Vietnamese pronouns
Encyclopedia
Vietnamese pronouns can act as substitutions for noun phrase
. While true pronouns exist in Vietnamese, most are rarely used in polite speech. In most cases, kinship terminology
is used when referring to oneself, the audience, or a third party. These terms might differ slightly in different regions. Many of them are derived from Chinese loanwords, but have acquired the additional grammatical function of being pronouns over the years.
Vietnamese terms of reference can reveal the social relationship between the speaker and the person being referred to, differences in age, and even the attitude of the speaker toward that person. Thus a speaker must carefully assess these factors to decide the appropriate term. It's not unusual for strangers to ask each other about age when they first meet, in order to establish the proper terms of address to use.
and number
.
The table below shows the first class of pronouns that can be preceded by pluralizer.
The first person tôi is the only pronoun that can be used in polite speech. The second person ta is often used when talking to oneself as in a soliloquy, but also indicates a higher status of the speaker (such as that of a high official, etc.). The other superior-to-inferior forms in the first and second persons (tao, mày, mi, bay) are commonly used in familiar social contexts, such as among family members (e.g. older sister to younger sister, etc.); these forms are otherwise considered impolite. The third person form nó (used to refer to animals, children, and scorned adults, such as criminals) is considerably less arrogant than the second person forms tao, mày, mi, bay. The pronoun mình is used only in intimate relationships, such as between husband and wife.
The pronominal forms in the table above can be modified with chúng as in chúng mày, chúng nó. There is an exclusive/inclusive plural distinction in the first person: chúng tôi and chúng tao are exclusive (i.e., me and them but not you), chúng ta and chúng mình are inclusive (i.e., you and me). Some of the forms (ta, mình, bay) can be used to refer to a plural referent, resulting in pairs with overlapping reference (e.g., both ta and chúng ta mean "inclusive we").
The other class of pronouns are knowns as "absolute" pronouns (Thompson 1965). These cannot be modified with the pluralizer chúng. Many of these forms are literary and archaic, particularly in the first and second person.
Unlike the first type of pronoun, these absolute third person forms (y, hắn, va) refer only to animate referents (typically people). The form y can be preceded by the pluralizer in southern dialects in which case it is more respectful than nó. The absolute pronoun người ta has a wider range of reference as "they, people in general, (generic) one, we, someone".
Kinship terms are "inherited" from parents if it is unclear what to refer to someone. For example, two cousins whose mothers are sisters will call each other using the kinship terms appropriate for siblings: the one whose mother is younger will have a lower rank (em) than the one whose mother is older (chị, anh) regardless of their ages. Sometimes, old people assume the rank of their children in referring to others (for example, in the case of calling a slightly younger woman cô or a younger man chú) . Spouses have equal rank in each respective side. If two people are related to each other in more than one way (for example, by marriage), the rank of the closest relationship is used. This hierarchy might lead to awkward situations where an older person refers to a younger person using a term usually used for older people, such as ông. In Vietnamese there is a proverb: Bé bằng củ khoai, cứ vai mà gọi (Small as a potato, but call by rank).
, Japanese
, and Korean
languages, tend to deprecate their position while elevating the audience. While many of these terms are now obsolete, some remain in widespread usage. The most prominent of these words is tôi, literally meaning "servant". It is used as a fairly neutral term for "I" (not very friendly, nor very formal). Tớ, also meaning "servant", is also popular among young people to refer to themselves with close friends (used in conjunction with cậu for "you").
Pronouns that elevate the audience still in use include quý khách (valued customer), quý vị (valued higher being). Bạn (friend) is also popular among young people to call each other.
Vietnamese speakers also refer to themselves and others by name where it would be strange if used in English, eliminating the need for personal pronouns altogether. For example, consider the following conversation:
Directly translated into English, the conversation would run thus:
A normal translation of the conversation into English would be:
While always referring to oneself or the audience by name would be considered strange in English, in Vietnamese it is considered friendly, and is the preferred way to converse among close friends (however, in a kinship context, people with a lower rank can not refer to their superiors by name).
Noun phrase
In grammar, a noun phrase, nominal phrase, or nominal group is a phrase based on a noun, pronoun, or other noun-like word optionally accompanied by modifiers such as adjectives....
. While true pronouns exist in Vietnamese, most are rarely used in polite speech. In most cases, kinship terminology
Kinship terminology
Kinship terminology refers to the various systems used in languages to refer to the persons to whom an individual is related through kinship. Different societies classify kinship relations differently and therefore use different systems of kinship terminology - for example some languages...
is used when referring to oneself, the audience, or a third party. These terms might differ slightly in different regions. Many of them are derived from Chinese loanwords, but have acquired the additional grammatical function of being pronouns over the years.
Vietnamese terms of reference can reveal the social relationship between the speaker and the person being referred to, differences in age, and even the attitude of the speaker toward that person. Thus a speaker must carefully assess these factors to decide the appropriate term. It's not unusual for strangers to ask each other about age when they first meet, in order to establish the proper terms of address to use.
True pronouns
True pronouns are categorized into two classes depending on whether they can be preceded by the plural marker chúng or các. Like other Asian pronominal systems, Vietnamese pronouns indicate the social status between speakers and other persons in the discourse in addition to grammatical personGrammatical person
Grammatical person, in linguistics, is deictic reference to a participant in an event; such as the speaker, the addressee, or others. Grammatical person typically defines a language's set of personal pronouns...
and number
Grammatical number
In linguistics, grammatical number is a grammatical category of nouns, pronouns, and adjective and verb agreement that expresses count distinctions ....
.
The table below shows the first class of pronouns that can be preceded by pluralizer.
| Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
| First person | tôi (could be formal) | chúng tôi (excluding the addressed subject) |
| ta (neutral, non-formal) | chúng ta (including the addressed subject) | |
| tao (superior to inferior, familiar) | chúng tao (vulgar, excluding the addressed subject) | |
| mình (intimate) | mình or chúng mình (intimate, including the addressed subject) | |
| Second Person | mày or mi (superior to inferior, familiar) | bay, chúng mày, tụi mày (superior to inferior, familiar) |
| Third Person | nó (superior to inferior, familiar) | chúng nó |
The first person tôi is the only pronoun that can be used in polite speech. The second person ta is often used when talking to oneself as in a soliloquy, but also indicates a higher status of the speaker (such as that of a high official, etc.). The other superior-to-inferior forms in the first and second persons (tao, mày, mi, bay) are commonly used in familiar social contexts, such as among family members (e.g. older sister to younger sister, etc.); these forms are otherwise considered impolite. The third person form nó (used to refer to animals, children, and scorned adults, such as criminals) is considerably less arrogant than the second person forms tao, mày, mi, bay. The pronoun mình is used only in intimate relationships, such as between husband and wife.
The pronominal forms in the table above can be modified with chúng as in chúng mày, chúng nó. There is an exclusive/inclusive plural distinction in the first person: chúng tôi and chúng tao are exclusive (i.e., me and them but not you), chúng ta and chúng mình are inclusive (i.e., you and me). Some of the forms (ta, mình, bay) can be used to refer to a plural referent, resulting in pairs with overlapping reference (e.g., both ta and chúng ta mean "inclusive we").
The other class of pronouns are knowns as "absolute" pronouns (Thompson 1965). These cannot be modified with the pluralizer chúng. Many of these forms are literary and archaic, particularly in the first and second person.
| Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
| First person | min (familiar, literary) | choa (literary) |
| qua (male to female, literary) | ||
| thiếp (female to male, literary) | ||
| trẫm (king to mandarins, archaic) | ||
| Second Person | bậu (female to male, literary) | – |
| chàng (female to male, literary) | ||
| Third Person | y (familiar) | người ta |
| hắn (familiar) | ||
| va (familiar) |
Unlike the first type of pronoun, these absolute third person forms (y, hắn, va) refer only to animate referents (typically people). The form y can be preceded by the pluralizer in southern dialects in which case it is more respectful than nó. The absolute pronoun người ta has a wider range of reference as "they, people in general, (generic) one, we, someone".
Kinship terms
Kinship terms are the most popular ways to refer to oneself and others. Anyone can be referred to using kinship terms, not just people who are related. For example, lovers referring to each other as anh (elder brother) and em (younger sibling) can sound incestuous in Western languages, but is perfectly normal (and expected) in Vietnamese. The Vietnamese kinship terms are quite complicated. While there is some flexibility as to which kinship terms should be used for people not related to the speaker, there is often only one term to use for people related by blood or marriage, for up to three generations. Some of the kinship terms are:| Term | Reciprocal | Literal meaning | Non-kinship usage | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| cha | con | father | a priest | Many other terms are used, depending on the dialect: ba, bố, tía, thầy |
| mẹ | con | mother | mẹ is the Northern form, má is used in the South. Many other terms are used, depending on the dialect: u, bầm, mạ | |
| anh | em | older brother | an older man of the same generation; the man in a romantic relationship; a man (formal use) | Can be used to address any male regardless of status. e.g. By military personnel to those of lower ranks. |
| chị | em | older sister | an older woman of the same generation; a woman (formal use) | |
| em | anh or chị | younger sibling or cousin of the same generation | a younger person of the same generation; a child; the woman in a romantic relationship | |
| con | cha, mẹ, bà, etc. | one's child | a young child; a person at least one generation younger | |
| cháu | ông, bà, bác, chú, etc. | grandchild; niece; nephew; cousin of junior generations | a young child; a person at least one generation younger | |
| ông | cháu or con | grandfather | a middle-aged man | paternal and maternal grandfathers are differentiated as ông nội ("internal grandfather") and ông ngoại ("external grandfather"), respectively |
| bà | cháu or con | grandmother | a middle-aged (married) woman | paternal and maternal grandmothers are differentiated as bà nội ("internal grandmother") and bà ngoại ("external grandmother"), respectively |
| cô | cháu | father's sister | a female teacher, an older woman as old as one's father, a young (usually unmarried) woman (formal) | in some dialects, literal meaning is restricted to father's younger sister |
| chú | cháu | father's younger brother | an older man as old as one's father, a slightly younger man (formal) | in some dialects, literal meaning is restricted to father's younger brother |
| thím | cháu | chús wife | ||
| bác | cháu | a parent's older sibling | a person older than one's parents | in some dialects, can also refer to father's elder brother or sister as well as mother's elder brother or sister |
| dì | cháu | mother's sister, stepmother | a woman as old as one's mother, | in some dialects, literal meaning is restricted to mother's younger sister |
| cậu | cháu | mother's brother | a man as old as one's mother, a close friend (Northern variety) | in some dialects, literal meaning is restricted to mother's younger brother |
| mợ | cháu | cậus wife | in some dialects, used by the husband to refer to his wife, children to refer to mother, or parents-in-law to refer to a daughter-in-law | |
| dượng | cháu | the husband of cô or dì, stepfather | ||
| cụ/cố | cháu | great-grandparent | a very old person | |
| sơ | cháu | great-great-grandparent | ||
| họ | clan | they | third person plural for a group of people |
Kinship terms are "inherited" from parents if it is unclear what to refer to someone. For example, two cousins whose mothers are sisters will call each other using the kinship terms appropriate for siblings: the one whose mother is younger will have a lower rank (em) than the one whose mother is older (chị, anh) regardless of their ages. Sometimes, old people assume the rank of their children in referring to others (for example, in the case of calling a slightly younger woman cô or a younger man chú) . Spouses have equal rank in each respective side. If two people are related to each other in more than one way (for example, by marriage), the rank of the closest relationship is used. This hierarchy might lead to awkward situations where an older person refers to a younger person using a term usually used for older people, such as ông. In Vietnamese there is a proverb: Bé bằng củ khoai, cứ vai mà gọi (Small as a potato, but call by rank).
Third-person forms of kinship terms
Some kinship terms can be modified to a third person form by pronouncing them in the ngã tone (mid rising, glottalised; indicated in writing by a tilde (~) over the vowel) instead of a ngang (level) tone. Examples include ãnh, ỗng, and cỗ. This is only possible for terms that are pronounced in the ngang tone. These third-person forms are never used to refer to relatives in the third-person.Non-kinship terms used as pronouns
In Vietnamese, virtually any noun used for a person can be used as a pronoun. These terms usually don't serve multiple roles like kinship terms (i.e. the term has only one grammatical person meaning). Words such as "doctor", "teacher", "owner", etc. can be used as a second-person personal pronoun when necessary. When referring to themselves, Vietnamese speakers, like speakers of ChineseChinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
, Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
, and Korean
Korean language
Korean is the official language of the country Korea, in both South and North. It is also one of the two official languages in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in People's Republic of China. There are about 78 million Korean speakers worldwide. In the 15th century, a national writing...
languages, tend to deprecate their position while elevating the audience. While many of these terms are now obsolete, some remain in widespread usage. The most prominent of these words is tôi, literally meaning "servant". It is used as a fairly neutral term for "I" (not very friendly, nor very formal). Tớ, also meaning "servant", is also popular among young people to refer to themselves with close friends (used in conjunction with cậu for "you").
Pronouns that elevate the audience still in use include quý khách (valued customer), quý vị (valued higher being). Bạn (friend) is also popular among young people to call each other.
Vietnamese speakers also refer to themselves and others by name where it would be strange if used in English, eliminating the need for personal pronouns altogether. For example, consider the following conversation:
- John: Mary đang làm gì vậy?
- Mary: Mary đang gọi Joe. John có biết Joe ở đâu không?
- John: Không, John không biết Joe ở đâu hết.
Directly translated into English, the conversation would run thus:
- John: What is Mary doing?
- Mary: Mary is calling Joe. Does John know where Joe is?
- John: No, John doesn't know where Joe is.
A normal translation of the conversation into English would be:
- John: What are you doing?
- Mary: I am calling Joe. Do you know where he is?
- John: No, I don't know where he is.
While always referring to oneself or the audience by name would be considered strange in English, in Vietnamese it is considered friendly, and is the preferred way to converse among close friends (however, in a kinship context, people with a lower rank can not refer to their superiors by name).
Obsolete pronouns
Some pronouns are no longer commonly used, such as the royal we trẫm. Many of them are no longer applicable because they refer to royalties, and Vietnam is no longer a monarchy. Some archaic pronouns include:- trẫm - used by the monarch to refer to him or herself
- khanh - used by the monarch to address a favored subject
- bệ hạ - used by subjects when addressing the monarch
- thị - she