Korean Job Discussion Forums

[SNOTOSEOUL]

How do you pronounce the areas og, Phạm Ngũ L�o in HCMC, Da Lat, and Nha Trang...and even Saigon/HCMC. If i get a bus or train ticket it might be nice to know.

[The Sherriff]

Vietnamese is a pretty hard language. There are six tones, a variety of dialects throughout the country, and contrary to English which is spoken and pronounced using the tip of our tongues, Vietnamese is mostly spoken with the middle of the tongue, so consonants aren't very pronounced.

I tried pronouncing the tones when I was out there with very little luck (I've never spoken a tonal language before). Even simple stuff like Pho - I had trouble with (At Pho Stands!!!), they'd be like 'what is this guy asking for?'. Your best bet is to just have a notepad with you and just write the words out in English.

Written Vietnamese was Latinezed in the 16th century by some french Priest. The accent/squiggles above and below vowels actually represent tones, and tonal inflections. Each specific accent/squiggle describes which specific tone you should be using. I don't have a good resource but you should be able to find one somewhere online.

Anyways, what you were asking for:
Saigon - pronounced the way it's written (you should have much trouble, its one of the most touristed/trafficked cities in the country). Saighon.
Pham Ngu Lao - Say it fast, don't pronounce the G in Ngu. Fahm nngu Laow.
Nha Trang - Nah Chang (Tr is Ch in vietnamese)
Da Lat - I never went, but I'd assume its pronounced the way its written. Dha Lat.

Hope that helps.

[machoman]

i speak viet and to try to explain to you through words how to pronounce those cities is tough.

not only is vietnamese tonal like the sheriff said, but also the emphasis on certain syllables is important. i would just write it down for viet locals to see, don't bother trying to pronounce it.

there are 3 main accents too and those accents have HUGE differences. so yeah, just show it to them in writing.

[Riker]

[millyfrend]

I have a friend, his parents always go back to Vietnam. One year, I took a trip with them. It's a pretty easy language because most of the words is the same to English except they have the signs on top of the letters to make the word sound different. I think the best way to learn is to live with the people in Vietnam. Listen to them talk and sooner or later you'll speak like them.

South Korea or Vietnam are two destinations I would go to teach English.

[machoman]

if u go to wikipedia, they have the proper pronunciation.