TTLV: The transformation of the Vietnamese language in Ubonratchathanee province, Thailand

MASTER'S THESIS INFORMATION

1. Student's full name:SROYSUDA SUWANNA         

2. Gender: Female

3. Date of birth: January 20, 1987

4. Place of birth: Thailand

5. Decision to recognize students No. 2359/QD-XHNV-SDH; Dated December 8, 2011, by the Rector of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi.

6. Changes in the training process:

7. Thesis topic name:Changes in the Vietnamese language in Ubonratchathanee province, Thailand

8. Major: Linguistics Code: 60.22.02.40

9. Scientific instructor:Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Binh

10. Summary of the thesis results:

The purpose of the survey was to study the lectal variation in Vietnamese in Ubonratchathanee Province, Thailand, regarding consonants and vowels, and to explore the variation of Vietnamese in this region across generations, so that a provisional linguistic map of the surveyed areas could be formed and described, as well as to examine the process of language change in independent communities in general. Regarding segmental variation, a list of 281 vocabulary items related to the languages ​​of the Viet-Muong branch was used to infer data for listening comprehension analysis. Regarding tonal variation, a typical dictionary of six tones was used to provide data for analysis using the WINCECIL program.

The findings suggest that TV groups were transmitted from two Vietnamese parental groups: Northern Vietnamese (NV) and Central Vietnamese (CV). NV descendants were found in a few isolated groups in the Northwest, while CV descendants were found throughout the region. For NV speakers, the alveolar-palatal rhyme [ÿ §] is merged with the non-retroverted rhyme [cs] and the trill [r] with the voiced alveolar fricative [z]. For CV speakers, the retroverted and trill sounds retain their distinct phonological characteristics, but the voiced alveolar fricative has merged with the palatal semivowel [j]. However, for most younger speakers, the voiced alveolar fricative has been replaced by the palatal semivowel in all contexts. This could be a change due to pressure from surrounding mainstream languages ​​such as Thai, which lack voiced alveolar fricatives in their phonological systems, or from intrinsic factors such as the lack of marking of many accented sounds. A change in pronunciation further exacerbates the situation because, stemming from a more readily accepted standard, such as Vietnamese in Thailand, it is considered less advantageous and has virtually no economic or educational significance.

Regarding final consonants, the variation of the final consonant phoneme [-ø] is most evident because this phonetic unit is a diacritical feature of Vietnamese and other Mon-Khmer languages ​​and in Southeast Asia, not confirmed in Chinese and Thai. Most older Vietnamese speakers retain the final syllable phoneme, whereas the phoneme changes from [-N], [-n] to [-p] in younger Vietnamese and Lender speakers. For younger speakers, all these changes become less diacritical linguistic forms depending on the region at this syllable position. It has also been shown that Alves and Nguyen (1998) discovered that [-EN] may have been an early form of Vietnamese before it developed into [-aø] in modern Vietnamese.

Regarding vowel variation, it was discovered that the Vietnamese syllable [-EN], i.e., [-aø] in modern Vietnamese, is still preserved. Another noteworthy finding from this study is the preservation of the monosyllabic vowels of diphthongs in modern Vietnamese.

These findings also coincide with the research hypothesis that older speakers retain the mild forms of language, in contrast to the most common variations in younger speakers. It was also found that in CV speakers, many archaic linguistic forms at the phonological and lexical levels are still preserved. My findings are similar to those of Alves and Nguyen (1998) on Thanh Chuong Vietnamese in remote areas of Central Vietnam.

11. Practical application:

12. Further research directions:

13. Published works related to the thesis:

INFORMATION ON MASTER'S THESIS

1. Full name: SROYSUDA SUWANNA 2. Sex: Female

3. Date of birth: January 20, 1987 4. Place of birth: Thailand

5. Admission decision number: 2359/QD-XHNV-SDH Date: December 8, 2011,of the Rector of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi

6. Changes in academic process:

7. Official thesis title: Variation of Vietnamese in Ubonratchathanee province of Thailand

8. Major: Linguistics 9. Code: 60.22.02.40

10. Supervisors: Ph.D. Nguyen Ngoc Binh

11. Summary of the findings of the thesis:

The object of this investigation has been to study lectal variation in Vietnamese in Ubonratchathanee province of Thailand, in regard to consonants and vowels, and to discover the variation of Vietnamese in this region across the three generations, so that a provisional linguistic atlas of the language in the areas of investigation could be profiled and described as well as to examine the processes of linguistic change in isolated communities in general. For segmental variation, a wordlist containing 281 lexical items relevant to languages ​​of the Viet-Muong branch was used to elicit the data for auditory analysis. As for to extract the data for instrumental analysis with the use of the WINCECIL Program.

The findings reveal that Thai Vietnamese (TV) is descended from two major subtypes of Vietnamese: Northern Vietnamese (NV) and Central Vietnamese (CV). NV is found in a few pockets in the northwest while CV type is found throughout the region. For NV speakers, alveolar-palatal retroflexes [ÿ §] are merged with the non-retroflex counterparts [cs] and trill [r] with voiced alveolar fricative [z]. As for CV speakers, retroflexion and trill remain distinct phonemic units but the voiced alveolar fricative is merged with the palatal semi-vowel [j]. However, for most young generation speakers, the voiced alveolar fricative is replaced by the palatal semi-vowel in all contexts.

Variation of the final consonant phoneme [-ø] is the most diverse since this phonetic

unit is a marked feature of Vietnamese and other languages ​​of the Mon-Khmer family. Most

older generation NV speakers have still maintained the phoneme syllable-finally, whereas the phoneme varies from [-ø], [-n] to [-p] for younger NV and CV speakers.

With respect to variation of vowels, it is found that the [-EN] sequence of Vietic, which is [-aø] in modern Vietnamese manifestation, is still preserved. Another remarkable finding from this study is the preservation of monophtongization of modern Vietnamese diphthongs.

The investigation also revealed that double closure of final consonants after back rounded vowels is still maintained among older generation speakers but completely dropped among younger speakers except a few of those with some Vietnamese education. The drop is relatively predictable since it is no longer phonemically significant. Without it, mutual intelligence is still possible. Many of these changes appear to be simple unmarkings of more marked areas of the parent phonological systems, but others defy such facile accounts.

12. Practical applicability, if any:

13. Further research directions, if any:

14. Thesis-related publications: