How does Vietnamese sound like to foreigners?

Vietnamese has often been described as sounding like birdsong because of its expressive flourishes and the way it seems to flutter along like the wings of a hummingbird. For foreigners who are just starting to learn the language, it sounds like a hopelessly incomprehensible stream of emotionally-charged music.

Which Vietnamese dialect is best?

However, if you travel to the North or many regions in Vietnam, the Northern dialect is highly recommended as it is considered the standard language and understood by people from the Central and the South areas as well.

Do dialects include accent differences?

The definition of accents and dialects used most often by people who work with language is that accents are just one part of a dialect. An accent refers to how people pronounce words, whereas a dialect is all-encompassing. A dialect includes the pronunciations, grammar and vocabulary that people use within a group.

Can northern Vietnamese understand Southern?

As aforementioned – Northern and Southern Vietnamese can be understood by native speakers of each other. There are quite a few instances, though, where there are remarkable differences between the two languages. Also, the way the language is spoken through tones.

Do all languages have accents?

The vast majority of major languages have regional accents; the same is true of even smaller languages – Corsican, for example, is spoken as a first language by only about 20,000 people; yet it has at least two significantly differing accents or dialects.

How can you tell languages from dialects?

Dialect is a specific kind of language spoken by a defined group or region. So you see that language is a broader term, and dialect comes under its shade. Language plays the role of a parent, and different dialects are stemming from it. We can view the difference between dialect and language while writing about it.

What is the difference between the northern and southern Vietnamese dialects?

The tone system is slightly different between these two Vietnamese dialects, with the Northern dialect having 6 tones and the Southern dialect having 5. There are lots of word differences as well, and intonation and pronunciation are pretty different too. That being said, they are largely mutually intelligible.

What is the best Vietnamese dialect to learn?

I think most learners start off with either the Northern dialect (represented by the Hanoi accent) and the Southern Dialect (represented by the Saigon accent). The tone system is slightly different between these two Vietnamese dialects, with the Northern dialect having 6 tones and the Southern dialect having 5.

What is the relationship between Vietnamese and other Vietnamese languages?

The official language of Vietnamese people also has relation with some languages such as Chut, Pong, Ahoe, Maleng, and Thaveung which belong to Pong Chut language group. Some others believe that the Viet – Muong languages were not divided from Mon-Khmer languages, but Proto Vieto-Katuic languages, which occurred 4000 years ago.