# What is this language and what does this sentence mean?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-language-and-what-does-this-sentence-mean/517762
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [November 16, 2009, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-language-and-what-does-this-sentence-mean/517762 "2009-11-16T10:33:14Z")
**Posts on this page:** 18
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)
#### Post date: [November 16, 2009, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-language-and-what-does-this-sentence-mean/517762/1 "2009-11-16T10:33:14Z")
Can someone identify this language and tell me what it means?
Chiến thắng! Đối với Bolivia mới!
Context : it’s from an online game. Sort of a virtual world. The guy is trying with friends to take the political control of Bolivia, where I “live”, and says he’s a Belorussian. He’s sending this sentence to his friends.
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### Author:  [@Hallucinex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hallucinex)
#### Post date: [November 16, 2009, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-language-and-what-does-this-sentence-mean/517762/2 "2009-11-16T11:11:27Z")
Looks like Vietnamese (I think - no idea what it’d mean though)
Edit: Actually, google translate tells me it says “Victory! For the new Bolivia!” when translated from vietnamese
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### Author:  [@Dog80](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dog80)
#### Post date: [November 16, 2009, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-language-and-what-does-this-sentence-mean/517762/3 "2009-11-16T12:54:03Z")
What are all those different accents?
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### Author:  [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)
#### Post date: [November 16, 2009, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-language-and-what-does-this-sentence-mean/517762/4 "2009-11-16T12:57:14Z")
> [@Dog80](#):
>
> What are all those different accents?
They’re not accents, as such. They’re actually additional letters added to the Roman alphabet for sounds that Vietnamese distinguishes that English doesn’t. It’s not an “a” with a circumflex, it’s actually a whole single letter.
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### Author:  [@Waffle\_Decider](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waffle_Decider)
#### Post date: [November 16, 2009, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-language-and-what-does-this-sentence-mean/517762/5 "2009-11-16T14:28:48Z")
In addition, they also mark the tone of the syllable. Vietnamese is a tonal language, which means the exact same consonant and vowel combination means completely different thing depending on the pitch it is pronounced in. That gives written Vietnamese a very unique look, and that’s why you end up with characters like ế and ắ with “double accents”.
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### Author:  [@QuanSu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuanSu)
#### Post date: [November 16, 2009, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-language-and-what-does-this-sentence-mean/517762/6 "2009-11-16T23:29:28Z")
> [@clairobscur](#):
>
> Can someone identify this language and tell me what it means?
> Chiến thắng! Đối với Bolivia mới!
> Context : it’s from an online game. Sort of a virtual world. The guy is trying with friends to take the political control of Bolivia, where I “live”, and says he’s a Belorussian. He’s sending this sentence to his friends.
It’s Vietnamese, and it says “Victory! To the new Bolivia”. The sentence “Đối với Bolivia mới” is ambiguous and, in this case, might be used incorrectly. "“Đối với” could be either “For” or “against” or “to” depends on the subject.
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### Author:  [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)
#### Post date: [November 17, 2009, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-language-and-what-does-this-sentence-mean/517762/7 "2009-11-17T04:03:01Z")
All hail our new Bolivian-Vietnamese overlords!
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### Author:  [@Desert\_Nomad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desert_Nomad)
#### Post date: [November 17, 2009, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-language-and-what-does-this-sentence-mean/517762/8 "2009-11-17T04:46:52Z")
> [@Sunspace](#):
>
> All hail our new Bolivian-Vietnamese overlords!
Reminds of a Singaporean acquaintance who when traveling was making toasts, one of which was “May there never be war between Singapore and Uzbekistan” 🙂
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### Author:  [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)
#### Post date: [November 17, 2009, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-language-and-what-does-this-sentence-mean/517762/9 "2009-11-17T14:52:12Z")
Singapore has always been at war with Uzbekistan.
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### Author:  [@sweeteviljesus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweeteviljesus)
#### Post date: [November 17, 2009, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-language-and-what-does-this-sentence-mean/517762/10 "2009-11-17T23:39:50Z")
You win.
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### Author:  [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)
#### Post date: [November 17, 2009, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-language-and-what-does-this-sentence-mean/517762/11 "2009-11-17T23:58:01Z")
> [@Desert\_Nomad](#):
>
> Reminds of a Singaporean acquaintance who when traveling was making toasts, one of which was “May there never be war between Singapore and Uzbekistan” 🙂
I think I may use that.
I’m Canadian.
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### Author:  [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)
#### Post date: [November 19, 2009, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-language-and-what-does-this-sentence-mean/517762/12 "2009-11-19T21:25:09Z")
Thanks for your answers. 🙂
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### Author:  [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)
#### Post date: [November 19, 2009, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-language-and-what-does-this-sentence-mean/517762/13 "2009-11-19T21:31:00Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#):
>
> Singapore has always been at war with Uzbekistan.
No, no – Singapore has always been at war with Tajikistan, and the peace-loving Uzbekistanis have always fought alongside the glorious Singaporean defence force. Didn’t you get the memo on Tuesday?
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### Author:  [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2009, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-language-and-what-does-this-sentence-mean/517762/14 "2009-11-20T03:57:05Z")
Saying such a thing is doubleplusungood. :: puts fingers in his ears ::
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### Author:  [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2009, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-language-and-what-does-this-sentence-mean/517762/15 "2009-11-20T06:09:35Z")
Now, it could be the speech form of a person with Hispanic-Cajun mixed ancestry:: “Dog thing! I give, I see my Bolivia!” 😃
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### Author:  [@Peanuthead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peanuthead)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2009, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-language-and-what-does-this-sentence-mean/517762/16 "2009-11-20T06:14:20Z")
All your Bolivian base are belong to us!
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### Author:  [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2009, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-language-and-what-does-this-sentence-mean/517762/17 "2009-11-20T18:08:23Z")
Tell me, Daddy, about the joint Bolivian-Vietnamese expedition to the Marianas Trench in the Sixties…
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### Author:  [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2009, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-language-and-what-does-this-sentence-mean/517762/18 "2009-11-20T18:59:48Z")
Well, they started out following the valley of the Rio du Duran-Duran … 😃