The development of Champa script in Vietnam
Abstract
The Cham people in Vietnam boast a rich history and unique writing system. In the early days, writing was influenced by the Indian Brahmi script, and later developed along with their civilization. Initially used for religious purposes on temple structures, this script gradually diversified into distinct styles to suit the language and life in the Champa Kingdom. This script served administrative, literary, and commercial record keeping functions. However, the decline of the Champa kingdom led to a decline in the use of this script. Despite its irreplaceable historical value, this heritage is facing threats from natural and human factors. The paper traces the history of Cham language research, noting pivotal contributions by French scholars in the 19th and 20th centuries and current preservation initiatives. It highlights the preservation methods within Cham families, intellectual circles, and institutions, emphasizing the importance of traditional practices and modern efforts. The challenges of teaching Cham in contemporary schools are discussed, alongside the potential of digital technology to aid language preservation.
References
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3. Danso (2024). Cham ethnic population in Vietnam. https://danso.info/dan-so-dan-toc-cham-o-viet-nam/#:~:text=D%C3%A2n%20s%E1%BB%91%20d%C3%A2n%20t%E1%BB%99c%20Ch%C4%83m%20%E1%BB%9F%20Vi%E1%BB%87t%20Nam%20l%C3%A0%20178.948,th%E1%BB%A9%2016%20%E1%BB%9F%20Vi%E1%BB%87t%20Nam.
4. Font, C., Unicode, C., Lesson, C., & Music, C. Technology applications in Cham language and script conservation.
5. General Statistics Office (2020). Results of the survey collecting information on the socio-economic situation of 53 ethnic minorities in 2019. Statistic Publishing House.
6. Hong Hieu. (2023, May 6). Improve the quality of teaching ethnic minority language subjects. New Agency Vietnam. https://baotintuc.vn/giao-duc/nang-chat-luong-day-hoc-cac-mon-tieng-dan-toc-thieu-so-20240506151939689.htm
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8. MOMOKI, S. (1996). A short introduction to Champa studies. 重点領域研究総合的地域研究成果報告書シリーズ: 総合的地域研究の手法確立: 世界と地域の共存のパラダイムを求めて, 30, 35-42.
9. Musa, M. Z., & Abd Rahman, K. (2021). Khazanah campa: perumian perbendaharaan kata cam (treasures of champa: romanisation of cam script). Asian Journal Of Environment, History And Heritage, 5(1).
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11. Schweyer, A. V. (2010, September). The birth of Champa. In Crossing borders in southeast asian archaeology (p. 17).
12. Southworth, W. A. (2012). Andrew Hardy, Mauro Cucarzi and Patrizia Zolese,(eds), Champa and the archaeology of My Son (Vietnam). Journal of the Humanities and Social Sciences of Southeast Asia and Oceania, 168(2-3), 349-353.
13. Southworth, W. A. (2023). The coastal states of Champa. In Southeast Asia (pp. 209-233). Routledge.
14. N.Anh Minh. (2022, August 03). Teaching and learning ethnic minority languages in primary schools in Ninh Thuan province -. (n.d.). https://ninhthuan.gov.vn/portal/Pages/2022-8-3/Viec-day-va-hoc-tieng-dan-toc-thieu-so-trong-cac-tyg6kem.aspx
15. Thanh Thuy. (2023, June 20). Difficulties in teaching Cham language. Binh Thuan Online. https://baobinhthuan.com.vn/nhung-kho-khan-trong-day-hoc-tieng-cham-109824.html
16. Tran, K. P. (2006). Cultural Resource and Heritage Issues of Historic Champa States: Champa Origins, Reconfirmed Nomenclatures and Preservation of Sites.
17. Van Ngoc Sang, Mohamad Bin Bilal Ali, Noor Dayana Abd Halim. “Building Cham - Vietnamese Electronic Dictionary”. The 2nd International Education Postgraduate Seminar (IEPS2015). Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM). Malaysia, 20-21, December 2015. Special Edition April 2016. ISSN 2289 -9375. Published by Jurnal Pendidikan Nusantara.
18. Van Ngoc Sang, Mohamad Bin Bilal Ali, Noor Dayana Abd Halim. “Exploring the Preferable Keyboard Platform to Design the Cham Fonts for Windows and Macintosh”. The International Conference on Science, Engineering, Management and Social Science 2016 (ICSEMSS2016). Multi-disciplinary Research towards Global Challenges. Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM). Malaysia, 6-8 October 2016.
19. Van Ngoc Sang, Mohamad Bin Bilal Ali, Noor Dayana Abd Halim. “Exploring the Preferable Cham script to build the Conversion Application for Cham Latin to Cham Script”. E-ISSN 2289- 6996 (print). Vol 9, No. 1-3, December 2016. Published by Sains Humanika.
20. Van Ngoc Sang, Mohamad Bin Bilal Ali. “Preserving Cham Font through Online Conversion Application”. International Education Studies. ISSN 1913-9020 (Print). ISSN 1913-9039 (Online). Vol. 8, No. 13 July 2015. [DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/ies.v8n13p60]. Publisher: Canada Center of Science and Education.
21. Van Ngoc Sang, Mohamad Bin Bilal Ali. Technology Applications in Cham Language Conservation. The 1st International Education Postgraduate Seminar (IEPS2014). Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM). Malaysia, 23-24, November 2014.
22. Van Ngoc Sang, Tuyet Nhung Buon Krong, Mohamad Bin Bilal Ali. “Designing Cham Font Unicode Standard and Cham Keyboard”. International Journal of Engineering & Technology, 7 (2.29) (2018) 853-857. DOI: 10.14419/ijet.v7i2.29.14271. Science Publishing Corporation (SPC).
Authors
[1]
“The development of Champa script in Vietnam”, Soc. sci. humanities j., vol. 8, no. 06, pp. 3850–3860, Jun. 2024, doi: 10.18535/sshj.v8i06.1142.
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