Ho Chi Minh city University of Education

English Department

Cognitive Linguistics
Course 2014

END-OF-TERM ASSIGNMENT
HOW IMAGE SCHEMAS AFFECT LEARNING AND
TEACHING ESL/EFL

Full Name

: Nguyn nh Lc

Student I.D

: K37.701.052

Class

: 4B (S Phm Anh)

Lecturer

: Mr. Hunh Cng Minh Hng

VIETNAMESE AND ENGLISH INTONATIONS: A CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS

VIETNAMESE AND ENGLISH INTONATIONS: A CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS

Declaration
I certify that the attached material is my original work. No other persons work or
ideas have been used without acknowledgement. Except where I have clearly stated
that I have used some of this material elsewhere, I have not presented this for
assessment in another course or unit at this or any other institution. I have retained
a copy of this assignment.
Name/signature

Nguyn nh Lc

Date: 5/6/2014

VIETNAMESE AND ENGLISH INTONATIONS: A CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS

Contents
I. Abstract ............................................................................................... 5
II. Introduction ........................................................................................ 5
III. Literature Review .............................................................................. 5
IV. The aspect of intonation in English and Vietnamese .......................... 6
1) An overview of intonation in English ................................................................ 6
1.1) Form of intonation ........................................................................................... 6
a) Tone .................................................................................................................. 6
b) Tonality ............................................................................................................. 7
c) Tonicity.............................................................................................................. 7
1.2) Function ............................................................................................................ 7
2) An overview of intonation in Vietnam ............................................................. 8
2.1) Form .................................................................................................................. 8
a) Syllabic tone (thanh iu)................................................................................. 8
b) Intonational tone (ng iu) ............................................................................ 9
2.2) Function ............................................................................................................ 9
3) Contrastive analysis ....................................................................................... 10
3.1) Similarities ...................................................................................................... 10
3.2) Differences ..................................................................................................... 10

VI. Conclusion ....................................................................................... 10

V. Implication in teaching intonation .................................................... 11
References ............................................................................................ 12

VIETNAMESE AND ENGLISH INTONATIONS: A CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS

I. Abstract
As we know, intonation plays a rather significant role in each language,
particularly in English since it not only makes the way we speak more natural,
but also helps the listener to understand correctly the intended meanings of
our utterance. Besides, one utterance can be interpreted differently according
to the changes of intonation that we make. However, intonation is mostly
neglected when it comes to teaching pronunciation in some countries,
especially in Vietnam. This paper is, therefore, intended to indicate some
common similarities and differences of intonation between English and
Vietnamese, and then suggest some practical methods in teaching English
intonation for Vietnamese learners.

II. Introduction
- She went home with Jane yesterday.
- She went home with Jane yesterday?
When first hearing two utterances above without concerning their pitch
variations, you may find it that their lexical meanings are literally identical.
However, if we closely examine the way they are spoken, we will figure out
their functions is distinctly different. The first utterance with the rising-falling
tone functions as a statement, whereas the second one with the falling-rising
tone works as an echo question. Such an example like this can indicate that
the role of intonation in communicating in every language, particularly in
English, is rather significant. Thus, it is essential for English learners to be fully
aware of the aspect of intonation as well as apply it into communication
effectively.

III. Literature Review

What is intonation?
For many decades, there have been many different views on the term
intonation among linguists. One of the earliest ones is proposed by Jones
(1960, p. 135), who defines intonation as the variations occurring in the pitch
of the voice in connected speech. He equates these variations specifically
with pitch movements produced by vibration of the vocal cords. The pitch
appears to be the significant thread in most descriptions of intonation until
Crystal (1969, p. 195) argues that intonation is not a single system of
contours, levels, etc. Instead, He views it as a complex of features from
different prosodic systems. Next, Brazil (1994) introduces a new approach of
intonation, called Discourse intonation, as he considers it as the means
whereby we organize our language into patterns that fit the present
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VIETNAMESE AND ENGLISH INTONATIONS: A CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS

communicative need (p. 3). Finally, as for tHart, Collier, and Cohen (1990), a
convincing theory of intonation should be approached both phonetically and
linguistically in order to clarify how the melodic performance of language
users result from the interaction between his communicative intent and the
peripheral means of his vocal and perceptual apparatus (p. 2).
In the light of the foregoing views, I decide to define intonation as the
use of phonetic features to convey sentence-level pragmatic meanings in a
linguistically-structured way (Ladd, 1996, p. 6).

IV. The aspect of intonation in English and Vietnamese

1) An overview of intonation in English
1.1) Form of intonation
According to Wells (2006, p. 6), form of intonation in English consists of
three linguistic systems: tone, tonality, and tonicity.
a) Tone
Roach (1991, pp. 134-135) concisely defines tone as the overall
behavior of pitch in a syllable. However, within English intonation context, it is
normally concerned with the rise and fall of the pitch of our voice in a certain
utterance. Here is the summary of common types of tone of English:
Table 1. Typical Tones of English
Tone
1. The
falling
tone

2. The
rising tone

4. The fallrise tone

5. The
rise-fall

Symbol

Definition
The falling tone is one
which descends from
a higher to a lower
pitch.
The rising tone is a
movement from a
lower pitch to a higher
one.

The fall-rise tone is

one in which the pitch
falls and then rises.
The rise-fall tone is
one in which the pitch
rises and then fall.

Function
To
give
impression
finaliy.

Example
an A: How old are you?
of
B: Ten.

To conveys an
impression
that
something
to
follow
or
an
invitation
to
continue.
To show limited
agreement
or
response
with
reservations.
To convey rather
strong feelings of
approval,
disapproval
or
surprise.

A: Excuse me.
B: Yes?

A: Isnt she beautiful?

B: Yes, (thanks to her
make-up)
A: I just won the
lottery.
B: Great.

(adapted from Roach, 1991, pp.134-140)

VIETNAMESE AND ENGLISH INTONATIONS: A CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS

b) Tonality
Tonality is defined as the division of spoken speech into intonation
phrases or tone units, (Wells, 2006, p. 6). The tone unit may consist of one or
more syllable. Within statements, the structure of tone unit is presented as
follows:
Table 2. Structure of tone unit

Pre-head (PH)
The pre-head (PH) is
all the unstressed
syllables in a toneunit preceding 1st
stressed syllable.

TONE UNIT
Tonic syllable
Head (H)
(TS)
The head (H) is all
the part of a toneunit that extends
from
the
first
stressed syllable up
to but not including
TS.

The tonic syllable

(TS) is the syllable
which carries the
tone in a tone-unit.

Tail (T)
The tail (T) is any
syllable between the
TS and the end of
the tone unit.

(adapted from Roach, 1991, pp. 145-148)

E.g.: I go to school by
PH
H

bus everyday.
TS
T

c) Tonicity
Tonicity is referred to the tonic syllable position within the tone unit
(Roach, 1998). The tonic syllable position can be accented differently in the
speakers utterance according to the circumstances under which it is uttered
(Wells, 2006).
E.g.: - Lily is wearing a pink skirt.
- Lily is wearing a pink skirt.
The 1st statement is emphasized on whos wearing the pink skirt
whereas the 2nd one is focused on what color the skirt is.
1.2) Function
Although there have been several functions of intonation suggested by many
linguists, we will look at three basic ones:
Grammatical function: In English, each sentence type has a
fixed intonation pattern. For instance, intonation in statements
and Yes-no questions are normally falling and rising, respectively.
Additionally, intonation can help us to disambiguate various
grammatically ambiguous structures (Wells, 2006, p. 11).
Attitudinal function: It would be dull and boring if we hear
someone say talking to us with a monotonous pitch and vice

VIETNAMESE AND ENGLISH INTONATIONS: A CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS

versa. Thus, thanks to intonation, we will be able to express a

variety of emotions such as happiness, depression or surprise
Discourse function: In normal conversations, intonation
functions as the signal device to inform the listener whether the
speaker is about to finish talking and when he/she can take turn
to talk.
2) An overview of intonation in Vietnam
2.1) Form
Since Vietnamese belongs to tone languages, in which the tone can
determine the meaning of a word (Roach 1991, p. 136), its intonation is
primarily impacted and restricted by the tone system. Basically, there are two
kinds of tone in Vietnamese: syllabic tone (thanh iu) for individual words,
intonational tone (ng iu) for a whole utterance or speech (Do, 2009).
a) Syllabic tone (thanh iu)
According to Vietnamese standard dialect (Northern dialect), there are
basically six types of syllabic tones: mid-level tone (thanh ngang), low-falling
tone (thanh huyn), high-rising tone (thanh sc), low-falling-rising tone (thanh
hi), high-rising broken tone (thanh ng), and low-rising broken tone (thanh
nng). Each of these is distinguished by its register, melody and tiu ch thc
s tn ti (Le, 2004, p. 126). Heres the chart presenting six types of tone of
Vietnamese in terms of pitch level:

Chart 1. The presentation of pitch levels of the six tones in Vietnamese.

(adapted from Le, 2004, p. 127)

In writing, five of six syllabic tones has their own diacritics, which are /
(high-rising tone), \ (low-falling tone), ? (low-falling-rising tone), ~ (high-rising
broken tone), . (low-rising broken tone). And they are embedded within the

VIETNAMESE AND ENGLISH INTONATIONS: A CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS

words. The mid-level tone doesnt a diacritic, but it still can be distinguishable
with other tones.
b) Intonational tone (ng iu)
Like other languages, Vietnamese does have a tone structure for a
whole utterance or speech. Here is the brief summary of typical intonational
tone forms in Vietnamese:
Table 4. A brief description of intonational tone in Vietnamese.
No.

Intonation

short

Description

Use

Type of
sentence
strongly affirmative

In this intonation pattern,

the duration of the tone is
shorter than its inherent
duration.
long
In this intonation pattern,
the duration of the tone is
longer than its inherent
duration.
high
In this intonation pattern,
(rising)
the pitch of the tone is one
level
higher
than
its
inherent pitch.
very high In this intonation pattern,
(high
the pitch of the tone is
rising)
maximum.

finished,
assertive

low
(falling)

tentatively accept, affirmative

wait to hear more

rising
falling

In this intonation pattern,

the pitch of the tone is one
level lower than its inherent
pitch.
- In this intonation pattern,
the pitch of the tone rises to
the highest level (5), then
followed by a fall.

with
delay

hesitation,

confirm the truth

question, surprised, interrogative

want to know more,
challenge

with
sarcasm, negative,
negativism
command

(adapted from Do, 2009, p. 194)

2.2) Function
For syllabic tone, it is fundamentally used to distinguish the meanings of
words. In other words, the lexical meaning of a particular word will be changed
by substituting its syllabic tone for another.
E.g.: bn means friend.
bn means sell or half.
bn means mountainous village.
ban means committee.
bn means table or discuss.
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VIETNAMESE AND ENGLISH INTONATIONS: A CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS

For intonational tone, its basic functions like conveying ones emotions
mostly share the same features like other languages. Nevertheless, its role in
distinguishing grammatical structures in a particular utterance is not very
significant since intonation patterns for different sentence structures are not
very easily recognizable in tone languages.
3) Contrastive analysis
3.1) Similarities
In terms of form, some basic intonation patterns, such as falling and
rising tone, are approximately equivalent between English and Vietnamese,
although its pitch variation in English is more noticeable than in Vietnamese.
In terms of function, both English and Vietnamese intonations are
employed to convey the speakers emotional state, or to control turn-taking in
conversation.
3.2) Differences
In terms of form, there are two types of tone, which are syllabic tone
and intonational tone, in Vietnamese intonation while English intonation has
only the second type. In addition, tonality and tonicity occur in English, but not
in Vietnamese.
In terms of function, there are some differences between English and
Vietnamese intonations. The most recognizable one is that English tone is not
used to distinguish the lexical meaning of words while it does in Vietnamese.
Furthermore, the role of intonation in identifying grammatical or syntax
structure in Vietnamese is not as significant as it is in English. For example,
the intonation patterns for declarative and interrogative types in Vietnamese
can be nearly identical as two utterances below:
- Anh y n cm khng. (He eats only rice)
- Anh y n cm khng? (Does he want to eat?) (Do, 2009)

VI. Conclusion
In conclusion, without intonation, it is almost impossible for us to convey
our thoughts and understand those of others. However, the aspect of
intonation varies in every language, particularly in English and Vietnamese as
described above. Therefore, the contrastive analysis about intonation is truly
essential and helpful in teaching intonation. Hopefully, this essay will help
teacher to recognize some common distinctions of intonation between English
and Vietnamese and thus apply them into teaching effectively.

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VIETNAMESE AND ENGLISH INTONATIONS: A CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS

V. Implication in teaching intonation

After having indicating the recognizable differences and similarities
between English and Vietnamese intonations, I would like to suggest some
useful implications concerning teaching English intonation for foreign learners,
particularly in Vietnam.
To begin with, since Vietnamese intonation is greatly affected by the
syllabic tone rather than by the intonational tone like English one, it is rather
difficult for Vietnamese students to apply English intonation patterns in a
whole utterance. Thus, teachers should first help their students to be familiar
with intonation rules by providing them with as many practices as possible.
Next, as mentioned above, the grammatical function of intonation plays
less significant role in Vietnamese than in English. Therefore, it is advisable
that teachers should highly concentrate on that matter for their students at the
very first stage.
Finally, due to the fact that the term tonality and tonicity do not exist in
Vietnamese intonation system, it can prevent learners from being fluent and
natural in speaking English. One of the most effective ones is to offer students
many chances to listen to native speaker speech by using recorded tapes or
videos.

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VIETNAMESE AND ENGLISH INTONATIONS: A CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS

References
Brazil, D. (1994). Pronunciation for advanced learners of English (Students
book). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Crystal, D. (1969). Prosodic Systems and Intonation in English. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
Do, T. T. (2009). Ng iu ting vit. Hanoi: Hanoi National University Press.
Jones, D. (1960). An Outline of English Phonetics (9th ed.). Cambridge:
Heffer.
Ladd, D. R. (1996). Intonational Phonology. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press.
Le, Q. T. (2004). Nghin cu i chiu cc ngn ng. Hanoi: Hanoi National
University Press.
Roach, P. (1991). English phonetics and phonology (2nd ed.). Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
Wells, J. C. (2006). English intonation: An introduction. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
't Hart, J., Collier, R., & Cohen, A. (1990). A perceptual study of intonation: An
experimental-phonetic approach to speech melody. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.

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