President Ho Chi Minh’s Prison Diary has been translated into the Tay-Nung
language by Hoang An, a member of the Tay ethnic group.

Linguist: A teacher with 40 years’ experience, Hoang An translates President Ho Chi Minh’s Prison Diary into the Tay-Nung language. (Photo: VNS)

Responding to the
movement to study and follow Ho Chi Minh’s moral example, launched by the Party,
An said his work aimed to popularise the late President’s life and work among
the Tay and Nung people.

“Since the Party
launched the movement, I’ve tossed it over in my mind a lot,” said An. “I
thought I should do something significant to respond to the movement.”

An has already
translated Nguyen Du’s epic poem Truyen Kieu (The Tale of Kieu) into the Tay
language. “Almost all of the Tay and Nung people in the region like to read it,”
said An, adding that he believed Ho Chi Minh’s work would also be well-received.

A teacher with 40
years’ experience, An was born in the northern province of Cao Bang’s Trung
Khanh District and speaks Mandarin as well as Tay-Nung. To prepare to translate
the Prison Diary, An said he read extensively and began to increase his
vocabulary.

“I have to translate
very carefully every word, every sentence, every verse, and after finishing, I
try to read it aloud to my friends and to experienced researchers to gather
their ideas for revisions,” An said.

After three years of
work, An completed a draft of 300 pages in the Tay-Nung language which is
expected to be published this year by the Culture and Nationalities Publishing
House.

“Reading An’s draft, I
admired it greatly for its vivid translation which could help the Tay and Nung
ethnic people more easily read and understand this difficult work,” commented
poet Ngo Luong Ngon.

An’s hard work not
only helps preserve the national cultural character but is also an invaluable
spiritual gift to the Tay and Nung people to learn about and follow President
Ho’s ideas, Ngon said.

VietNamNet/Viet
Nam News