KEY FEATURES AND EXAMPLES OF

SINO-VIETNAMESE PHONOLOGY

(by Mark J. Alves for talk presented at the University of Maryland, December 8, 2003)

VIETNAMESE CONSONANTS
NOTE: This table contains an IDEALIZED version of Vietnamese phonology based on the Vietnamese
Quc Ng orthography. That is, this table represents the intended phonological categories for each
orthographic symbol despite the fact that no modern variety of Vietnamese actually uses all of the
sounds in this system. The table shows IPA for each sound, followed by the symbol(s) used in Quc
Ng system. Hyphens indicate whether the sound can be an initial (e.g., /t-/ indicates ta is possible),
final (/-t/ suggests bt is possible), or either (/-t-/).

Labial Dental Palatal Retroflex Velar Glottal
-p (p) -t- (t) -c- (ch) - (tr) -k- (k/c)
b- (b) d- () g- (g/gh)
tH- (th) - (s) x- (kh) h- (h)
f- (ph) s- (x)
v- (v) z- (gi/d)
-m- (m) -n- (n) -- (nh) -N- (ng)
-w- (u) -j- (-i)


TONE SYSTEM
This table contains (1) the standard name for each of the tones (which themselves contain the tones they
refer to), (2) a description of the height, contour, and phonation of each tone (again, partially idealized),
and (3) samples of words with the tones in the Mandarin m/m/m/m tradition. Note the iconicity in
terms of tone contour of the diacritics. They are grouped in terms of their historical development, with
both similarities and differences to the Chinese png/shng/q/r categories.

1-ngang (mid-level)
MA (ghost)
3-hi (low dipping)
M (grave)
5-sc (mid/high rising)
M (cheek)
2-huyn (low-falling)
M (but)
4-ng (high-rising, creaky)
M (horse (Sino))
6-nng (low, creaky)
M (rice seedling)



Alves 2
SINO-VIETNAMESE SAMPLE
A B C D E F G
1 Cc
several

nhm
group
--
Hacker
hacker
--
khai mc
convene

hi tho
conference

an ninh
security

mng
internet
() vng
2 Sng 3-10,
morning
--
hi tho
conference

An ninh mng

Thc trng
situation

v
and
--
Gii php
solution


already
--
3 chnh thc
officially

khai mc
convene

ti
at

H Ni
Hanoi

D hi tho
pre-conf.

c
have
--
4 cc
several

nhm
group
--
Hacker
hacker
--
n
arrive
--
t
from
() t
mi
every
--
min
region
--
5 t nc
nation
--
nh
such as

Vicky (
Nng)
--
B yu

--
Babylearhack

--
Viethacker...,

--

in order
to
6 bn
discuss
--
v
about
--
cc
various
--
vn
problem

nng
hot
--
trong
in
--
bo m
guarantee

7 an ninh
security
--
mng
internet
--
t
from
() t
thc t
reality

Vit Nam
Vietnam

hin nay.
presently
--


Translation: Hackers Convene a Conference on Internet Security. On the morning of October 3
rd
, a
conference on internet issues and solutions officially convened in Hanoi. At the pre-conference were
several hacker groups coming from every region of the country in order to discuss the various pressing
topics in guaranteeing internet security for Vietnam today.

Categories of Sino-Vietnamese Vocabulary
(1) Same as Chinese (D1, F1, A3, C3, D6, D7)
(2) Word or word usage particular to Vietnamese (A1, E1, D2, F2,B5, )
(3) Reversed Order (G6)
(4) Mixed Chinese and Vietnamese (F7)
(5) Names (D3, E7)
(6) Early colloquial borrowing (G1) or nativized (E4)

Alves 3
A1. SINO-VIETNAMESE TONES AND MIDDLE CHINESE
No. Character Mandarin Vietnamese Category
1.

shn sn
,
2.

ki khai
,
3.

ci ti
,
4.

rn nhn
,
5.

chn sn
,
6.

pn phm
,
7.

y d
,
8.

xng hnh
,
9.

sh s
,
10.

bo bo
,
11.

xing hng
,
12.

bng bnh
,
13.

wng vng
,
14.

bi bc
,
15.

k khch
,
16.

sh thp
,
17.

r nhit
,

A2. SUMMARY OF TONE CORRESPONDENCES
MC Category Sino-Viet Tones Notes

ngang or huyn
Ngang with .

ng or hi
Nng sometimes with .

sc or nng --

sc or nng --


B. SINO-VIETNAMESE INITIALS AND MIDDLE CHINESE
B1. NASAL INITIALS
No. Character Mandarin Vietnamese Category
1.

mi m
mng
2.

m mc
mng
3.

mng danh
mng
4.

n n
n
5.

nn nam
n
6.

r nh
r
7.

rn nhn
r
8.

y ng
y
9.

wi ngoi
y
10.

ye nhc
y

Alves 4


B2. RETROFLEX INITIALS
No. Character Mandarin Vietnamese Category
11.

zhng trung
zh
12.

chu tru
ch
13.

chng trng
chng
14.

zhng tranh
zhung
15.

c sch
ch
16.

sh s
chong
17.

sh s
shng


B3. INITIALS: COLLAPSING INTO /T/
No. Character Mandarin Vietnamese Category
18.

zu tc
jng
19.

c th
qng
20.

cn tn
cng
21.

x ty
xn
22.

s tc
xe
23.

shn thn
shn
24.

shu thuyt
sh
25.

sh thch
chung
26.

b t
bng
27.

ban tin
png


B4. VARIOUS SINO-VIETNAMESE REALIZATIONS FOR

SV TOTAL
1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
T 33 90 28 29 37 217
S 4 1 2 7
TH 1 1 2 1 5
D 1 1 2
CH 2 2
TR 1 1
N 1 1
KH 1 1
X 1 1
NH 1 1
H 1 1


Alves 5
TABLES OF GENERAL SUMMARIES

TABLE 1: MIDDLE CHINESE/SINO-VIETNAMESE COMPARATIVE CHART
MC Category MC SVN Var. MC Category MC SVN Var.
(labials) (labial fricatives)
bng
p /b/ (/t/) fi
/f/
png
ph /f/ (/tH/) f
/f/
bng
b /b/ (/t/) fng
/f/
mng
m /m/ (/z/)
wi
/v/
(dental stops) (dental sibilants)
dun
t /t/
jng
ts /t/
tu
th /tH/
qng
tsh /tH/
dng
d /d/
cng
dz /t/
n
n /n/
xn
s /t/
li
l /l/
xe
z /t/
(retroflex stops) (retroflex sibilants)
zh
tr //
zhung
tsr //
ch
thr //
ch
tshr //
chng
dr //
chng
dzr //

shng
sr //
(palatal sibilants) (velars)
zhng
tsy /c/
jin
k /k/ (/z/)
chng
tshy /tH/
q
kh /x/
shn
dzy /tH/
qn
g /k/
sh
sy /tH/
y
ng /N/ (//)
chung
zy /tH/
xia&o
h /h/
r
ny //
xi
gh /h/

yi&ng
zero

yng
y (/j/)

Alves 6


TABLE 2: Summary of Middle Chinese to Sino-Vietnamese Initial Categories
Middle Chinese Sino-Vietnamese
labials labials, various mergers
nasals nasals, place of articulation maintained
dental stops dental stops, mainly preserved
dental sibilants merged mainly into T
palatal sibilants dental aspirants, merged mainly into TH
retroflex stops retroflex stops
retroflex sibilants retroflex sibilants, merged to S
velars velars, few mergers

CONCLUDING THOUGHTS/QUESTIONS
(1) Where did these readings come from exactly (a southern koine)? What kind of Chinese
speakers with what regional accents taught Vietnamese the rhyme tables, and what might that
reveal?
(2) While many initials merged, and numerous exceptions exist, in many ways, Sino-Vietnamese is
highly conservative, preserving many phonological categories, such as the retroflex initials, the
category, and a four-way final consonant distinction. For what reasons might this be so
(e.g., Southern Chinese influence, typological tendencies, language internal reasons, other
sociolinguistic factors)?
(3) What, ultimately, does Sino-Vietnamese have to contribute to understanding the history of the
Sinosphere?

TIMELINE
111 BCE 909 CE 1471 CE
Start of Chinese domination (Han
dynasty)
Vietnamese secession (End
of Tang dynasty)
Turning point in gaining control of
modern Southern Vietnam

REFERENCES
Ferlus, Michel. 1992. Histoire abrgre de lvolution des consonnes initials du Vietnamien et du Sino-
Vietnamien. Mon-Khmer Studies 20:11-125.
Maspero, Henri. 1912. tudes sur la phontique historique de la langue Annamite: les initiales. Bulletin
de lcole Franoise dExtrme-Orient 12:1-127.
Nguyn, Ti Cn. 1979. Ngun gc va qu trnh hnh thnh cch c ting Hn Vit (The
origins and process of development of Sino-Vietnamese readings). Nh Xut Bn Khoa Hc
X Hi.
Pulleyblank, Edwin G. 1981. Some notes on Chinese historical phonology. Bulletin de lecole Franoise
dExtreme-Orient 277-288.
Wang, Li. 1958. Han-yu-shi Lun-wen-ji. Beijing: Ke-xue Chu-ban-she. 290-406.