SOUTHERN LOCAL WORDS IN WORKS PROSE FROM THE LATE 19TH CENTURY TO THE FIRST HALF OF THE 20th CENTURY

Abstract

Southern prose from the late 19th century to the first half of the 20th century is an important part of modern Vietnamese literature. Southern prose works published during this period marked the transition from the old style of writing to the new expression of the National language. Survey results show that Southern writers have used many ancient words, local words, and foreign borrowed words in their works. In addition, the Southern oral style of writing is clearly shown in works produced in the early 20th century; It reflects the speech of Southern people in everyday life. Reading prose works during this period, one can recognize the "toddres" and "groping" steps of those who explored, opened the way, and shaped a modern novel movement ; in particular, the use of local words is one of the extremely important factors to bring the National language to all stratum of society.