| biketrailtours | Date: Sunday, 11 Oct 02, 17:21 | Message # 1 |
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Colonel
Group: Administrators
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| Pronunciation, Tones + the Vietnamese Alphabet
Like the majority of South East and East Asian languages, Vietnam is a tonal language. This means that for each syllable there are six different tones that can change the meaning of a phrase.
This can be unusual for Westerners since there are times we have a natural inclination to change the tone of our speech - the most common is raisinng the pitch of your voice when asking a question. Don't let it put you off though - once you have mastered the pronunciation, Vietnamese is a satisfyingly straightforward language, with a grammar system that is much easier than that of a language like French.
Another great advantage learners of Vietnamese have over those studying other Asian languages is that the Vietnamese alphabet is essentially a modified version of the Roman alphabet, making it easy to read signs and addresses when travelling around.
Tones
Description
Diacritic
Sample word
Meaning
High rising
Má
Mother
Low falling
Mà
That
Start in a low tone, go down, and gently back up
(I tend to imagine a bored butler - 'Ye-es M'lud?' )
Mả
Tomb
Start high, bring voice down, cut off and go back up*
Mã
Horse
Bring voice down and cut off abruptly
(imagine a parent firmly saying 'No.')
Mạ
Rice Shoots
Mid range voice, go flat and level
(No mark)
Ma
Ghost
* This tone is very strong in the North around Hanoi where there is a perceptible 'cut' in the sound. In the South around Saigon people tend to speak in a more 'smooth' manner, and many would say this tone becomes almost identical to the low, rising tone above it ('Ye-es, M'lud'')
Vietnamese Alphabet
Although the Vietnamese use the same alphabet as Latin languages such as English and French, some of the sounds are fairly different to their English equivalent. There are a few similarities with French, however. To hear the sounds described here, see http://www.seasite.niu.edu/Vietnam....tem.htm
Consonants
d
Like 'z' as in zero
đ
Like 'd' in English as do
g,gh
Like 'g' in go
gi
Like 'y' in yes
kh
Like 'Karen'
nh
Like 'n' in Cognac
ng, ngh
Like Singer
ph
Like 'f' in forest
r
Normal R in English
s
Normal S in English
t
As in Tan
th
As in Thump
tr
As in Train
v
As in Violet
Vowels
One rule to pronouncing vowels in Vietnam that is very useful to remember is that whenever you get two vowels together - for example 'ui' - the first vowel should have much more emphasis than the second - 'ui'
a
As in father
ă
like 'a' in "father", except said very quickly
â
As a in black
ai
I
Ao
Loud
au
Ow
Âu
As in go
ay
As in day
ây
As in David
e
Like in America
eo
Like meow-cat's noise
ê
Like in café
i
Like in see
Ia
Like in idia
Ie
Like in yes
o
Like in door
oa
Like in Oasis
oai
Like in Why
oay
Like in Uruguay
oe
Where
oi
Coin
ô
Joseph
ôi
Like in toy
ơ
Like in Burger
ơi
ơi
u
Like in Sue
ua
Like Ecuador
ư
fur
uê
Like in 'Question'
ui
Like oo-ee
uy
Like 'oui' in French
uya
As French 'Culture'
uyen
when
y
Like letter 'e'
yeu
Like in few
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