VIETNAMESE TONES AND THEIR FUNCTIONS Presented by Tran Hong Lam OUTLINE The presentation consists of 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 The definition of Tone  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 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 origin of Vietnamese tones  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: 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 ◦ →6 tones derived from tonal contours Name Sign Name Sign Tone “ngang” - Mid tone Tone “hỏi” -Low-rising tone Tone “huyền” -Low- falling tone Tone “sắc” - High-rising tone Tone “ngã” -High-broken tone Tone “nặng” -Low-broken tone Vietnamese tonal characteristics  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 and ◦ Non-leveling (trắc): tune varies in a wide range, namely tone 3, 4, 5, and as described in fig.1 Vietnamese tonal characteristics Figure 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, ◦ Low vocal range/register (trầm/thấp): Tone 2, 4,  Strength (cường độ) ◦ Tone and remain flat and weak (lax) ◦ Tone 3, 4, 5, and decrease in strength when producing (tense)  Length (trường độ) ◦ Short: tone and ◦ Long: the remains Distribution rules of Vietnamese tones  Distribution in syllable ◦ Words ending with [p, t, c, ch]: tone and ◦ Words ending without [p, t, c, ch]: 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 range and 2nd syllable in low vocal 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) BTBB Quanh năm buôn bán mom sông TBTB Nuôi đủ năm với chồng TBTT Lặn lội thân cò quãng vắng BTBB Eo sèo mặt nước buổi đò đơng BTBT Một duyên hai nợ âu đành phận TBTB Năm nắng mười mưa dám quản công TBTT Cha mẹ thói đời ăn bạc! BTBB Có chồng hờ hững không! Distribution rules of Vietnamese tones Trăm năm cõi người ta, Chữ tài chữ mệnh khéo ghét Trải qua bể dâu, Những điều trơng thấy mà đau đớn lòng Lạ bỉ sắc tư phong, Trời xanh quen thói má hồng đánh ghen Cảo thơm lần giở trước đèn, Phong tình có lục truyền sử xanh Rằng năm Gia Tĩnh triều Minh, Bốn phương phẳng lặng, hai kinh vững vàng (extracted from “Truyện Kiều” by Nguyen Du) Two main functions of tones in Vietnamese language  Distinguishing functions ◦ Even participates in the distinction of the monosyllabic vocabulary in Vietnamese V word E meaning V word (1) - ca Ca (5) - cá Largely involved inMug the Vietnamese word units ◦ Ca Ca (2) - cà Egg-plan Ca (6) – cạ E meaning Fish Couple Two main functions of tones in Vietnamese language  Expressive function ◦ Able to express the feeling sense of words ◦ Mainly expressed in terms of pitch and continuity in tonal producing Pair s of reduplicative words Low V.R Đồm độp Bập bềnh Cọt kẹt 3, and weak, andkétcontinuous sounds V.R 5: short, Đôm đốp steady, resounding, Bấp bênh deafening, Cót ◦ Tone 1,High ◦ Tone 2, 4, and 6: short, weak, steady, non-resounding, bass, and continuous sounds THANK YOU ... consists of 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... 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 range and 2nd syllable... characteristic of many tone languages of Southeast Asia The origin of Vietnamese tones  The initial period: Toneless language: in its word, there were affixations, initial consonant clusters,