John D. Phan is an Associate Professor of Vietnamese Humanities at Columbia University, based in the Department of East Asian Languages & Cultures and the Weatherhead East Asian Institute. He focuses on the linguistic history of Vietnam and its cultural context.

.His first book, The Lost Tongues of the Red River: Annamese Middle Chinese & the Origins of the Vietnamese Language, published in April 2025 by Harvard University Press, posits the existence of a regional dialect of Middle Chinese once spoken in northern Vietnam (the Red River Delta) and explores how this dialect influenced the emergence of Vietnamese

Phan completed his M.A. at Columbia University (on Ming‑Qing vernacular fiction, 2005) and earned his Ph.D. from Cornell (on Sino‑Vietnamese language contact, 2012). His scholarship examines the evolution of writing systems, vernacular literary forms (like chữ Nôm), and the social-political implications of multilingualism in East Asia

In this episode, Kenneth sits down with John to talk about his new book The Lost Tongues of the Red River. They get into the role language plays in shaping who we are—not just how we speak, but how we think, remember, and connect to culture.

John shares insights into the roots of the Vietnamese language, how it’s evolved, and what might be slipping away. They also dig into the experience of growing up speaking English instead of Vietnamese, and what that means for identity, especially in the diaspora. It’s a thoughtful, wide-ranging conversation about language, memory, and what it really means to be Vietnamese—wherever you are in the world.

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Many of you still have the chance to record and preserve the legacies of your own families. I’ve just begun to sit with families now for interview sessions to record the rich histories of parents and explore the lives of the generations that preceded them. Don’t let your family stories go untold! Take a moment to reach out and together we will bring out your family’s story on a recorded journey. - Kenneth Nguyen

Visit vietnamstorybank.com today for more information.

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429 - How is Language the Key to Who We Are? John Phan - Linguist

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