Previously it has been discussed about the lack of software or learning programs for learning Vietnamese in a southern dialect. Here are a couple of videos from a woman named Rachael on YouTube:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=e9851fvcO6s&feature=related

http://youtube.com/watch?v=tGBWDCDNzO4&feature=related

Here is a larger series from a man named Bud Brown. He has 15 Vietnamese videos posted. I think he is speaking in a northern dialect though:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=_Eg2WgSppko&...E5D&index=0

Yikes, I am sure I will sound kieu ngao (stuck up) but that Bud Brown's accent is atrocious. I cant believe he was an interpreter. WOW. Guess I know what my new job could be if I need one. :-) If you don't understand the accents FIRST, you will never speak this language correctly. And learning to read, write and spell should come BEFORE speaking. It will really help you. Learn the accents (dau) and make sure you pronouce the accent marks correctly first. You almost have to overstate them at first and sound like an utter moron if you want to learn this language. (and those of you who know me, know I dont mind sounding like an utter moron - so this language was pretty easy for me! haha) :-)

I wish I could give some information on how to learn this very difficult language.... as PeterFB can tell you, I speak pretty good for a white girl :-P I am not fluent but I DO speak with the correct accent. So well that today I got a wrong number call on my phone from a Vietnamese guy, and when I kept telling him (in vietnamese) that I was a WHITE american, as in WHITE SKIN, WHITE PARENTS, he did not believe me and insisted I meet him for coffee to prove it! haha

But when I was learning, I used a variety of programs - Pimsleur, Rosetta Stone, many books, and something which I cant remember the name that I think the CIA uses to teach americans to learn vietnamese - that one was by far the best. You can do a search online for learn vietnamese, that is basically what I did and then used every program I could get my hands on. I also encourage learning the South dialect ... I speak something of a blend of both, some words I pronounce north, other words I pronounce south....seems easiest for everyone to understand me that way. Now that my man is from CENTRAL, I speak a ton of that dialect too...hihihihi You may also benefit from taking a class at a college if offered or if you can afford it actually hiring a vietnamese person who speaks english and vietnamese to teach you.

Keep plugging away but I would give this advice: Dont learn from the Bud guy or ANY american... learn from a VIETNAMESE .... americans for the most (myself excluded, of course) :-) speak this language INCORRECTLY. You REALLY gotta say those accent marks with EMPHASIS.

Kieu Ngao ILOVETAN ;-)~~~~~

p.s. in video one with Bud Brown ... he tells you how to say hello to an older married woman CHAO BA .... because of his wrong accent, instead of saying, Hello Madam - He said: Hello number 3 ..... YIKES.

Just to clarify: It DOES matter how you pronounce these words. Each Vietnamese word can have up to SIX meanings depending on how you SAY the word. You must learn to say them exactly correct ... that is why this language is so hard.

In my early days of learning, I was trying to say, "Bye....I'm going!" Which is Toi Di (I'm Going) but because I pronounced this word with the wrong accent and said Toi di~, I ended up saying, I'm a prostitute. EEP! Good thing viets have a sense of humor! :-)

ILOVETAN

I haven't watched the You Tube videos yet, because the computer I've got here is TOO SLOW, but I can imagine some foreigner saying hello Three. Hahaha. That is funny. I can't wait to watch these. BTW, at least in the north, somebody has to be pretty damned old before you get to call them ong and ba (from our age range, anyway).

We have three more weeks here. For the remainder of this week, I'm living with an Englishman, my wife, and his non-English speaking housekeeper. We're going to have non English speaking hours of the day, and we're going to learn Vietnamese, dammit. We'll see how this goes.

After Friday, I go back to Hanoi, where Mai and I are the only English speakers in the family (pretty much). This should be easy, right? Noi cham, xin noi cham! (Please speak slowly)

No joke! Call a middle aged women Ba and you will get some dirty looks. No one wants to be Ba.... women don't even want to be Chi, for petes sake (older sister)... they all want to be EM (younger sister) forever! I guess women from all corners of the world are the same....!

hahahah as far as viets speaking slow for ya....GOOD LUCK on actually getting Vietnamese to Noi Cham! I remember saying that in the beginning and I could swear it just made them speak FASTER! In case you hadn't noticed, Vietnamese are hyper - speaking slow is not in their repitoire of talents! hihihihihihihih Don't worry, it WILL click if you stick with it. Tan speaks 90% vietnamese to me over the phone and I understand it now like he is talking English. I was talking to him today on the phone from a restaurant in an all white neigborhood. I speak Viet like I am speaking english now, animated, hand gestures, fast.... I didn't realize how loud I was being until at the end of my call a whole GROUP of people walked over and said, WHAT THE HELL LANGUAGE WERE YOU SPEAKING? hihihihi The language of LOVE, don't ya know?

ILOVETAN