Origin of the name of the Spratly Islands
(Baonghean) –The Spratly Islands belong to Vietnam and are an inseparable part of Vietnam. One of the evidences is the origin of the way the islands in the Spratly Islands are named to affirm our country's sovereignty over this archipelago.
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Like the common language, the issue of place names in our country also shows national, scientific, popular and unified character.
National character
According to Vietnamese tradition, a place name is the name of a geographical object. Truong Sa archipelago is the name of a geographical object in the East Sea. During the Hong Duc period, in the “Complete Collection of Thien Nam Tu Chi Lo Do Thu” on the map, it was recorded as Bai Cat Vang. Thus, according to Vietnamese popular tradition, the term Bai Cat Vang is a pure Vietnamese word to establish our country’s sovereignty over this archipelago. And on “Dai Nam Nhat Thong Toan Do” drawn around the end of the 18th century, Truong Sa archipelago was also recorded.
Thus, according to old documents, the terms Bai Cat Vang and later Truong Sa are all place names with pure Vietnamese words, reflecting the traditions of the Vietnamese people.
Scientific nature of place names
Each place name has its own geographical and humanistic significance, and at the same time, it has an international character. Geographical objects on the sea and ocean in general, as well as the East Sea in particular, all have these characteristics.
Archipelago is the name for a group of islands located close together occupying an unlimited sea area (for example, the Indonesian archipelago has an area of millions of square kilometers, the Spratly Islands has an area of hundreds of thousands of square kilometers). The English name is Archipelago or we can also use the word island with the plural Islands.
Island is a word used to describe a piece of land, rock... that is above water level, even at high tide. The height can vary from a few meters to several thousand meters and the area is usually over 1 square kilometer. The English name is Island.
Hon is a word used to refer to islands with smaller areas, usually less than 1 km2 and lower altitude. The English name is Islet. For example Hon Tre, Hon Trung Lon...
A beach is a word used to describe an area of land that is above water at low tide and submerged at high tide. The English name is Shoal.
Bank is a term used to describe areas of considerable size that are submerged under relatively deep water (can be up to several dozen meters or more). The English name is Bank.
Atoll refers to a ring-shaped coral formation that is usually oval and discontinuous, with shallow water (from a few meters to a few dozen meters) inside. The English name is Atoll. Most of the islands in Hoang Sa and Truong Sa have this shape. In fact, these islands are written with Island, not Atoll.
Coral reef refers to coral structures that are submerged and not ring-shaped. The English name is Reef. This English word is also used many times in the Spratly Islands.
Mass and unity
The popularity of a place name must be understood by many people in the country or must be able to visualize the geographical object that it is named after and when read or written, it must not be confused with a foreign place name. The unity of a place name is shown in the fact that in everyday communication language, in documents, books, newspapers, and maps, each geographical object has only one unified name, not many different names to avoid confusion. If necessary, write the name of the locality where the place name is located or the old name of the place name.
Up to now, Truong Sa archipelago has had more than 150 place names with Vietnamese and international names. The naming of places in Truong Sa has used mostly common nouns as mentioned: Island, Bank, Reef or Rock. In which, the majority of place names are named according to ethnic characteristics - that is, naming has used simulacrum or specificity (such as names Thuyen Chai, Son Ca...), famous people (Phan Vinh, Huyen Tran...), orientation (Song Tu Tay, Song Tu Dong, Da Bac, Da Nam...), Chinese pronunciation (Ky Van, Song Tu...).
Thus, the origin of naming the Truong Sa archipelago and the islands, banks, rocks, islets... on the archipelago is one of the evidences to affirm Vietnam's sovereignty over this archipelago and it is an inseparable part of Vietnam.
Nguyen Thanh Diep