The Viet ABCs

The Viet language originally used the Chinese writing system, consisting of characters. However that written language changed with the entrance of the Portuguese Christian and French Jesuit Missionaries, converting the same oral language into a Latin alphabet. This written version of modern Vietnamese was developed in the 17th century, but only took predominance in the 20th century when education became widespread for the general public.

Today, the Vietnamese language continues to have tonal subtleties, tracing its origins to China with hints of borrowed words from the French. The alphabet consists of 24 letters; two d’s, no f, no j, and no z. However once you include accents on top of the vowels, the letters extend to 29 letters as seen below:

Once you include the five tonal accents, the complexity and the versatility of the language increases exponentially. Technically each Viet word is monosyllabic; however many words are compound words just like the name of the country Viet Nam or the city Sai Gon. Also the Viet language does not involve conjugation for tenses, plurality, or gender. Instead word identifiers mark changes in tenses, plurality, and gender.

Finally regional differences in the Viet language have created three accents: Northern, Central, and Southern. With the Ha Noi as the current capitol of Viet Nam, the northern accent has become the focal accent for media and prestige. Furthermore, the northern accent tends to be more precise with the pronunciation of the written language. While the Central and Southern accent tends to be more musical and softer. The central accent is also known for its differences in vernacular.

For an amateur Vietnamese speaker, I have roots in the central and southern accent. Thus I have difficulty in hearing and comprehending the northern accent. Yet some of my current pronunciations have northern undertones because Vietnamese is now formally taught with the northern accent first. For instance, if you were to buy audio cassettes to learn Vietnamese in the United States, it will all be in the northern accent.

Now, I am trying to rewire my brain to soften my tones. I have a tendency to identify Vietnamese letters as English letters and thus incorrectly pronouncing the Viet word. Also I tend to ignore/forget the accents in the Viet language, which becomes detrimental to my intended meaning of the word. For instance, the word ma has 5 different meanings depending on the accent as seen below:

Basically, I have a long ways to go to soften my American accent.