Professor Shimizu Masaaki presents on how to read Sino-Vietnamese and Sino-Japanese

At the invitation of the Department of Han Nom (Faculty of Literature, University of Social Sciences and Humanities), in the mornings from September 23 to 26, 2008, Professor Shimizu Masaaki (Osaka University, Japan) gave a live presentation in Vietnamese on Sino-Vietnamese and Sino-Japanese reading methods.

The four lectures respectively address historical phonetic issues with mutual relationships: 1. The phonetic system of medieval Chinese; 2. Comparison of Vietnamese Nom script with Manyogana and Japanese Quoc Tu; 3. Origin of Sino-Vietnamese reading; 4. Re-establishment of the Japanese phonetic system of the Heian period.

Professor Shimizu's lecture is part of the collaborative teaching program.How to read Sino-Vietnamesefor graduate level in Han Nom. However, the level of knowledge, both in-depth and updated at the international level of the lecturers as well as the lectures, has attracted many researchers from a number of other relevant professional units, such as the Faculty of Linguistics (University of Social Sciences and Humanities), the Institute of Han Nom Studies (Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences) to attend.

This is the first time a subject in the Han Nom Master training program has been taught by a foreign expert, thereby opening up a prospect of international cooperation in teaching and researching Han Nom at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities.