ABOUT DR. DUONG DUC NHU

DUONG DUC NHU.  Born 1934, Son-Tay, Vietnam. Second child of the village chief of Phung Thuong, Phuc Tho, Son-Tay, and maternal grandson of a Confucius teacher (Cu. Ddo^`) who opened a school near Ha't Mo^n, Son-Tay.  His oldest sister died at 20 during the Indochina War.

B.A. English, University of Saigon; M.A. linguistics, University of London (thesis and Ph.D.-equivalent coursework on applied  linguistics and structural linguistics, uncommon Asiatic languages); Ph.D. educational leadership, Southern Illinois University (dissertation on systematic review of French educational policies and colonial implementation in Vietnam).  British Council scholar (1961); Fulbright Scholar (1972).
Taught at Tran Quy Cap (Hoi-An), Dong Khanh (Hue), and Petrus Ky (Saigon).  Professor/faculty member, School of Pedagogy, University of Hue, Faculty of Letters, University of Saigon, Van-Hanh University; Director of Planning & Research, Director of Overseas Studies, Republic of Vietnam's Ministry of Education. Fluent in English, French, and Vienamese; thorough knowledge of written Chinese (chu Han); research into Chu Nom (Vietnamese deviation from Chinese).  Thinks of himself as an educator, researcher, and translator, not as a creative writer.
Published work in South Vietnam (pre-1975):  Dich Viet Anh, an anthology of English translation of Vietnamese literary texts; Nguoi Thuc Nu, translation of Fyodor Dostoyevsky's The Gentle Maiden) (both pieces of literary translation advocate the use of the literary text as tools for learning English as a Second Language, used at the Faculty of Letters, University of Saigon).  Author of various articles published in Mai-Thao-led literary magazine: e.g., Phan Biet Ngu, Ngon, va Ngon-Ngu (Distinction between Diction, Parle, and Language), Ddo.c Do.c Dduo`ng cu?a Thanh Ta^m Tuye^`n (literary critique:  "Upon Reading 'Along the Road' by Thanh Tam Tuyen"), Xem Tranh Dinh Cuong (art critique: "Upon Viewing Artist Dinh Cuong's Paintings").
Other 1975 writings:
--Thu Ban Den Vai Van De Ngu Am Nham Y Tuong Chinh Tien Van Tu Viet Ngu (Comments on Phonetics Issues for the Thought of Improving Written Vietnamese) (Van Hoa Nguyet San 1965).
--Trang Thai Ngon Ngu va Ngu Hoc Tinh (The Status of Language and Linguistics Properties) (VHNS 1964).
--Ngon Ngu Co He Thong Hay Khong? (Is Language Systematic?) (VHNS 1964).
--Transformational Grammar:  A Brief Review of Chomsky's "Syntactic STructures" (VHNS 1964).
Fulbright-sponsored unpublished work interrupted by the fall of Saigon in 1975:  Revising the IBMElectric Typewriter Keyboard to Accommodate the Vietnamese Language (pioneer work predating today's Vietnamese fonts used in the computer industry); Entry into the World of Picasso's Cubism for Vietnamese Viewers.
Work after 1975:  Anthology of Articles by Teenage Writers on the Vietnamese Culture for the Houston Independent School District; translation of Duong Nhu Nguyen's Her Nine Words (Chin Chu Cua Nang), Chiec Phong Cam Cua Bo Toi (My Father's Accordion) (The Ky 21), and Hoang Hau Chiem Thanh (The Queen of Champa) (unpublished); Suggestions for Standardizing the Vietnamese Language (Van/Van-Hoc); other unpublished and ongoing work relates exclusively to poetry composition in Chinese, and research into Tho Duong (Tang Dynasty Poetry) and Tho Chu Han (Chinese poetry) such as:  Dich tho Duong (typified by Tiet Phu Ngam); Tho Chu Han Cua Nguyen Du.  Dr. Duong's work can also be found in Dong Viet Collection (1993-2009) (Southeast Asian Culture and Education Foundation).
[The above biography is based on memory recollection and/or personal knowledge of Dr. Duong's children living in America. Contact wendynicolennduong@post.harvard.edu for additional information.]

Handwriting of the former village chief of Phung Thuong  recreating the Duong Family's geneology from North Vietnam, and leaving words for his descendants in America. He died and was buried in Southern California (1994).