Echoes of Identity: Language Among Ethnic Minorities in Vietnam’s Central Highlands

Abstract:

Introduction: This study investigates how ethnic minority communities in the Central Highlands of Vietnam use their mother tongues alongside Vietnamese, and explores the reasons behind their language choices. It also examines differences in language proficiency between generations. Methods: Data were collected from 882 participants between 2014 and 2016, including 252 ethnic adults and 630 students (280 high school and 350 secondary school pupils) representing seven ethnic groups: Ede, Jarai, Churu, K’ho, Bahnar, Mạ, and Mnong. That means, every year I survey 294 people, specifically: 42 people/1 ethnic; 36 adults/1 ethnic, 12 adults/1 year; 40 high school students/1 ethnic and 36 secondary school students/1 ethnic. This number is large enough to represent. The study employed comparative and contrastive methods to analyze language use patterns across age groups. Results: Findings reveal significant variation in the use of mother tongues and Vietnamese between older and younger generations. Older participants predominantly use their ethnic languages, while younger generations show increased use of Vietnamese. The data indicate a generational shift in language preference and proficiency. Discussion: The results highlight the ongoing risk of language loss among ethnic minorities due to the dominance of Vietnamese, especially among youth. This shift threatens the preservation of ethnic languages and cultural identity. The study underscores the need for targeted government policies to support and protect these minority languages. Conclusions: Ethnic minority languages in Vietnam’s Central Highlands face challenges from generational language shifts favoring Vietnamese. Immediate and specific governmental actions are necessary to safeguard these languages and maintain cultural diversity.

Keywords:

ethnic; language ability; mother language; Vietnamese language ability.

Citation: Mai Hồ Xuân (2025). Echoes of Identity: Language Among Ethnic Minorities in Vietnam’s Central Highlands. Horizon J. Hum. Soc. Sci. Res. 7 (1), 60–74. https://doi.org/10.37534/bp.jhssr.2025.v7.n1.id1289.p60