French Cultural Influence on

Vietnamese Language and Education

From 1885 until 1945, French colonization left an indelible impact on Vietnam, forcibly molding language, curriculum, and thought through education policy. Determined to subjugate and “civilize” Vietnamese citizens, administrators imposed school systems modeling French education to cultivate loyalty. The legacy included proliferated French language, curriculum molding citizens in the colonizer image, and lingering educational structures. This intellectual colonization deeply shaped Vietnamese identity and mindsets.

French Language Ubiquity in Administration and Elite Circles

After colonizing Vietnam, France rapidly imposed French as the sole official language in government, administration and law. All officials learned French while ordinary citizens had little access to study. Speaking French became required for educated careers, creating an elite bilingual class. Urban Vietnamese intermingled French words into daily speech. The language became necessity for advancement.

Francophone Immersion Through School Curriculums

To perpetuate French intellectual dominance, colonizers structured school curriculums in French only, forbidding Vietnamese. Students immersed in Francophone history, arithmetic, science, and arts according to French centralized standards. The immersion aimed to systematically reorient youths as Francophiles, not patriots. Speaking French marked the educated.

 

 

Propagating Cultural Assimilation Through Language

French schooling also attempted assimilating Vietnamese students into followers of French culture through language. Administrators forced youths to study French arts and philosophy to inculcate European tastes. Speaking French habituated thinking in colonial terms and identities. Language molded worldviews to benefit colonial rule.

Youth Indoctrination Centering France

French schooling further sought indoctrinating Vietnamese youth to revere and identify with France, not Vietnam. Geography and history lessons centered on French national history, prestige and power. Texts glorified France while omitting or belittling Vietnam. Speaking French conditioned young minds toward adoring colonizers and serving obediently in colonial administration.

Privileged Lifestyle and Superiority Myths

Through language, schools also cultivated myths of French superiority and benevolence. Texts portrayed the French enjoying pleasurable civilized lifestyles Vietnam lacked. They framed the colonial project as a charitable civilizing mission. French fluency fed cultural conditioning valuating France and devaluing Vietnam through words.

Lasting Linguistic Influence Among Educated Classes

Although France eventually lost colonial control, the French language retained strong influence in 20th century Vietnam. Revolutionaries like Ho Chi Minh used French flair to project sophistication abroad. Many post-colonial officials, writers and intelligentsia continued incorporating French vocabulary when speaking Vietnamese. French marked social caste.

Remnants of French Administrative Structures

French colonists structured Vietnam’s bureaucracy on centralized French models that persisted post-independence. Hanoi remained the political capital. A strong central public administration governed nationwide activity. Below stood regional appointed leaders governing provinces under national direction. This centralized hierarchy carried on.

 

French school in Hanoi

 

Post-Colonial Reforms to Education Approach

After the French era, Vietnamese education was gradually reformed to serve national identity and needs, not colonial servitude. Curriculums added citizenship, history and language arts advancing Vietnamese communist values. Local control and languages replaced French dictates. But systems still kept some French structural influence.

Lasting Elitism and Accessibility Issues

French schooling had ingrained elitism and restricted education to higher classes. This legacy continued excluding rural peasants from curriculum suited for their lives. Post-colonial literacy and university access remained limited for average citizens despite socialist values. Class issues perpetuated in systems.

Conflicted French Linguistic Identity Today

Most Vietnamese today comprehend little French, but many still associate French with elite intellectual identity. As a global language, French influence offers social advancement. But citizens also associate it with imperial oppression and dislocation of traditional identity. The linguist legacy remains complex—at once resented and desired for social mobility. 
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