Wednesday, April 2, 2025

Chapter 13 - Case Study Worksheets

We will work with several "Case study worksheets, each one being a paper tool that you can brainstorm and explore possibilities of those Vietnamese words whether they are candidates of Chinese origin. I usually visualize with similar picture graphically in my mind when attempting to find words plausibly cognate to those Chinese equivalents. For the novice, assumably still at loss or unfamiliar with all the complication of aforementioned abstract concepts such as lexicographical dissyllabics and etymological analogy, it is nice to have something concrete to start with after all arguments on theories as well as hypotheses discussed so far.

Overall, the purpose of the provided worksheets is to give you a concrete pen-and-paper tool to search more Vietnamese words of Chinese origin in addition to what you have already known and accepted them as the only plausible Chinese cognates.

By means of tabulation methodology as worksheet exercises, we can posit possible sound changes in dissyllabicity via association and assimilation. Below are some helpful suggestive guidelines of how to arrive to a target root for both Chinese and Vietnamese cognates in each worksheet. This can be treated as another approach in addition what was already discussed previously.

Let us start with the Worksheet 1. It is just one of several possible organized ways to do on paper -- suggsetedly you woud print them out in hard copies -- following the dissyllabic and analogical methodologies as have been disscussed throughout this paper. By all means what appears in the worksheet is much of brainstorming techniques more than rigid principles and you can always add something else on your own to the etymological work you are working on. Once getting used to the actual process you may be able to work out mentally just like your second nature.

To start working on the first worksheet you may want to examine some of the provided examples just right before blank rows and columns therein where you can write down candidate words of possible Chinese origin in the first column (1) in both monosyllabic ("đơnâmtiết") and dissyllabic ("songâmtiết") sub-columns. In Vietnamese there exist many words that are homonymous, which will give you more ideas to explore further.

In the 2nd column (2) called "sandhi" (chuyểnâm), sub-divided into smaller columns named "association" (liêntưởng) and "assimilation" (đồnghoá), respectively, you should try to ask yourself the question why the word is said the way it is, but not something else, and what are other possible variations? What has caused it to become such vocalization and what are the possibilities of its relation to other similar words in both Chinese and Vietnamese? Have they all evolved from the same root or been simply results of some localization or innovation?

In the 3rd column (3) called "analogy" (sosánh) you will have a chance to classify the word into the "categorical" (thểloại) groups and then you can try to apply the principle of "corollary" (quynạp) as mentioned earlier in this paper. That is, you should know which words ought to be in the same category as those under examination and then from there continue to use the principle of analogy to explore further possible leads for even more words that may appear different in several, not just only one, Chinese equivalents.

There is a very good chance that the word your are examining is of a product of local development (chữmới) (column 4) where new innovation ("Vietnamized" or Việthoá) has been rendered. You may find that in many cases all the original Chinese traces inside that word might have disapppeared completely; therefore, in the sub-column called "sound changes" (biếnâm), it is not expected to find systematic patterns of sound change which certainly do not fit into plausible phonological rules as we used to see in shifting phonetic patterns that have resulted in the existing Sino-Vietnamese lexicons.

Also, keep in mind that all sound changes are possible, though, when you attempt to relate the word under scrutiny to other "possible sources/forms" (nhậndạng chữgốc/từpháisinh) (colum 5), especially when dissyllabic formation of both words in both Chinese and Vietnamese is taken into consideration. In other words, you should not examine only single Chinese character and assume that it is the only channel, or the only way, that such character can give rise monosyllabically to only another word in Vietnamese. That is, the words under discussion are also possible results of sound changes from several different words of Chinese origin; that is what sub-column "Word-character" or "tự/tiếng" and sub-column "Word" or "từ" are for.

In all possibilities, try your best to fill out in all the provided blanks as many as possible and do not worry much about the exact columns they ought to belong to. If you cannot think of one so, just leave them blank for a while. Later on, expectedly, when you return to review the whole thing you may discover something new to make up for something which has been missing during the process.

Case study worksheet 1


Alternatively, you can also tabulate your findings in a table like applying a function f(x,y,z), mathematically, as in arrays. Do you still remember the metaphorical sentence in the first paragraph in section D about the monosyllabic tree and dissyllabic leaves? That is what a stem and leaves type plot comes into this picture. This tabulation is good for establishing a firm rapport for those dissyllabic words evolved from the same etymological stem, though. By doing so you can have a concrete overview of how we have been able to derive supposedly previous unknown elements from those dissyllabic words assumably of Chinese origin, e.g., 'bóhoa' (a bunch of flowers), 'hoatay' (a dab hand), etc.

 

Case Study Worksheet 2

stem
(etymology)*		leaves
(variations)*
hoa (花 huā)#đoá 朵duǒ, #bó 把 bă, #vòng 圈 quān, #xe 車 chē, tay 手 shǒu, #
  • khéotay 巧手 qiáoshǒu 'a dab hand',
    • chả (炸 zhà)cá 魚 yú, lụa ~ giò 肉 ròu, ram 煎 jiān
    mắm (鹹 xián)ruốc ~ tôm (tép) 蝦 xiā, riêu 蟹 xié (~ghẹ), cá (~mặn)
    dưa (瓜 guā)#hấu 塊 kuài, #tây 西 xī, #dây 葛
    ban (白 bái)ngày 日 rì, trưa 晝 zhòu, #ăn 吃 chī as in 'ănbám' (白吃 báichī)
    trăng (月 yuè)khuyết 虧 kuī, rằm 盈 yíng, #vầng 暈 yùn, sáng 亮 liàng (~#blăng?)
    tay (手 shǒu)#bàn 板 băn, chân 腳 jiăo, #ra 出 chù, #sẵn 順 shùn, hoa 花 huā, khéo 巧 qiáo
    nhỏ (小 xiăo)bé 微 wēi, #cô 姑 gū, #cậu 舅 jìu
    lòng (心 xīn)nhọc 操 cāo, #đau 痛 tòng, #lót 點 diăn, #tấm 坎 kán, #buồn 悶 mèn, #cõi 境 jǐng
    cả (大 dà)gan 膽 dăn (~ @ 肝 gān), #anh 兄 xiōng, #bể 海 hăi, lũ 伙 huǒ,
    thợ (匠 jiāng)mộc 木 mù, nề ® 泥水 níshuǐ, sắt 鐵 tiě (~thiết), khoá 鎖 suǒ, ngói 瓦 wă
    bể <~ biển (海 hăi ~> 'khơi')#cả 大 dà, #sóng 浪 làng, cửa 口 kǒu, #cướp 窛 kòu (~賊 zéi), ra 出 chū, #ngoài 外 wài
    ----
    ----
    ----
    ----

    *For etymology of these words, refer back to previous sections or search http://han-viet.com.

    For this specific table, you are going to study and identify what language it is for each row of listed items (hint: the header abbreviation by a single alphabet).

    Case Study Worksheet 3 (Table 13.A) - Basic words in Vietnamese and other regional Asian languages

    Lang-
    uage    		TwoThreeBirdEyeGiveBloodWaterStoneNameSnowWhoSay
    Anjidhsəmghjəmmjəkʷkjəpmaŋtujʔkhiagwɕiŋ⁵¹snhotdujghwra:ts
    Bnhaitsonenghaatmyetlonepayyshaayyraykyaww kyanar m tyaww komoe pw nga bhaalsuu saipwayar so
    Cˀɑɻ⁵¹san⁵⁵ʨin⁵mu⁵¹ʨj²¹⁴huaŋ⁵świ²¹⁴tan⁵¹seŋsɕɥ̯œ²¹⁴świ⁵xu̯a⁵¹
    Ddusesaenunjugipimuldolseongnunnugumalhada
    Fdalawangtatloibonmatamagbigay ngdugotubigbatopangalansnowsinosinasabi
    Gjiː²²saːm⁵⁵kam⁴⁴mʊk̚²kap⁴⁴fong¹¹sɵy³⁵taːm³³sɛːŋ³³syːt̚³sɵy²¹waː³⁵
    Hobpebnoogqhov muagmuabntshavdejpob zeblub npedausuashais
    Iduatigaburungmatamemberikandarahairbatunamasaljusiapamengataka
    JnisantorimeataeruetsuekimizuishifurunēmuyukidareIu
    Kpirbeibaksaeiphnekphtal aoychheamtukdom thchhmohprildelniyeay
    Lsongsamnok sanidtahaileuodnoahinsuhimathivao
    Mduatigaburungmatamemberidarahnegarabatunamasaljiyangberkata
    SSsxngs̄āmnktāH̄ı̂leụ̄xdpratheṣ̄f̄inchụ̄̀xf̄imakhırphūd
    Tñiisumbyamigsbyinƫhaaćhūtomiŋqhańsūsmra
    Vhaːj˧ɓaː˧ʨim˧mat˥ʨɔ˧maw˥nɨək˥ɗaː˥ten˧twiət˥aːj˧nɔj˥
    Xjīsaⁿ ba̍k  chuí sèⁿsehchuíhoā

    Worksheet 4

    List of the 23 identified fundamental basic words for which we could plug in all Vietnamese and Chinese cognates into place without much difficulty. Let's work on this for worksheet, and try if you will to see what the AA MK camp will come up with.

    23 basic words in Vietnamese and other regional Asian languages

    Basic wordsABCDEFGHIJKLV
    ye             
    worm             
    who             
    what             
    we             
    thou             
    this             
    that             
    spit             
    pull             
    old             
    not             
    mother             
    man/male             
    hear             
    give             
    flow             
    fire             
    bark             
    ashes             
    I             


    See APPENDIX M: "Ancient Languages Have Words in Common" by Zachary Stieber, Epoch Times (May 6, 2013). Source: http://www.theepochtimes.com/n3/42284-ancient-languages-have-common-words-in-common/

    Case study worksheet 5 (Table 13.B) -- Fill in the missing Chinese etyma

    InterchangesChinese (?)
    trời ~ giời 
    trầu ~ giầu 
    trăng ~ giăng 
    trùn ~ giun 
    trôn ~ lồn 
    trũng ~ lũng 
    dăn ~ nhăn 
    dơ ~ nhơ 
    dồi ~ nhồi 
    dức ~ nhức 
    cha ~ già 
    chi ~ gì 
    chói ~ giọi 
    chuỳ ~ giùi 
    chừ ~ giờ 
    chủng ~ giống 
    chẻ ~ xẻ, xé 
    chiên ~ xiên 
    chòm ~ xóm 
    chen ~ xen 
    chếch ~ xếch 
    chao ~ xào 
    đã(cơn) ~ dã(cơn) 
    đứt ~ dứt 
    đao ~ dao 
    đập ~ dập 
    đình ~ dừng 
    đướn ~ dưới 
    đạy(học) ~ dạy(học) 
    đun(đẩy) ~ dun(dẩy) 
    (chỉnh)đốn ~ dọn(dẹp) 
    (cây)đa ~ (cây)da 

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    In addition to the 5 worksheets above, you can query corresponding words with the dictionary of Vietnamese etymology and fill in the blank in the last column of vocabulary table prepared by Mark Alves at http://world.livingsources.org/vocabulary/24. By the way, never mind about those redundant Sino-Vietnamese lists, e.g., 'thếgiới' 世界 shìjiè, 'lụcđịa' 陆地 lùdì, etc., which should not be included in the table because there are thousands more of similar words like those in the Vietnamese language and they are affirmatively Sino-Vietnamese words of Middle Chinese origin. What we are trying to do here is to identify "Vietnamized" words of Chinese origin to put them into that Sinitic-Vietnamese category. That said, the purpose of this worksheet is to point out a due process that fill deficiency of Western scholars who have still had misconception about what is Sino-Vietnamese.

    Case study worksheet 6 (Table 13.C) Samples of Vietnamese vocabulary list worksheet compiled by Prof. Mark Alves

    Vietnamese Vocabulary

    by Mark Alves

    The vocabulary contains 1534 [ quoted herein only a small portion of them randomly selected; and your job is to fill in the blank 'Source word' columns with possible Chinese cognates, probably withe help of my dictionary http://han-viet.com ] meaning-word pairs from the recipient language Vietnamese. The corresponding text chapter was published in the book Loanwords in the World's Languages. The language page Vietnamese contains a list of all loanwords arranged by donor languoid. 

    The word is given in the usual orthography or transcription, and in the usual citation form. 

    Click on a word to get even more information than is shown in this table.

    WordLWT CodeMeaningBorrowed StatusSource Words

    The Loanword Typology code is the identifier of the Loanword Typology meaning. Sorting by LWT Code sorts the words thematically by semantic field.

    This column shows the labels of the Loanword Typology meanings. Get more information about the meaning, as well as a list of all words that are counterparts of that meaning listed in the original table.

    There are five borrowed statuses, reflecting decreasing likelihood that the word is a loanword:

    1. clearly borrowed
    2. probably borrowed
    3. perhaps borrowed
    4. very little evidence for borrowing
    5. no evidence for borrowing

    For (possible) loanwords, this column shows the words in the source languages that served as models.

    For possible Chinese cognates.

    anh2.444the older brother5. no evidence for borrowing
    anh chị2.4561the older sibling5. no evidence for borrowing
    anh chị em2.456the sibling5. no evidence for borrowing
    anh chị em họ2.55the cousin5. no evidence for borrowing
    anh em2.44the brother5. no evidence for borrowing
    biển1.32the sea5. no evidence for borrowing
    bà (1)2.47the grandmother1. clearly borrowed婆, pó (Chinese )
    bà (2)2.471the old woman1. clearly borrowed婆, pó (Chinese )
    bà con2.81the relatives5. no evidence for borrowing
    bà goá chồng2.76the widow5. no evidence for borrowing
    bác2.51the uncle2. probably borrowed伯, bó (Chinese )
    bác2.512the father's brother2. probably borrowed伯, bó (Chinese )
    bão1.58the storm2. probably borrowedbào (暴) (Chinese )
    bóng (1)1.63the shade or shadow5. no evidence for borrowing
    bóng tối1.62the darkness5. no evidence for borrowing
    bùn1.214the mud5. no evidence for borrowing
    bọt1.324the foam5. no evidence for borrowing
    bố2.35the father3. perhaps borrowed父, fǔ (Chinese )
    bố chồng2.611the father-in-law (of a woman)5. no evidence for borrowing
    bố dượng2.71the stepfather5. no evidence for borrowing
    bố mẹ2.37the parents5. no evidence for borrowing
    bố mẹ vợ chồng2.622the parents-in-law5. no evidence for borrowing
    bố vợ2.61the father-in-law (of a man)5. no evidence for borrowing
    bờ1.27the shore5. no evidence for borrowing
    bụi1.213the dust5. no evidence for borrowing
    cháu2.5the grandchild5. no evidence for borrowing
    cháu2.541the sibling’s child5. no evidence for borrowing
    cháu gái2.49the granddaughter5. no evidence for borrowing
    cháu gái2.54the niece5. no evidence for borrowing
    cháu trai2.48the grandson5. no evidence for borrowing
    cháu trai2.53the nephew5. no evidence for borrowing
    cháy1.852to burn(2)5. no evidence for borrowing
    chú2.51the uncle2. probably borrowed(EH) *ćǝuk (叔, shū) (Old Chinese )
    chị2.454the older sister2. probably borrowed(EH) *cjǝ́j (姐, jiě) (Old Chinese )
    chị dâu2.6412the sibling-in-law5. no evidence for borrowing
    chị em gái2.45the sister5. no evidence for borrowing
    chồng2.31the husband2. probably borrowed(EH) *ḍáŋ (丈 , zhàng) (Old Chinese )
    chớp1.55the lightning5. no evidence for borrowing
    chớp1.57the bolt of lightning5. no evidence for borrowing
    con (1)2.27the child(1)5. no evidence for borrowing
    con (2)2.43the child(2)5. no evidence for borrowing
    con bé2.28the baby5. no evidence for borrowing
    con dâu2.64the daughter-in-law (of a man)5. no evidence for borrowing
    con dâu2.6411the child-in-law5. no evidence for borrowing
    con dấu2.641the daughter-in-law (of a woman)5. no evidence for borrowing
    con dấu2.6411the child-in-law5. no evidence for borrowing
    con gái (1)2.26the girl5. no evidence for borrowing
    con gái (2)2.42the daughter5. no evidence for borrowing
    con gái riêng2.74the stepdaughter5. no evidence for borrowing
    con rể2.63the son-in-law (of a man)5. no evidence for borrowing
    con rể2.631the son-in-law (of a woman)5. no evidence for borrowing
    con rể2.6411the child-in-law5. no evidence for borrowing
    con trai (1)2.25the boy5. no evidence for borrowing
    con trai (2)2.41the son5. no evidence for borrowing
    con trai riêng2.73the stepson5. no evidence for borrowing
    cát1.215the sand5. no evidence for borrowing
    cô2.52the aunt1. clearly borrowed姑, gū (Chinese )
    cô2.522the father's sister1. clearly borrowed姑, gū (Chinese )
    cô ta2.932she5. no evidence for borrowing
    cù lao1.25the island2. probably borrowedpulau (Cham )
    cưới2.33to marry3. perhaps borrowed*NONE (娶, qǔ) (Old Chinese )
    cầu vồng1.59the rainbow3. perhaps borrowed虹, hóng (Chinese )
    cậu2.511the mother's brother1. clearly borrowed舅, jiù (Chinese )
    củi1.88the firewood5. no evidence for borrowing
    cực quang1.771the arctic lights1. clearly borrowed極光, jí guāng (Chinese )
    diêm1.87the match5. no evidence for borrowing
    dì2.52the aunt2. probably borrowed姨, yí (Chinese )
    dòng nước xoáy1.362the whirlpool5. no evidence for borrowing
    em2.4562the younger sibling5. no evidence for borrowing
    em gái2.455the younger sister5. no evidence for borrowing
    em trai2.44the brother5. no evidence for borrowing
    em trai2.445the younger brother5. no evidence for borrowing
    gia đình2.82the family1. clearly borrowed家庭, jiā tíng (Chinese )
    giếng1.37the spring or well2. probably borrowed(EH) *cjéŋ (井, jǐng) (Old Chinese )
    gái2.24female(1)5. no evidence for borrowing
    gío1.72the wind5. no evidence for borrowing
    gả2.33to marry2. probably borrowed*kra:_h (嫁, jià) (Old Chinese )
    gỗ1.43the wood5. no evidence for borrowing
    hang1.28the cave5. no evidence for borrowing
    hơi1.71the air3. perhaps borrowed(EH) *khǝś (氣, qì) (Old Chinese )
    hơi nước1.831the steam5. no evidence for borrowing
    hậu duệ2.57the descendants1. clearly borrowed後裔, hòuyì (Chinese )
    hắn2.931he5. no evidence for borrowing
    hồ1.33the lake1. clearly borrowed湖，hú (Chinese )
    khói1.83the smoke5. no evidence for borrowing
    không khí1.71the air1. clearly borrowed空气, kōng qì (Chinese )
    không nổi sóng1.322calm5. no evidence for borrowing
    ly dị2.341the divorce2. probably borrowed离异, lí yì (Chinese )
    lưu vực1.24the valley1. clearly borrowedlíu yù (流域) (Chinese )
    lấy (1)2.33to marry5. no evidence for borrowing
    lửa1.81the fire5. no evidence for borrowing
    m2.521the mother's sister2. probably borrowed母, mǔ (Chinese )
    mày (1)2.92you (singular)5. no evidence for borrowing
    mây1.73the cloud5. no evidence for borrowing
    mũi đất1.343the cape5. no evidence for borrowing
    mưa1.75the rain5. no evidence for borrowing
    mặt trăng1.53the moon3. perhaps borrowedbulang (Chamic )
    mặt trời1.52the sun5. no evidence for borrowing
    mẹ2.36the mother3. perhaps borrowed*mɛ (Proto-Tai )
    mẹ chồng2.621the mother-in-law (of a woman)5. no evidence for borrowing
    mẹ ghẻ2.72the stepmother5. no evidence for borrowing
    mẹ vợ2.62the mother-in-law (of a man)5. no evidence for borrowing
    mồ côi2.75the orphan5. no evidence for borrowing
    người2.1the person5. no evidence for borrowing
    người bạn trai2.251the young man5. no evidence for borrowing
    ngọn lửa1.82the flame5. no evidence for borrowing
    nó2.93he/she/it5. no evidence for borrowing
    núi1.22the mountain or hill5. no evidence for borrowing
    nước1.31the water5. no evidence for borrowing
    phá1.341the lagoon5. no evidence for borrowing
    quả phụ2.76the widow1. clearly borrowed寡妇, guǎ fù (Chinese)
    rừng1.41the woods or forest5. no evidence for borrowing
    sao (1)1.54the star5. no evidence for borrowing
    sinh đôi2.458the twins5. no evidence for borrowing
    sóng1.35the wave5. no evidence for borrowing
    sông1.36the river or stream5. no evidence for borrowing
    sương1.64the dew5. no evidence for borrowing
    sương mù1.74the fog5. no evidence for borrowing
    sấm1.56the thunder5. no evidence for borrowing
    tao2.91I5. no evidence for borrowing
    than1.89the charcoal2. probably borrowed碳, tàn (Chinese )
    than hồng1.841the embers5. no evidence for borrowing
    thiếu nữ2.261the young woman1. clearly borrowed少女, shàonǚ (Chinese )
    thung lũng1.24the valley5. no evidence for borrowing
    thác nước1.39the waterfall5. no evidence for borrowing
    thím2.522the father's sister1. clearly borrowed婶, shěn (Chinese )
    thảo nguyên1.411the savanna1. clearly borrowed草原 , cǎo yuán (Chinese )
    thế giới1.1the world1. clearly borrowedshì jiè (世界) (Chinese )
    thời tiết1.78the weather5. no evidence for borrowing
    trai2.23male(1)5. no evidence for borrowing
    triều1.352the tide1. clearly borrowed潮， cháo (Chinese )
    triều cao1.354the high tide2. probably borrowed高潮， gāo cháo (Chinese )
    triều thấp1.353the low tide5. no evidence for borrowing
    tro1.84the ash5. no evidence for borrowing
    trời1.51the sky5. no evidence for borrowing
    tuyết1.76the snow1. clearly borrowedxuě (雪) (Chinese )
    tôi2.91I5. no evidence for borrowing
    tắt1.861to extinguish5. no evidence for borrowing
    tổ tiên2.56the ancestors1. clearly borrowed祖先, zǔ xiān (Chinese )
    vách đá1.222the cliff or precipice5. no evidence for borrowing
    vịnh1.34the bay5. no evidence for borrowing
    vợ2.32the wife2. probably borrowed(EH) *bwǝ́ (妇, fù) (Old Chinese )
    ánh sáng1.61the light5. no evidence for borrowing
    ông (1)2.46the grandfather1. clearly borrowed翁, wēng (Chinese )
    ông (2)2.461the old man1. clearly borrowed翁, wēng (Chinese )
    ông bà2.4711the grandparents5. no evidence for borrowing
    ông goá vợ2.77the widower5. no evidence for borrowing
    đàn bà2.22the woman5. no evidence for borrowing
    đàn bà có chồng2.39the married woman5. no evidence for borrowing
    đàn ông2.21the man5. no evidence for borrowing
    đàn ông có vợ2.38the married man5. no evidence for borrowing
    đá (1)1.44the stone or rock5. no evidence for borrowing
    đá (2)1.77the ice5. no evidence for borrowing
    đá ngầm1.342the reef5. no evidence for borrowing
    đám cưới2.34the wedding5. no evidence for borrowing
    đông lại1.775to freeze2. probably borroweddōng (冬) (Chinese )
    đại dương1.329the ocean1. clearly borrowed大洋, dà yáng (Chinese )
    đại lục1.26the mainland1. clearly borroweddà lù (大陆) (Chinese )
    đảo1.25the island1. clearly borroweddǎo (岛) (Chinese )
    đất (1)1.21the land5. no evidence for borrowing
    đất (2)1.212the soil5. no evidence for borrowing
    đầm lầy1.38the swamp5. no evidence for borrowing
    địa động1.45the earthquake1. clearly borrowed地动, dì dòng (Chinese )
    đốt1.86to light5. no evidence for borrowing
    đốt cháy1.851to burn(1)5. no evidence for borrowing
    đồi1.22the mountain or hill4. very little evidence for borrowing*?dl/rOOi (Proto-Tai )
    đồng bằng1.23the plain5. no evidence for borrowing
    động1.323rough(2)2. probably borrowed动, dòng (Chinese )


    Generally, in addition to the well established interchanges as presented in Chapter Twelve, other irregular corresponding patterns in Chinese and Vietnamese phonologies could occur to any sounds among the initial, medial, final, and ending, or a combination of them in a word. The process happened diachronically over the time one at a time and eventually led to a phonetic shift across the whole phonological system of monosyllabic words. At the same time sound changes of a syllabic ending would have occurred without phonetic-lexical restraint of the original syllabic-word, e.g., the whole last syllable might be syncoped and all phonemes could be dropped (a common phenomenon having occurred from Middle Chinese to early Mandarin.)

    Sound changes could happen synchronically internally inside a language with a similar fashion like what would have happened in a small village, constrained within the local speech habit as we already discussed in the previous chapter, e.g., {tr- ~ ch-}, {ch- ~ g-}, {l- ~ r-}, {n- ~ l-}, {-n ~ -ng}, {-nh ~ -ng}, {-t ~ -k}, and so on so forth. We could therefore further apply those similar internal corresponding paradigms to those SInitic-Vietnamese words postulated as of Chinese origin inclusively in order to explore possible scenarios of what could take place reciprocally given the fact that linguistically they had been in the early contact with each other as attested in two of the best cases {/*kr-/ ~ /s-/, /cj-/} as follows.

    • /*krong/ (proto-VM) 'sông' ~ MC /kong/ ~ jiāng 江 (river) ~ SV giang [ ¶ {kr- ~ s-}, {kr- ~ k-}, {k- ~ j-}, {j- ~ gi-}, {gi- ~ s-}, {j- ~ s-} || cf. 刊 kán: SV ''san" (remove) ],
    • /*kro/ (proto-VM) 'chó' ~ MC /kjəw/ ~ gǒu 狗 (dog) ~ SV 'cẩu' ~ VS 'cầy' [ ¶ {kr- ~ - ch-}, {kr- ~ k-}, {k- ~ ch-} || cf. 砍 kán: VS 'chặt' (chop) ], etc.

    Note that the patterns of sound changes enumerated below are just some illustrated samples and they are inexhaustible. For Sinologists and Vietnamese specialists, the following listings are focused solely on the Chinese and Sinitic-Vietnamese interchanges only, especially those irregularities; therefore, Sino-Vietnamese words are limited to minimum. Literally, as long as you could imagine an irregular pattern, there would be a chance that a plausible one could be found. As we could tell, numerous patterns are not included in the following list, since they are relatively obvious, at least as a linguist sees them, e.g. {x- ~ h-}, {zh- ~ gi-}, {j- ~ k-}, {g- ~ k-}, {q- ~ nh-}, {sh- ~ nh-}, etc.

    Concentionally, as always, English meanings are annotated for each illustrated lexicon to help those who are unfamiliar with Vietnamese see how intimately close Vietnamese and Chinese vocabularies are, phonologically and semantically. (For their etymology, refer to previous sections for those lexicons that are already cited or try http://vny2k.com/hannom/index.aspx.)

    (1) Sound changes in the neighboring pronouncing positions:

    • ān 唵: ăn (eat),
    • bāo 抱: bồng (embrace),
    • bāo 包: bọc (wrap),
    • biān 邊: bên (side),
    • bǐng 餅: bánh (cake),
    • dà 大: to (big),
    • diăo 屌: đéo (fuck),
    • dēng 燈: đèn (light),
    • dé 德: tốt (kindness),
    • fén 粉: phở (noddle),
    • fèn 噴: phun (sprinkle),
    • gān 幹: cạn (dried up),
    • gé 割: cắt (cut),
    • gēn 根: gốc (root),
    • guài 乖: giỏi (good),
    • hăi 海: khơi (ocean),
    • hăo 好: hay (good),
    • hóu 喉: cổ (neck),
    • hù 戶: cửa (door),
    • hú 虎: cọp (tiger),
    • jiāng 將: sẽ (will),
    • jìn 近: gần (nearby),
    • jǐn 僅: gắng (industrious),
    • káng 扛: khiêng (carry),
    • kū 枯: khô (dry),
    • kù 哭: khóc (weep),
    • kuài 膾: gỏi (meat salad),
    • lăn 懶: lười (lazy),
    • liáng 良: lành (benign),
    • lěng 冷: lạnh (cold),
    • líng 靈: thiêng (sacred),
    • líng 伶: lanh (witty),
    • líng 零: lẻ (miscellaneous),
    • lǜ 慮: lo (worry),
    • luò 落: lạc (peanut),
    • luò 烙: là (to iron),
    • luó 羅: lưới (net),
    • lóng 籠: lồng (cage),
    • nèn 嫩: non (immature),
    • shí 食: xơi (eat),
    • shùn 順: suôn, xuôi (smoothly),
    • sì 撕: xé (tear),
    • sòu 嗽: súc (rinse),
    • tiān 添: thêm (add),
    • tè 特: đực (male),
    • tòng 痛: đau (pain),
    • tóng 銅: thau (copper),
    • tóng 彤: đỏ (red),
    • tóu 頭: đầu (head),
    • tuǐ 腿: đùi (thigh),
    • tuì 推: đẩy (push),
    • wèi 熨: ủi (to iron),
    • wěi 萎: úa (wither),
    • xiá 遐: xa (faraway),
    • cūn 村: xóm (Village),
    • yán 沿: ven (edge),
    • zàng 髒: chôn (bury),
    • zăo 早: chào (hello),
    • zhăi 窄: chật (tight),
    • zhōu 粥: cháo (porridge),
    • zǒu 走: chạy (run), etc.

    (2) Pattern { ¶ l- & S-} (same class as s, c, x, ch, sh, j, z, zh, q)

    • lán 藍: chàm (indigo),
    • láng 郎: chàng (man),
    • làng 浪: sóng (wave),
    • lěi 磊: sõi (pebble),
    • lèng 愣: sửng (stunted),
    • lì 力: sức (strength),
    • lián 蓮: sen (lotus),
    • liàng 亮: sáng (bright),
    • luó 螺: sò (clam),
    • luó 羅: chài (netting), etc.

      • and the reverse pattern, e.g.,
    • cháng 常: luôn (often),
    • jià 駕: lái (drive),
    • jí 級: lớp (level),
    • jǐu 久: lâu (long ago),
    • jiăn 撿: lượm (pick),
    • jìng 靜: lặng (quiet),
    • qián 潛: lén (secretly),
    • qǔ 取: lấy (get),
    • qīn 侵: lấn (invade),
    • shàng 上: lên (ascend),
    • shě 舌: lưỡi (tongue),
    • xiáng 翔: lượn (glide),
    • xiāng 鄉: làng (village),
    • xīn 心: lòng (heart),
    • zhuăn 轉: lăn (roll),
    • jì(mò) 寂寞: lẻ(loi) (lonely),
    • sōu(suǒ) 搜索: lục(soát) (search),
    • (lěng)jì 冷寂: (lạnh)lẽo (deserted), etc.

    (3) Pattern { ¶ S- ~ r- }

    • cài 菜: rau (vegetable),
    • chóu 愁: rầu (sorrowful),
    • chū 出: ra (out),
    • jiān 煎: rán (fry),
    • jiān 間: rảnh (opening),
    • jǐu 酒: rượu (wine),
    • qián 閒: rãnh (free time),
    • shě 蛇: rắn (snake),
    • suò 縮: rút (shrink),
    • sēn 森: rậm (multitudinous),
    • shú 熟: rục (ripen),
    • shán 擅: run (tremble),
    • shàn 善: rành (good at),
    • shòu 瘦: ròm (skinny),
    • xǐ 洗: rửa (wash),
    • xiāng 箱: rương (case),
    • xū 鬚: râu (beard),
    • xū 婿: rể (son-in-law),
    • zhèn 震: rung (vibrate),
    • zhòu 咒: rủa (curse),
    • zhào 照: rọi (shine), etc.

    (4) Pattern { ¶ S- ~ T- } (same as d, th, tr, ch)

    • cā 擦: thoa (scrape),
    • chá 茶: trà (tea),
    • chí 匙: thìa (spoon),
    • chí 遲: trễ (late),
    • chí 池: đìa (pond),
    • chǒu 丑: trâu (buffalo),
    • chòu 臭: thúi (smelly),
    • qù 去: đi (go),
    • qiān 籤: tăm (stick),
    • qián 前: trước (front),
    • shì 試: thử (try),
    • shāo 燒: đốt (burn),
    • shēng 生: đẻ (give birth),
    • shī 師: thầy (teacher),
    • shí 石: đá (stone),
    • sī 絲: tơ (silk),
    • suí 隨: theo (follow),
    • suì 歲: tuổi (age),
    • suàn 蒜: tỏi (garlic),
    • xiān 鮮: tươi (fresh)
    • zhàn 站: đứng (stand),
    • zhōu 舟: tàu (boat),
    • zhú 箸: đũa (chopsticks),
    • zhuàng 撞: tông (collide),
    • zú 足: đủ (enough),
    • zuǒ 左: trái (left),
    • zhuī 追: đuổi (run after), etc.

      • and the reverse pattern { ¶ T- ~ S- } (same class as c, x, q, ch, sh, j, z, zh..) , e.g.,
    • diè 爹: cha (daddy),
    • dòu 逗: chọc (tease),
    • tă 踏: chà (trample),
    • tă 塌: sập (tumble),
    • tào 套: sáo (polite),
    • tiáo 條: sợi (thread),
    • tuì 推: suy (induce),
    • tán(huà) 談話: chuyện(trò) (chat),
    • (shuāi)tuì 衰退: suy(thoái) (degenerated), etc.

    (5) Pattern { ¶ l- ~ r-}

    • lián 廉: rẽ (cheap),
    • liàn 練: rèn (drill),
    • lián 簾: rèm (curtain),
    • lí 離: rời (leave),
    • liè 冽: rét (chilly),
    • liăo 了: rồi (already),
    • lóng 龍: rồng (dragon),
    • luò 落: rớt (drop),
    • luó 籮: rỗ (basket),
    • líng 齡: răng (tooth),
    • lìng 另: riêng (exclusively),
    • líng 伶: ranh (witty),
    • lòu 漏: rỏ (leak),
    • luàn 亂: rộn (chaotic),
    • lín 林: rừng (woods),
    • lóngzhòng 隆重: rìnhrang (grandly),
    • lāji 垃圾: rác (garbage), etc.,

      • and the reverse pattern, e.g.,
    • răn 染: lây (infect),
    • rèng 扔: liệng (throw),
    • róng 溶: loãng (solvent),
    • róu 糅: lộn (mingle),
    • rú 女: lứ (thou),
    • (yá)ròu 牙肉: (răng)lợi (gum),
    • (zhà)ròu 炸肉: (chả)lụa (Vietnamese-styled ham), etc.

    (6) Pattern { ¶ p- (b-) ~ t- (d-) }

    • bèi 卑: tệ (mediocre),
    • bēi 俾: tỳ (servant),
    • běn 本: thân (trunk),
    • béng 甭: đừng (don't),
    • biàn 便: tiện (convenient),
    • biān 偏: thiên (incline),
    • biăo 婊: đĩ (whore),
    • bī 比: tỳ (compare),
    • bì 必: tất (inevitable),
    • bì 鼻: tỵ (nose),
    • bì 幣: tệ (currency),
    • bō 鉢: tô (bowl),
    • pī 匹: thất (single-handed),
    • piāo 嫖: đéo (visit prostitutes),
    • biànmì 便密: táobón (constipation),
    • bēnbō 奔波: tấttả (toiling), etc.

      • and the reverse { ¶ t- (d-) ~ b- (p-) }, e.g.,

    • dào 道: bảo (tell),
    • tóu 投: bầu, bỏ (vote, vest in),
    • tòu 偷: bợ (steal),
    • tàng 燙: bỏng (scalp),
    • tòu 偷: bợ (steal),
    • tú 涂: bôi (smear),
    • làngdàng 浪蕩 longbong (loiter)
    • dùzi 肚子: baotử (stomach), etc.

    (7) Pattern { ¶ y- ~ b- (p-) }

    • yăo 舀: bới (scoop up),
    • yóu 郵: bưu (postal),
    • yōu 右: phải (right),
    • yóu 由: bởi (by),
    • yóu 柚: bưởi (pomelo),
    • yóu 游: bơi (swim),
    • yǐng 影: bóng (shadow), etc.

    In reality, besides those common interchanges, and we can keep going on to establish many more of other patterns. We can say that any sound can change to any sound, a product of multiple sound changes coloquially over time, one leading to another like slow chained reactions, partly triggered by phonetic shifts first, then localization, under influence of uneducated imitations, and so on so forth. However, in many cases, we can still recognize the originally underlined form solely based on the sound appearance.

    • bīng 兵: lính (soldier),
    • bēi 杯: ly (class),
    • bài 拜: lạy (kowtow),
    • chéng 承: (SV thặng) nâng (raise),
    • dă 打: đánh (strike),
    • fēn 分: phút (minute),
    • fěn 粉: bột (flour),
    • fēng 風: giông (windstorm),
    • fèng 奉: dâng (submit),
    • fù 富: giàu (rich),
    • kuài 快: vui (happy),
    • kuài 塊: cục (piece),
    • kuài 膾: gỏi (minced meat salad),
    • kuì 饋: quà (gift),
    • huǒ 火: lửa (fire),
    • huà 話: nói (talk),
    • huò 貨: đồ (goods),
    • huó 活: việc (work),
    • líng 靈: thiêng (sacred),
    • mín 民: SV dân (people),
    • miăo 秒: giây (second),
    • rěn 忍: nhịn (put up with),
    • rù 入: vô (enter),
    • rǔ 乳: vú (breast),
    • réng 仍: vẫn (still),
    • rèng 扔: quăng (throw away),
    • ràng 讓: nhường (yield),
    • qīng 輕: nhẹ (light),
    • shòu 受: chịu (endure),
    • tā 他: nó (he),
    • tàng 燙: nóng (hot),
    • tăng 躺: nằm (lying),
    • tiăn 舔: liếm (lick),
    • wò 臥: ngủ (sleep),
    • wă 瓦: ngói, gạch (tile),
    • wān 灣: vịnh (bay),
    • wăn 丸: hòn (ball),
    • yè 葉: lá (leaf),
    • zhòng 重: nặng (Hainanese: /dang2/) (heavy),

      • , etc.

    (8) Irregular sound changes:

    While some interchanges, on the one hand, could be identified via historical sound change rules such as the traditional system of 8-toned scheme -- NOT 6 tones -- e.g., 'tất', 'học', 'tiếc', etc., as follows, there are also cases that sound changes might have occurred beyond recognition. However, their etymology is still traceable based on the pronunciation rules, which is known as fănqiè 反切, in Chinese characters to give better guides to pronunciation keys for words, including the Middle Chinese 8-toned scheme that corresponds to those Sino-Vietnamese words ended with the 8th lower and upper registered tones /-p/, /-t/, /-k/.

    • bì 必: tất (must),
    • bí 畢: tốt (graduate),
    • chī 吃: ngật (eat),
    • fēng 風: gió (wind),
    • jí 集: tập (collect),
    • jì 季: quý (season),
    • miào 妙: diệu (wonderful),
    • mín 民: dân (SV /zən1/) (people),
    • míng 名: danh (name),
    • pìng 娉: sính (betroth),
    • wă 瓦: ngói (VS ngoạ) (tile),
    • wān 灣: vịnh (SV loan) (bay),
    • wēng 蓊: lông (feather),
    • xī 溪: khê (creek),
    • xī 惜: tiếc (SV tích) (stint),
    • xì 吸: hút (SV hấp) (inhale),
    • xiè 瀉: tước (SV tả) (diarhea),
    • xué 學: học (SV /hɔwk8/, cf. Cant.: /hok8/) (learn),
    • yī 一: nhất (one),
    • yì 憶: nhớ (SV ức) (memory),
    • yì 臆: ngực (chest),
    • yì 藝: nghệ (artisan),
    • yì 議: nghĩa (meaning),
    • yì 義: ngãi (righteousness),

      • etc.< br />

    Yet, on other hand, for a great number of VS words as listed above that might have changed that way, we are left with virtually no means but analogy that are attested by usage including both original authentic forms and semantics, for example,

    • hù 戶: cửa (door), SV hộ (household),
    • kǒu 口: cửa (door), SV khẩu (mouth),
    • wěn 吻: hôn (kiss), [ also, VS 'mồm' > 'miệng' (mouth) ],
    • qīn 親: ruột (blood-related, SV: 'thân': kinship),
    • chī 吃: ăn (eat, VS 唵 ān, SV: ngật, cf. 乙 "ất" ),
    • shí 食: xơi (eat), (SV: thực: 'food' ),
    • tīng 聽: nghe (hear, Hainanese: /k'e1/),
    • lóng 聾: điếc (deaf) [ <~ 'đãng' <~ 'lãng' (forgetful) | cf. 'đãngtrí' ~ 'lãngtrí' (absent-minded) ],
    • shēng 生: đẻ (give birth, Hainanese: /te1/, hence, 'tái' (raw) ) [ hence, 生產 shēngchăn (SV sanhsản): VS 'sanhđẻ' (birth giving) ],
    • shuǐ 水: nước (water, cf. 淂 dé: SV 'đắc'~ VietMuong 'đák'),
    • qián 前: trước (front, Hainanese: /tai2/),
    • shě 舌: lưỡi (tongue),
    • huó 活: việc (work) (SV 'hoạt': living),
    • huà 話: nói (talk) (SV thoại: 'spoken words'),
    • cí 辭: lời (word) (SV: từ: 'diction')
    • jì 季: mùa (SV: quý) (season),
    • dùn 腞: lợn (pig),
    • àn 案: bàn (desk) [ SV: án (altar; also: case)],
    • àn 按: bấm (to press),
    • xiōng 胸: hông (hips) (SV hung: 'bosom') ,
    • yì 臆: ngực (SV ức) (chest),
    • yì 憶: nhớ (SV: ức) (remember),
    • yǒng 泳 lặn (dive)
    • yóu 游: bơi [ also, VS 'lội' ] (swim),
    • yóu 柚: bưởi (pomelo) [ cf. 郵 yóu: SV bưu (postal) ],
    • bǔrǔ 哺乳: búvú (suck breast, breastfeed),
    • fànjú 飯局: bữacơm (dinner),
    • yàofàn 要飯: ănmày [ cf. Hainanese 飯 /muj2/ ] (beggar),
    • yóuyú 由於: bởivì (because),
    • xuéxí 學習: tậpdượt [ cf. 演習 yănxí ] (drills),
    • xízăo 洗澡: tắmrửa (bathe, Hainanese: /to5jat8/), etc.

    (9) Sino-Vietnamese sound loans -- sandhi process of association:

    As discussed in previous chapters, there exist a great number of Sinitic-Vietnamese words sounding like those of Sino-Vietnamese, being not only the ramifications from doublets nor different sources, but also deviates evolved from internal association in each language, which has resulted in new lexical items in the source or target.

    • "côngcuộc" ('task') originated from "côngtác" 工作 gōngzuò (a result of a associative sandhi process of "cục" 局 jú);
    • "ông" ('mister') is not only from "ông" 翁 wēng but also from "công": 公 gōng [ Also, 'cồ' ~> 'trống'; hence, cf. 鼓 gǔ ~> 'trống' ],
    • "tiểu" ('urinate') might not be not from "tiểutiện" 小便 xiăobiàn, but from "niào" 尿 (SV niệu) [ the initials /n-/ and /t-/ interchangeable); "tiểu" in turn has given rise to "đái", and "làniào" 拉尿 can give rise to "điđái" (/l- /and /đ-/ are interchangeable) ];
    • "trường" as in 'trườnghọc' # 學堂 xuétáng (SV họcđường) 'school' is not from chăng 場 (SV trường), but from 堂 táng (SV 'đường', and an older form of it is "tường" 庠 xiáng)
    • "hiểu" is exactly "hiểu" 曉 xiáo ('understand'), but in colloquial speech the SV "hội" 會 huì carries the context of "hiểu" as in modern Mandarin simply because 曉 xiáo, concurrently convey the meaning of 'sớm' (daybreak), has been identified with 會 huì "hiểu" as in 體會 tǐhuì: "thấuhiểu" (understand);
    • "hiếu", "hay", "ham", "háo" ('desire'), etc., all deviates of "hảo" 好 hăo;
    • "tham", "thèm", "ham", "hám", etc., are derived from "tham" 貪 tān 'greedy';
    • "hiền" is 賢 xián 'good man', but in colloquial expression it is 善 shàn (SV thiện) as in "hiềnlành" 善良 shànliáng (SV thiệnlương);
    • "chiếntrận" ('battle') is from "chiếntrường" 戰場 zhànchăng (a result of the associative sandhi process of "trận" 陣 zhèn);
    • "mai", meaning 'tomorrow', does sound like a Sino-Vietnamese word of the same concept. It must be a variant from a northern Chinese dialect, in this case, that of Beijing, "mínr" 明兒, having given rise to both "mainày" and syncoped "mai", etc.

    (10) Homonyms, synonyms, doublets, and loanwords:

    Many monosyllabic words can be read the same in Chinese but they carry different meanings. Similarly, there were also dialectal pronunciations for the same character of which variations had given rise to different usages before and, especially, after they entered the Vietnamese vocabulary. As a result, it is not surprising to see that with the same word the Vietnamese language may also have differentiated that very character with deviated sounds either by means of association with other words or internal localization. Let us examine a few as follows.

    • 放 fàng (let go): phóng, bắn, bỏ, buông, phỗng, etc. [ M 放 fàng < MC pwoŋ < OC *paŋs | According to Starostin: to put away, put aside; neglect; banish. In Vietnamese cf. also a colloquial word: phỗng 'to take away, to carry away '].
    • 解 jiě (analyze): giải, gỡ, giã, cắt, xẻ, xả, rõ, cởi, chảy, ... [ respectively, to mean 'explain', 'untie', 'dilute', 'cut', 'slice', etc. ]
    • 照 zhào (shine): chiếu, chụp, soi, rọi, chói, theo, ... [ respectively, to mean 'shine', 'reflex', 'capture', 'based on' | M zhào < MC tʂɜw < OC *taws ]
    • 瘦 shòu (skinny): gầy, ròm, sỏ, etc.
    • 肥 féi (fat): phì, mập, phệ, mỡ, etc.
    • 大 dà (large): đại, to, cả, đủ, sơ, etc.
    • 會 huì (gathering): hội, họp, hẹn (rendez-vouz), hụi (trust-funded loan), hiểu, hay (know), etc., [ all are derived from "hội" 會 huì ~ VS 'hiểu' 曉 xiăo (SV hiểu), 'hay' 知 zhī (SV tri) | M 會 huì < MC ɣwʌi < OC *guats. It is interesting to see that 會 huì convey all the meanings as those words that appear in the Vietnamese lexicons as well. ]

      • Similarly, for illustration, let us expand the following derivatives and elaborate on their etyma.

    • 場 chăng (SV trường) 'field' as in
      • 'chiếntrường' (battlefield) 戰場 zhànchăng,
      • 'trườngthi' ('examination campus') 試場 shìchăng (SV thítrường) [ However, for 'trườnghọc' (school), it is from 學堂 xuétáng (SV họcđường). ],
      • sân: 'sânkhấu' (performing stage) 劇場 kịchtrường, Viet. 'sânbay' (airport) 飛場 fēichăng (SV 'phitrường': "phi" combined with "trường"; modern M 機場 jīchăng), In other word, Chinese 機 jī is a short form for 飛機 fēijī (SV phicơ); meanwhile, Vietnamese has picked 飛 fēi to coin the dissyllabic word "飛場 fēichăng" ]
      • tuồng: 'tuồnghát' (a performance show) 戲場 xìchăng,
      • giấc: 'một giấcmộng' (a [flash of] dream) 一場夢 yī chăngmèng,
      • trận: 'bệnh mộttrận' 一場病 yī chăngbìng,
      • 'chiếntrận' (battlefield) zhànchăng 戰場 (SV: chiếntrường) [ but 'đánhtrận' (fight a battle) 打仗 dăzhàng ],
      • cơn: 'một cơnbệnh' (a spell of illness) 一場病 yī chăngbìng, [ but 'một cơngió' (a stream of wind) 一股風 yī gǔfēng ],
      • xuất: 'một tuồnghát' (a performance show) 一場戲 yī chăngxì [ hence, VS 'vởtuống' ],

        • etc., all are varriants of "trường" 場 chăng.

    • "đợi" (wait) is not from 等 děng (SV đẳng) as commonly used in in modern Mandarin, but "đãi" 待 dài.
      We also have 接待 jiēdài as "tiếpđón" (reception), but "đưađón" from 接送 jiēsòng (pick up and see someone off), while specifically "đưa" is 送 sòng (SV tống) (Hainanese: /tang6/ and /dang6/), which appears as if it were from 接 jiē, while "đón" 接 jiē, which looks like it were from 送 sòng. In the meanwhile "đưa" (give to) as in "đưatiền" is 交錢 jiāoqián (hand in the money) (SV giaotiền) and "đón" as in "đóngió" (go out for fresh air) 兜風 dòufēng, "đónxuân" (spring celebration) 迎春 yíngchūn in place of 'rướcxuân', etc.

    • quăng 扔 rēng (throw away) [ M 扔 rēng < MC ɲiŋ < OC ɲjəŋ | Note of its variants: vãi, vất, rãi, vung, vứt, ném, liệng, lia, etc., that all convey the concept of 'throw away'. ],
    • tông, đụng, tán 撞 zhuàng (collide),
    • xối, dội, (splash), xông, xấn (dash forward), tông, đụng (collide), sang (develop film) 沖 chòng [ cf. modern 'sangrửa' 沖印 chōngyìn 'photo develoment and print' and the last connotation will prorobably disappear with 'films' pretty son in our digital agae. ], etc.

    (11) Similarities with early and modern Mandarin:

    One of the most interesting and noteworthy similarity between both vernacular and literary Mandarin and Vietnamese that many specialists of historical Vietnamese have missed is their share of coloquial words and fixed expressions. Besides the case of "mainày" 明兒 mínr (tomorrow) or "sátvách" 隔壁 jiébì (next door), or 行將 xíngjiān which has roots in modern Mandarin originated from vernacular Běijīnghuà 北京話, a departure from the common ideas that we could only search for Vietnamese words of Chinese origin only from either Proto-Chinese, Old Chinese, Ancient Chinese, Middle Chnese, and, for that matter, or the Sino-Vietnamese, there exist many other venues, for example,

    • zăowăn 早晚: sớmhôm (morning till evening) [ also, VS 'sớmmuộn' with additional meaning 'sooner or later'. ],
    • liáotiān 聊天: nóichuyện (chat),
    • tánhuà 談話: chuyệntrò (chat),
    • biāodiào 標調: bỏdấu (tone marking),
    • shēngrén 生人: ngườidưng (stranger),
    • mòshēng 陌生: lạlùng (be estranged),
    • wúliáo 無聊: vôduyên (nonsense),
    • jiănjié 儉節: keokiệt (stingy),
    • tānrǒng 貪冗: thamnhũng (graft) [ via association with modern Mandarin '冗濫 rǒnglàn \ 濫 làn ~ 'tham' 貪 tān /l- ~ th-/ ],
    • yuánfèn 緣份: duyênnợ (destined to be married),
    • suíyuán 隨緣: duyênsố (destined to meet),
    • suíqián 隨錢: đitiền (give the monetary gift),
    • xífù 媳婦: bàxã ('honey' - husband calls his wife),
    • líyí 離異: lydị (divorce),
    • láobăn 老闆: láibuôn (trader),
    • lăogōng 老公: ôngxã ('honey' - wife calls her husband),
    • zhǔgōng 主公: ôngchủ (master) [ <~ SV 'chúacông' (lord) ],
    • lǐmào 禮貌: lễphép (polite) [ interchange /m- ~ ph-/ ],
    • shìpǔ 市鋪: chợbúa (market) [ <~ VS 'phốchợ', SV 'phốthị' ],
    • chéngpǔ 城鋪: thànhphố (city),
    • xíngjiāng 行將: sắpsửa (be about to),
    • mánghuó 忙活: bậnviệc (busy),
    • méngbì 蒙蔽: bưngbít (swindle),
    • pàntú 叛徒: phảnthùng (traitor) [ Also, 'đồphản' ],
    • liángxiàng 糧餉: lươnghướng (wage),
    • láodòng 勞動: làmlụng (labor),
    • shěngqián 省錢: tằntiện (frugal),
    • tāntīng 探聽: thảthính (inquires),
    • xiāncăo 仙草 xuxa (grass jelly) [ <~ VS 'sươngsáo' ],
    • fūqībǐng 夫妻餅: bánhxuxuê (mungbean and coconut glutinous rice cake), etc.

    The influence of Mandarin as both court's language and lingua franca in China historically also has influenced the Vietnamese language deeply in both official and learned cirles until the present time, especially with the Vietnamese Northern dialect, leading the way in new usage of Chinese elements, for instance:

    • phảnđộng 反動 făndòng (reactionary),
    • cánbộ 幹部 gànbù (origin 'cardre'),
    • bùduì 部隊 bộđội (foot soldier),
    • nguỵ 偽 wěi (pseudo-, 'puppet' as in 'puppet goverment'),
    • chếđộ 制度 zhìdù ('regime' and extended meaning of "system" in a lesser sense as in "chếđộ ănuống" for 'dietary regime'),
    • hộkhẩu 戶口 hùkǒu ('household' and extended meaning for 'account'),
    • thamquan 參觀 cānguān (visit),
    • xuấkhẩu 出口 chūkǒu (export),
    • chấtlượng 質量 zhíliàng (quality),
    • phấnđấu 奮鬥 fèndòu (strive),
    • đảmbảo 擔保 dànbăo (guarantee),
    • cườngđiệu 強調 qiángdiào (emphasize),
    • bồidưỡng 培養 péiyăng (sustain),
    • suỷcảo 水餃 shuígăo (steamed dumplings),
    • vằngthánh 混沌 húndùn (wonton),
    • mìchính 味精 wèijīng (MSG),
    • ănnhậu 應酬 yìngchóu (partying),
    • đéomẹ 屌你 diàoni (Fuck you!)
    • đụmá 他媽 tāmā (Fuck!), etc.

    not to mention some other minor distinctions in usage of certain words, either due to earlier older or vernacular loans, yet, comprehensible by most speakers of all regions:

    Northern Vietnamese dialect / Chinese rootSouthern Vietnamese dialect / Chinese root 
    cút 滾 gǔnđi 去 qùget out of here
    vuốt 捋 lǚrờ 摸 mòstroke
    vồ 捕 pǔchụp 捉 zhuōgrasp
    hoa 花 huābông 葩 bāflower
    ngô 玉米 yùmǐbắp 苞 bāocorn
    mê 迷 míưa 愛 àifeel attracted to
    hãi 駭 hàisợ 懼 jùscared
    rọ 籮 luógiỏ 籮 luó [ cf. 'răng' (tooth) ~> Southwestern Vietnamese sub-dialect 'giăng' ]basket
    gầy 瘦 shòu (Vietnamese Central sub-dialect 'sỏ') ]ốm 奀 ēnskinny
    ốm 屙 é (Cant.)bệnh 病 bìng (V Central sub-dialect 痛 tòng ('đau')sick
    lọ 罍 léichai 樽 zūnbottle
    thai 胎 tāibầu 胞 bāopregnancy
    quên 忘 wànglẫn 忘 wàng (possibly from 聾 lóng, VS 'lãng')forget
    cầy 狗 gǒuchó 犬 quándog
    lợn 腞 dùnheo 亥 hàipig
    mắng 罵 màchửi 咒 zhòuscold
    nôn 涒 tūnói 嘔 ǒuvomit
    vua 王 wángchúa 主 zhǔking
    môigiới 媒介 méijiègiớithiệu 介紹 jièshàomiddleman
    phà 筏 fábắc 泊 bóferry
    sướngphê 爽快 chuăngkuàiquáđã 過癮 guòyǐnfully satisfied
    ngậy 膩 nìbéo 油 yóugreasy
    béo 胖 pàng (bàn)mập 肥 féifat
    chăn 衿 jīnmền 綿 miánblanket
    phủphê 飽飽 băobaono 饒 ráosatiate
    cực 極 jíghê 極 jívery
    xinh 亮 liàngđẹp 婕 jiébeautiful
    quan 棺 guānhòm 棺 guāncoffin
    họng 喉 hóucổ 喉 hóuthroat
    xơi 食 shí [ Cant. /shik8/ ]ăn 唵 ān [ cf. 吃 chī: SV 'ngật, phonetic 乙 yí 'ất' ]eat
    lạc 落 luòđậu 豆 dòuearthnut
    giỡn 玩 wánxạo 嘐 xiāojoke
    bổ 剖 pǒuxẻ 切 qièchop
    .........

    in addition to -- lest us forget -- what has already been integral parts of the modern Vietnamese language because they are common daily words.

    • nào: 哪 nă 'which'
    • đó: 那 ná (nớ - Huế dialect) 'that'
    • rồi, nổi: 了 lē, liăo (indicate 'already') (examples: quên đâu nổi: 忘不了! wàngbùliăo! 'unforgetable', quênrồi: 忘了 wàngle!) 'already forgot'
    • ...đi ...啦 (for example: 拿啦 nála! 'take it'lấyđi!, điđái 拉尿啦 làniào la! 'go pee'điđái đi!
    • sẽ: 將 jiāng 'will'
    • vẫn: 仍 réng 'still'
    • đây: 這 zhèi 'this'
    • đúng: 對 duì 'correct' [ colloquial form of 中 zhòng 'trúng', as in 中意 zhòngyì (trúngý) 'as one's wishes'), which is common in many Chinese dialects.]
    • gì: 啥 shă (what' [ also, VS sao (why) ],
    • vìsao(mà): 為什麼 wèishěme (how come) [ Beijing: 為啥 wèishă ],
    • chúngmình: 咱們 záměn (we),
    • mình: 我 wǒ (Bejing dialect /mne/) (I) [ also, VS 'qua' ],
    • maulên: 快點 kuàidiăn (quick) [ Also, 'mauđi' - cf. Cant.: /faitì/), but 愉快 yúkuài: # vuivẻ ... ]
    • luônluôn: 老老 láoláo (always) [ also, doublet '牢牢 láolao' ],
    • riêngtư: 隱私 yǐnsī (privacy),
    • lánggiềng: 鄰居 língjū (neighbor),
    • sátvách: 隔壁 gébì (next door) [ Beijing dialect /jièbì/ \ ji- ~ s- ],
    • mauchóng: 馬上 măshàng (quickly) [ cf. 盡快 jìnkuài ] ,
    • bạtmạng: 拼命 pìnmìng (daring),
    • cảlũ: 大伙 dàhuǒ (the whole group),
    • đạochích: 盜賊 dàozéi (burglar),
    • đầunậu: 頭腦 tóunăo (ringleader),
    • cạnly: 幹杯 gànbèi ((drinking) cheers, endup),
    • sangrửa: 沖印 chōngyìn (photo develoment and print)
    • tầmbậy: 三八 sānbā (nonsense' [ a modern word originated from the 3-8 International Women's Day' to redicule funny female individuals, that also giving rise to (Fukienese) 'tầmbạ', 'sàbát'., etc., which shows tremendous influence of dialectal Chinese untill the present day. ] ,

      • and variants of the same base concept which point to different roots, for example:

    • "làm": 領 lǐng, 令 lǐng, 幹 gàn, 弄 nòng... (make, do, cause),
      • 幹啥 gànshă: làmgì (vậy)? (what are you doing?),
      • 幹活 gànhuó: làmviệc (working),
      • 幹家務 gànjiāwù: làmviệcnhà (doing house chords),
      • 當官 dàngguān: làmquan (be an official),
      • 當兵 dàngbīng: làmlính (be a soldier),
      • 榜樣 băngyàng: làmgương (exemplify),
      • 弄樣子 nòngyàngzǐ: làmravẻ (make oneself look like),
      • 弄錢 nòngqián: làmtiền (make money),
      • 勒索(錢財) lèsuǒ(qiáncái): làmtiền (extortion),
      • 含聲 hánshēng: làmthinh (keep quiet),
      • 耕田 gēngtián: làmđồng (farming),
      • 勞動 láodòng: làmlụng (labor),
      • 弄假成真 nòngjiăchéngzhēn: làmgiảthànhthiệt (pretence becomes reality!),
      • 令人肉麻 lǐngrénròumá: làmrợncảngười (have a deep creepy feeling);
      • 領我驚雅 lǐng wǒ jīngyá: làm tôi kinhngạc (I'm surprised...),
      etc.

    B) Localization and innovation or "Vietnamized"

    On becoming parts of Vietnamese vocabulary, one of the most important tools to coin new words is to "Vietnamize" -- 'Nômhoá' or 'Việthoá' -- all foreign loanwords because they might have entered into the Vietnamese language 1,000 years prior to and long after Vietnam became an independent state in 939 AD, of which localization and innovation are 2 key mechanisms that have blended well all Sinitic elements into the Vietnamese language. The tools are indispensable head and soul of a living speech.

    (1) Reverse of word order (#, "iro", "metathesis")

    We can often find correspondences in both Chinese and SV words and a larger number of them is in reverse order of each other, which might be either borrowed with conscious efforts or choice of words first probably used in literary works:

    • bảođảm # <= 擔保 dànbăo (đảmbảo) 'guarantee',
    • thừakế # <= 繼承 jìchéng (kếthừa) 'inherit',
    • tìnhyêu # <= 愛情 àiqíng (áitình) 'love',
    • ânái # <= 愛恩 ài'ēn (áiân) 'in love',
    • biệtly # <= 離別 líbié (lybiệt) 'separate',
    • đớnđau # <= 痛疼 tòngténg (thốngđông),
    • sốkiếp # <= 劫數 jiéshù (kiếpsố) 'karma',
    • đơngiản # <= 簡單 jiăndàn (giảnđơn) 'simple',
    • sảnxuất # <= 出產 chùchăn (xuấtsản) produce', etc.

      • and in many a case both forms co-exist with the same connotation.

      For the cases of phonological metathesis, they are just another form in reverse order, either with spoonerism or marrowsky in combination, both phonologically and morphemically:

    • shuāituì 衰退 'suythoái' (degrade),
    • tuìcí 推辭 'từchối' (decline),
    • dăsuàn 打算 'toantính' (intend),
    • yǒurăn 有染 'dandíu' (have an affair with),

      • etc.

      and some with syncoped and contractions in combination with methathesis,

    • jiéjiě 姊姊 'chịgái' (older sister) [ otherwise, we cannot explain why 'gái' (female) is needed here when an elder sister is called, so do 'emgái' (female younger sister', 'emtrai' (younger male brother), etc., as cited below. ],
    • mēimēi 妹妹 'emgái' (younger sister),
    • dìdì 弟弟 'emtrai' (younger brother) [ cf. 兄弟 xiōngdì: VS anhtam (brothers) ],

      • etc.

    In fact, in comparison with those of modern Mandarin equivalents, VS loanwords seem to be always in reverse order:

    • hẹnhò (dating) = # 約會 yuèhuì (ướchội, also giving rise to "ướchẹn") < huì + yè
    • tìnhyêu (love) = # 愛情 àiqíng (áitình) < qíng + ài
    • mongmuốn (wish) = # 願望 yuànwàng (nguyệnvọng) < wàng + yuàn,
    • bảxàm (nonsense) = # 三八 sānbā (tambát) < bā + sān
    • văngtục (swear) = # 俗話 súhuà (tụcthoại) < huà + sù
    • đườngcái (road) = # 街道 jièdào (cáiđại) < dào + jiè
    • conđường (route) = # 途徑 tújīng (đồkinh) < jīng + tú
    • thônlàng (village) = # 鄉村 xiāngcūn (hươngthôn) < xiāng + cūn [ also, 'làngxóm' ]
    • concái (children) = # 孩子 háizi (hàitử) < zǐ + hái
    • condao (knife) = # 刀子 dāozi (đaotử) < zǐ + dāo
    • khuônmặt (face) = # 面孔 miànkǒng (diệnkhổng) < kǒng + miàn
    • trườnghọc (school) = # 學堂 xuétáng (họcđường) < táng + xué

      • etc.

    As we all may know, this is a result of re-arrangement of syntactical order in the Vietnamese language where a modifier mostly is put after the modified. This phenomenon demonstrates clearly in synonymous dissyllabic words in which two syllables were originated from either two different Chinese characters or just one which may still convey the same original meaning if it still retains an older form and its sound has not been altered by mean of reduplication process, for example:

    • thiêngliêng (sacred) [ @& 'thiêng' 靈 líng (SV linh) + 'liêng' 靈 líng (SV linh) | M 靈 líng < MC lieŋ < OC *re:ŋ | ¶ l- ~ th- || cf. 靈地 língdì: SV linhđịa (sacred land) vs. VS 'đấtlành' (good earth) ], of which the modifer appears to functionally answer the question : 'thiêng' + what? 'thiêng+liêng', so "liêng" (variant of 'linh') 靈 líng that modifies the "thiêng", making meaning of the word clearer and more understandable due to the homonymous nature of the stand-alone monosyllabic word 靈 líng (linh). Similarly, for the doublet 'linhthiêng', mentally in the collective mind of a Vietnamese speaker, s/he would asks, "linh" + what?, "linh" is "thiêng", namely, "linh' in this case being modified by "thiêng", making the meaning of "linh" clearer by the doublet "thiêng".
    • báilạy (kowtow) [ also, 'váilạy' | @& 'vái' 拜 bài (SV bái) + 'lạy' 拜 (SV bái) | ¶ b- ~ l-, v- | Note: elaboration of this word will be similar to that of "thiêngliêng" or "linhthiêng".],
    • hưhỏng (broken) [ @& 'hư' 懷 huài (SV hoại) + 'hỏng' 懷 huài (SV hoại) ],
    • hơisức 力氣 lìqì 'strength' (SV lựckhí) [ ~ VS 'sứclực' \ @ 氣 qì ~ sức 力 lì \ 'sức' 力 lì (SV lực) + 'lực' 力 lì (SV lực) ]

      • However, that is not always the case for the reason that sometimes the boundary of the modified and modifer is blurred. In other words, some dissyllabic words still retain the original order as they were first loaned, for instance:

    • mùmắt 盲目 mángmù (blind) and its alternate extended form "mùquáng" (blindly),
    • mắtkính 眼鏡 yănjìng (eyeglasses) [ also, VS 'mắtkiếng'. cf. Hainanese 目鏡 /mat7keŋ5/ ],
    • căngthẳng 緊張 jǐnzhāng (stressful),
    • siêngnăng 勤勉 qínmiăn (industrious),
    • cảgan 大膽 dàdăn (daring),
    • cuốnghọng (~ 'cổhọng') 喉嚨 hóulóng (throat),
    • sạchsẽ 清潔 qīngjié (clean),

      • etc.

    (2) Local innovations

    Other common linguistic phenomena in word coinage in V, such as combining ancient roots with modern words, applying concepts of certain words to other words, syncoping, or adding new elements, is local innovation as it has happened in other languages as well.

    • lịchsự 歷事 lìshì (VS polite),
    • nhansắc 顏色 yánsè (beauty),
    • tửtế 仔細 zǐxì (VS kindness),
    • thậmtệ 甚鄙 shènbì (VS scold despicably),
    • lẽsống 理想 líxiăng (ideal),
    • bênhvực 包庇 bāobì (be on one's side),
    • ănnhậu 應酬 yìngchóu (have a drink),
    • hiệnnay 現在 xiànzài (SV: hiệntại) (at present),
    • múarối 目偶戲 mù'ǒuqì (puppetry),
    • dêxồm 淫蟲 yínchóng (~ 'quĩrâuxanh') (lecherous),
    • bahoa 大話 dàhuà (boasting),
    • hoatay 花手 huāshǒu (skillful),
    • khéotay 巧手 qiáoshǒu (a dab hand),
    • togan 大膽 dàdăn (daring),
    • cảlũ 大伙 dàhuǒ (whole group),
    • bắtcóc 綁架 băngjià (kidnap),
    • trờinắng 太陽 tàiyáng (sunny),
    • chồmhổm 犬坐 quánzuò (SV khuyểntoạ) (squat),
    • hiếuthảo 孝順 xiàoshùn (SV hiếuthuận) (piety),
    • suônsẻ 順利 shùnlì (SV thuậnlợi) (conveniently),
    • hoàicông 費工 fèigōng (SV phícông) (wasting time),
    • chơigái 嫖妓 piāojī (patronize prostitute), etc.

    Many other words have evolved and further expanded their meanings beyond what was originally conveyed if those secondary meanings have not already existed in the original loanwords (See (6) below for their original meanings.):

    • caothấp: 高低 gāodì (high+low=height) => 'rank in a competition',
    • nặngnhẹ: # 輕重 qīngzhòng (light+heavy=weight) => 'reprimand',
    • tonhỏ: 大小 dàxiăo (large+small=size) => 'whisper in somebody's ear',
    • trêndưới: 上下 shàngxià (above+below=position) => 'hiearchy in roles',
    • xagần: 遠近 yuănjìn (far+near=distance) => 'everywhere',

      • etc.

    (3) Integration and combination

    Combinations of words with both sounds of ancient and modern pronunciations or with both Sinitic-Vietnamese and Sino-Vietnamese words:

    • chàilưới: 羅 luó 'net fishing' (SV: la, VS lưới, in ancient time it read as *jrai, so we have "chài + lưới"),
    • xecộ (~ 'cỗxe'): 車 chē 'carriage' (SV: xa, VS xe, in ancient time it read as 居 SV cư, VS cộ, with the radical 古, so we have "xe + cộ" and "cỗ + xe") [ Note: 車 chē is also pronounced as jū when referring to a Chinese checker piece. ],
    • giờgiấc: 時間 shíjiān 'time' (SV thờigian)
    • thìgiờ: 時晨 shíshén (period of time) [ also, 'thờigiờ' < @& 'thì 時 shí' + 'giờ 時 shí' ],
    • giờnày: 今兒 jīnr 'now' [ also, 'giờđây' ],
    • sứclực: 力氣 lìqì 'strength' [ 力 lì, SV: lực, @& 力 sức + 力 lực],
    • sinhđẻ: 生育 shēngyù 'reproductive' [ @ '生產 shēngchăn': SV sanhsản \ @ 產 chăn ~ 'sinh' 生 shēng + 'đẻ' 生 shēng \ Hainanese /te1/],
    • củacải: 財產 cáichăn 'property' [ 財 cái, SV tài, @& 'của 財 cái' + 'cải 財 cái' ]

      • etc.

    (4) Permanent word formation made up with associated classifiers

    • (một) giấcmơ: 一場夢 yī chăngmèng (a dream),
    • (một) bórau (cải): 一把菜 yī bă cài (a bunch of vegetable),
    • (một) đoáhoa: 一朵花 yī duǒhuā (a flower),
    • (một) cănphòng: 一間房子 (a room), etc.

    (5) Assimilation

    Word formation evolved from the sandhi process of assimilation to associate one concept with another morpheme:

    • ănđòn 挨打: ăidă 'get punishment',
    • ăntiền 贏錢: yínqián 'win a bet',
    • ănnhậu 應酬: yìngchóu 'eat and drink',
    • ănnăn 慇恨: yīnhèn 'remorse',
    • bỏphí 白費: báifèi 'waste',
    • bỏphiếu 投票: tóupiào 'cast a vote',
    • bỏdấu 標調: biāodiào 'put a diacrital tonal mark',
    • chođến 直到: zhídào 'until',
    • đếnnỗi 至於: zhìyú 'go so far as',
    • hốihận 後悔: hòuhuǐ 'regret',
    • làmlại 再來: zàilái 'do it again',
    • muavé 買票: măipiào 'buy ticket',

      • etc.

    (6) Analogical word formation

    If a Vietnamese word is derived from a word of Chinese origin, chances are that an antonym of it is also from the same source, of which both word-syllables make up a dissyllabic word:

    • buồnvui: 悲歡 bēihuān (sorrow+joyous=state of mind),
    • caothấp: 高低 gāodì (high+low=height),
    • #nặngnhẹ: 輕重 qīngzhòng (light+heavy=weight),
    • khóccười: 哭笑 kùxiào (cry+laugh=sentiment),
    • dàingắn: 長短 chángduăn (long+short=length),
    • gầymập: 瘦肥 shòuféi (skinny+fat=shape),
    • tonhỏ: 大小 dàxiăo (large+small=size),
    • trêndưới: 上下 shàngxià (above+below=position),
    • sớmmuộn: 早晚 zăowăn (early+late=sooner or later),
    • sốngchết: 生死 shēngsǐ (life+death=living condition),

      • etc.

    (7) Sound omission or contraction and syncope

    It is not unusual to see that many monosyllabic words in Vietnamese correspond to only those polysyllabic equivalents in Chinese. That is the result of sound ommission, contraction, drop, and syncope. This sound change phenomenon can be the product of localization, innovation, simplification, contamination, or retention of old pronunciation or meanings. However, that is not always the case because, as in those examples marked with * after a word in the illustrations below, many of the loanwords had been originally monosyllabic in Chinese then later they evolved into mergers and compounds in dissyllabic forms to avoid being homonymous.

    Similar to each Chinese monosyllabic character as a morphemic-syllable, the Vietnamese basic syllabic stem 'tiếng' (聲) -- that embraces all the concepts morpherme-character-word in one unit -- functions as compound word builder. It characterizes itself as an independent entity by either retaining the Chinese original form or adjusting the polysyllabic development to the minimum and not distorting the signified connotation despite of changes in the original source, that is, Chinese. Here are some examples:

    • ngô: *玉(米) yùmǐ (corn),
    • bắp: ® 苞米 bāo​mǐ (corn),
    • cùibắp: 苞穀 bāo​gǔ (corncob),
    • câybắp: 棒子 bàngzǐ (corn ),
    • đốkhỏi: ® 躲不開 duǒbúkāi (unavoidable) [ Also, 'tránhkhôngkhỏi' ],
    • mấtdạy: ® 沒教養 méijiàoyăng (uneducated),
    • mấtmặt: ® 沒面子 méimiànzǐ (losing face),
    • nhỏmọn: ® 小心眼 xiăoxīnyăn (narrow minded),
    • rác (® rácrưới): 垃圾 lāji (garbage),
    • lỡ (® nhầmlỡ): 錯誤* cuòwù (make a mistake),
    • bỏ (® trừbỏ): 廢除 fèichú (eliminate),
    • soigương: ® 照鏡子 zhàojìngzǐ (look in the mirror),
    • bác: *伯(伯) bó(bó) (uncle, father's older brother),
    • chú: *叔(叔) shù(shù) (uncle, father's younger brother),
    • cậu: *舅(父)* jìufù (uncle, mother's younger brother),
    • (cậu) mợ: (舅)母* jìumǔ (aunt, uncle's wife),
    • (cô) dượng: (姑)丈* gùzhàng (uncle, aunt's husband'),
    • mòn(nhẵn): *磨光 móguāng (worn-out),
    • thầy: (老)師* lăoshī (teacher),
    • gả: (出)嫁* chūjià (daughter married out),
    • rể: (女)婿* nǚxū (son-in-law),
    • dâu: *媳(婦): xífu (daughter-in-law),
    • cảbọn(người): ® 大幫(人) dàbāngrén (a bunch of people),
    • nay (giờnày): ® 今兒 jīnr (now),
    • đang: ® 正在 zhèngzài (being in progress) [ @ 當 dāng (SV đang) ].

    In many cases, when sound omission occurred to the same dissyllabic word in both languages, the Chinese language took on the original monosyllabic one, i.e., the one that had existed prior to the development of an equivalent dissyllabic word, while Vietnamese might took on a later developed sound and adopted it as the main word and, in some other cases, it was assimilated with another word and either one was retained, for instance,

    • 耳朵 ěrduō 'lỗtai' (eardrum) ~;> duō for 'tai' (ear),
    • 隱私 yǐnsī 'riêngtư' (private) ~;> yǐn for 'riêng' (personal),
    • 黑暗 hēi'àn 'tốităm' (darkness) ~;> hēi for 'tối' (night),
    • 應酬 yìngchóu 'ănnhậu' (eat and drink) ~;> 'nhậu' 酬 chóu (drink wine) [ while 'ăn' is associated with chī 吃 (eat) ],
    • 喉嚨 hóulóng 'cổhọng' (throat) ~;> 喉 hóu 'cổ' (neck),
    • 黃金 huángjīn '(kim)vàng' (gold) ~;> 黃 huáng 'vàng' (gold <~ 'yellow'),
    • 銅板 tóngbăn 'đồngbạc' (monetary unit) ~;> 銅 tóng 'đồng' ($) [ Note: now modern Chinese transliterates '$' back as 噸 dùn (SV đốn) or 盾 dùn (SV thuẫn' ]. Meanwhile, the conceptual syllabic-word 'bạc' is obviously contaminated with 'bạchngân' 白銀 báiyín 'white silver', and 'đồngbạc' is in turn associated with 錢幣 qiánbì (SV tiềntệ) VS 'tiềnbạc' (currency), etc.

    (8) Influence from other Chinese dialects

    Chinese characters are pronounced differently in all dialects, almost unintelligibly to one another, and oftentimes they even have different pronunciations within a dialect ('subdialect') just as it does in Vietnamese, i.e., northern, northern-central, central, southern subdialects. Moreover, a Chinese character many a time appears to have evolved into multiple sounds in Vietnamese, partly because they had been pronounced according to different dialectal sources that were synchronously introduced into the target language by all regional resettlers from the mainland throughout different periods in the past, e.g.,

    • Beijing: 啥 shá (VS gì, sao 'what, how'),
    • Taiwanese: 早 zăo (VS chào, sớm 'hello'),
    • Fukienese: /bat7/ (VS know,
    • Hainanese: ? [gai2mi5] (VS cáigì 'what'),
    • Shanghainese: 垃圾 [lᴀ2ɕi4] (VS rácrưới 'garbage'),

      • etc.

    We can find some other peculiar characteristics found in each Chinese dialect, including Mandarin, in Vietnamese besides the overall features such as morphology, phonology, or idiomatic expressions, which they all have in common. For example, the Vietnamese second tone, equivalent to Chinese shangsheng or rising tones, at the lower register such as that of “õ”, that is somewhat similar to nasalized final vowels in Fukienese or Chaozhou, i.e., /ẽ/, /ã/, /ĩ/, etc., and those of Beijing dialect suffix -er 兒, e.g.

    • Beijing: 明兒 míngr [mĩə] (VS mai ‘tomorrow’),
    • Beijing: 娘兒 niángr [njãə] (VS nạ ‘mom’),
    • Chaozhou: 羊 yáng [jẽ] (VS dê ‘sheep’),
    • Chaozhou: 餠 bǐng [pjẽ] (VS bía ‘cake’),
    • Fukienese: 囝 jiăn [kjã] (VS con 'son'),
    • Fukienese: ? [swã] (VS soài 'mango' [ Note: plausibly cognate to 檨 shé (mango) ],

      • etc.
    <
    or tonal system in the Hunan dialect, as accented in Mao Zedong's Mandarin, reminds us that of Huế dialect of Vietnamese, etc. For the phonetic nasalized instances in the Minnan subdialects, see more citations below.

    The fact that Mandarin sound is selected in this paper to represent modern Chinese is not only a matter of convenience but, oftentimes, it is useful to make comparative analysis to see how sound changes from the same source turn out to be in two different languages, i.e., Mandarin and Vietnamese. That does not always mean that Vietnamese words directly originated only from those of Mandarin because they might have also originated from other Chinese dialects. However, there is strong evidence that modern Vietnamese appears to have some surprising similarities with Mandarin, at least some vernacular version of its northern subdialects (cf. Mandarin as being spoken in the Southwest regions of China as in Yunnan, Sichuan, Guangxi, Hunan, etc., and its Baihua 白話 verson of a northern dialect as used in the Six Great Chinese Classical novels showing their great similarities), for instance,

    • 這 zhèi 'this, here': đây ~ nầy ~ ni,
    • 那 nà, nèi ‘that, there’: đấy ~ đó ~ nớ,
    • 早 zăo 'hello' chào,
    • 膝蓋 xīgài ‘knee’: đầugối,
    • 所以 suóyǐ 'therefore': chonên,
    • 於是 yúshì 'as a result': vìthế,
    • 陌生 mòshēng 'unfamiliar': lạlùng,
    • 生氣 shēngqì 'angry': tứcgiận,
    • 馬上 măshàng 'immediately': mauchóng,
    • 起碼 qǐmă 'at least': ítra,
    • 體諒 tǐliàng 'pardon': thalỗi,
    • 見諒 jiànliàng 'sorry': xinlỗi,
    • 見過 jiànguò 'greet': chàohỏ,
    • 體會 tǐhuì 'understanding': thấuhiểu,

      • etc.,

    all appears as they have been just "twisted sound" of the original Mandarin pronunciations, probably a result of association and corruption due to competence and perfomance coloquially.

    It is noted that average Vietnamese speakers always find it harder to understand the language of 17th century Vietnamese literary work than they could do with the six great Chinese classic novels written in the 12th century onward that could be read and translated with ease by Chinese learners of Vietnamese descent. It is said that for Vietnamese speakers if they learn to recognize 3000 bare individual Chinese characters can enjoy reading Luo Guanzhong's Romance of the Three Kingdoms, because many compounds have been built with those individually single characters, interestingly, in both languages, so to speak. That is another subject matter for Vietnamese linguits to discuss.

    Also, it is interesting to see that some other sounds of cetain words in southern Chinese dialects that were of the same native roots would resemble pronunciations of certain Vietnamese words, for example,

    • 芒果 mángguǒ (modern Mandarin ‘mango’), but in Fukienese ‘mango’ is /swã/ (IPA "~"signifying nasalization), in Vietnamese it is soài, plausibly cognate to 檨 shé,
    • 舌 shě (tongue) ~ Cant. 肋 /lei2/ and Vietnamese lưỡi [ VS 'lưỡi' 脷 lěi (lợi) ~ Cant./lei/ ~ M 脷 lěi, lì ~ M 利 lì < MC lɪ < OC *rhijs ],
    • 囝 jiān (~ 子 zǐ) ’child’ Fukienese (Amoy) [kẽ], Hananese [ke1], Vietnamese con,
    • 羊 yáng ‘sheep’ Chaozhou dialect [jẽ], Vietnamese dê [je1],
    • 耕 gēng ’plow’ Chaozhou [kẽ], Vietnamese cày,
    • ? biết 'know' (?) Hananese /bat7/, Fukienese /paiʔ/, Amoy /bat/ ‘to know, to recognize’, Vietnamese biết,
    • 生 shēng 'give birth', Hainanese /te1/, Vietnamese đẻ,
    • 屙 ē 'to poop', Cant. /o5/, Vietnamese ỉa,, [ also, VS 'ốm' (ill) ]
    • 屌 diào /tjew3/ Cant. 'fuck', Vietnamese đéo,

      • etc.

    The examples above manifest the lowest linguistic stratum of Vietnamese in which words of the same root shared by the native or the Yue people -- aka the so-called 'Austroasiatic' in modern terminology -- are still in use by their mixed descendants at present day while other words might have been variants of either direct influence from one isogloss to the other, or they are merely a uniform result of sound changes.

    Other cognates can also be found in daily common words such as

    • thấy: 睇 dì (?) /tej3/ (Cant.) 'see'
    • đụng: 碰 pèng 'touch'
    • bàntay: 手板 shǒubăn 'palm' [ literally, 'table of the hand' ],
    • bànchân: 腳板 jiăobăn 'sole of the foor' [ literally, 'table of the foot' ],
    • mò (~ 'sờ', & 'sờmó'): 摸 mó 'feel by hand'
    • chạy: 走 zǒu 'run' [ also, 'đi' (walk), cf. 去 qù (go) ],
    • dù: 要 yào [ or 'dầu' with the connotation of 'nếu' (if), cf. 若 ruò (if) ],
    • đừng: 甭 péng (Beijing) 'not to'
    • mai: 明兒 mínr (Beijing) 'tomorrow'
    • nay: 今兒 jīnr (Beijing) 'now'
    • luônluôn: 老老 láoláo (Beijing) 'always'
    • gàtrống: 雞公 /koi1kong1/ (Hainanese and Fukienese, ancient Cant.) 'rooster',
    • gàmái 雞母 /koi1mai2/ (Hainanese and Fukienese, ancient Cant.) 'hen',
    • cùlét (?):/ka2lɛt7/ (Hainanese) (= 'thọclét' ~ 'chọccười' ~ M 逗笑 dòuxiào) 'tickle', etc.

    Examples like those are numerous. They are worth discussing individually by line items in a manner much more elaborate than simple listings of corresponding phonetic patterns as such. Needless to say, in our contemporary era, technology savvy linguists equiped with some knowledge of database management can tabulate raw data and be able to deliver some advantageous edges over those who don't because Western conventional tools could only assist them in general terms. The Vietnamese historical phonology demand specialists to master more before expecting meaningful achievement from this linguistic field. The sound change rules from Old Chinese to modern Chinese and Vietnamese occurred throughout differenent stages prior to what they appear nowadays.

    It is controversial, though, that the cited words above carry so heavy the cultural influence from China that they should not be used to establish affiliated kinship with Chinese. That is to say, only common basic words count; here we go again hearing the same old broken records being played. Additionally, many linguists prefer to eliminate obvious Chinese loanwords and other linguistic aspects like grammar and phonology, etc. They insist to work only with residues of what is left over called "fundamentally basic words" that are regarded as of non-Han (non-Chinese) origin. As it turns out, however, they might have never suspected that most basic words really are cognate to those of Sino-Tibetan etymologies. When in doubt, simply refer to Shafer's Sino-Tibetan wordlists (see Chapter 10).

    They are results of sound changes and those extant doublets are multifaceted in both time and space as pointed out by Nguyễn Ngọc San in the enumeration in Chapter 11. According to the author (NNS. 1993. Ibid. p. 5), today's Vietnamese evolved from the foundation of what spoken 1,000 years ago when the Hán-Việt (SV) pronunciation emerged from Middle Chinese, not what beyond that period. For example, words of Classical Chinese used in literary works are pronounced differently from words of certain vernacular speech, say, languages of the Imperial Court spoken by the mandarins and they in turn were variants from an older form known as Old Chinese or Ancient Chinese. In fact, as illustrated throughout this paper, words having Chinese roots could enter synchronously into Vietnamese in different periods. Such phenomenon had long been noticed by Haudricourt (1961) and already noted by the late renown etymological linguist Starostin, and many other Sinologists such as Wang Li and Nguyễn Tài-Cẩn.

    Renown linguist Cao Xuân Hạo (2001) argued that there exist no such thing as the so-called "pure-Vietnamese words", which might extend to all fundamentally basic ancient Viet-Muong and Mon-Khmer words extant in Vietnamese as discussed in the previous chapters. At the same time, nevertheless, should the fact that the overwhelming Chinese linguistic entities presented so far not be used to constitute as prominent components that make up the Vietnamese language, what is it then to be recognized as main integral substances of the Vietnamese language ? Lexically, they are actually variations of more than 90% of Chinese origin mixed with those words from different sources. Note that the given percentage, admittedly, is only an estimate made by the author by sampling those Vietnamese words that happen to have been postulated as having the Chinese origin without taking into consideration of the frequency of their usage. The scaled-down given number is obtained by taking samples in random pages from a Vietnamese dictionary. Whether the exact number could be accurately obtained or not, the point to be made here is that many Vietnamese are of Chinese origin, hence, called Sinitic-Vietnamese herein. Having gone this far, we attempted to prove that stated point based on what we have induced from the sound change patterns as selectively illustrated throughout this survey that is the core of this research.

    In the academic point of view, lexicographically, it is no doubt that, from relatively complete and reliably verifiable listings with solid grammatically phonological rules as similar with mostly Sino-Tibetan and Han etymologies, we could eventually finalize the first Vietnamese dictionary ever to be complete in a very near future.

    By at