The Vietnamese language is derived from the Chinese, though the two languages are now poles apart. It has six tones, which means that a word can be said six ways and has six different meanings! To confuse matters further there are also regional variations, so what you learn as polite in Saigon may be quite the opposite in Hanoi. In the 17th century, Alexander de Rhodes (Jesuit scholar and missionary) introduced the Romanised script, which was used by the ‘educated’ elite. It was not until 1954 that this Romanised script became the official written script for all Vietnamese.

Today, English is the most popular second language in Vietnam, so there is bound to be someone around who can help you. Some people also speak French, while others speak Russian, but these are becoming less common.