Question

What is Vietnam? What makes you a Vietnamese?

Answer 1

“Book of Kieu remains, our language remains. As long as our language remains, our nation remains.”

Superb point!

But, I am a Texas Native and not Vietnamese, despite speaking Vietnamese and having the privilege of being married to a wonderful Vietnamese woman, Bac for 48 years as my wife, until she died in July 2019. I make no claim to be Vietnamese. But, from time to time, when angry, my late wife did accuse me of being Vietnamese.

Answer 2

Vietnam is recognised as a country with its own territory, people and history, just likes any other country recognised and bounded by all members of the United Nation, does not matter if it has short or long history.

Vietnamese people are those who permanently live in Vietnam as legally Vietnamese citizens, or those who decide to be Vietnamese regardless they live in any other country who came from Vietnam or whose ancestries were from Vietnam, and regardless they are from any Vietnamese ethnic background.

I am an Australian citizen but born and grew up in Vietnam, I consider myself an Australian and a Vietnamese. I have many friend who are Australian citizens with Vietnamese-born Chinese ethnic backgrounds, they call themselves Australian and also Vietnamese.

So, there are two angles to be Vietnamese people. The legal angle and the emotional angle.

Answer 3

Vietnam is a nation. If you are born in Vietnam to Vietnamese parents, you are likely Vietnamese. If your parents are Vietnamese and you are born in America, theoretically you are American but the rules on that are being contested.

Answer 4

“What is Vietnam?”

It’s a quite small developing country in southeast Asia.

There is diversity in characteristics but generally, people are kind, friendly and really patriotic

Well, “what makes me a Vietnamese?”

It’s a physical appearance as Vietnamese ( hard to describe)

And then typical personality of Vietnamese: love peace, tolerant, simple, but conservative and really stubborn.