Vietnamese phonetics by Professor Doan Thien Thuat

Vietnamese Phonetics BookUniversity and Vocational High School Publishing House, Hanoi, 1977The book is 373 pages thick and divided into 8 chapters. Besides Chapter 1: Introduction and Chapter 8: Writing System, the remaining 6 chapters are dedicated to describing the phonological structure of the Vietnamese language: Syllable (Chapter 2); Tone (Chapter 3); Initial consonant (Chapter 4); Medial consonant (Chapter 5); Main vowel (Chapter 6); Final consonant (Chapter 7).

InPrefaceThe author is reading a book.Vietnamese phoneticsTo be"This textbook is intended for linguistics students at the University of Hanoi and is also a useful reference for literature students at teacher training universities, foreign language universities, and anyone wishing to delve deeper into a particular aspect of Vietnamese phonetics."We recognize the textbook's pedagogical and educational nature in its logical and rigorous argumentation, and in its detailed, meticulous, and persuasive presentation. In essence,Vietnamese phoneticsThis is a scientific research project that makes new contributions to the theory and practical application of Vietnamese phonetics.

1.The scientific value ofVietnamese phonetics

1.1.ConstructionVietnamese phoneticsThey have scientifically applied the theoretical foundations and descriptive methods of traditional phonology (NS Trubeskoj, R. Jakovson, A. Martinet, J. Vachek…) to the description of Vietnamese phonetic phenomena, a language still unfamiliar to the European phonological research tradition. At the same time,Vietnamese phoneticsThe study of Vietnamese phonetics has incorporated theoretical and methodological achievements in the phonetics of Eastern languages ​​from authors of the Russian-Soviet school of Oriental studies.

1.2. The projectVietnamese phoneticsnew contributions:

1.2.1.Based on the characteristics of the Vietnamese language (the syllable boundary coincides with the morpheme boundary), the author considers the syllable as the starting point for phonological analysis.

1.2.2.To address the phonological issues of Vietnamese, the author prioritizes the attitudes of native speakers, rather than relying solely on phonetic data. The author examines the formation of reduplicated words, the phenomenon of word repetition, and wordplay as rules of morphophonology (as applied in the phonological study of inflectional languages) to divide syllables into their constituent elements.

1.2.3.Establish a model for dividing Vietnamese syllables into two levels and five components:

Level 1: Syllable = initial sound + rhyme + tone;

Level 2: Rhyme = linking sound + main sound + final sound

1.2.4.Each of the five components above forms a phoneme system. Within a phoneme system, there is a phoneme opposition: zero / other phoneme (for example, the zero phoneme opposes the /w/ phoneme in the linking phoneme system). Due to the difference between the initial consonant system and the final consonant system, the initial consonant and the final consonant are two separate phonemes (for example, the initial consonant /).t/inusand the final consonant phoneme /t/inover.

1.3.Vietnamese phoneticsThis summarizes the results of Vietnamese phonetics research both domestically and internationally.(up to the 1980s). These are the knowledge and results of analysis and description of Vietnamese phonetics in:

• Traditional poetics (rhyme scheme, tonal patterns in poetry)
• The creation of the Vietnamese Quốc Ngữ script by Western missionaries in the 17th century.
• Works on Vietnamese phonetics by French scholars in the first half of the 20th century (such as MB Grammont, L. Cadiere, A. Cheon, A.G. Haudricourdt…), Soviet Vietnamese linguists (N.D. Anddreev, M.V. Gordina, T.T. Mkhitaryan…), and American Vietnamese language experts (MB Emeneau, L.C. Thompson, R.B. Jones)
• Works related to Vietnamese phonetics by Vietnamese authors (Phan Khôi, Lê Văn Lý, Đào Duy Anh, Nguyễn Đình Hoà, Hoàng Tuệ, Nguyễn Phan Cảnh, Nguyễn Hàm Dương, Nguyễn Quang Hồng, Cao Xuân Hạo…).

In this field, the workVietnamese phoneticsachievements have been made:

1.3.1.For the first time, a relatively complete description of the Vietnamese phonetic system was provided: syllable structure, tone system, initial consonant system, rhyme system, and writing system.

1.3.2.This section presents the author's own perspective on several phonetic and phonological issues in Vietnamese, which lack a unified view among researchers: syllable structure, phonetic and phonological characteristics of tones, phonological theories of short vowel rhymes, etc. Simultaneously, the author presents his own viewpoint on these issues.Vietnamese phoneticsThe work systematically compiled and presented comments and evaluations of previous authors' opinions on related issues. This approach made the work more comprehensive.Vietnamese phoneticsIt combines the scientific, in-depth nature of a monograph with the pedagogical, instructional qualities of a textbook.

1.4.Vietnamese phoneticsIt is a work of high scientific value.. Can be viewedVietnamese phoneticsThis was the first fundamental work on Vietnamese phonetics. Following this work, in recent decades, thanks to the increased application of experimental phonetic methods and computer-based speech analysis, research on Vietnamese phonetics both domestically and internationally has achieved new results and achievements in both theory and application (for example, research results on the acoustics, perception, intonation phenomena, phonetic history, etc.). However, to date,Vietnamese phoneticsIt remains a fundamental and essential work for research (theory and application) and teaching (university and postgraduate) on Vietnamese phonetics. Due to its nature...basicandteacherTo this day, this work remains the primary textbook on Vietnamese phonetics taught in phonetics-related majors at universities. Simultaneously,Vietnamese phoneticsIt also serves as a guide and reference for those studying the phonetics of languages ​​of the same type as Vietnamese, especially the languages ​​of ethnic minorities in Vietnam. Therefore, after the first edition (1977),Vietnamese phoneticsIt was reprinted in 1999, 2003, and 2007, with large print runs (1,000 copies).

1.5.Vietnamese phoneticsThis marks a new development in the study of Vietnamese phonetics.Therefore, the research results, ideas, and arguments ofVietnamese phoneticsIt is frequently cited in works related to Vietnamese phonetics both domestically and internationally. In Vietnam,Vietnamese phoneticsThis book serves as a primary reference for monographs and textbooks on Vietnamese phonetics by Dinh Le Thu & Nguyen Van Hue, by Vuong Huu Le & Hoang Dung, and a book on Vietnamese dialects by Hoang Thi Chau (a work that won a state award in 2005). The knowledge of Vietnamese phonetics presented in Doan Thien Thuat's book is often cited in chapters on phonetics in introductory linguistics and general linguistics textbooks.Vietnamese phoneticsIt has been used as a primary reference in research topics, theses, dissertations, articles, and scientific reports related to Vietnamese phonetics by domestic authors over the past few decades.

Abroad, booksVietnamese phoneticsProfessor Doan Thien Thuat's work is frequently cited in books, dissertations, articles, and reports in specialized scientific journals on phonetics.Journal of Phonetics, Phonetica, Journal of the Acoustical Society of America…), at the International Scientific Conference (International Workshop on Southeast Asian Linguistics -SEAL, International Conference on Sino-Tibetan Languages ​​–SST, International Conference on South Asian Languages ​​–AALHere are some typical examples:

1. Gordina MV, IS Bystrov. 1984. Fonetitsheskij stroj v'ietnamskogo jazyka. Moscow : Nauka.
2. Vu Thanh Phuong.1981. The Acoustic and perceptual nature of tone in Vietnamese. Thesis for Doctor of Philosophy, ANU, June 1981.
3. Ngo Thanh Nhan (1984). The syllabeme and pattern of word formation in Vietnamese. Ph.D thesis. New York University.
4. Earl MA 1995. An Acousticphonetic study of Northern Vietnamese tones. Sata Barbara: Speech Communications Research Laboratory, Inc.
5. Pham Andrea Hoa (2001). Vietnamese Tone: Tone is not pitch. Linguistics. Toronto, University of Toronto.
6. Pham Andrea Hoa 2003. Vietnamese Tone: A new analysis. London/New York/Oslo/Singapora: Rouledge-Taylor and Francis.
7. Honda Koichi. 2008. Tone in the Lam River speech of North-Central Vietnamese-an acoustically – based multi-speaker description and analysis. A thesis of Doctor of Philosophy, Australian National University, 2008.
8. Nguyen T. and Ingram, J.C. 2006 . Acoustic and perceptual cues for compound – phrasal contrasts in Vietnamese,Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.
9. Nguyen TAT, Ingram, J., & Pensalfini, R. 2008 . Prosodic transfer in Vietnamese acquisition of English contrastive stress patterns. Journal of Phonetics< size=”3″ face=”AdvTimes”> 36 (2008) 158–190
10. Honda Koichi. 2004. F0 and phonation types in Nghe Tinh Vietnamese tones. SST. 2004.
11. Michaud, Alexis, 2004. Final consonants and glottalization: New perspectives from Hanoi Vietnamese. Phonetica 61:2-3, 119-146.
12. Tran Thi-Thuy-Hien and Nathalie Vallée –An Acoustic Study of the Segments in the Vietnamese Consonant Sequences17 th Annual Meeting of the Southeast Asian Linguistics Societ August 31-September 2, 2007. University of Maryland, Maryland, USA.
13. Paanchiangwong Songgot. 2007.The Influence of Final Consonants on the Tones of Vietnamese Spoken in Udon Thani Province, Thailand. The 17th Annual Meeting of the Southeast Asian Linguistics Societ August 31-September 2, 2007. University of Maryland, Maryland, USA

Jackie Chan/USSH

Professor and People's Teacher Doan Thien Thuat. Hanoi, October 2011.

2. Practical value ofVietnamese phonetics

2.1. Practical impacts of the project

The results ofVietnamese phoneticsIt is applied in the study of Vietnamese phonetics (Applied Phonetics), contributing to solving some practical problems related to Vietnamese phonetics.

2.1.1. Teaching and learning Vietnamese phonetics

BookVietnamese phoneticsThis document serves as a reference for compiling Vietnamese language textbooks for secondary school students, and for teaching Vietnamese to learners of Vietnamese as a second language (foreigners, ethnic minorities).

2.1.2. Pathological Phonetics

The knowledge of Vietnamese phonetics presented in Doan Thien Thuat's work is applied in the study of Vietnamese phonetic pathology (teaching speech to deaf and mute children, children after cleft lip and palate surgery; diagnosis, treatment, and evaluation of treatment results for physical and functional laryngeal disorders (voice disorders), speech rehabilitation for people with laryngeal loss...).

2.1.3. Vietnamese speech processing in information technology

BookVietnamese phoneticsThis book provides fundamental and essential knowledge of Vietnamese phonetics to solve problems related to Vietnamese phonetics in information technology. It offers knowledge about syllable structure, initial consonants, rhymes, and tones in Vietnamese, enabling IT professionals to solve problems related to Vietnamese speech synthesis and recognition, and Vietnamese text spell checking. The two-tiered model of Vietnamese syllable structure, proposed by Doan Thien Thuat, inspired a group of authors (Faculty of Information Technology, Hanoi University of Science and Technology) to develop a spell-checking program based on the rules of Vietnamese syllable structure.

3. Scientific impact of the work

ConstructionVietnamese phoneticsProfessor Doan Thien Thuat's work played a crucial role in the development of linguistics in general and phonetics in particular in Vietnam. In Vietnam, linguistics was first taught as a scientific discipline in universities in the 1960s and 1970s. Professor Doan Thien Thuat was one of the first to participate in establishing the linguistics department at Hanoi University (now Vietnam National University, Hanoi). The book...Vietnamese phoneticsIt is one of the foundational works for the teaching and research of linguistics (including phonology) in general and Vietnamese linguistics (including Vietnamese phonology) in particular.