Vietnamese Term for Primary and Secondary Sources

From: tran_n_a@yahoo.com <tran_n_a@yahoo.com>

Sent: Wednesday, November 9, 2022 12:39 PM

To: vsg vsg <vsg@u.washington.edu>

Subject: [Vsg] vietnamese term for primary and secondary sources

Dear list,

I was wondering if anyone knows the Vietnamese equivalent for primary and secondary source as those terms are used in historical research.

I've noticed that Vietnamese-language research from the Republic of Vietnam tended to use tài liệu for sources but doesn't distinguish between primary and secondary (at least to my knowledge). For example, bibliographies were often entitled tài liệu tham khảo and included secondary sources. Tài liệu was used as the Vietnamese equivalent for the French term document,according to my RVN-era dictionary.

I've noticed that Vietnamese-language research from contemporary Vietnam tends to use the term tư liệu for sources, but I haven't run across terms that sharply distinguish primary and secondary sources.

I would love to hear others' thoughts on the Vietnamese equivalent of primary and secondary source .

Cheers,

Nu-Anh Tran

Associate Professor

UConn

From: Rob Hurle <rob1940@gmail.com>

Sent: Wednesday, November 9, 2022 2:54 PM

To: tran_n_a@yahoo.com

Cc: vsg vsg <vsg@u.washington.edu>

Subject: Re: [Vsg] vietnamese term for primary and secondary sources

Hi Nu-Anh,

There's a little book by Phạm Minh Hạc published in 1998 by Thế Giới titled Vietnam's Education: The Current Position and Future Prospects that may have some pointers for you.

Cheers, Rob Hurle

-----------------------------

Dr Rob Hurle

e-mail: rob1940@gmail.com

Mobile: +61 417 293 603 (Australia)

28 Mirrormere Rd, Burra, NSW 2620, Australia

From: Hiep Duc <Hiep.Duc@environment.nsw.gov.au>

Sent: Wednesday, November 9, 2022 6:26 PM

To: Rob Hurle <rob1940@gmail.com>; tran_n_a@yahoo.com

Cc: vsg vsg <vsg@u.washington.edu>

Subject: Re: [Vsg] vietnamese term for primary and secondary sources

Tư liệu (or tài liệu) refers to both primary or secondary sources. To emphasise "primary sources", people uses the term "tư liệu gốc".

Dt Hiệp Nguyễn

Sydney

From: Do Thi Thuy Lan <lansuu@yahoo.com.vn>

Sent: Thursday, November 10, 2022 6:03 PM

To: tran_n_a@yahoo.com; Rob Hurle <rob1940@gmail.com>

Cc: vsg vsg <vsg@u.washington.edu>

Subject: Re: [Vsg] vietnamese term for primary and secondary sources

Dear Nữ Anh,

Try "Sử liệu" and "Tư liệu gốc" or "Tư liệu sơ cấp" for the primary source.

Yes, "Tài liệu" is usually used for the two, both primary and secondary sources, especially the modern documents (which should have been Tư liệu, too): archival documents of colonial era, RVN as well as DRV...

For the pre-colonial sources, they could be distinguished clearer: Tư liệu = primary source; Tài liệu or Tài liệu nghiên cứu = secondary source and literature.

However, in everyday language, people often ask: "Có đủ tài liệu cho luận án không?"/ "Do you have enough materials for the dissertation?"

Moreover, when I join the committees in other universities and institutes, people have different usages :-))

Please check this book, hope that the Authors could help: OPAC | Tra cứu tài liệu tại Thư viện Quốc gia Việt Nam

OPAC | Tra cứu tài liệu tại Thư viện Quốc gia Việt Nam

Best, Thùy Lan

Ms. Do Thi Thuy Lan, PhD.

Department of History,

VNU - University of Social Sciences and Humanities,

Vietnam National University, Hanoi

336 Nguyen Trai, Thanh Xuan, Hanoi

Tel: +84 (0) 38 447 8834

Email: landtt@vnu.edu.vn; lansuu@yahoo.com.vn

From: tran_n_a@yahoo.com <tran_n_a@yahoo.com>

Sent: Monday, November 14, 2022 8:11 AM

To: Rob Hurle <rob1940@gmail.com>; Do Thi Thuy Lan <lansuu@yahoo.com.vn>

Cc: vsg vsg <vsg@u.washington.edu>

Subject: Re: [Vsg] vietnamese term for primary and secondary sources

Thanks for all of the suggestions! Together, the different answers suggest that there isn't quite a consensus around how to express the concepts of primary and secondary source in Vietnamese, which is interesting in and of itself.

Cheers,

Nu-Anh