2007-07-30 05:55:00 · 4 answers · asked by helenae w 1 in Society & Culture ➔ Languages
To the unitiated (like me) it sounds like one of the Chinese languages because of its tonal structure.
Vietnamese vowels are all pronounced with an inherent tone (thanh or thanh điệu). Tones differ in:
pitch
length
contour melody
intensity
glottality (with or without accompanying constricted vocal cords)
Not the easiest of languages for an English speaker to learn.
2007-07-30 07:24:30 · answer #1 · answered by JJ 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Agreed with JJ. for example the word ma. the accent/singsongy matters. first type with no accent is just like spanish. low to high, high to low, deep, questioning.
ma=monster or ghost
má= mother
mà = but
mã(i think)= another word for horse
mã is taken from chinese like khau which means mouth
some words are taken from chinese
there are more symbols
2007-07-30 17:48:34 · answer #2 · answered by Al Le 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
As an outsider, it sounds very similar like Chinese, only you can tell the difference if you heard them together. It has one syllabel words like Chinese, and has influences from Chinese too.
2007-07-30 14:10:51 · answer #3 · answered by Elianah 3 · 0⤊ 2⤋
like asian or something like this. chinese,japonese...
2007-07-30 13:51:35 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋