Vietnamese (background speakers) flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Tones in Vietnamese

Vietnamese has six tones in the northern variety: ngang (level), huyền (falling), sắc (rising), hỏi (dipping), ngã (broken rising), nặng (low falling). Tone changes word meaning.

Regional accent differences

Northern accents distinguish d/gi/r and pronounce final consonants clearly. Southern accents merge v/j, final n/ng, and hỏi/ngã tones. Listening must adapt to both.

Discourse markers

Particles like 'à', 'nhỉ', 'chứ', 'đấy' signal speaker stance: confirmation, shared knowledge, or emphasis. They affect the pragmatic meaning of an utterance.

Classifiers (loại từ)

Vietnamese nouns often require a classifier: 'cái' (objects), 'con' (animals), 'chiếc' (vehicles), 'quyển' (books), 'tờ' (paper). The classifier precedes the noun.

Numbers 15 and 21

15 is 'mười lăm' (not 'mười năm'), 21 is 'hai mươi mốt' (not 'hai mươi một'). Special forms 'lăm' and 'mốt' are used after multiples of ten.

Aspect markers

'Đã' marks past, 'đang' progressive, 'sẽ' future, 'vừa/mới' recent past, 'từng' experiential. These precede the verb and are essential for time reference.

Sino-Vietnamese vocabulary

Words of Chinese origin (từ Hán Việt) form a formal layer, e.g., 'quốc gia' (nation), 'giáo dục' (education). Native Vietnamese (thuần Việt) is more colloquial, e.g., 'nước', 'dạy'.

Reduplication (từ láy)

Partial reduplication (xinh xắn, lung linh) creates nuanced adjectives; full reduplication (người người, nhà nhà) intensifies or pluralizes. Recognizing base morphemes aids decoding.

Negation words

'Không' is general negation, 'chưa' means not yet, 'chẳng' is emphatic, 'đâu' is emphatic in questions. Double negation is not standard in Vietnamese.

Question formation

Yes/no questions use 'có... không?'; wh-questions use 'ai', 'gì', 'nào', 'đâu', 'khi nào', 'tại sao', 'thế nào'. Particles 'à', 'hả', 'chứ' add nuance.

Kinship pronouns

Vietnamese pronouns reflect age and status: 'anh' (older brother), 'chị' (older sister), 'em' (younger sibling), 'chú' (uncle), 'bác' (elder). Choice depends on context.

Politeness in speaking

Add 'ạ' at sentence end when addressing elders; use 'dạ' or 'vâng' for yes. Indirect refusals like 'để tôi xem đã' are polite strategies.

Tone minimal pairs

Practice pairs like ma-má-mà-mả-mã-mạ to master tones. Incorrect tone changes meaning, so listening and speaking require precise tone production.

Intonation patterns

Yes/no questions often rise at the end; wh-questions often fall. Pauses and stress emphasize key information in spoken Vietnamese.

Paragraph structure

A Vietnamese paragraph typically has a topic sentence (câu chủ đề), supporting sentences, and a concluding sentence. This structure aids clarity in writing.

Essay types

Common types: narrative (kể chuyện), descriptive (miêu tả), expository (thuyết minh), argumentative (nghị luận). Argumentative essays need thesis, evidence, and reasoning.

Cohesive devices

Conjunctions like 'trước hết', 'tiếp theo', 'tuy nhiên', 'do đó', 'tóm lại' link ideas. Overuse of 'và' at sentence starts is discouraged in formal writing.

Formal writing register

Formal Vietnamese avoids contractions, slang, and sentence-final particles like 'nhé', 'ạ'. It uses full forms and Sino-Vietnamese vocabulary where appropriate.

Punctuation and capitalization

Vietnamese uses Western punctuation. Capitalize proper nouns and sentence starts; do not capitalize days or months (thứ hai, tháng một). Use dashes for dialogue.

Common writing errors

Frequent errors include sentence fragments (thiếu chủ ngữ/vị ngữ), run-ons (câu dài không có dấu chấm), and misplaced modifiers. Check subject-verb agreement.

Word order SVO

Basic Vietnamese word order is Subject-Verb-Object, but topic-comment structures are common: 'Sách này tôi đọc rồi' (This book, I have read).

Tết Nguyên Đán

Lunar New Year is the most important Vietnamese festival. Customs include family reunions, ancestor worship, red envelopes (lì xì), and foods like bánh chưng and bánh tét.

Ancestor worship

Thờ cúng tổ tiên is central to Vietnamese family life. Home altars are common, and death anniversaries (giỗ) are observed with rituals and family gatherings.

Truyện Kiều

Nguyễn Du's 'Truyện Kiều' is the national epic of Vietnam, written in lục bát verse. It explores themes of fate, beauty, and suffering.

Folk literature genres

Ca dao (lyric folk poems), tục ngữ (proverbs), truyện cổ tích (fairy tales), and thần thoại (myths) reflect agricultural society and moral values in Vietnam.

Regional cultures

Northern Vietnam (Hanoi) emphasizes Confucian traditions; central (Huế) has royal court music (nhã nhạc); southern (Mekong Delta) shows Khmer and Chinese influences.

Vietnamese diaspora

Việt kiều communities in the US, France, Australia, and Canada maintain Vietnamese language and traditions. Heritage language maintenance and code-switching are common topics.

Text types

Văn bản nhật dụng (practical texts), văn bản nghệ thuật (literary texts), and văn bản chính luận (argumentative texts) have distinct conventions and registers in Vietnamese.

Cohesion in reading

Conjunctions ('và', 'nhưng', 'vì', 'nên', 'tuy nhiên'), pronouns ('nó', 'họ', 'chúng'), and ellipsis create cohesion. Tracking referents across sentences is essential for comprehension.

Scanning for details

In Vietnamese texts, dates, names, and numbers often appear sentence-initially or after prepositions like 'vào', 'từ', 'đến'. Scanning these positions improves efficiency.

Proverbs and idioms

Vietnamese proverbs (tục ngữ) and idioms (thành ngữ) often carry figurative meaning, e.g., 'ăn quả nhớ kẻ trồng cây' (remember those who helped you).

Register in reading

Literary texts may use Sino-Vietnamese vocabulary and classical allusions; informal texts use colloquialisms and sentence-final particles. Register signals text purpose and audience.