go along but if not it's just a hassle for me to speak English with them.
Hope it makes sense
I'm half my mom's south, dad's northern, there's def cultural differences between the two.
nothern people are more expressive and more eloquent with the way they use the language, but it's more about face than true feelings. Southern people are more laid back, less expressive, so they come across as unfriendly. imo, people in the south are kinder and friendlier. One interesting note is that more people from the north are moving south for whatever the reasons than people from the south going the opposite.
Thanks for sharing! I agree for the most part of what you said. There are more economical opportunities in Saigon hence that's usually the most common place to move to. It's very rare I meet a southerner in Hanoi who's not just there for a short business trip. I remember ordering coffee at a cafe and the girl was from Mien Tay, I was quite stunned so I can only imagine how stunned they are when they meet me
If you’ve only lived in the south why have you developed a northern accent?
I understand it's maybe hard to watch an entire video without skipping ( I do it myself ) but I mention at 8:15 and onwards how I spoke Vietnamese since a long time before moving there
@@perpetuallyabroadthanks I’ve watched again. Maybe one for another video but would be good to hear about how you learned the language. My wife is from the south and I’m trying to learn from UK. I tend to find a lot of the content online tends to be in the northern accent
Thanks James, that's a good idea for a video I guess. In short I learnt when I was pretty young simply by absorbing the language, virtually no studying. My tip would be to listen ( aka absorbing ) as much as you can, even if you don't understand much. I'm trying to do this with Mandarin even though I'm lazy now. Good luck to both of us I guess lol have a good one.
@@perpetuallyabroad Guess you came from a similar situation as @EndlessTravel. There's a sizable Vietnamese community in Denmark. Are you from Jylland?
@@perpetuallyabroad Alright, your About confused me. You're Swedish, not Danish lol And your time in Oz explains the accent. Not so many Vietnamese in Sweden, but some.
Interesting. I remember a Vietnamese girlfriend I had assured me I was asking for coffee in HCMC in perfect Vietnamese pronunciation and tone (she had taught me, I had practiced it with her to perfection), but they always assumed they wouldn't understand me before I spoke because of my foreigner face and would ask her what i was saying.
Its funny with a Cambodian girlfriend it used to annoy me cos when i was alone i could order coffee/food no problems but if i was ever out with my GF they instantly needed to ask her what i was saying. Lol!
Hey man, how did you learn Vietnamese so well?
Thanks for sharing this interesting insight. I can understand where you're coming from. In my case I've never been misunderstood even in the south, the "worst" that has happened to me is that they responded in English ( again, only happens in Saigon ).
So technically, in the most humble way, I mean that I am a living proof that if you say it "good enough" and as close to how a local would say it as possible, they will always understand. They might be confused or respond in english ( in Saigon ). Because I've heard some people claim that they order food in perfect Viet and repeat it 5 times but the staff doesn't understand. This scenario is impossible to happen if they speak "perfectly"
My Bac Ky brotha 🇻🇳 🫡💯💪 . BTW, IMO I think ur Vietnamese sounds better, more natural than ur English, imo, cheers mate, enjoying ur content 👍
Lol! Thanks for sharing, tbh my English sounds a bit different irl than on video since I try to adjust it a bit for the videos hence that night be why. As a side note, speaking multiple languages growing up and in my young adulthood, every language I speak tends to "change" a bit depending on the situation. Have a good one man
@perpetuallyabroad yeah it sounds a bit like u got a South African accent 🤭
May be because you speak Vietnamese with the North accent . Have a nice day !
Nice to hear from you again! That might be why who knows!
Wow I’d look like CIA agent (000777).😊
Perhaps KGB agent?😮
How about RGB
The southern people always want to practice English with foreigners. It's a chance.
Thanks for your comment!
Well I'm the completely wrong person to practice with :) and nowadays I just ignore that they speak English and I'll pretend they are actually speaking Viet to me. I just act I don't even speak a lick of the language of the Brits if they repeat anything in English lol. If they speak English on a C1/C2 level ( which is very rare ) I might go along, otherwise it's just a hassle for me
Interesting. I’ve only lived in the South where they hate Northerners for being scammy.
I guess it's all about perspective, I totally understand that , the northerners are more ruthless,smarter and cunning in general hence me personally I am not afraid of any southerner if they try to scam me since they are not as "smart" as the northerners that I'm used to and their scams are usually not well executed as their northern peers. It's usually very easy to detect any "plan" they have to scam. I can't even remember how many times I literally laughed out loud or in my head when someone in the south attempted to scam me in any way. In the north it's also easy for me to detect but they go to much further lengths and the scam can be incredibly complicated to the point where even a "scammy" Southerner didn't know what happened if they were the victim. Even I as a Vietnamese speaking well above average IQ INFJ aka a walking lying detector have to be alert and pay attention, which is a testament of how complicated it can be
To me at least, a lot lies in the language and how they communicate. It's not just that the northerners are "smarter", they way southerners speak, it's hard for me to take them ( the vast majority ) seriously no matter if it's a scam or if they are angry, I guess it's a linguistic trait that shines through the lower lever of "cleverness" compared to their northern comrades. Also if you don't speak ( at least understand) Vietnamese on a almost completely fluent level, it will be significantly more difficult to decipher those more complicated scams. I can only imagine how many clueless foreigners are being taken for a ride on a daaaaaaily!
For most foreigners the people in the south are perceived as scammy as well since they don't know about the differences between the north and the south, especially when comparing to other countries, north and south are considered scammy no matter what
@@perpetuallyabroad Interesting. Now that you mention it, southern accent does sound childish to me. Their scams I've experienced are likewise primitive: snatching, stealing, overcharging, landlords not returning deposits. Seems like they only have enough brain to grab what's in front of them. Like children, indeed.
Fortunately, I haven't experienced those advanced northern scams you're talking about b/c I just got the hell out of that garbage dump country, never to be seen again. Thankfully, with a Western passport, the world is open :)
You are def more nice than me, i feel North Vietnam is one of the most unclivlized part of most of SE Asia...I don't know maybe i've lived in Vietnam to long
Well I agree with you. But the topic of this video is not about whether they are friendly or not. Thanks for your comment
In fact, the North is the place with the longest history, culture and civilization in Vietnam. 100% of feudal dynasties are in the Northern Vietnam. Vietnamese originated in the North. Southerners did not use Vietnamese before. The South is truly an uncivilized place in literally
Yeah I have a hard time understanding how things work in the south
@@hongli6541 Viet nam should never be united because after half a century the North took over the South they still can't civilise Southerners with their Northern Vietnamese sophistication , what a waste 🤣
@@juliusvinh109 don't really understand what you mean. Can you be more specific?
I hope that some millionaires or billionaires from Northern VN watch this clip of yours would contact and give you a job in the North because this is love music to Northern Vietnamese 🤣, that way it would get you away from Southern VN where you feel you don't belong 😉
Too cold and too much pollution in Hanoi ;) also not a great place to stay longterm compared to Saigon
Too much clarifying and classifying nonsense.
I like the blue one better but have you ever gone whale watching?
@@perpetuallyabroad I see humpback whales when I surf.
Why would you feel offended just because you speak great Vietnamese? Southern people are more curious than the North.
When he asked, where are you from he meant where are you initially from.
Just a note: north and South people don’t like each other. Southern people are generally more outgoing.
In the very next sentence I explain why. I felt like an overseas Vietnamese myself and I considered myself one of them