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VN linguistics question for social marketing
From: Dan Duffy <dduffy@email.unc.edu>
Date: Feb 9, 2006 5:35 AM
Subject: [Vsg] VN linguistics question for social marketing
Hi all,
Here's a question about Vietnamese names and direct mail. This question
is about approaching individuals directly, rather than working through
institutions like community organizations, or entering into social networks.
Briefly, I'm interested in using uniquely Vietnamese names to mine data
bases to use in direct mail.
For instance, "Nguyen" and "Huynh" are uniquely Vietnamese names that
will include a large fraction of the Vietnamese listings in any US database.
So, I can use these names on www.whitepages.com, for instance, to build
a mailing list for potentially underserved and culturally isolated
Vietnamese American households in the zip codes of Mecklenburg County,
NC. I can then mail out a Vietnamese-language flyer on new issues in
immigration law.
"Thi" is nearly always a Vietnamese woman's name. I can use it to
search the alumni directory of the UNC system to find names of mothers
and aunts who might be interested in learning about and supporting an
educational intitiative on Vietnamese culture for young Vietnamese born
in this country, such as my Viet Nam Literature Project.
So far, so good. But I have some questions for pushing this further.
For instance, what ways are there to identify Vietnamese males? Is
there a way I could go through www.whitepages.com using the richest zip
codes in the United States to fish for potential major donors to a
cultural project (following the fundraising observation that lots of
women write generous checks and a few men write enormous ones)?
How do I mine data to do direct mail to Vietnamese American males to
inform them in Vietnamese language that a felony conviction under
domestic violence statutes will require the deportation of a green card
holder?
"Van", unfortunately, will yield too many Americans of northern European
to use. But "Nghia" will work. What are the other male particles used
in names?
Of family names, after using the uniquely Vietnamese "Nguyen" and
"Huynh", then three of the next most common, "Tran" and "Ly" and "Le"
will yield too many Chinese, I think. Is that right?
So what are the other common family names that are uniquely Vietnamese?
Can we prioritize them in the American population?
Finally, is there any basis to prioritize searches for uniquely
Vietnamese personal names, such as Chuong and Thuy and Linh? Has anyone
ever done something like counting the incidence of different uniquely
Vietnamese names in the Orange County phone book?
Your thoughts on these issues will be much appreciated. I will be
carrying out my direct mail projects on Vietnamese literature and on
American immigration law for some time, and will be happy to share results.
Dan
From: Joe Hannah <jhannah@u.washington.edu>
Date: Feb 9, 2006 9:44 AM
Subject: Re: [Vsg] VN linguistics question for social marketing
Hickey's book "Village in Vietnam" has a list of the most common surnames
in that place at that time (Rnaked by frequency, if memory serves). I have
seen it used as a basis for Vietnamese surname queries.
Also, major Vietnamese population centers often publish Vietnamese phone
directories and/or Vietnamese business directories. These might be useful
sources.
However, your assumption that people inthe US with Vietnamese names would
best be served with Vietnamese language materials may need some
examination or refinement. They may, in fact, be primarily Chinese
speakers, English speakers, etc.
Joe Hannah
From: Dan Duffy <dduffy@email.unc.edu>
Date: Feb 10, 2006 5:17 AM
Subject: Re: [Vsg] VN linguistics question for social marketing
Joe raises an issue that had not occured to me.
In what languages are ethnic Chinese Vietnamese Americans with
Vietnamese names usually literate?
Should I make my immigration law brochures for Vietnamese Americans
trilingual, with Chinese as well as Vietnamese and English? Or is it the
case that ethnic Chinese with Vietnamese names are as likely to be
literate in Vietnamese as in Chinese?
Obviously, I have to test this on the ground here in NC, but is there a
general rule or field wisdom?
Lily Chiu <lily.chiu@ilmh.be>
Date: Feb 14, 2006 3:32 AM
Subject: Re: [Vsg] VN linguistics question for social marketing
Hi Dan,
In my experience speaking with ethnic Chinese Vietnamese in HCMC, most
were able to speak both some dialect of Chinese and Vietnamese. However,
literacy would certainly be a separate issue. If they were schooled in one
of the Chinese schools in Cho Lon, then they might indeed be literate in
Chinese.
However, I suspect, though I have nothing to back it up except my own
experience as an ethnic Chinese American and my interactions with
Vietnamese American students, that ethnic Chinese Vietnamese Americans,
particularly the younger generation, would not be literate in Chinese at
all. They might be able to speak it (and in fact one of my students, who
was ethnic Chinese Vietnamese American, could speak a dialect of Chinese)
but I think it would be more unlikely that they would be able to read it.
As for names, in my experience, the same Chinese name would be transcribed
differently into English depending on whether the person came from China
or Vietnam. Thus the Vietnamese "Ly" would probably be written as "Lee" or
"Li" by Chinese-Americans.
If anyone has any further information on ethnic Chinese Vietnamese in
Vietnam or elsewhere, please let me know!
Cheers,
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