World

Vietnamese now official language in San Francisco

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors has freshly voted unanimously to formally declare Vietnamese an official city language that requires the authorities’ provision of translation services.

San Francisco Supervisor Shamann Walton speaks on the steps of City Hall on June 11 alongside community-based language access advocates on the topic of Vietnamese becoming an official city language. (Source: Ko Lyn Cheang/The Chronicle)
San Francisco Supervisor Shamann Walton speaks on the steps of City Hall on June 11 alongside community-based language access advocates on the topic of Vietnamese becoming an official city language. (Source: Ko Lyn Cheang/The Chronicle)

Hanoi (VNA) – The San Francisco Board of Supervisors has freshly voted unanimously to formally declare Vietnamese an official city language that requires the authorities’ provision of translation services.

As reported by the San Francisco Chronicle, the move, alongside other changes to the US city’s language access ordinance, is aimed at ensuring that residents can be served in the language they are most comfortable in.

The ordinance, enacted in 2001, previously required city departments to translate services into any language with at least 10,000 speakers in the city who have limited English proficiency. Its recent amendment lowered the threshold to 6,000, allowing the inclusion of Vietnamese to the list previously consisting of only Chinese, Spanish, and Filipino.

A total of 6,791 San Francisco residents identify as primarily Vietnamese speakers, according to the city’s language data dashboard. The city will now has to provide telephonic interpretations, website text, written notices, and other official services in Vietnamese.

The legislation was introduced last year by District 10 Supervisor Shamann Walton, who said the city needed to expand language access to ensure its immigrant communities can participate in the government process./.

VNA
#San Francisco #Vietnamese #official city language #translation services #Shamann Walton #San Francisco Chronicle #Vietnam US #vietnam news agency #vietnamplus United States Vietnam
Follow VietnamPlus

Human rights

Related News

Vietnamese language helps popularise country’s culture: scholar

Vietnamese language helps popularise country’s culture: scholar

The Vietnamese language has become a bridge to connect overseas Vietnamese with the homeland while serving as a messenger to popularise the country’s culture among US people, who previously only knew Vietnam as a war-torn land, according to a scholar in the US.

See more

Authorities in Banteay Meanchey province raids a building used for online fraud in Poipet city, arresting more than 270 people and seizing a large amount of evidence in July (Photo: AKP/VNA)

Cambodia proposes life imprisonment for leaders of online scam networks

A 2024 report by the United States Institute of Peace estimated that illicit revenues from online scams in Cambodia could exceed 12.5 billion USD annually, equivalent to roughly half of the country’s GDP. Prime Minister Hun Manet has previously said the scam centres are seriously damaging Cambodia’s economy and international image, pledging to “clean up” the problem.

Laos confirms stable fuel supply

Laos confirms stable fuel supply

Government spokesperson Sonexay Sitphaxay and Lao Deputy Minister of Industry and Commerce Chanthaboun Soukaloun provided an update on the national fuel supply situation.

Singapore diversifies its sources of imported LNG, and also has a fuel stockpile for power-generation companies to draw from. (Photo: Reuters)

Singapore adopts multiple measures to safeguard energy security

On the measures the Singapore government has in place to handle the rise in global gas prices, Tan highlighted that around half of the city-state’s gas is piped to Singapore from the region and is therefore “unaffected”. Moreover, the country diversifies its sources of imported LNG, and hence is “not overly exposed to the Middle East”, he noted.

Philippines eyes non-permanent seat in UN Security Council

Philippines eyes non-permanent seat in UN Security Council

The Philippines has been working with the UN on many important global issues for decades, and its candidacy for the Security Council serves not only the country's own interests but also aims to strengthen its overall cooperation with the world's largest multilateral organisation, President Marcos said.

An Air India Express Boeing 737-300 sits on the runway at Phuket airport shortly after making a hard landing on March 11. (Photo: Phuket International Airport)

Aircraft incident disrupts operations at Thailand’s Phuket airport

Preliminary findings indicated that the aircraft made a hard landing, resulting in damage to the landing gear and nose gear assembly. The incident caused the aircraft to veer off the runway and prevented it from being moved immediately, leading airport authorities to suspend runway operations.

Indonesian authorities rescue 34 stranded pilot whales

Indonesian authorities rescue 34 stranded pilot whales

The agency's head Imam Fauzi said his team conducted rescue operations for a total of 55 stranded whales from March 9 night to March 10 in a coordinated effort involving local security forces, conservation agencies, officials, and residents. Twenty-one whales were declared dead after stranding.

Indonesia shipped 1.8 million tonnes of palm oil to the Middle East in 2025. (Photo: REUTERS)

Middle East conflict pushes up Indonesia’s palm oil export costs

The conflict, which intensified after coordinated strikes by the US and Israel on Iran’s capital Tehran late last month, had disrupted key maritime routes through the Strait of Hormuz. As a result, some cargo vessels were delayed or forced to take longer alternative routes, raising transport expenses and maritime insurance premiums.

Minister of State Apparatus Utilization and Bureaucratic Reform Rini Widyantini (Photo: beritasatu.com)

Indonesia steps up plan to relocate civil servants to new capital

A meeting to review progress and implementation mechanisms for the relocation plan focused on office capacity in Nusantara, the availability of official housing and the criteria for selecting ministries and agencies that will relocate in the initial phase.

Delegates at the press briefing (Photo: Tempo.co)

Indonesia likely to achieve 6% growth amid geopolitical uncertainty

At a press briefing in Jakarta on March 11 to release the state budget report, Minister of Finance Purbaya Yudhi said the Indonesian economy remained in an expansionary phase, with macroeconomic indicators staying stable. He noted that first-quarter growth was expected to exceed the 5.39% recorded in the final quarter of 2025.