NGUỒN GỐC, HÌNH THÀNH GIỌNG QUẢNG NAM QUANG NAM PHONOLOGY

ANDREA HOA PHAM

NGUỒN GỐC VÀ SỰ HÌNH THÀNH
GIỌNG QUẢNG NAM
QUANG NAM PHONOLOGY & SOUND
CHANGE THROUGH CONTACT

NHÀ XUẤT BẢN ĐÀ NẴNG


In this book, Andrea Pham deploys linguistic analysis and evidence from Vietnam’s historical
record to fashion a plausible answer to the origin of otherwise puzzling properties of the Quang
Nam dialect. This variety stands out from its immediate neighbors in various ways and shares
traits with certain further removed North Central dialects such as Ha Tinh. Chief among these is
the addition of a low back unrounded vowel [ɑ] to the phonemic inventory. Through a skilled
application of phonological analysis to original fieldwork data, the author makes a good case for
her thesis that these traits arose via the migration of northern speakers from the 15th century. Once
established, the vowel low back vowel was extended to new contexts via dialect-internal
development in Quang Nam.
The book will be of interest to linguists, cultural anthropologists, and anyone concerned with the
history of Vietnam.
Michael Kenstowicz, Professor
MIT, Linguistics and Philosophy
77 Massachusetts Avenue, 32-D808
Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
Trong cuốn sách này, Andrea Pham đã sử dụng những phân tích ngơn ngữ học và chứng cứ lịch
sử của Việt Nam để đưa ra lời giải đáp xác đáng cho giả thuyết về nguồn gốc của tiếng Quảng
Nam, làm thông suốt, gỡ rối những đặc trưng khó hiểu trong giọng nói này. Giọng Quảng Nam
nổi bật so với các giọng nói chung quanh trong nhiều phương diện, nhưng lại có chung nhiều nét
với một số thổ ngữ Bắc Trung Bộ ở xa xơi như tận ngồi Hà Tĩnh. Đặc trưng quan trọng nhất là
giọng Quảng Nam có thêm một âm vị nguyên âm mới trong hệ thống, đó là ngun âm thấp, dịng

sau, khơng trịn mơi [ɑ]. Ứng dụng một cách thành thạo kỹ năng phân tích âm vị học với dữ liệu
điền dã thu được, tác giả đã đưa ra một trường hợp khả tín cho luận điểm của mình, rằng các đặc
điểm này của giọng Quảng Nam phát sinh từ các di dân phía bắc, vào vùng Quảng Nam từ thế kỷ
thứ 15. Sau khi được nhận vào hệ thống, nguyên âm [ɑ] chuyển hố trong hồn cảnh mới, thơng
qua sự phát triển nội tại của các phương ngữ ở Quảng Nam.
Cuốn sách sẽ thu hút sự quan tâm từ các nhà ngôn ngữ học, các chuyên gia về nhân học văn hoá
học1, và bất cứ ai muốn tìm hiểu về lịch sử Việt Nam.
Giáo sư Michael Kenstowicz
Khoa Ngôn ngữ và Triết học, Đại học MIT
77 Massachusetts Avenue, 32-D808
Cambridge, MA 02139, Hoa Kỳ

Cultural anthropology là một nhánh của ngành nhân chủng học nghiên cứu về văn hố, tập qn, tín ngưỡng, sự nhận
thức và tổ chức xã hội của các nhóm người.
1


The book “Quang Nam Phonology & Sound change through contact” presents a detailed analysis
of the phonology of the Quang Nam dialect. However, it also describes historical details that offer
a broader picture than just a linguistic description. The author's hypothesis is that Quang Nam
Vietnamese represents a historical migration from north-central Vietnam. Thus, this study
demonstrates how linguistic data can increase understanding of human history. It is also important
that the author is careful when she sees that the data is insufficient to make claims. Excluding
possibilities and showing gaps in the data prevents misunderstanding or false hypotheses.
Overall, this book is an effective application of both linguistic and ethnohistorical research in
Vietnam.
Mark Alves, Professor
Montgomery College (Rockville, Maryland)
Dept of ELAP, Linguistics and Communications
Cuốn sách Nguồn gốc và sự hình thành giọng Quảng Nam trình bày một phân tích chi tiết âm vị

học của phương ngữ Quảng Nam. Tuy nhiên, nó cũng mơ tả những chi tiết lịch sử. Những chi tiết
này cho thấy một bức tranh rộng lớn hơn là chỉ đơn thuần mô tả ngôn ngữ. Giả thuyết của tác giả
là phương ngữ Quảng Nam tựu thành từ những cuộc di cư lịch sử của người Việt vào từ Bắc Trung
Bộ. Vì vậy, nghiên cứu này chứng minh rằng các dữ liệu ngơn ngữ có thể làm tăng sự hiểu biết
của chúng ta về lịch sử loài người. Một điều quan trọng nữa là tác giả cẩn thận: cơ ấy viết rõ khi
thấy rằng khơng có đủ dữ liệu nào đó để đưa ra giả thiết. Việc loại trừ các khả năng và chỉ ra chỗ
thiếu trong dữ liệu có thể ngăn ngừa sự hiểu lầm hoặc đưa ra giả thiết sai.
Nhìn chung, cuốn sách này là một ứng dụng hiệu quả về cả nghiên cứu ngôn ngữ học lẫn dân tộc
học lịch sử ở Việt Nam.
Giáo sư Mark Alves
Đại học Montgomery (Rockville, Maryland)
Khoa ELAP, Ngôn ngữ học và Giao tiếp


PREFACE
The dialect of Quảng Nam province and the northern part of Quảng Ngãi province has been the
inspiration for many folk anecdotes and jokes due to its peculiarities. This book is an attempt to
“decipher” the origin of these anecdotes.
One of our difficulties in writing the book was the lack of material on the phonemic systems of
Vietnamese dialects. In the literature, linguists often focused on the phonetic description of the
Quảng Nam dialect, compared with the major northern or southern dialects of Vietnam, and went
no further than listing vowels, consonants, and tones. These studies are often focused on
similarities rather than differences. No studies have attempted to explain why these differences
exist, or how changes have happened.
This book is a humble attempt, first to describe the dialect of the Quảng Nam people. And then to
explain why the Quảng Nam dialect is so different from the major dialects of Vietnamese, and the
changing path of sounds and rhymes that lead to the present form of the Quảng Nam dialect. Many
field trips were carried out not only in Quảng Nam but also in Hà Tĩnh and Thanh Hoá, two
fundamental dialects that provided the material for the formation of the Quảng Nam dialect.
Regarding historical events in migrations, with a limited personal library in the United States, we

rely largely on the major historical texts, such as Đại Việt sử ký tồn thư, compiled by Ngơ Sĩ Liên
during the reign of king Lê Thánh Tông, Phủ tập Quảng Nam ký sự, a handwritten document in
ancient Chinese in roughly the second half of the 16th century, Phủ biên tạp lục by Lê Quý Đôn
written near the end of the 18th century, and Khâm định Việt sử Thông giám cương mục and Đại
Nam thực lục (Tiền biên and Chính biên) which were compiled by Quốc Sử Quán of the Nguyễn
dynasty from the 19th century till the beginning of the 20th century. For the Đại Việt era and the
Cham-Vietnamese relationship, we rely mainly on works about Đàng Trong by Phan Khoang
(1969), Li Tana (1998), and chapters by many authors in Trần and Lockhart (2011).
Regarding the Quảng Nam dialect, in addition to some previous literature, we mainly rely on the
results of our studies on the dialect and sound changes in Vietnamese that have been published in
recent years as book chapters and journal articles, inside and outside Vietnam. The articles were
published after commentary by well-known experts in historical linguistics. The main linguistic
arguments and explanations have been presented at international linguistic conferences and
seminars. However, mistakes can't be avoided. The author accepts responsibility for all errors in
the book and looks forward to receiving input from expert linguists, colleagues, readers, and
students.
From the initial description of the Quảng Nam dialect in the author's 1997 master’s thesis, followed
by scholarly articles and finally this book, 25 years have passed. However, the book is still not a
complete work. The findings and results presented here are just part of the puzzle. There are still
many unanswered questions. The explanations proposed in the book are just one way of looking


at the issue, one way of interpretation. We do not claim that they are necessarily the best
interpretation, much less the only one. It is, however, the most reasonable explanation in the
author’s view. We hope to initiate further scholarly debate from readers who are interested in the
question of why the Quảng Nam people speak as they do.
With the desire to introduce the book to a wide audience, the author tries to present the phoneticphonological commentary in a light and easy-to-read manner. The chapters are written with the
intent that readers can read them as stand-alone chapters. Readers with limited background in
phonetics-phonology may skim or skip the more specialized sections directed to linguistics
students and colleagues. A synopsis in English is provided for those who have been working on

Vietnamese phonetics-phonology or are interested in the topic but unable to read Vietnamese.
Links to the two papers written in English, which serve as a base for linguistic data and analyses,
are provided in the references for their convenience.
The completion of this book arose through the efforts of many people. The author sincerely thanks
the Quảng Nam language consultants in Toronto and in Vietnam - without them this work would
not be possible. Sincere thanks to the Danang Publishing House, the Board of Directors, and the
Editorial Board for their enthusiastic interest in this project. Thanks to Huỳnh Yên Trầm My,
former main editor of the Danang Publishing House, for her confidence since hearing about the
project and for steadfast encouragement over the years; Professor Hồ Cẩm Hà (Hanoi National
University of Education) who has been cheering tirelessly since the idea had just taken shape;
Professor Ronald Wardhaugh (the University of Michigan, University of Toronto) for his
unwavering support and faith in the author's work over the past few decades; Professor Michael
Kenstowicz (MIT) for being very kind and keen to read and comment on papers published in
English, which serve as the theoretical base and main phonological claims in this book. Many
thanks to Professor Mark Alves (Montgomery College, Maryland) and Dr. Lê Tiến Cơng (Vice
Director, Hồng Sa Museum) and a few friends for reading and commenting on the manuscript.
Thanks also to the University of Florida for partially funding those field trips. The author is grateful
to friends in Vietnam and other countries who were always eager to help find documents when
possible. I am grateful to my family in Vietnam for their love and care during each field trip in
Vietnam, especially my brother Phạm Bắc Bình and his wife Trương Thị Vinh for always helping
with transportation, accommodation, and being a great source of finding local consultants. My son
- Andrew Pham - my co-author of other works, has been an inspiration and one of the motivations
for the author to write the book. The people who contributed to the existence of the book are
certainly many; it is impossible to mention them all here. The author would like to express her
sincere thanks to all.
Finally, thanks to the land and people of Quảng Nam, where the author was born and grew up.
This book is dedicated to you, Quảng Nam.


MỤC LỤC

TABLE OF CONTENTS
LỜI NGỎ
PREFACE
MỘT SỐ QUY ƯỚC VỀ KÝ HIỆU, THUẬT NGỮ VÀ CÁCH DẪN TÀI LIỆU THAM
KHẢO

NOTES ON SYMBOLS, TERMINOLOGY, AND IN-TEXT CITATIONS
SYNOPSIS
CHƯƠNG MỘT
GIỌNG QUẢNG NAM TRONG BỨC TRANH CHUNG PHƯƠNG NGỮ VIỆT

INTRODUCTION
1.1. Giới thiệu chung về những khác biệt của vần Quảng Nam
Quảng Nam peculiarities
1.2. Các nghiên cứu về giọng nói Quảng Nam và mục đích cuốn sách
Previous studies on Quảng Nam dialect and objectives of the book
1.3. Tư liệu và các tài liệu tham khảo chính
Data sources, major historical texts
1.4. Nội dung các chương
Summary of each chapter
CHƯƠNG HAI
NGỮ ÂM - ÂM VỊ GIỌNG QUẢNG NAM, GIỌNG NĨI “MỢT MÌNH MỢT CHỢ”
QUẢNG NAM PHONETICS - PHONOLOGY
2.1. Giới thiệu chung
Introduction
2.2. Hệ thống âm vị giọng Quảng Nam, phương pháp thu và phân tích tư liệu
Sound system, methodology
2.3. Các hoạt động trong vần giọng Quảng Nam
The rhymes
2.4. Giả thuyết âm vị học nguyên âm /ɑ/ Quảng Nam

Phonological account of Quảng Nam /ɑ/
2.5. Tiểu kết
Conclusion


CHƯƠNG BA
DI DÂN THANH - NGHỆ - TĨNH VÀO QUẢNG NAM: SỰ KHAI SINH CỦA MỘT
PHƯƠNG NGỮ

MIGRATION FROM THANH - NGHỆ - TĨNH TO QUẢNG NAM: THE BIRTH OF A
DIALECT
3.1. Những cuộc sáp nhập đất Champa (và Chân Lạp) vào Đại Việt, tiền đề của các cuộc di dân
Annexation of Champa into Đại Việt, the prelude of migration
3.2. Ai đã di dân vào các vùng đất mới, đặc biệt vào Quảng Nam, từ thế kỷ thứ 11 đến thế kỷ thứ
17?
Who migrated to current Quảng Nam?
3.3. Gia phả - nguồn ghi chép rời rạc về di dân
Genealogy - another source of documenting migration
CHƯƠNG BỐN
ĐỨC AN, HÀ TĨNH - MỘT CÁI DUYÊN TÌNH CỜ

ĐỨC AN SUBDIALECT OF HÀ TĨNH - A LUCKY DISCOVERY
4.1. Địa lý, lịch sử tên gọi, và biến thể địa phương
Geography, history of name, local variants
4.2. Cái hẹn mười hai năm, các cộng tác viên
A twelve-year gap between visits, language consultants
4.3. Vần thổ ngữ Hữu Chế (Kẻ Chay) và làng Hến, xã Đức An. Tiền thân của nguyên âm /ɑ/ Quảng
Nam
Rhymes of Hữu Chế (Kẻ Chay) and Hến subdialects, Đức Thọ district. The origin of Quảng Nam
/ɑ/

4.4. Các thổ ngữ Hà Tĩnh trong tương quan với giọng Quảng Nam và các phương ngữ Nam Trung
Bộ
Relationship between Hà Tĩnh dialects and the dialects of Quảng Nam and South-Central Vietnam
CHƯƠNG NĂM
“TÌM EM NHƯ THỂ TÌM CHIM” - THỔ NGỮ LÀNG THẠC, XÃ XUÂN LAI, HUYỆN
THỌ XUÂN, THANH HOÁ

THẠC SUBDIALECT OF XUÂN LAI COMMUNE, THỌ XUÂN DISTRICT, THANH
HÓA

5.1. Giới thiệu chung


Introduction
5.2. Thổ ngữ làng Thạc, Thanh Hoá - một mắt xích đặc biệt liên quan đến giọng Quảng Nam
Thạc subdialect of Thanh Hoá - a special link to Quảng Nam dialect
5.3. Giản hố cụm âm và đơi hố ngun âm giọng Thạc, so sánh với thổ ngữ Hà Tĩnh và giọng
Quảng Nam
Simplification of sound clusters and diphthongization in Thạc, compared to Hà Tĩnh subdialects
and Quảng Nam dialect
5.4. Vai trò của di dân Thanh Hoá và Nghệ An ở vùng đất mới
The role of early migrants from Thanh Hoá and Nghệ An in Quảng Nam
CHƯƠNG SÁU
CÁC GIẢI THÍCH KHÁC VỀ SỰ HÌNH THÀNH GIỌNG QUẢNG NAM

ALTERNATIVE EXPLANATIONS ABOUT THE SHAPE OF QUẢNG NAM RHYMES
6.1. Giọng Quảng Nam có phải là kết quả của việc tiếp xúc với người Chiêm Thành, là một sản
phẩm phụ ngẫu nhiên của cuộc Nam tiến không?
Is the Quảng Nam dialect a result of language contact between the Viet and Cham people?
6.2. Tiểu kết

Conclusion
CHƯƠNG BẢY
TÌM DẤU VẾT GIỌNG QUẢNG NAM QUA VĂN BẢN QUỐC NGỮ THẾ KỶ THỨ 17

IS THERE ANY TRACE OF QUẢNG NAM PECULIARITIES IN THE EARLIEST
TEXTS WRITTEN IN THE NATIONAL SCRIPT?
7.1. Lược sử việc hình thành chữ Quốc ngữ, những văn bản đầu tiên, những người sáng lập
Overview of the creation of the National Script, the earliest texts, the creators
7.2. Có dấu vết gì của tiếng Việt ở Quảng Nam thế kỷ thứ 17 trong cơng trình của Alexandre de
Rhodes khơng?
Is there any trace of Quảng Nam peculiarities in the 17th century in Alexandre de Rhodes
dictionary?
CHƯƠNG TÁM
CON NGƯỜI LÀ NGUỒN NƯỚC, LÀ KHÍ TRỜI CỦA NHAU

CONCLUSIONS
8.1. Những câu hỏi còn bỏ ngỏ


Unanswered questions
8.2. Thay lời kết
Conclusion
TÀI LIỆU THAM KHẢO
REFERENCES
PHỤ LỤC Danh sách những từ được ghi âm và phân tích
APPENDIX Words containing all possible rhymes in Vietnamese for data solicitation


SYNOPSIS
This book is an account of sound changes in Vietnamese, focusing on many peculiar rhymes in

the Quang Nam dialect, including the back, unrounded vowel, which is not seen in any other
dialects. This vowel has been described in the literature using various IPA symbols, but seldom
with proper justification. This book provides an account of the origin of this vowel and argues for
its phonological status. Historical migration and linguistic evidence from dialects spoken in Quảng
Nam, Hà Tĩnh and Thanh Hoá provinces form the basis for the argument - that the Quảng Nam
dialect is based on the Thanh Hoá dialect with some special features integrated from the Hà Tĩnh
dialect. The Hà Tĩnh and Thanh Hoá dialects were brought to current Quảng Nam by early settlers.
Through dialect contact and internal linguistic restructuring, a new dialect was formed in Quảng
Nam. We also show that the Quang Nam phonology was not affected in the least by other ethnic
communities, specifically, the Cham and Teochew people, who co-inhabited with Viet immigrants
in Quang Nam from around the 15th to 18th centuries. Although Quang Nam was the place first
European missionaries learned Vietnamese and later created the National Script, there is no trace
of any Quang Nam peculiarities in the earliest texts written and published in Vietnamese in the
17th century and later.
The book is by no means an account of all the peculiarities of the Quang Nam dialect, but rather a
report of our findings up to this moment, and an explanation for why Quang Nam rhymes have
their current shape. Possible alternative explanations are also considered. Although there are still
unanswered questions, through comparative synchronic data, this book is the first attempt to
systematically explain how sound change has been manifested in Vietnamese rhymes in general,
and in Quang Nam Vietnamese in particular.
In Chapter 2 (Quang Nam dialect) and Chapter 4 (subdialects of Ha Tinh), we rely mainly on our
papers published in the last few years for the linguistic data, findings, and analyses. Two of these
papers are listed at the end of the synopsis. The data and linguistic analyses in Chapter 5 (Thanh
Hoa subdialect) and partially in Chapter 2 have never been published.
The book has 8 chapters, organized as follows.
CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION
A general introduction to the Quang Nam dialect, its rhymal peculiarities, and research questions
the book attempts to answer, such as what makes the Quang Nam dialect stand out from all other
dialects of Vietnamese? What are the peculiarities in its rhymal system? How are vowels shifted?
Are there any chain shifts identified in the rhyme? How and why have certain rhymes arrived at

their current shape? The majority and of earliest settlers of Quang Nam province came from Thanh
Hoa and Nghe Tinh province. The book provides linguistic evidence and evidence from historical
migration for the claim that the Quang Nam rhymes were established based on the rhymes of
Thanh Hoa dialect, and integrated certain features from the Nghe Tinh dialects.
CHAPTER 2. QUANG NAM PHONETICS-PHONOLOGY
This chapter describes the phonetic characteristics, as well as the distribution of the Quang Nam
sounds and their variations. It also shows the vowel shifts and other phenomena in the Quang Nam
rhymes such as final glide deletion, simplification of consonant clusters, diphthongization,
centralization and monophthongization of vowels. Acoustic evidence and phonemic distribution
are used to argue for the phonemic status of the controversial low, back, unrounded vowel /ɑ/ seen
only in this dialect. Alternative analyses were also discussed. Finally, the chapter suggests how
the vowel /ɑ/ was phonemicized through internal structuring, either from a phonemic split or the
loss of the medial sound, /w/.
CHAPTER 3. HISTORICAL MIGRATION FROM THANH - NGHE - TINH
PROVINCES TO QUANG NAM
Chapter 3 reviews historical literature regarding migration to present-day Quang Nam province,
especially during the period from the 15th to 17th centuries. It points out the lack of statistics or
clear information on the issue. Questions are raised on the reliability of the scattered and brief
statements about the origin of the migrants. However, one thing is clear: remarks in historical texts
agree that most early settlers in Quang Nam province originated from Nghe An (including now Ha
Tinh) and Thanh Hoa provinces. This agreement supports our hypothesis that the Quang Nam
dialect originated from the Thanh Hoá and Nghệ Tĩnh dialects.
CHAPTER 4. HA TINH SUBDIALECTS
This chapter describes Ke Chay and Hen, two subdialects spoken in Ha Tinh province, the
homeland of many Quang Nam migrants. Two peculiarities in Quang Nam rhymes were
discovered in these subdialects: the low, back, unrounded vowel /ɑ/, and the correspondence of
/aw/ ~ /o/. We argue that the Ha Tinh subdialects are the source of these peculiarities in Quang
Nam. The chapter discusses other phenomena in the Quang Nam dialect that are also observed in

the Ha Tinh subdialects, such as monophthongization, diphthongization, and final glide deletion.
Finally, the chapter demonstrates how the original vowel /ɑ/ from Ha Tinh subdialects was


phonemicized in the Quang Nam dialect through internal restructuring and dialect contact (Pham
A. H. 2019, 2020).
CHAPTER 5. THANH HOA SUBDIALECT
This chapter presents a subdialect of Thanh Hoa province spoken in the Thac village, Tho Xuan
district. As in the Quang Nam and Ha Tinh dialects, the most notable feature found in the Thac
subdialect is the vowel written as a. First, like in Ha Tinh subdialects, the vowel /a/ is absent in
open syllables in the Thac dialect. Second, as in Ha Tinh and Quang Nam dialects the vowel
pronounced [a] in other dialects has a peculiar pronunciation in the Thac dialect. It is realized as
[ɨə], similar to how Quang Nam speakers pronounce the cognate rhyme [aj] in northern and
southern dialects. The chapter demonstates an intimate relationship among the Quang Nam, Ha
Tinh and Thanh Hoa dialects through features that are shared only among these dialects. For
example, like Quang Nam, Thanh Hoa has final palatal consonants after [i] and [e] where they are
alveolars in other dialects. The Thac dialect of Thanh Hoa provides further linguistic evidence for
the claim that the Quang Nam dialect was established and evolved based on the Thanh Hoa dialect.
Finally, the claim is further supported by discussions of the social and political status of competing
dialects spoken in ancient Quang Nam by the early local leaders and settlers.
CHAPTER 6. ALTERNATIVE EXPLANATIONS FOR THE CAUSE OF THE
CURRENT SHAPE OF QUANG NAM PHONOLOGY
This chapter considers alternative hypotheses to account for the peculiarities in the Quang Nam
rhymes. Specifically, because Quang Nam used to be a part of the Champa Kingdom, could the
Quang Nam peculiarities result from contact with Cham speakers, who co-inhabited with the early
Viet settlers? We also consider other ethnicities in Quang Nam such as Teochew speakers to see
if they had any influence on the Quang Nam rhymes. We argue that the lack of linguistic evidence
does not support these explanations. We also provide an overview of the historical and social
background to point out that the literature’s claim of a co-habitation and, consequently, language
contact among Viet, Cham and Chinese speakers in Quang Nam is sketchy, unclear, and mostly

speculative.
CHAPTER 7. ARE THERE TRACES OF QUANG NAM PECULIARITIES IN
EARLIEST TEXTS WRITTEN IN THE NATIONAL SCRIPT?
European missionaries created the Romanized writing system (National Script) in the 17th century
in order to teach Vietnamese speakers to preach the gospels in their native language. This chapter


provides an overview on the establishment of the National Script, currently used for Vietnamese.
Because Quang Nam was the place where some of these missionaries first lived and learned the
Vietnamese language, it might be natural to wonder whether the earliest texts written in this script
reflect some Quang Nam peculiarities. The conclusion is that neither the back, unrounded vowel
nor any peculiar rhymes in Quang Nam dialect left any trace in these texts. The script was created
based on northern dialects with additional distinctive sounds from other dialects.
CHAPTER 8. CONCLUSIONS
This chapter summarizes the main findings and evidence of the book. It also raises a few questions
that are still left unanswered. Finally, it mentions the important and urgent task to document
subdialects of Vietnamese, especially in the north central region before they disappear through
dialect-levelling.