Vietnam moves to preserve Mong ethnic script

Lao Cai, December 15 (VNA) - The Institute for Studies of Science, Economics and Environment (ISEE) held a workshop in the northern province of Lao Cai on December 13 to promote the written language of Mong ethnic people in Vietnam. About 12 million Mong people are living across the world using different scripts. According to the Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs, the utilisation of the international Mong written language is more popular than that of the Vietnamese Mong language in northern localities of Yen Bai, Lao Cai, Dien Bien, Ha Giang and Cao Bang. Therefore, participants asked the State to recognise and put into use the common form of written language for Mong ethnic people in the country to preserve their unique cultural values. Vietnam is home to about 12 million people of ethnic minorities, accounting for 15 percent of the nation’s population. The Vietnamese Government issued Decree 82/2010-ND-CP in July 2010 stipulating the teaching and study of the oral and written forms of ethnic languages to keep them from falling into obligation.-VNA