Vietnamese Alphabet and Writing System

Vietnamese Alphabet

Grandparents -

When I started learning Swedish two years ago, I learned that they make a distinction between paternal and maternal grandparents. This is not something we do in English, French, Italian or Spanish. Allow me to Illustrate

Swedish    Mormor and Morfar ( maternal grandmother and maternal grandfather)
                  Farmor and Farfar    (paternal grandmother and paternal grandfather)

Yesterday while walking with the boys, I started listening to Living Language Mandarin Chinese. I moved from Pimsleur to Living Language this week. So I started at the very beginning. They went over many words that I already knew, and then added some words that I do not know. (Remember that I always recommend using more than one language program.) I learned that the Chinese do the same thing as the Swedes. They make a distinction between paternal and maternal grandparents. 

Chinese  
                    
    祖父                      gong gong                         (informal) father´s father, paternal grandfather

外公

wài gōng

(informal) mother's father; maternal grandfather

外婆

wài pó

(informal) mother's mother; maternal grandmother

奶奶

nǎi nai

(informal) father's mother; paternal grandmother

It is a delicious idea, - some cultures find it necessary to make these distinctions while others do not. Some cultures find it necessary to be specific while others do not.  If you would like to know how your target language addresses grandparents, check out this blog Name Nerds.