Professor, Doctor Nonna Vladimirovna Stankevich

Portrait of Professor of Linguistics Nonna Vladimirovna Stankevich.

She has made significant contributions to linguistic research, Vietnamese studies, and Vietnamese linguistics.

That's the professor's full name, but we didn't need any more formal titles; we usually just called her "Miss Nonna" (two words).n(in the middle). I mentioned two words.nIt's because of a funny story. Back when Professor Nguyen Tai Can was still working there, he once sent me a letter, through me, requesting that the University of Social Sciences and Humanities certify the number of years of service at the university so that the teachers could send it to the retirement management agency in Moscow. At the end of the letter, he added: "P.S.: Remember to write the teacher's name: Nonna - with the two 'e's and 'n's in the middle. Many times we haven't noticed and written just one 'n' as 'Nona,' which causes a lot of trouble when dealing with paperwork, especially at the police station, for household registration... it's very troublesome."

She was one of the "Four Pillars" of the Faculty of Literature at Hanoi University in the past. That was her nickname.Four of a KindThis term was coined and passed down among us students back then to refer to the four teachers we loved and respected: Ms. Dang Thi Hanh, Ms. Le Hong Sam, Ms. Hoang Thi Chau, and Ms. Nonna. Each had her own unique style, but they shared a common denominator: profound insight and an air of respectable academic excellence. Now,Four of a KindOur teachers retired a long time ago. Even we, the young, country boys and girls in our twenties, who were their students back then, are now "getting on in years." Ms. Hanh, Ms. Sam, and Ms. Chau still live in Hanoi, while Ms. Nonna retired all the way to the Russian Federation, her homeland. (Magazine)LanguageIssue number 5-2015 recently featured an article celebrating her eightieth birthday (May 24th), respectfully affirming and highly appreciating her contributions to linguistic research, Vietnamese studies, and Vietnamese linguistics.

When we were students of Literature, the country was still at war and divided. Life was very poor. Everything was scarce. But strangely, the atmosphere back then was...learnandaskThere was no shortage of foreigners in our school. Back then, it was rare to meet a foreigner in Vietnam. Yet, we had a genuine Russian teacher, dressed in Vietnamese style, wearing a conical hat, and teaching as kindly as any other Vietnamese teacher. The first time we met and listened to her lecture, it was a strange feeling. She spoke in Vietnamese, very gently. A discerning listener could easily detect a slight "Nghe An accent." Her speech was concise, with no superfluous or repetitive sentences. The names of famous scientists in the field she taught, such as Skalichka, Kasnelson, Iakhontov, Uspenskji, Greenberg, and others, along with their ideas and methods, reached us through her lectures.Types of languagesFrom those days onwards, after graduating and being offered the opportunity to stay on for training to become a lecturer and work in the department, I gradually came to understand her better.

Her hometown is St. Petersburg (formerly Leningrad), where the emerald green Neva River reflects the purple sunsets and casts the shadows of magnificent, golden castles and palaces.the white nights of JuneThe wondrous and festive "Crimson Sails" festival, and the prestigious Leningrad University, now renamed St. Petersburg University, were among the highlights. There, in 1964, she defended her doctoral dissertation on "Adjective Categories in Modern Vietnamese" under the supervision of Professor S.E. Jakhontov, a name very familiar to the international linguistic community. Initially, she studied Chinese literature, with Tibetan as her second foreign language. Due to the professor's illness, Tibetan was no longer taught; Vietnamese took its place. At the end of her studies, she graduated with degrees in Chinese language and literature, but her final dissertation was on Vietnamese studies.

Ideally, along with those who laid the foundation for Vietnamese studies at St. Petersburg University at that time, such as N.D. Andreev, Nguyen Tai Can, I.S. Bystrov, M.V. Gordina, V.S. Panfilov, I.L. Zimonina, and D. Letjagin, she would have continued her research and teaching in Vietnamese studies there. However, fate led her to marry into the Nguyen Tai family in Thuong Tho village, Thanh Chuong district, Nghe An province; and her life partner was the renowned linguist, Professor Nguyen Tai Can. Returning to her husband's homeland, Vietnam, she was recruited by the Ministry of Education as a lecturer at Hanoi University, Faculty of Literature, in October 1961. From then on, she dedicated herself entirely to the Linguistics department of the University (now the Faculty of Linguistics, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi) until her retirement. Thus, she began her scientific career in Leningrad, but throughout her research and teaching career, she remained entirely in Vietnam, mostly during the difficult, arduous, and war-torn period of the country.

Back then, the Linguistics and Vietnamese Linguistics departments at Hanoi University were just beginning to be established. She and her colleagues worked hard to develop the field. She compiled textbooks and taught courses on theory and methods of translation, on language types, and also taught practical Russian, researched Vietnamese grammar, and even researched Nôm script (together with Professor Cẩn), Vietnamese classical Chinese, and especially the linguistic interaction between classical Chinese and Vietnamese, studying Vietnamese prose language in the late 19th and early 20th centuries… In every field, she achieved remarkable results. Two books:Types of languages(written separately)Vietnamese grammar(written with Bystrov, Nguyen Tai Can), along with over a hundred articles by her published in scientific journals and research books both domestically and internationally.Types of languagesThis is the only book on this field, to date, in Vietnam that has been compiled and used as an official textbook for linguistics students. I believe it is appropriate to propose that this work receive a well-deserved award.Vietnamese grammarThe three authors presented a system and method of description which, at the time of publication (1975), was considered quite novel and practical.

Her contributions to Vietnamese studies extend beyond that. During the war, when international exchange was difficult, she acted as a bridge, promptly introducing new achievements and research trends in world linguistics and Soviet linguistics to Vietnam, while also introducing Vietnamese culture, literature, and linguistics abroad through numerous translations and research papers. In 2005, she became the Editor-in-Chief of the journal.LanguageProfessor Nguyen Duc Ton asked me to write a short piece to introduce and celebrate Professor Stankevich's 70th birthday. It was difficult, but I tried my best. And after finishing it, I immediately thought of asking Professor Can to double-check it. Fortunately, he was in Hanoi at the time. I remember asking him something along the lines of: "Have you introduced, or translated and introduced, many modern Vietnamese literary works into Russian?" He paused for a moment and then said: "Yes, I have. I have translated and introduced works by Ngo Tat To, Nguyen Cong Hoan, Anh Duc, Nguyen Minh Chau..." Then he slowly stood up and went to look through the bookshelves. I followed him and helped. There was a stack of works, quite numerous, by Ngo Tat To, Nguyen Cong Hoan, Anh Duc, Nguyen Minh Chau... and also by Huy Can, Nguyen Tuan, Hoang Trung Thong... with very respectful dedications and thanks. All of them were printed on straw-colored paper, either in shades of yellowish-green or dull gray, products that bear witness to a time of hardship and scarcity.

Before and after 1970, she was the first person to introduce the linguistic and written content of ancient Nôm texts.Guide to the Interpretation of Jade Sounds,Zen Buddhism's Record of Empty Sayings...She shared her work with the Soviet linguistics and Vietnamese studies community, and these materials received considerable attention. Notably, she was also the first to discover and introduce Catholic texts.Distinguishing Right from WrongWritten in Vietnamese, extremely rare, found in Leningrad, it caused a great stir in the field of Vietnamese studies, especially in the Soviet Union at that time.

Besides her professional duties, few people knew that many important Party and State documents, and many documents from high-ranking delegations on official trips, were translated into Russian by her. During a conversation about this, I asked Professor Cẩn, half-jokingly, half-seriously: "It seems like there was no payment or compensation back then, was there, Professor?" He just smiled and said: "When the superiors assign something, you have to try your best to complete it. It's a duty, after all. But there are many funny things about our country. Especially the working documents of delegations from various ministries, departments, and associations… It's like bombs being dropped. They'll be leaving tomorrow or a few days before, and then they'll bring them today and ask for my help. So I have to work hard. Staying up late at night. It's really tough." She also translated many articles by high-ranking leaders into Russian and was a member of the first team to translate President Ho Chi Minh's will into Russian. Former Prime Minister Pham Van Dong often requested that his articles for publication in the Pravda newspaper be translated by her.

And so, she quietly did both "famous" and countless "unknown" tasks, silently dedicating herself to them. Her way of working, and that of Mr. Nguyen Tai Can, was remarkably persistent and patient. Before photocopiers existed...Vietnamese - Portuguese - Latin DictionaryA. De Rhodes's work hadn't been translated and printed yet, but wanting to have the materials for their work, she and, to some extent, Mr. Can also took the time to copy the entire thing in Leningrad. Then, around the time before and after 1975, a research institute compiled a dictionary of Nôm characters, but it hadn't been printed yet, so she and Mr. Can again requested to copy the entire thing. Later, when talking about this with us, she and Mr. Can both said: "We have to make the effort to copy valuable and rare documents that haven't been printed yet. We need them to work with. That kind of thing is usually very difficult to print. Who knows how long we'll have to wait. By diligently copying, we'll have the materials to work with several years sooner..." And that's exactly what happened. Once, Mr. Can laughed and said: "See, N., I've had the materials for my work for two or three years now, and the book still hasn't been printed. It's difficult, isn't it?"

While working with Professor Cẩn at the University of Paris 7 for a period, she and her professor asked Mr. Ph. Langlet and Mr. Y. Hervouet to introduce them to Father J. Verinaud and Father C.L.C. Langlet then arranged for them to introduce her to the archives of the Center for Foreign Missions (Séminaire des Missions étrangères – built in 1663 at 128 Rue du Bac, Paris today) to access ancient archival documents. She then discovered and meticulously researched, and published, a series of very valuable documents written in the Vietnamese Quốc ngữ script from the 17th and 18th centuries: the number of volumes, the symbols of each volume, what each volume contained, the current state of the texts, their content, and specific dates… (Article published in a journal)Science- Hanoi University and in the bookSome evidence related to language, writing, and culture.(by Teacher Nguyen Tai Can, 2001).

In 1984, she was recognized and appointed Professor of Linguistics. She retired in 1992, but her professional work continued. She continued writing papers for international conferences and scientific journals. She continued her research.The Vietnamese linguistic tradition and its interaction with the Chinese linguistic tradition.(book:History of Language Sciences(published in Berlin and New York in 2000), wrote articles for the magazine.Language(Vietnam) on function words and grammar in ancient Nôm textsLegendary Tales...introducing the achievements and new methods of Russian lexicography… Recently, the magazineLanguageIssue 1-2015 just published her article.Some thoughts on typology and typology of the Vietnamese language- This article presents insightful summaries on this issue. In 2010, when I had the opportunity to visit Ms. Can and Mr. Can in Moscow, she still inquired about what research and publications our family had done. She even added, "If you have the chance, please send them to us to read."

Professor of Linguistics Nonna Vladimirovna Stankevich is the wife of the renowned linguist, Professor, Doctor, and People's Teacher Nguyen Tai Can.

Returning to the past, I learned that when they first returned from the Soviet Union, the professors were assigned a portion of a rather beautiful villa on a central street in Hanoi. Then, at the University of Hanoi, a near-Cultural Revolution suddenly broke out in that foreign country. It was only a small-scale operation, but it was still quite damaging. Several scientists from the natural sciences and literature faculties were targeted first. Professor Nguyen Tai Can was among them. They had to leave that villa and buy a house near the flea market. Across the street was a temporary detention center run by the police. Back then, the distance from the city center to the flea market was still considered quite far. That's what I heard from the elders back then; by the time we knew the professors, the landscape had completely changed, and the detention center was no longer there.

Beyond two slightly dilapidated iron gates, about the height of a standing person, was the entrance to the teachers' house, which also served as a small, narrow courtyard running along the length of the house wall. Inside stood a rather large magnolia tree next to a small clump of ornamental bamboo, overgrown and rarely pruned. Under the magnolia tree sat an old toad, I don't know how long it had been lying there, its large, bulging eyes staring at everyone, seemingly unafraid of anyone. A long time ago, while sitting and chatting with Professor Can, I playfully spilled tea on its head, but it only brushed the water away with its paw and then lay still, its eyes wide open, saying nothing. The wooden table (apparently homemade, not made by a professional craftsman) Professor Can often placed under the magnolia tree to work and receive guests in the summer. The gifts she gave to many friends, colleagues, and students were magnolia blossoms she picked, placed in small envelopes she had cut and pasted herself from newspaper. Serene, serene, and fragrant…

Many of the teacher's students came to study at that house. Around 1985-1990, Teacher Can organized a series of lectures at his house, focusing on specific issues in linguistics and Vietnamese linguistics ("talking in words" were the seminars), with enthusiastic volunteers from a number of teachers, students, and friends participating, presenting, and discussing. The teacher and his wife were pleased, jokingly calling it...scientific cooperativeI kept wondering: perhaps the so-called research groups we're discussing today were once formed in a similar way?

During the subsidy period, then came the destructive bombing campaign by the American air force. Bombs and bullets. Evacuation. Hardship, struggle, and shortages in every way. Her superiors, concerned for her, advised her to temporarily evacuate to the Soviet Union. She thanked them, and her whole family evacuated with the school to Dai Tu - Thai Nguyen. When she had to evacuate a second time to avoid enemy bombs, she returned to the countryside without hesitation.

Just think: suppose (onlysupposeThat day, she evacuated to her hometown to avoid the bombs, while Professor Can was facing difficulties with the background and working atmosphere. What was that like?… The day he was awarded the Ho Chi Minh Prize for Science, bestowed with the prestigious title of People's Teacher… everyone who knew him and was close to him was happy and congratulated him. But it seems I can still hear something echoing somewhere…All we've ever seen are people laughing."... - a line from the translation of an ancient poem from the far north, used as the introduction to a multi-episode historical drama series that has occasionally been shown on television every evening."

A while ago, I was working at Cornell University (NY, USA). She also went with Professor Can to work there for a few months. One day I visited them. We chatted about work, and she advised me to take care of my health while away from my family. She even taught me how to cook and take care of young children (my firstborn son was only three years old at the time). She recounted, “You know, during the evacuation, Viet and Nam [her two sons] were very young. At night, of course, there was only oil lamp. I would sit and work, with the child sleeping beside me. When the children cried, the first thing you had to do was check if they had been bitten by ants or other insects, or if they had wet the bed, or if they were hungry, or in winter, cold…” I listened, not only seeing and learning from her experience in caring for children, but also seeing her and the other teachers and students with their books and the flickering oil lamps of the winter nights in the evacuation zone… I saw my hometown again, a rural area near the sea, the gateway for American planes at that time. The sound of the air raid siren. The sound of anti-aircraft guns. The sound of bombs exploding in the city or somewhere else, sometimes near, sometimes far. Some nights, I even heard the sound of artillery fire from American warships at sea. We were children, at an age where we needed food and were growing, but hunger was always rumbling in our stomachs. In the evening, two or three siblings, each in a corner on the rickety wooden platform in the house, huddled together, diligently studying, yawning repeatedly around the oil lamp in the middle, with a small loudspeaker made from old notebook covers shielding the light from escaping, fearing detection by American planes…

To put it in today's terms, she integrated into our society. Returning to Vietnam, a foreign country, at a time of great poverty and hardship, having only recently emerged from the anti-colonial resistance war, she quickly overcame her initial apprehension and calmly and confidently joined the community. Even when the American air force bombed the area, she evacuated to the forest to avoid the shelling, balancing work and raising her young children. This is mentioned in a recent article about Professor Nguyen Tai Can (2012, in a magazine).Lexicography and EncyclopediaRecalling her experience, she said: “Evacuation from Hanoi became an opportunity to live closer together: colleagues could easily visit each other, students could often visit their teachers' homes; classrooms weren't far from the dormitories, the university library was within walking distance, and the faculty library was also very close… For me personally, the evacuation time in Dai Tu, Bac Thai was very beneficial. For the first time, I came into contact with Vietnamese nature; I saw the four seasons change in the midland region, with mountains, hills, valleys, and streams flowing through the rice paddies; I experienced rural life: thatched houses next to the rice paddies, farmers plowing or sowing rice seedlings, harvesting rice, celebrating Tet in the countryside… Before that, when I was in the city, I translated prose and found it difficult to imagine the reality that writers and journalists described, or to understand the comparisons and metaphors used by the authors. But now, having heard and seen it firsthand, I understand. Like the scene of male buffaloes fighting, it was truly terrifying. Comparing a mad buffalo to a tank would also be fitting. The sound of B52 planes flying far away really resembled the sound of a rice mill…” "The scent of ripening rice in the fields, the fragrance of betel nut and pomelo blossoms in the garden... The mild taste of tea, the astringent taste of fresh green tea leaves..."

After the American air bombing campaign ended, she returned to Hanoi, and everything was still rationed; the monthly allowance was 13 kilograms of food mixed with noodles and corn… yet she remained dedicated to research and teaching… I cannot know if she and her teacher were truly “poor” and “contented with poverty,” but their “joy in their work” was clear. Without “joy in their work,” where would they have found such research results under those circumstances?

Despite the hardships of life, in teaching and research, she always set the highest standards possible. When I first stayed at the university, she and Professor Can, during a conversation, enlightened me about what a research paper is, the criteria for evaluating it, the necessary standards, how it differs from a published article, and what a student in the specialized field should be able to meet and do. More than ten years later, at Cornell University, I introduced two of my friends to her, one of whom was P., a Thai girl who was pretty, cheerful, and energetic, speaking Vietnamese fluently with a distinct Hanoi accent. At that time, she was a graduate student and had worked for several international organizations. After meeting P. a couple of times, she took a liking to her and told me, "We must strive to train students like her."

Returning to her hometown to retire, like other teachers, she left behind all the fruits of her research and teaching for the University and the Faculty. Among the "family heirlooms" she took with her upon retirement were a steel helmet issued during the bombing campaign by the American air force, and a plaque.Medal of Resistance against the American War for National Salvation(I definitely received a medal, but I don't remember which class. And I'm hesitant to ask. Because if I sent a letter now, I know she'd be reluctant to talk about commendations, so... never mind.)

I kept thinking to myself: It turns out that throughout her entire life, her most productive periods of scientific work and teaching, right up until her retirement, she was always in a state of "being here makes me miss that place, and being there makes me miss this place." And as a song I've recently heard says, "...at opposite ends of longing, affection is deeper..." When she was in Hanoi, that distant place was her birthplace. When she was in St. Petersburg or Moscow now, Hanoi...The ancient tree-lined road stretches out its branches,There were small alleyways where the rain cast slanted shadows, scorching summer days, a few gentle autumn days with cool breezes, and then the bustling December at the end of the year, filled with peach blossoms and kumquats, because… it was Tet (Vietnamese New Year). Hanoi, with her research and teaching work in linguistics and Vietnamese studies, had those sweltering summer afternoons bathed in golden honey-colored sunlight, teaching in class while the cicadas on the ancient trees near the classroom drowned out the voices of the teachers; we splashed water on the trees but couldn't keep up… it had probably become something unforgettable. That's why, whenever Professor Can returned to Hanoi, he always brought his camera and took numerous photos: the alleyway leading to his and his wife's house, the small roadside tea shop near their home, the staircase in the apartment building, the electric pole at the turn into the alley, the windows of someone's house in the distance, the tangled power lines overhead… To alleviate my probably puzzled look at his photography, he explained: “She asked me to take pictures and bring them over so she wouldn't miss me so much.” And I remained silent.

In August 2010, during a visit to my teachers in Moscow, I asked them many questions and then said, "Please take care of your health, and when you have the opportunity, I'll come to Hanoi again. Hanoi has changed a lot now..." She looked out the window for a moment, her eyes seemingly distant, then turned back and said, "I'd love to, but the doctor won't allow it." I knew she had health problems with air travel. That day, Mr. Hoang (a new, close friend, along with his wife, Ms. Hanh, who arranged the business trip for Ms. Thu Ha, Mr. Pham Ngoc Thanh, and me) took me to visit my teachers. By chance, I learned that Ms. Hanh's house in Nghe An was right next to Mr. Can's former house, and Mr. Hoang knew many relatives on Mr. Can's side. She mentioned and asked him about his uncles, aunts, cousins… whether they were still doing anything, where they were… I listened and understood why his relatives were so fond of her, as I had heard and seen.

Vietnamese life and the Vietnamese spirit have deeply influenced her and seem to have blended into her Russian soul. That's why I can tell you another little story below.

In February 2011, Professor Nguyen Tai Can passed away. His remains were brought back to his hometown. Before arriving in Nghe An, he stopped in Hanoi. Upon his arrival at the airport, his family, relatives, and students set up a memorial altar to pay their respects. As everyone began lighting incense and preparing to place it in the incense burner, I suddenly saw Nguyen Tai Viet, the eldest son of Professor Nguyen Tai Can, hurrying into the room. As he went, he quickly unfolded a small roll of newspaper, carefully wrapped it, and took out three incense sticks he had brought from Russia. He placed them in the incense burner first, before continuing with the lighting of incense. A strange feeling flashed through my mind, indescribable and difficult to describe… There’s a saying, “blessings and virtue come from the mother.” I vaguely sensed behind him, behind his actions, the shadow of his mother – Professor Nonna Vladimirovna Stankevich.