Things my teacher taught me (In memory of Teacher Nguyen Tai Can)

Endless passion

Then the teacher appeared. An old overcoat, a shawl wrapped around his neck, a huge rolled cigarette clenched between his teeth. His first words were: “Hello, students! It’s freezing. It’s so cold it’s deafening. Unbearable. Indescribable… Do you see the difference? That’s language!” Then he enthusiastically analyzed the differences between the utterances. First, his dusty overcoat was piled on the table, then his jacket was thrown onto the back of the chair, and beads of sweat dotted his parted, graying hair. Then he suddenly changed direction: “That’s vocabulary, that’s grammar, but today we’re going to learn phonetics, a difficult but very interesting subject. The world began with words. The Bible says so.” Suddenly, he put his hand to his neck, his mouth wide open, his tongue sticking out, his nose wrinkled, his eyebrows raised. He introduced us to the vocal apparatus. With a few strokes on the blackboard, we understood what makes up the sounds of speech, the A, E, O, U, B, M, D… Four lessons flew by in a flash.It was the winter of 1974, still in thatched huts with mud walls, wrapped in whatever clothes we could find, we huddled together waiting for our teacher. The whole class arrived early and in full attendance because today was Professor Nguyen Tai Can's class. To us, all famous university professors were professors. We didn't care whether one had already been appointed or another was still waiting. We were taught three subjects by him.Phonetics,Vietnamese grammarandThe origin and formation process of Sino-Vietnamese pronunciationI only got average grades in all three subjects, and now, after more than 30 years of studying, I realize that I should have deserved a lower grade. But the teacher instilled in us a love for literature and linguistics from that indescribably cold winter morning. I lived right in the dormitory, while he cycled 11 kilometers to school, arriving at exactly 7 a.m., never late. I hope the enthusiasm and passion he has always given us will never fade.

How do you teach at the university level?

Knock, knock, knock. I opened the door. The teacher appeared at the door and said, "Sing another song! I was downstairs listening to you sing, so I came up to chat for a bit. And listen:A mother's sincere heartnotdirectNo. Our people sing camp songs so often that it's become a habit. We have to understand. Just like...He's dating seven snowsBy Nguyen Binh, it must be understood asI have seven classes a year."It's just a matter of making appointments. It's just about making appointments this time and that time again. And do you have a pipe of tobacco?" When he learned I was staying at the school to teach, the professor looked at me in surprise and commented, "You're a bit short, aren't you? That's okay. It's a bit unfair. But let me tell you a story about my teacher, he was even shorter than you, but he taught very well. He would sit at his desk and say, 'Student A, come to the board.' Then, 'Student A, go back to your seat.' Only then would he come out to correct the bài. Back then, we had a guy with two kids who was still in the same class, very tall and big. If the professor came out to correct the bài and stood next to a tall guy, it would look out of place. The issue is the relationship. And do you know how to teach at the university level?" I was confused, and the professor continued, "Let me tell you quickly. It's simple. Teaching at the university level is about giving examples. Theory is usually about concise propositions. Phenomena are more abundant than laws, that's why. The tree of life is always green, that's also why. Conciseness makes it easy to learn, and students are smart; they learn faster than us." What's needed is for them to learn in the way people understand theory. Therefore, examples are needed, the more the better, the richer the better. To achieve this, the teacher must study beforehand, specifically examining each example. There are many types of examples:Basic exampleIt's a formality; all textbooks must be written the same way, whether Western, Vietnamese, or Chinese, and the teacher must present the material exactly as in the textbook. However, if we only present the material exactly as in the textbook, students will say that reading the book is better. Therefore, the next step is...extended exampleHe must read books, seek out reliable opinions, and cite them clearly. Failure to cite clearly will result in accusations of plagiarism. Thirdly...example of exclusivityThis means that only I possess something that no other book in the world can offer. This requires the teacher to diligently research their own work, even keeping it to themselves without publishing it. Sometimes, if it's published, students might read it elsewhere without remembering the author's name, and they might think the teacher plagiarized it, which would be detrimental to their reputation. To create such an example, one must thoroughly examine a problem, however small, with meticulousness, depth, and accuracy. One must even conduct empirical research on abstract issues such as ethics, spirituality, and experience. Fourthly...example of behavior"Giving examples to the right audience and situation is crucial: one is for a full-time official, another for an in-service employee, another for a propaganda officer, otherwise you might get into trouble. There are humorous examples when humor is needed, and serious examples when seriousness is required. There are things I can say that you, at your age, can't. That's it. If you can provide me with a hundred 'deadly' examples in your lifetime as a teacher, you'll be considered a great scientist. Studying examples will generate theoretical needs and accumulate theory. These two are closely related, especially in social sciences like ours." It was overwhelming for me, but later, when we met again, he would smile and ask, "What's the point?" and I immediately understood how I needed to work.

We must act and take action.

My teacher came to my room and found my desk covered with sheets of vocabulary; I was working on the Nôm poetry of Nguyễn Trãi. He asked about my intentions, and I said I would quantify Nguyễn Trãi's poetry by word. He looked it over and asked, "What is a word?" I stammered, offering a few common definitions. He said, "See? People are still debating how words in Vietnamese are defined, and you're jumping into that? That's very dangerous. In my opinion, you should categorize it by individual characters instead." That was in 1978, and I was still very inexperienced, so I couldn't follow his advice, and as a result, I didn't complete the work. I complained that I hadn't been prepared theoretically enough to finish the project. The teacher encouraged us: "It's alright, just do it and leave it there, it will be useful later. I believe that hardly anyone reads Uc Trai's poetry as carefully as he does. That's a gain. It's not lost. The point is to act. Look, Nonna and I spent six months at the library hand-copying the entire Vietnamese-Portuguese-Latin dictionary by Father Alexandre de Rhodes. Many people advised us to print it later, so why bother copying it? But you see, it hasn't been printed for over a decade. We've gained so much more time than others. Just do it, it will be useful." The teacher's work ethic was tireless, something many of us couldn't learn. These days there are so many pleasures. Once, while returning to Vietnam for an international scientific conference, he excitedly recounted: “I had an idea, but I had to act immediately. Let me tell you this story: my whole family went to visit the grave of my father-in-law, a former Red Army Major General. Everyone else was in the car, but I was still rummaging around in the kitchen. Snacks, snacks. I laboriously carried out a cardboard box. Nonna said, “A scientist shouldn’t be late; everyone’s waiting.” I remained silent. When we got to the grave, it was completely overgrown with weeds. Nam pulled, Viet pulled, the children pulled. It was no use. That’s when I opened the box. Here’s the knife, here’s the hammer, here’s the shovel blade… Please, please! The whole family exclaimed, praising my cleverness. Isn’t that great! It’s nothing, we call this grave cleaning, or tidying up the grave. You need tools to tidy up a grave, that’s all. I loved my father, my mother-in-law loved him, and the children loved him too. But it was still about action.” The very next day, passing by the dormitory, I saw from afar that he was pushing his bicycle with a heavy bundle on the handlebars. When I asked where he was going, he said he was going to get some sand and cement to repair the septic tank pipe. I offered to help him. He gestured quickly with his hands: "I'll just finish plastering, you go home!" I left, then turned to look at him, a world-renowned linguist living in distant Russia, nearly 80 years old, yet so willing to do such mundane tasks. For us, it would be done in a snap. Stories about our infinitely beloved teacher could be told endlessly. Many have become anecdotes. I didn't study linguistics, so I can't fully understand him. Remembering him, I recount a few memories that have deeply influenced my character and always hold the belief, "Without a teacher, you can't achieve anything," even though I myself haven't accomplished anything yet.