Professor Shimizu Masaaki gave a presentation on how to read Sino-Vietnamese and Sino-Japanese texts.

Accepting an invitation to collaborate on teaching from the Department of Sino-Vietnamese Studies (Faculty of Literature, University of Social Sciences and Humanities), Professor Shimizu Masaaki (Osaka University, Japan) gave live lectures in Vietnamese on Sino-Vietnamese and Sino-Japanese readings from September 23rd to 26th, 2008.

The four lectures address interconnected issues in historical phonology: 1. The phonetic system of medieval Chinese; 2. A comparison of Vietnamese Nôm script with Manyogana and Japanese national script; 3. The origins of Sino-Vietnamese pronunciation; 4. Reconstruction of the Heian-era Japanese phonetic system.

Professor Shimizu's lecture is part of a collaborative teaching program.How to read Sino-VietnameseThe course was for postgraduate students specializing in Sino-Vietnamese studies. However, the lecturer's level of knowledge, both in-depth and up-to-date at an international level, as well as the lectures themselves, attracted many researchers from other relevant professional units, such as the Department of Linguistics (University of Social Sciences and Humanities), and the Institute of Sino-Vietnamese Studies (Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences), to attend.

This is the first time a course in the Master's program in Sino-Vietnamese Studies has been taught by a foreign expert, thus opening up a prospect for international cooperation in teaching and research on Sino-Vietnamese Studies at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities.