These are the tone rules for vowels with different sounds. It's like music where only the correct sound can come from the instrument. It doesn't matter which instrument, as long as the sound follows the rules.
Note: This is a spoken language so musical pitch or lilt is not the most changed sound quality. Different voices have different musical pitches. What the speaker will change is the intensity, and time given to the sound parts for each letter (or word). If a speaker uses strong pitch changes, it will probably be for pronunciation.
Before, the alphabet was arranged from 'a to z' by foreign dictionaries, it included two letter sounds. The letters are like two letter sounds in English. 'Ch' in mechanic, or Christmas are good examples. In Viet characters the 'j'(jeh) sound has an equal (sound) that is written as 'tr'(jeh). Letters like 'Tr' used to be in every dictionary's order right in between the other alphabet letters. Another sound is 'ph'. 'Ph' is very famous - it's used in 'phở' the most famous Vietnamese soup in the world. 'Ph' is an 'f' sound, just like in English - 'phone'.
In addition to the normal alphabet consonants, there are nine possible double-letters and one triple-letter.
Because of a relationship with East Asian languages (Japanese,Chinese etc.) the Vietnamese words can be moved around in their order. The reversal of the syllable-words moves them to another position in the dictionary. Also, the syllable-words can be held behind different syllable-words - like the articles in English. It's best to use a computer query to find them.
Young Vietnamese learners will spend a lot of time with this alphabet. Correction is very common. The need for correction is used in many comedies about uneducated people. Comedies about foreigners are becoming very common too.
The reason for all the attention is how quickly the meaning will change. To say "I have a sore head, somewhere" ("đầu của tôi là đau đâu!" in Vietnamese) is nearly impossible for (foreign) learners on their first day. A learner will only hear 'dow, dow dow' or 'dough, dough, dough' or 'dow, dough, dough' which does not help when listening. The same problem can be stated in English - 'four forks for foreigners' foreheads forthwith!'
Each word in Vietnamese can be identical to another word, except for the sounds/tones/letter-changes. The sound is also identical to the ears of English speakers that allow for expression (sound changes) still.
See: Vietnam Eyes lesson on YouTube
The world includes Vietnam! So, the other letters 'j, f, w and z' are now OK to use in many places - on billboards, posters, T-shirts... But, if you work for any type of Vietnamese authority or association, then limit their use until the authority declares them as acceptable letters. But, the other alphabets that are used in English might not be accepted. For example: the Greek alphabet is very useful for English speakers - but in Vietnam it can lack meaning - it would be a decoration for the general population. Educated people will know more letters from the Greek alphabet.
Vietnamese used to be written in Chinese characters. A variety for Vietnamese is used in traditional culture. Many Chinese speakers find Vietnamese easy to grasp. The combination of two words is very common to Chinese. Example: phat am, Hong Kong/Xiong Gong etc. .
'Diphthongs' are the next most important step to understanding the use of Vietnamese letters. The combination of toned vowels as "dipthongs" and "triphthongs" makes the Vietnamese language very fast. Some phrases can be spoken clearly without a strong clarity from consonants. It's very hard for English speakers to follow the combinations of sounds, especially vowels.
There are many differences between northern and southern dialects of Vietnamese. Hanoi is the standard for northern dialects and Saigon is the standard for southern dialects.
Differences in pronunciation include
The Vietnamese keyboard is always virtual (in software). Nobody can buy a computer keyboard for Vietnamese, in Vietnam. The common QWERTY keyboard is used in Vietnam. Software programs for Vietnamese characters are very common.
The webpage is usually set to include the UTF-8 standard when using the Vietnamese alphabet. If the design of the characters is strange the designer of a web-page will set the font to plain ""Arial"". Some special fonts have been made for Vietnamese alphabets.
<script type="text/javascript">
document.write("\ta"+"\tb"+"\tc"+"\td"+"\te"+"\tg"+"\th"+"\ti"+"\tk"
+"\tl"+"\tm"+"\tn"+"\to"+"\tp"+"\tq"+"\tr"+"\ts"+"\tt"+"\tu"+"\tv"+"\tx"+"\ty"
+"\u00E0"+"\u00E1"+"\u00E2"+"\u00E3"+"\u00E8"+"\u00E9"+"\u00EA"+"\u00EC"
+"\u00ED"+"\u00F2"+"\u00F3"+"\u00F4"+"\u00F5"+"\u00F9"+"\u00FA"+"\u00FD"
+"\u0103"+"\u0111"+"\u0129"+"\u0169"+"\u01A1"+"\u01B0"+"\u1EA1"+"\u1EA3"
+"\u1EA5"+"\u1EA7"+"\u1EA9"+"\u1EAB"+"\u1EAD"+"\u1EAF"+"\u1EB1"+"\u1EB3"
+"\u1EB5"+"\u1EB7"+"\u1EB9"+"\u1EBB"+"\u1EBD"+"\u1EBF"+"\u1EC1"+"\u1EC3"
+"\u1EC5"+"\u1EC7"+"\u1EC9"+"\u1ECB"+"\u1ECD"+"\u1ECF"+"\u1ED1"+"\u1ED3"
+"\u1ED5"+"\u1ED7"+"\u1ED9"+"\u1EDB"+"\u1EDD"+"\u1EDF"+"\u1EE1"+"\u1EE3"
+"\u1EE5"+"\u1EE7"+"\u1EE9"+"\u1EEB"+"\u1EED"+"\u1EEF"+"\u1EF1"+"\u1EF3"+
"\u1EF5"+"\u1EF7"+"\u1EF9");
</script>
Some software is free to use. An open-source software program for the Vietnamese keyboard has already been written.
There are a few virtual keyboard systems to use.
Trani
Trani is a seaport city in the Apulia region of southern Italy. It is on the Adriatic Sea. Its main industries are wine-making, fishing, and mining. The number of people living in Trani in 2011 was 53,940.
The old name of Trani was or Tirenum. An old myth says that Tirenus built the city. Tirenus was the son of Diomedes, a hero in ancient Greece who fought in the Trojan War. The city was on an ancient Roman map called the "". It was the first map to show this city. The map was made in the 3rd century. At first, Trani was a very small city and not very important. It started to grow and be more important in the 9th century. At that time, the Lombards (a Germanic people) ruled Trani. Later, the Byzantine Empire ruled the city.
The Normans took over Trani from the Byzantine Empire in the 11th century. From the 11th century until the 13th century, Trani was a rich and very important city. This was especially true when the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II ruled Trani. Trani was an important port for the Knights Templar during the Crusades. People came from all over Italy to do business there. Many churches, palaces, and castles were built in Trani during this time. Many Jews lived in Trani at this time. There were 200 Jewish families and four big synagogues in the city. Isaiah di Trani, one of the most famous rabbis of the Middle Ages, lived there.
After Frederick II died in 1250, there was trouble in Trani. In the next 300 years, there were wars between the Angevins, Aragon and Venice over who should rule Trani. The city became poorer and less important. Trani was almost destroyed during the French Revolutionary Wars at the end of the 18th century. Many people in the town were against the French Revolution. In March 1799, they rioted and killed many members of the city's most important families. When the French army saw this, they attacked the city on April 1, 1799. The army killed many people and burned Trani's buildings. Over 1000 people died in the riots and the French attack.
Trani began to grow again in the middle of the 19th century. It grew even more in the 20th century. By 2011, 53,940 people lived in the city.