The voices of Vietnamese nationalism and informal discourse in language policy

In this chapter, the authors investigate Vietnamese nationalism as informally expressed through the social media platform Quora Digest to look at how it shapes language use, language appreciation, and language education in an interconnected way. After highlighting key characteristics of Vietnamese nationalism, the chapter then illustrates how the Vietnamese language is viewed, employed, and theorized as policy. The explored voices of the Vietnamese participants on the forum represent distinctive views that reflect the country’s senses of pride and shame. The researchers argue that knowledge of Vietnamese modern-day nationalism can support a better understanding of language use, language appreciation, and related ideological challenges. Drawn from the data analysis, the discussion also offers implications for language teaching and learning.