(VOVworld) - I’d like to remind you again that VOV’s English program is now broadcast on the internet at the same time as on shortwave. Please log in to our website at
www.vovworld.vn to listen to our program with stable quality.
B: This week we got a lot of feedback from listeners telling us their most interesting stories on VOV. Gerry Neumann of the UK informed us that reception of VOV in Europe on 5955 KHz at 18 UTC continues to be SINPO 55555 to 45444 most days. On Sunday January 18th, Gerry listened to the Sunday Show, which featured 2 stories about the Red Dao ethnic minority in northern Vietnam. The first was about their traditional paper-making craft, using bamboo to make white paper and glutinous rice to make yellow votive papers and paper for ceremonies. The second story was about choosing the best land for cultivation and diversifying crops.
A: Gerry said: “As usual, the whole program was very informative, and I’m often pleased to learn about world news that doesn’t feature in any broadcasts here in the UK”. Thank you, Gerry, for listening to VOV regularly and taking an interest in Vietnam. You said you’ve given up on receiving a calendar from VOV this year. We’re sorry you haven’t received our 2015 calendar. We sent out hundreds of wall calendars, pocket calendars, and New Year greeting cards and several listeners have confirmed they got them. It takes about 2 weeks for listeners in Europe to receive our mails or packages. We’ll send you another calendar if now still haven’t received one.
A: Soutik Hati of India wrote: “I’ve been listening to VOV since 2009. I couldn’t write a letter or email regularly due to the pressure of my studies. I’ve received a fantastic 2015 calendar from you. Thanks a lot.”
B: Christopher Lewis of England sent us a letter on January 13, which said: “Thank you very much for the beautiful wall calendar which arrived this week. I’m very grateful for this calendar, as it is very rare these days for radio stations to send out such lovely gifts to listeners. One of my goals in the near future is to visit Vietnam. I was speaking with a friend last night about their past travels to Vietnam. They said it was one of the most beautiful countries they had ever seen. In the meantime, I shall continue to learn more about Vietnam by listening to VOV.”
A: It’s great to receive your letter and learn you intent to visit Vietnam, Christopher. Vietnam’s socio-political stability, beautiful natural landscape, diverse culture, and delicious food are surely worth a long trip from the UK to Vietnam.
B: Rosa Baby, an Indian listener, also listened to the Sunday Show on January 18th about Vietnam’s Red Dao people. Rosa wrote: “Today you talked about the paper making of Red Dao ethnic people. Red Dao is the 9th largest ethnic group in Vietnam. I came to know through this program how the Red Dao ethnic people make paper from bamboo. This program is really very helpful for us. I found today's program most knowledgeable and inspiring”.
A: From Indonesia, Pak Ning Tjang reported on reception on January 21st from 10:10 to 10:27 UTC on 12020 khz. “There was no broadcast on 12020 khz between 10:00 and 10:10 UTC. The reception on 9840 khz was poor from 10:00 until 10:10 UTC. What happened to 12020 khz for those 10 minutes? Was something wrong with VOV’s antenna or in VOV’s studio? My receiver is a SONY ICF-7600 DS with telescopic antenna, so I can check the frequency of 12020 khz and 9840 khz simultaneously”.
B: Thank you very much for your information. We have informed the technical section and hope they will figure out what happened. If other listeners experienced similar problems, please inform us so our technicians will have more clues.
A: We hope it’s just a hiccup. We’ve gotten some good feedback on the frequency of 12020 khz. Rubens Ferraz Pedroso of Bandeirantes, Brazil listened to our program on the frequency of 12020 KHz, January 25th, 2015, from 11:35 to 11:55 UTC. He used a Tecsun PL310 digital receiver and an RC3-FM antenna and rated the overall quality at 3.
B: Koichi Ikeda of Japan listened to VOV on 12020 khz on January 11. He rated SINPO at 45333 and said he could listen to the program with good conditions. The news was almost the same as our Japanese program, and he could understand it easily. Koichi posed an interesting question: “Why was a Thai ethnic group program broadcast? Do they live in Vietnam?”
B: The VOV World Service broadcast programs in 12 languages: Vietnamese, Indonesian, Cambodian, Lao, Japanese, Chinese, German, French, Spanish, Russian, English, and Thai.
A: The stories about the Thai ethnic group on VOV’s English program were not about the people of Thailand, but about one of Vietnam’s 54 ethnic groups, the Thai, who are related to the Thai people of Thailand. In our “Colorful Vietnam, Vietnam’s 54 ethnic groups” segment, we feature stories about Vietnam’s ethnic groups, their habitats, customs, lifestyle, and culture.
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| Traditional costume of Thai women |
B: Vietnam’s Thai ethnic group live mainly in Vietnam’s northern provinces: Lai Chau, Dien Bien, Son La, Yen Bai, Hoa Binh, Nghe An, and Thanh Hoa. The Thai people have their own language, which belongs to the Tay-Thai language system. There are two Vietnamese Thai groups, white Thai and black Thai, who are differentiated by their traditional costumes and houses. Traditionally, black Thai women wear a black blouse with a high collar and a black skirt, while white Thai women wear a white blouse with a heart-shaped collar and a black skirt.
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| White Thai girls |
A: The Thai group comprises many family lineages and each lineage has its own taboos. For example, the Lò never eat the Táng Lò bird and the Quang abstain from killing tigers. The Thai people are polytheists who worship their ancestors, heaven, and earth. Every year they hold ceremonies to pray for good crops, which begin with a ritual to greet the first thunder of the year.
B: Koichi, now you know why we have stories about the Thai ethnic group. This month our “Colorful Vietnam, Vietnam’s 54 ethnic group” segment is featuring the Tay ethnic group, which was originally related to the Thai group. We hope you’ll find these stories interesting and informative.
A: We were happy to receive beautiful New Year's greeting cards and 2015 calendars from Christopher Lewis, Jack and Sue Wachtershauser and Mark Scott of Australia, Muneer K.P of the UAE, and Peter Ng of Malaysia. Thank you very much. In about 3 weeks, Vietnam will celebrate the Lunar New Year.
B: We welcome your feedback at: English section, Overseas Service, Radio Voice of Vietnam, 45 Ba Trieu Street, Hanoi, Vietnam. Or you can email us at: englishsection@vov.org.vn. Tune in to our English program on the Internet at vovworld.vn. Good bye. See you next time.