Language

Since the Vietnamese language has six different tones, it is difficult for most foreigners to speak, despite the fact that the Roman alphabet is used in modern Vietnamese. The same word can have six different meanings depending on the tone used to pronounce it. In the cities and larger towns, English is becoming popular and is now spoken by many younger people while some of the older generation still speak fluent French. Russian and Chinese are also spoken by some people.

We recommend the following books and audio lessons for learning Vietnamese:

Language Books

	Vietnamese for Beginners		The Rough Guide to Vietnamese Dictionary Phrasebook
	Elementary Vietnamese

Audio Lessons

	Basic Vietnamese		Vietnamese for Beginners

Cheap Tickets

Vietnam Hotels

Hanoi

	$27
	$85
	$135

Ho Chi Minh City

	$104
	$186

Current Weather (Jul 09)

	Hanoi Sunny, 81° F
	Ho Chi Minh City Mostly Cloudy, 77° F
	Danang Partly Cloudy, 84° F
	Phan Thiet Mostly Cloudy, 78° F
	Nha Trang Mostly Cloudy, 79° F
	Hue Mostly Cloudy, 76° F
	Source: Yahoo! Weather