cảm hứng            Vietnamese

KimOanh Nguyen-Lam	The Vietnamese word that most often associated with inspiration is  cảm hứng   - an unexpected sensation or feeling that induces the urge to create or to respond creatively.  This feeling is often associated with artists and people who rely on creativity to be productive.  Many well-known Vietnamese literary verses were produced by the poets who were inspired by their surroundings and moods at the spur of the moment. However, anyone can become a poet, a writer, a painter, or a musician when he or she finds cảm hứng that stirs the person to respond creatively. The source of inspiration could be found in the beauty of the physical world or human nature.  It could also be found in witnessing or experiencing authentic human conditions such as love, pain, joy, oppression, etc.
The word inspiration in Vietnamese is made up of two key concepts: cảm  (to feel) and  hứng (a surge of emotion, the urge).  Cảm hứng expresses a fleeting emotional surge that is often associated with creativity.  Cảm hứng does not denote the full range of emotions that the English word Inspiration does. People are more likely to use the words Cảm  Xu’c or Cảm  U’ng to express being moved or touched.  The Vietnamese language is monosyllabic but there are a number of words that are paired with cảm : cảm gia’c:  sensation, knowing through the senses cảm xu’c:  to experience a flood of emotions cảm u’ng:  feeling deeply moved or stirred cảm ki’ch:  being moved to respond cảm tho^ng:  to understand the other person’s feelings, to empathize cảm ddo^.ng:  being moved, touched, affected cảm tuo?ng:  being led by the senses to believe cảm nghi~:  thoughts that derived from feelings cảm thuong:  being moved to empathize linh cảm:  knowing through the sixth sense These are just a few. There are at least 50 more words that are in this group. All of these words have cảm as its base and thus are related to feelings and sensations as sources of knowing and being.
The natural landscapes of Vietnam have always been the unending source of inspiration for poets, writers, artists, or anyone who appreciates aesthetic beauty.
		Perfume Pagoda, Mountain and River
(photo by KimOanh Nguyen-Lam)	A few years back, upon completing reading a book of reflective essays, I was inspired to write to the author, something that I had never done.  It turned out to be a blessing because we became close friends and continue to correspond until today.  Visual images of contrasting things also move me deeply.  Delicate green moss flowing from the cracks of a depilated old stone wall; a blade of green grass growing in the crack of a concrete pavement; fragile flowers poking through the dried up ground; a graceful wisp of seaweed lying against the glistening solid rock; or a lone white sea shell washed up among piles of drift wood can induce in me a sense of spiritual uplifting.

Interview Questions

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KimOanh:  Recently,  in my discussion with my other colleague QuyenDi who is Vietnamese, this same concept, has different words that represent different meanings in our language.

The Vietnamese word that the dictionaries we consulted gave for "inspiration" is "ca?m hu+'ng". However, this Vietnamese word does not carry the deeper meaning of the English word. "Ca?m hu+'ng" is often used for artists who in the spur of the moment, are moved to produce a work of art. The main emphasis is on the fleeting moment induced by the outside influence and the product that is the result of responding to the moment.

Whereas we believe that the word or concept 'inspiration in English carries with it a deeper potential of change that is more aligned with transformation, we feel that "cam hung" is not an adequate representation of inspiration.

In your example, you chose to use the lighter meaning - inspiration as a breath of fresh air - However, in our work with multiracial, multilingual communities that often includes discussions of social inequity, cultural barriers, language differences, economic struggles and racism, inspiration is often explored in a much deeper context. It is not just a breath of fresh air but a force that propel or uplift people to act and be above the present circumstances.

It is of this deeper meaning of the meaning of inspiration that we want to portray in our translation into Vietnamese. Thus the dictionary given word (cam hung) is not adequate.

As QuyenDi and I engage deeper into this conversation, we begin to see the ontological differences between the Western and the Eastern worldviews.

Inspiration in the western perspective implies a separation between the human and the spirit. The human has a passive role in waiting to receive the life force (spirit) from outside to be moved. An inspiration is a stimulus that gives life to what is at rest. Along this thinking, learning is acquiring more knowledge and skills and thus, a highly developed person is considered as one who has accumulated much knowledge skills and experiences.

From the eastern philosophical grounding, there is no separation between human and spirit. The human contains within its being, the life force and wisdom. A highly developed person is one which has returned to his original nature, one who has awakened within him his own life force, purpose and meaning. Within this worldview, to be inspired is not to receive the life force from outside but to uncover and release the life force from within.

So this is where QuyenDi and I are - looking through more references, talking to more people to find a word that would best represent this concept within our rich language.

I'm not sure if our thinking fits in with your project's purpose and intention so please let us know. If it is, we will continue to work on it. We love playing around, musing, reflecting on different words. QuyenDi once gave a beautiful lecture in our bilingual/biliteracy course on the Vietnamese/Chinese concept of peace - the interplay, harmony, and balance between the two basic forces of nature - Yin and Yang / A^m and Du+o+ng. He is a poet, writer and literature teacher.