In this episode of The Vietnamese Podcast, host Kenneth Nguyen engages in conversation with Professor John Phan of Columbia University, author of The Lost Tongues of the Red River. The discussion examines the historical and linguistic development of Vietnamese within the broader context of East and Southeast Asia. Emphasis is placed on the long-standing contact between Vietic languages and various Sinitic, Kra–Dai, and Austroasiatic linguistic traditions, highlighting the ways in which centuries of interaction shaped the structure, vocabulary, and identity of Vietnamese.

The episode moves beyond the reductive question of whether Vietnamese is “just the new Chinese” to consider instead the complex processes of language contact, cultural exchange, and identity formation. Professor Phan addresses both the scholarly debates surrounding his research and the sensitivities inherent in questions of cultural heritage, situating Vietnamese within a dynamic historical framework rather than a fixed narrative of influence. The conversation underscores how linguistic inquiry can illuminate broader social, political, and cultural histories of premodern Vietnam.