VNU Journal of Science, Foreign Languages 26 (2010) 171-180

A brief comparison of Vietnamese intonation and English

intonation and its implications for teaching English intonation
to Vietnamese EFL learners

Luu Thi Kim Nhung*

Faculty of English, Hanoi National University of Education,
Building D3, 136 Xuan Thuy, Cau Giay, Hanoi, Vietnam
Received 12 September 2010

Abstract. Intonation is important for learners of English because even with satisfactory
consonants and vowels, a phrase/sentence with an incorrect intonation contour may change the
intended meaning of the whole utterance. This study, basing its observation and formulation on
earlier publications, will briefly compare Vietnamese intonation and English intonation as well as
highlight some problems Vietnamese speakers are likely to have in learning English intonation due
to the differences between these two language intonations, and to offer some implications for
teaching English intonation to Vietnamese EFL learners.

1. Introduction* given the proper pitch pattern (prosodic

features), large errors in consonants and vowels
1.1. Justification of the study seem much less important.
This study is an attempt to briefly compare
Pronunciation is an area of language use
Vietnamese intonation and English intonation
where it is particularly difficult to exert
as well as highlight some problems Vietnamese
conscious control. And yet, it’s important. For
speakers are likely to have in learning English
beginners, or for those who have learnt mainly
intonation due to the differences between these
from written texts, poor pronunciation can be a
two language intonations, and to offer some
obstacle to being understood. For more
implications for teaching English intonation to
advanced learners, inappropriate intonation
Vietnamese EFL learners.
may mean that they convey the wrong message
when they speak. Even with satisfactory
consonants and vowels (phonemes), a 1.2. Method of investigation
phrase/sentence with incorrect melody may “The most effective materials are those that are
change the intended meaning of the whole based upon a scientific description of the language
utterance. On the other hand, Pike (1945) [1] to be learned, carefully compared with a parallel
claims that when brief phrases/sentences are description of the native language of the learner”
______ (Fries 1946: 9) [2]. For a description of both English
*
Tel: 84-912391458. and Vietnamese phonology, the observation and
E-mail: [email protected] formulation will be based on earlier publications.
171
172 L.T.K. Nhung / VNU Journal of Science, Foreign Languages 26 (2010) 171-172

1.3. Choice of dialects 2. The Vietnamese word structure and the

Vietnamese tones, intonation
Of the various dialects of Vietnamese, the
references made to Vietnamese pronunciation Generally, there are two aspects in
in this article for the most part describe the Vietnamese that make the language different
Northern dialect. In addition, the examples from English. First, most Vietnamese words
given are restricted to social dialects on four are monosyllablic. Second, Vietnamese is a
levels: mature, casual, standard, and good tonal language, that is, words with unrelated
(according to Joos’s criteria). Vietnamese is meanings may have the same sound
used as the native language and English as the combination but differ only in the tone of voice
target language. used to produce the sound combination.

1.4. Outline of the article 2.1. Vietnamese word structure

Part I is an introduction to the study, where a Vietnamese words are primarily
justification of the study, method of investigation monosyllabic. In the Vietnamese language, the
and choice of dialects are presented. syllable is the minimal meaningful unit that
Part II provides an overview of the tones cannot be divided into smaller meaningful
and intonation of the Vietnamese language. parts. Each syllable consists of two mandatory
This lays the basis for comparing aspects of components: a tone and a nuclear vowel; in
Vietnamese intonation with those of English addition, three optional components may be
intonation that follow. present: an initial consonant, a sound indicating
In Part III, an overview of the tones and the labialization (rounding of the lips) of the
intonation of the English language is presented. syllable, and a final consonant or semivowel.
In Part IV, some aspects of intonation which are In case of the Vietnamese polysyllabic
different in English and Vietnamese are structure, the word is a combination of
addressed, and implications for teaching English monosyllabic words. Examples can be
intonation to Vietnamese learners are made. observed from Table 1:

Table 1. Examples of Vietnamese polysyllabic structure

Polysyllabic structure Monosyllabic words English equivalent

“cửa hàng bách hoá” /kʊə ha:ŋ ba:k hɔa/ “store,” “hundred,” “goods” department store
“session,” “talk,” “story” conversation
“cuộc nói chuyện” /kʊək nɔI ʧjʊən/
T
2.2. Vietnamese tones to be absolutely as essential a part of the word as
its consonant and its vowel.
Vietnamese is a tonal language in which
changes of the pitch level and/or contour signal In the instance that follows, the words
a change in meaning. The nature of tone in differ lexically solely in the tone exerted to
Vietnamese has been a subject of much them, and such words are likely to have
controversy. Since tone is a constituent pitch unrelated meanings.
which overlies characteristic syllables as a whole, “ban” means committee
several linguists regard it as a segmental
“bàn” means table or discuss
phoneme (Chao 1942, Rygaloff 1973, Cao 2007)
[3,4]. However, many linguists pay more “bán” means sell or half
attention to its prosodic aspect and consider tone “bản” means mountainous village
 L.T.K. Nhung / VNU Journal of Science, Foreign Languages 26 (2010) 171-172 173

“bạn” means friend bottom to the top, represent the five degrees as
The Northern dialect of Vietnamese has six Chart 1 shows.
tones: midlevel, low-falling, high-rising, low-
falling-rising, high-rising broken and low-
falling broken. Except for the mid-level tone, 5 the high pitch
all the other tones are denoted by diacritics 4 the mid-high pitch
over or under one of the vowels in the syllable 3 the middle pitch
in Vietnamese speech. Each tone has its own
pitch level. If we draw a short vertical line to 2 the mid-low pitch
present the range of the variation of pitch and 1 the low pitch
divide it into four equal intervals with five
points, these five points, counted from the Chart 1. The pitch levels of the Vietnamese tones.
The pitch levels of the six tones can be presented on such a five-degree chart as in Chart 2 below
(based on Tiee 1967 and Cù et al 1978) [5,6].

“ngang” 5 high pitch

“nặng”
“huyền “hỏi” 4 mid-high pitch
“sắc”
“ngã”

3 middle pitch

2 mid-low pitch

1 low pitch

Chart 2. The presentation of pitch levels of the six tones in Vietnamese.

Table 2 below indicates how the various tonal designations are employed in the Northern dialect
of Vietnamese, with comparatively parallel descriptions in English intonation.
Table 2. Vietnamese tonal designations and parallel descriptions in English intonation
Tone Diacritic English description Examples
Ngang/Không (midlevel) (no marking) high-level tone “mơ” means dream
Huyền (low-falling) ` low-falling tone “mờ” means vague
Ngã (high-rising broken) ~ high-abrupt tone “mỡ” means fat
Hỏi (low-falling-rising) œ low-rising tone “mở” means open
Sắc (high rising) æ high-rising tone “mớ” means bundle
Nặng (low-falling broken) å low-abrupt tone “mợ” means father’s brother’s wife
Table 2. Vietnamese tonal designations and parallel
174 L.T.K. Nhung / VNU Journal of Science, Foreign Languages 26 (2010) 171-172

descriptions in English intonation

2.3. Vietnamese intonation falls of pitch which constitute intonation
contour in the utterances.
Vietnamese has not only a “word-pitch
system” (tone) but also a “phrase-pitch system” Đỗ (2009) [7] indicates five main components
(intonation). In addition to the syllabic pitch of Vietnamese intonation, as follows:
(tone), undoubtedly there must be the rises and

Table 3. Five main components of Vietnamese intonation

Component Distinctive features

Pitch / register high vs. low
Intensity / loudness strong vs. weak
Duration / Length long vs. short
Tempo pause vs. continuous
Contour level vs. unlevel
Table 4. describes the operation of intonation in Vietnamese reduced sentences
No. Intonation Description Use Type of sentence
1 short In this intonation pattern, the finished, strongly affirmative
duration of the tone is shorter assertive
than its inherent duration.
2 long In this intonation pattern, the with hesitation, delay
duration of the tone is longer than
its inherent duration.
3 high (rising) In this intonation pattern, the confirm the truth
pitch of the tone is one level
higher than its inherent pitch.
4 very high In this intonation pattern, the question, surprised, want interrogative
(high rising) pitch of the tone is maximum. to know more, challenge
5 low (falling) In this intonation pattern, the tentatively accept, wait affirmative
pitch of the tone is one level to hear more
lower than its inherent pitch.
6 rising - In this intonation pattern, the with sarcasm, negative,
falling pitch of the tone rises to the negativism command
highest level (5), then followed
by a fall.
(adapted from Do, 2009: 194)

Kieu and Grice (…) put it that there is for example, there is normal declination until the
interaction between syllabic tones and proximity of the sentence final question marker,
intonation. Yet, according to Alan, C. (1986), where the rise begins; the overall register is yet
Vietnamese intonation is used the same way as higher than in declaratives.
in other languages. To him, the different tones In terms of the functions of Vietnamese
are somehow "attracted" by the intonation intonation, Đỗ (2009) states, “intonation is one
movement. Register tones are levelled, low tones of the conditions for a sentence/utterance to
widen their range, high tones are more strongly exist and function communicatively.” In
marked in interrogatives. Yet, intonation contours communication, the Vietnamese intonation has
seem to be a bit more "cautiously used" in such functions as grammatical, attitudinal,
Vietnamese than in other languages: In questions, implicational/logic, pragmatic (see Đỗ 2009).
 L.T.K. Nhung / VNU Journal of Science, Foreign Languages 26 (2010) 171-172 175

3. The English word structure and the 3.2.1. English tones

English intonation Crystal (1969) and Ladefoged (1982) [9]
identify four basic tones. Brazil et al. (1980)
3.1. English word structure and Roach (1983) [14] endorse five tones (fall,
English words can be monosyllabic or rise, rise-fall, fall-rise, and level) whereas
polysyllabic, each syllable with a vowel - either Cruttenden (1986) [15] recognizes seven tones
a monophthong or a diphthong. Consonants may (high-fall, low-fall, high-rise, low-rise, fail-rise,
be found at word-initial position, word-final rise-fall, and mid-level). From the author’s own
position, or in both positions. There are teaching experience, following are the four basic
consonant clusters in English. types of tone in English that can be efficiently
In fact, English has a great variety of taught to non-native speakers of English:
polysyllabic structures, ranging from two a. Falling/Fall/Glide-down
syllables to eight syllables with the minimum b. Rising/The First Rising Tone/Glide-up
number of one stress pattern to the maximum
c. Falling-Rising/Fall-Rise/Dive
number of eight patterns. The English
polysyllabic structure is simply a close-knit d. Rising - Falling
word no matter how many syllables it contains. a. The Falling/Glide-down
In its shortest form, the Falling tone starts
3.2. English tones and intonation fairly high and then falls low. In case there are
several syllables, it starts fairly high on the first
Although English employs tonal variations,
stressed syllable. The second stressed syllable
the English intonation is different from tone as
is a little lower, the third stressed syllable is
used in Vietnamese. In English, intonation
lower still until the nucleus is reached and the
patterns reflect differences in the intention of
fall takes place on this nuclear syllable which
the utterance, but they do not change the basic
is often referred to as the tonic syllable.
meaning of the word or words used.
Examples: How are you today?
-------------------------------------
- ∙ ∙ ∙
Emphasize time
-------------------------------------
-------------------------------------
∙ ∙ ∙ - Emphasize concern of health
-------------------------------------
dg
b. The Rising Tone
In its shortest form, the Rising tone consists of a rise in the voice from a fairly low pitch to a high
one. The rise is on the stressed syllable or from the stressed syllable to a following one.
Example: But is it true that they’re checking in soon?
------------------------------------------------------------------------
∙ - ∙ - ∙ ∙ ∙ - ∙ ∙
------------------------------------------------------------------------
jl
The rising tone conveys an impression that something more is to follow - “an invitation to continue”.
176 L.T.K. Nhung / VNU Journal of Science, Foreign Languages 26 (2010) 171-172

c. The Dive
In its shortest form, the Dive consists of fall followed by a rise which reaches a point a little above
the middle of our voice. The Dive may take place on a single syllable or extend over several syllables.
The Dive can be used in statements uttered with hesitation:
Example: They may be home. I’m not sure.

---------------------------------------------------------
∙ ◝ -◞ ∙ - ◝
---------------------------------------------------------
This tone can be used to correct something previously said:
Example: She stayed up last night.

---------------------------------------------
∙ ◝ ◞ - ∙
---------------------------------------------
No. Not last night. The night before last
.
-------------------------------------------------
◝ - ◝ ◞ ∙ - ∙ - ◝
-------------------------------------------------
In statements said with sarcasm or irony, the Dive can be observed:
Example: You sing wonderfully.

---------------------------------------
∙ - ◝◞ ∙ ∙ ∙ sarcasm
---------------------------------------
---------------------------------------
∙ - ◝ ∙∙∙ compliment
---------------------------------------
The Dive is used in initial vocatives:
Example: Sit down, Ann. Ann, sit down.
------------------------------------ ------------------------------------
- ◝ ◞
◝◞ - ◝
------------------------------------ ------------------------------------

final vocative initial vocative

In initial adverbials:
E.g. When he comes,…
 L.T.K. Nhung / VNU Journal of Science, Foreign Languages 26 (2010) 171-172 177

--------------------------------
◝ ∙ ◞
-------------------------------
d. The Rising-Falling Ton
d. The Rising-Falling Tone 4. Aspects of intonation that are different in
English and Vietnamese
In the Rising - Falling tone, the pitch rises
and then falls. In comparing Vietnamese intonation and
E.g.1. A: You wouldn’t do an awful thing English intonation, a big difference between
like that, would you? the pitch feature of them can be found.
B: ̂No. Generally, varying the pitch to differentiate the
meanings of utterances occurs in every
E.g.2. A: Isn’t the view lovely! language, but such variations in pitch are not
all alike in all human languages. Vietnamese
B: ̂Yes. has two kinds of pitch contours: syllabic pitch
for individual syllables and intonational pitch
The Rising-Falling tone is used to convey for longer utterances or sentences, whereas
rather strong feelings of approval, disapproval English only holds the latter feature of pitch.
or surprise. The English intonation patterns over longer
In terms of functions of intonation in English, stretches of speech have a fundamentally
there are four main functions namely attitudinal, different function from those on individual
grammatical, accentual and discourse. syllables of Vietnamese speech. In one respect,
First, intonation is used to convey our the intonation contours of both languages are
feelings and attitudes as we speak, and this adds similar in that they do not make any difference
special kind of “meaning” to spoken language. in the “dictionary meaning” of an utterance;
three basic intonation patterns (falling, rising,
Second, intonation helps to produce the
rising-falling) of both languages just tell the
effect of prominence on syllables that need to
hearer something concerning the emotional
be perceived as stressed and in particular the
attitude of the speaker or the apparent purpose
placing of tonic stress on a particular syllable
of making the utterance. However, the English
marks out the word to which it belongs as the
intonation patterns are not completely apparent
most important in the tone unit.
to the Vietnamese EFL learner. In various
Third, intonation can help the listener situations in real-life communication,
recognize the grammar and syntactic structure information, intentions and feelings expressed
of what is being said by using the information by a native English speaker through intonation
contained in the intonation: phrases, clauses, may not be understood by the Vietnamese EFL
sentences, questions vs. statements, learner. Furthermore, the pronunciation aspect
grammatical subordination.
in Vietnamese of producing words with
Fourth, intonation can signal to the listener different tones may cause the Vietnamese
what is to be taken as “new” information and speaker to make unnatural intonation contours
what is already “given”, can suggest where the when he/she produces English sentences.
speaker is indicating some sort of contrast or
In English, the pitch of voice in an assertive
link with material in another tone unit and, in
conversation, can convey to the listener what statement is usually dropped at the end. In
kind of response is expected. Vietnamese, the meanings of the sentences may
completely change if the pitch is dropped.
178 L.T.K. Nhung / VNU Journal of Science, Foreign Languages 26 (2010) 171-172

“Ông ấy đi tu”. (He has become a Buddhist pitch in speech, but they are used to hearing
monk.) pitch changes over a single syllables, rather
Versus than over longer stretches. It may be wise to do
some perception practice on intonation patterns
“Ông ấy đi tù”. (He has been sent to prison.)
extended over a whole clause before
are completely different. It can be encouraging students to produce English
observed that intonation in Vietnamese is intonation in communicative situations.
strictly restricted by the tones. Learners'
The EFL teacher is recommended to do the
attention should be drawn to the fact that the
following:
Vietnamese language uses certain
grammatical patterns for assertive, negative - Learn how to describe pronunciation: The
and interrogative statements. teacher should familiarize him/herself with a
system for describing English basic intonation
In English, the intonation may function as patterns. These are challenging tasks, but they
the only means of distinguishing various types can bring rich dividends. The knowledge will
of sentences; for example, “He is coming.” help the teacher to understand more clearly
versus “He is coming?” In Vietnamese, what his/her learners are aiming for in terms of
intonation is rarely used as a way to form pronunciation, and what their problems are.
questions. If an assertive statement ends in a
word with thanh sắc (the high-rising tone), the - Be aware of the teacher’s own
voice should be raised at the end of the pronunciation. The Vietnamese EFL teacher’s
sentence; for example, “Hôm nay trời nóng accent is probably different from the Received
lắm.” (It is really hot today.) On the other hand, if Pronunciation or North American English
a question ends in a word with thanh huyền (the which the learners may regard as ‘correct’.
low-falling tone), the voice should be lowered at Learners can have strong views about some
the end of the question; for example, “Hôm nay accents being superior to others! Talk to them
trời nóng lắm à?” (Is it really hot today?) about different accents, emphasizing that there
is more than one acceptable model.
However, since the present literature on
Vietnamese intonation is quite modest and the - Direct students’ attention to English basic
framework for describing Vietnamese intonation patterns
intonation and that for describing English - Alert students to similarities and
intonation are incompatible in some respects, differences in intonation between Vietnamese
not many aspects of intonation can be easily and English
compared in this study. - Teach students to think in terms of the
Implications for teaching English speaker’s intention in any given speech
intonation to Vietnamese EFL learners situation
The pronunciation mistakes made by - Base the teaching firmly on
people learning to speak a foreign language are communicative language teaching practice
almost always carry-overs from their native - Give feedback and practice using
languages. Through a comparison of the instructional technology. One way of doing so is
intonation of Vietnamese with that of English, by letting learners listen to recordings of
an EFL instructor can anticipate potential themselves. This can be a valuable awareness
problems for Vietnamese learners of English raising strategy; they may well hear features of
while learning this aspect of pronunciation. their intonation that they simply do not have time
Because Vietnamese is a tone language, to notice when actually speaking. As a result, they
speakers may tend to be sensitive to changes of may be able to work on weak areas consciously.
 L.T.K. Nhung / VNU Journal of Science, Foreign Languages 26 (2010) 171-172 179

- Allow for student-centered classrooms References

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- Create classroom exercises which
Arbor. P107Brazil, D., Coultard, M., and Johns, C. 1980.
promote learners’ cognitive ability to correct Discourse Intonation and language teaching, Longman,
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it. Therefore, a proficiency in intonation is a [14] P. Roach, English phonetics and phonology, Cambridge
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180 L.T.K. Nhung / VNU Journal of Science, Foreign Languages 26 (2010) 171-180

So sánh ngữ điệu tiếng Việt - ngữ điệu tiếng Anh và ý nghĩa của so
sánh này đối với việc dạy ngữ điệu tiếng Anh cho người Việt

Lưu Thị Kim Nhung

Khoa tiếng Anh, Trường Đại học Sư phạm Hà Nội,
Tầng 1, Nhà D3, 136 Xuân Thuỷ, Cầu Giấy, Hà Nội, Việt Nam

Ngữ điệu đóng vai trò quan trọng đối với người học tiếng Anh bởi ngay cả khi phát âm đúng phụ
âm và nguyên âm, người ta vẫn không thể chuyển tải được đúng nghĩa của câu nói nếu sử dụng sai
ngữ điệu. Nghiên cứu này so sánh ngữ điệu tiếng Việt và ngữ điệu tiếng Anh dựa trên các tài liệu từ
các nguồn khác nhau, từ đó đưa ra một số vấn đề người Việt có thể gặp khi học ngữ điệu tiếng Anh do
những khác biệt giữa ngữ điệu của hai ngôn ngữ, và đề xuất một số biện pháp dạy ngữ điệu tiếng Anh
cho người Việt.