Elementary Vietnamese: Let's Speak Vietnamese, Revised and Updated Fourth Edition (Free Online Audio and Printable Flash Cards)

by Binh Nhu Ngo

Overview

For beginning learners of Vietnamese, here's everything needed to learn the language effectively!

Speak, read and write Vietnamese as it's actually used in real—life contexts in Vietnam today. This book has everything you need to learn the language effectively and to quickly achieve basic proficiency.

• No prior knowledge of Vietnamese is necessary
• Learn to communicate in everyday situations
• Connect with the cultural context of the language
• Includes 8 hours of native—speaker audio recordings

Elementary Vietnamese was originally developed for classroom use at Harvard Universityand is designed to provide a solid grounding in Vietnamese grammar, usage and pronunciation. The lessons are carefully structured to guide you through the essential sentence patterns from your first encounter with them in dialogues to more detailed explanations and exercises. Each lesson contains a helpful cultural note and commonly—used proverbs and idiomatic expressions.

This revised edition has been thoroughly updated to reflect recent developments in the language and culture. It includes audio recordings by native Vietnamese speakers for all of the lessons. Innovative pronunciation drills help you to improve your pronunciation and new usage examples, exercises and photos explore the diversity, heritage and history of today's Vietnam.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780804855150
Publisher:	Tuttle Publishing
Publication date:	12/06/2022
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	7.40(w) x 9.90(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Dr. Binh Nhu Ngo is the Director of the Vietnamese Language Program in the Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations at Harvard Universityand has been teaching Vietnamese there since 1992. He was born and educated in Hanoi, and earned his Ph.D. in linguistics from the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow. He has taught Vietnamese and linguistics at Moscow University, and since 1992 he has taught at the Southeast Asian Studies Summer Institute (SEASSI) and at a number of universities and colleges in the United States. He has served as the Vice—President of the Council of Teachers of Southeast Asian Languages (COTSEAL) and represents Harvard Universityat the Group of Universityies for the Advancement of Vietnamese Abroad (GUAVA). His other books include Speak & Read Vietnamese (Simon & Schuster) and Elementary Vietnamese (Tuttle).

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments xi

Preface to the Fourth Edition xii

Structure of the Textbook xiii

Introduction xv

The Language of Vietnam xv

The Tones and the Syllable xv

The Organs of Speech xvi

Initial Consonants xvi

Triangle of Vowels xvii

Final Consonants xvii

The Written Language xvii

The Structure of the Language xviii

Symbols and Typography xviii

Lesson 1 Greetings

Dialogues 1

Grammar 2

Interrogative sentences 2

Equative verb là 3

Demonstrative pronouns dây, dây, dó, kia 3

Interrogative word ai 4

Position of an adjective modifying a noun 4

Usage: chào, xin Iôi, cám o'n 5

Drills 5

Cultural Note 9

Saying 10

Lesson 2 Getting acquainted

Dialogues 11

Grammar 12

Interrogative word [cái] gì 12

Interrogative word nào 12

Interrogative expression phai không 13

Interrogative word à 14

Interrogative adverb o' dâu 14

Classifiers cái, chiêc, cây, qua, con, quyên, cuôn, tò', toà, ngôi 14

Demonstrative adjectives này, kia, ây, dó 15

Usage 15

O' as a verb and as a preposition 15

Drills 16

Exercise 22

Cultural Note 23

Saying 23

Lesson 3 Language, nationality

Dialogues 25

Grammar 26

ít, nhiêu 26

Ordinal numbers 26

Plural markers các, nhu'ng 27

Adverbs of degree rât, lám, quá 27

Hay meaning "or" 28

Interrogative word [nhu'] thê nào 28

Position of an adjective modifying a verb 28

Cung meaning "also, too" 28

English "and" in Vietnamese 29

Drills 29

Cultural Note 35

Saying 35

Lesson 4 Address system

Dialogues 37

Grammar 38

Interrogative words bao nhiêu, mây 38

Number system from 11 to 99 38

Personal pronouns 39

Usage 41

Final particle a 41

Initial particle thu'a 41

Bân meaning "to be busy" 41

Drills 41

Cultural Note 45

Saying 46

Lesson 5 Year, month, week, day, days of the week, dates

Dialogues 47

Grammar 48

Number system from 100 48

Time expressions 49

Interrogative words bao giò', khi nào, ngày nào, thú' máy, hôm nào 50

The word có in the sense of "yes" 52

Usage 53

Initial particle ù' 53

Drills 53

Cultural Note 55

Saying 56

Lesson 6 Time

Dialogues 57

Grammar 58

Clock time 58

Temporal prepositions 59

Interrogative word bao lâu 59

Frame construction có … không used with an adjective 59

The word hay meaning "often" 60

Usage 60

Different meanings of the word giò' 60

Verbs chò' and do'i 60

Set expressions used with dông hô 60

Drills 61

Cultural Note 63

Saying 64

Lesson 7 Introductions; the family

Dialogues 65

Grammar: tense markers 67

Dã 67

Vù'a/mó'i/vù'a mó'i 67

Dang 67

Se 68

Sáp 68

Chu'a 68

Vâ'n/còn/vân còn 69

The cases when the tense markers are not used 69

Usage 69

Final particles dây, thê 69

The use of quen, làm quen and gió'i thiêu 69

Drills 70

Exercises 74

Narrative 75

Usage 76

Speaking of age 76

The word tôt nghiêp 76

The use of trai and gái 76

Expressions "get married," "be (un)married" in Vietnamese 76

The verb sinh 76

Word order in set expressions ông bà, bô me, vo' chông 76

Drills 77

Exercises 78

Cultural Note 78

Saying 78

Lesson 8 In the classroom

Dialogues 79

Grammar 81

Preposition cua 81

Ways of expressing requests, suggestions, invitations 82

Word xong indicating a completed action 83

Verbs indicating the direction of a movement 84

Drills 85

Exercises 89

Narrative 89

Grammar 90

Comparison of adjectives 90

Vù'a … vù'a … in the sense of "both, and," "at the same time" 91

Rôi meaning "then," "and then" 91

Usage 91

Preposition tai 91

Hoac meaning "or" 92

Drills 92

Exercises 94

Authentic Material 94

Cultural Note 95

Saying 96

Lesson 9 Weekend, entertainment, sports

Dialogues 97

Grammar 100

Conjunction mà 100

Interrogative word dâu 100

Emphatic negation 100

Prepositions and conjunctions of time 101

Conjunction of condition nêu 101

Construction "whether or not" in Vietnamese 101

Modal verbs muôn, có thê, cân, phai, nên 102

Usage 103

Final particle dây 103

Adverbs of degree ho'i, khá 104

Adverb of degree thê 104

Use of thò'i gian and thi giò' 104

Adjectives xa, gân 104

Verbs tâp, cho'i and dánh for sports 104

Drills 105

Exercises 111

Narrative 112

Grammar 114

Location terms trên, du'ó'i, trong, ngoài, giu'a, tru'ó'c, sau 114

Verbs cách, mât 115

Interrogative word bao xa 115

Clause of reason 116

Construction còn … nu'a 116

Clause of purpose 116

Restrictive construction chi … thôi 117

Drills 117

Exercises 120

Authentic Material 120

Cultural Note 121

Saying 122

Lesson 10 Asking directions

Dialogues 124

Grammar 127

Particle o'i 127

Interrogative particle ho' 127

Hêt used after a verb 127

Emphatic cung used with interrogative words 127

Construction còn … thì 128

Construction thêm … nu'a 128

Preposition bàng 128

Lai in the sense of "moreover, in addition" 128

Verbs gos, coi 129

Preposition ngoài … ra 129

Conjunction kèo 129

Usage 130

Làm o'n denoting a request 130

Không dám, không có gì as replies 130

Prepositions dâu, cuôi 130

Kia kìa 130

Verb thu' 130

Personal pronoun ngu'o'i ta 130

Word-formation: Compounding 130

Drills 131

Exercises 137

Narrative 138

Grammar 140

Passive voice 140

Classifiers con, cuôc 141

Preposition khoi 141

Drills 141

Exercises 142

Vietnamese Poem 142

Authentic Material 143

Cultural Note 145

Saying 145

Lesson 11 Shopping

Dialogues 147

Grammar 150

Preposition bàng 150

Final particle chú' 150

Mò'i denoting a suggestion 150

Preposition cho used with some verbs demanding two objects 150

Particle dâu placed at the end of a negative sentence 151

Thôi as a separate sentence 151

Preposition vê 151

Usage 152

Verbs "to wear, to have on the body" in Vietnamese 152

Du'o'c không as an interrogative word and du'o'c as a reply 152

Questions and responses about prices 152

Word-formation: Affixation 153

Drills 154

Exercises 158

Narrative 159

Grammar 162

Reciprocal pronoun nhau 162

Lai placed after some verbs 162

Ngay in the sense of "just, right" 162

Emphatic có 162

Classifier nên 162

Usage 162

Verb quen 162

Noun siêu thi 163

Drills 163

Exercises 166

Authentic Material 166

Cultural Note 167

Saying 167

Lesson 12 Health care

Dialogues 169

Grammar 173

Verbs du'o'c and bi 173

Cung denoting the speaker's reluctant agreement 173

Hêt used before a verb 174

Nu'a used with time expressions 174

Môi meaning "each" 174

Usage 174

Expressions conveying the feelings of illness 174

Verbs meaning "to take off clothing" and "to put on clothing" 175

Verb khuyên used with modal verb nên 175

Xem at the end of a statement 175

Word-formation: Reduplication 175

Drills 177

Exercises 180

Narrative 181

Grammar 182

Temporal preposition tù' 182

Emphatic ca meaning "even" 182

Usage 183

Final particle chú' in a question 183

Rules for writing a letter 183

Drills 184

Exercises 186

Authentic Material 186

Cultural Note 187

Saying 187

Lesson 13 Ordering and having a meal

Dialogues 189

Grammar 193

Use of the word dêu 193

Use of tu' … lây 193

Nu'a, ru'o'i and ru'o'i 193

The use of ca, tât ca, moi, tù'ng 193

Emphatic … này … này 194

Noun clauses with là and ràng 194

Preposition cua used with the verbs of borrowing 194

Usage 196

Initial particle à 196

Kinship term chú as a personal pronoun 196

Use of môt ít 196

Difference between lúa, thóc, gao, co'm, denoting rice 196

Tram in the sense of tram nghìn 196

Word-formation: Borrowing 196

Drills 199

Exercise 203

Narrative 204

Grammar 206

Clauses of concession 206

Negatives không/không phai … mà … and chú' không 206

[Càng] ngày càng and môi lúc mot in the sense of gradual increase 206

Restrictive mó'i 206

Drills 207

Exercises 209

Authentic Material 210

Cultural Note 210

Saying 212

Lesson 14 Climate and weather

Dialogues 213

Grammar 217

Different functions of mà 217

Causative verb làm/làm cho 217

Emphatic chi … là 217

Dê with the meaning "let someone do something" 218

Use of the verbs tro' nên and tro' thành 218

Indefinite pronouns and adverbs with dây and dó 218

Arithmetic 218

Usage 218

Use of the word thât/thât là 218

Combinations of the words dông, tây, nam, bác 219

Use of the verb kip 219

Use of du'o'c cái 219

Verbs nghe, nghe nói, thây nói, nghe thây nói 219

Use of chu'a an thua gì 219

Use of làm gì có 220

Metric vs. British and American measures 220

Drills 220

Exercise 226

Narrative 226

Grammar 228

Preposition and conjunction do 228

Classifier co'n 228

Construction "superlative + là + subject" 228

Emphatic chính 229

Preposition dôi vó'i 229

Usage 229

Use of anh hu'o'ng 229

Difference between khác and khác nhau 229

Difference between bang and dá 230

Use of trung bình 230

Drills 231

Exercises 232

Authentic Material 232

Cultural Note 233

Saying 234

Pronunciation Guide

Unit One 235

Nuclear vowels a, i and u 235

Initial consonants m, b, v, [f] (ph), [d] (d), n, l, t and h 235

Mid-level and low-falling tones 235

Spelling 236

Pronunciation drills 236

Unit Two 237

Nuclear vowels o' and u' 237

Initial consonants [k] (c)/(k)/(qu) and [η] (ng)/(ngh) 237

Initial consonants [χ] (kh) and [γ] (g)/(gh) 237

High-rising and low-falling-rising tones 238

Spelling 238

Pronunciation drills 238

Unit Three 240

Nuclear vowels ê, e, ô and o 240

Initial consonant [n] (nh) 240

High-rising broken and low-falling broken tones 241

Contours of the six tones 241

Pronunciation drills 242

Unit Four 243

Diphthongs ia, u'a and ua in open syllables 243

Initial consonants [t^h] (th) and [c] (ch) 243

Initial consonant [tf] (tr) 243

Spelling 244

Pronunciation drills 244

Unit Five 245

Final semivowels [i] and [u] 245

Nuclear short vowels 245

Diphthongs iê, u'o' and uû in closed syllables 245

Initial consonants [z] (d)/(gi) and [z] (r) 246

Initial consonants [s] (x) and [s] (s) 246

Spelling 246

Pronunciation drills 247

Intonation 248

Unit Six 249

Labialization 249

Spelling 249

Pronunciation drills 249

Unit Seven 251

Final consonants m, n, [η] (ng)/(nh), p, t and [k](c)/(ch) 251

Pronunciation drills 251

Unit Eight 253

Final consonants [η] (ng)/(nn) and [k] (c)/(ch) 253

Pronunciation drills 254

Vietnamese Alphabet & Diacritics for Tones 256

Bibliography 257

Vietnamese-English Glossary 258

English-Vietnamese Glossary 276

Grammar and Usage Index 295

Audio Track List 300