HCM CITY — The annual Phan Chau Trinh Culture Foundation awards for contributions to Vietnamese studies, culture, translation research and Vietnamese studies will be presented to six winners at a ceremony in Ha Noi this Saturday, according to the foundation's chairman Nguyen Ngoc.

Hoi An City Party Committee Secretary Nguyen Su received the culture and education prize for his contributions to restore national cultural heritage in Hoi An and Viet Nam.

The translation prize went to Nguyen Van Khoa for his translation of the Greek philosopher Plato's Socratic Dialogue 1, which was distributed by the Tri Thuc (Knowledge) Publishing House last year.

Music professor Tran Van Khe and linguist Nguyen Thanh Giang shared the research prize for their contributions on traditional music and literature.

Khe, 91, is popular for his research works on traditional Vietnamese music. His work has helped introduce the country's music to the world.

Giang's works on Chinese-transcribed Vietnamese literature are considered invaluable contributions to the academic community.

The 84-year-old linguist's work focused on differences between the Chinese language (Han) and the Vietnamese early language (Nom). The latter may have first appeared in the 8th century, borrowing Han script.

The Vietnamese studies prize was given to a French historian, author and cultural researcher Alain Ruscio for his research work on Indochina culture under the French war and Russian expert Pavel Vladimirovich Pozner for his work in Vietnamese studies.

The Phan Chau Trinh Culture Foundation, run by the Viet Nam Union of Science and Technology Associations, instituted the awards in 2008.

The awards honour the national hero, poet and cultural expert Phan Chu Trinh, a native of central Quang Nam Province.

Born in 1872, Chinh was a reformer who fought in the resistance movement against the French when he was very young. He devoted all of his life to the country's modernisation cause. — VNS