An introduction of Vietnamese tones

The presentation consists of 5 parts: The definition of tone  The origin of Vietnamese tones  Tonal characteristics  Distribution rules of Vietnamese tones  Two main functions of to

VIETNAMESE TONES AND THEIR FUNCTIONS

Presented by Tran Hong Lam

The presentation consists of 5 parts:

 The definition of tone

 The origin of Vietnamese tones

 Tonal characteristics

 Distribution rules of Vietnamese tones

 Two main functions of tones in Vietnamese language

OUTLINE

 Definition: Tone, in linguistics, is a variation in the pitch of the voice while speaking

 The word tone is usually applied to those languages (called tone languages) in which pitch characteristics are used to differentiate one word from another word that is otherwise identical in its sequence of consonants and vowels For example, ”ba” in Vietnamese may mean “father” (ba) or “grandmother” (bà) or “aunt” (bá) depending on its pitch

 In tone languages, pitch is a property of words

The definition of Tone

 There are two main types of tone:

◦ Register-tone, or level-tone (thanh điệu âm vực): they have relatively steady-state pitches, which differ with regard to being relatively higher or

lower This is characteristic of many tone

languages in West Africa

◦ Contour-tone (thanh điệu hình tuyến): In contour-tone languages at least some of the contour-tones must

be described in terms of pitch movements, such

as rises and falls or more complex movements such as rise–falls This is characteristic of many tone languages of Southeast Asia

The definition of Tone

 The initial period: Toneless language: in its

word, there were affixations, initial consonant clusters, ending consonants articulated at

pharynx and glottis or made in the manner of fricative

 The beginning of Christian era: 3 tonal

contours produced like the compensation in the syllabic simplification

◦ [-Ɂ] ~ tonal group [sắc + nặng]

◦ [-h] ~ tonal group [ngã+ hỏi]

◦ open phonemes ~ tonal group [sắc + nặng]

The origin of Vietnamese

tones

 The period that Vietnamese separated from Muong: words loaned from Chinese

◦ Chinese words with initial voiceless consonant ~ Vietnamese words with initial voiceless consonant

in high pitch contrasts

◦ Chinese words with initial voiced consonant ~

Vietnamese words with initial voiceless consonant

in low pitch contrasts

The origin of Vietnamese

tones

Tone “ngang” - Mid tone 1 Tone “hỏi” -Low-rising tone 4

Tone “huyền” -Low- falling tone 2 Tone “sắc” - High-rising tone 5

Tone “ngã” -High-broken tone 3 Tone “nặng” -Low-broken tone 6

 Tune (âm điệu):is characterized by the

variance of fundamental acoustic frequency

in the process of pronouncing a syllable

◦ Leveling (bằng): flat tune or low falling, including tone 1 and 2

◦ Non-leveling (trắc): tune varies in a wide range, namely tone 3, 4, 5, and 6 as described in fig.1

Vietnamese tonal

characteristics

Figure 1 Tonal description

Nguyễn, Văn Lợi; Edmondson, Jerold A (1998), "Tones and voice quality in modern

northern Vietnamese: Instrumental case studies", Mon-Khmer Studies, 28: 1–18

Vietnamese tonal

characteristics

 Vocal range/register (âm vực): the average

height or pitch of tone in pronouncing syllables

◦ High vocal range/register (bổng/cao): Tone 1, 3, 5

◦ Low vocal range/register (trầm/thấp): Tone 2, 4, 6

◦ Tone 1 and 2 remain flat and weak (lax)

◦ Tone 3, 4, 5, and 6 decrease in strength when

producing (tense)

◦ Short: tone 5 and 6

◦ Long: the remains

Vietnamese tonal

characteristics

 Distribution in syllable

◦ Words ending with [p, t, c, ch]: tone 5 and 6

◦ Words ending without [p, t, c, ch]: 6 tones

 Distribution in reduplicative words: obeys

the rules that the first syllable must be in

the same vocal range with the second

syllable

◦ Example: “lanh lảnh” both tones of the1st syllable and 2nd syllable in high vocal range

“bập bềnh” both tones of the1st syllable and 2nd syllable in low vocal range

Distribution rules of Vietnamese tones

 Distribution in poetry: In the traditional poetry,

tones are distributed following the rules:

◦ The tonic of the previous line of a poem and the tonic

of the following line of the poem which are rhymed must be in the same tune

◦ If in a line of a poem having two syllables which are rhymed, one syllable is rhymed with the tonic of the previous line, the other have to accord with the tonic

of the following line, the two syllables are not necessary in the same tune However, they are must

be in different vocal range if they in are same tune

◦ However, in the modern poetry and traditional form composed today are not strictly followed these rules

Distribution rules of Vietnamese tones

e.g: “Thương vợ” by Trần Tế Xương

 Syllables depends on Tune rule (2-4-6-7)

 3 T B T T Lặn lội thân cò khi quãng vắng

Distribution rules of Vietnamese tones

Trăm năm trong cõi người ta, Chữ tài chữ mệnh khéo là ghét nhau.

Trải qua một cuộc bể dâu, Những điều trông thấy mà đau đớn lòng.

Lạ gì bỉ sắc tư phong, Trời xanh quen thói má hồng đánh ghen.

Cảo thơm lần giở trước đèn, Phong tình có lục còn truyền sử xanh.

Rằng năm Gia Tĩnh triều Minh, Bốn phương phẳng lặng, hai kinh vững vàng.

(extracted from “Truyện Kiều” by Nguyen Du)

Distribution rules of Vietnamese tones

 Distinguishing functions

◦ Even participates in the distinction of the

monosyllabic vocabulary in Vietnamese

Two main functions of tones in Vietnamese language

V word E

meaning V word E meaning

 Expressive function

◦ Able to express the feeling sense of words

◦ Mainly expressed in terms of pitch and continuity in tonal producing

◦ Tone 1, 3, and 5: short, weak, steady, resounding,

deafening, and continuous sounds

◦ Tone 2, 4, and 6: short, weak, steady, non-resounding, bass, and continuous sounds

Two main functions of tones in Vietnamese language

Pair s of reduplicative words

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