Glossary and Pronunciations

Vietnamese is hard.

**Note: This post will be constantly updated as the story goes on and more names appear. The brief introduction at the start should hopefully be enough to hold everyone’s attention before any substantial content is made.

The language of Vietnam, or at least the one most of us speak these days, is difficult. Take it from a Vietnamese myself, who is too afraid to use it to write because of an overwhelming fear that I would never be able to do its justice. Of course, veering away from the language, and also growing up with English, allows me to look at Vietnamese from the standpoint of a learner. I have taught many a student English, and I have taught a lot of English-speaking folks to pronounce Vietnamese words. With this section, I will try my best to do the same thing again, one part introducing more people to Vietnamese, one part recapping a lot of the characters introduced in my writings, and one part to improve everyone’s reading experience.

Before we get to the meat, let’s skin the animal. Immediately when you look at a sentence in Vietnamese, you will see some squiggly symbols right on top of the words. Example: Xích Quỷ. Said symbols, or “tones”, are also present in French (The French ruled us for 61 years). Vietnamese has 5 tones: sắc (when you raise your tone to make a word sound “sharper.” “Sắc” also means “sharp;” huyền (the opposite, like letting out a sigh when you’re sad. Quite abstract, I know, but it might be clearer when you see it more often); hỏi (this one’s a toughie. It’s like when you’re accusing someone but halfway you realize they might have been innocent, so you stop midway and question yourself. Looks like a question mark); ngã (imagine tripping and falling, but you fall off Mt. Everest and the sound just keep going. Now put a little lilt in it like you just hit puberty and your voice cracks); and nặng (imagine tripping and falling, but your face planted on the ground immediately. A loud thud).

Now that we have covered the basis, let’s get to the actual words. The format will be <Vietnamese name>(<English translation, roughly, if it has one>){how to pronounce it in Vietnamese}: Brief description.

Glossary

Xích Quỷ (Red Demon){Xích or red, pronounced like the word “sick” without the “k” at the end; now add the sharp “sắc.”/Quỷ or demon, pronounced like the word “quiz” without the “z” at the end; now add the question mark}: The name of Vietnam long ago. The land we know as it is right now grew upon his slumbering body. Humans have long forgotten him, but the gods live in constant fear of his wake.

Lạc Long Quân {Lạc, pronounced like the word “lag,” but replace the “g” with a very slight “k” at the end, so slight you can’t even hear it. In fact, don’t even let that “k” out of your mouth; now add the thud/Long or dragon. Say “long” as in “this is a long ruler,” but close your mouth at the end.}: A Water Dragon (Thủy Long). He is said to be the father of all Vietnamese people. Long story short, he married Âu Cơ, The Allmother, and they birthed 100 eggs, which then hatched into the first 100 Vietnamese. He took 50 of them with him to the sea, for a Water Dragon cannot survive away from his Palace (Thủy Cung) for long.

Âu Cơ {Âu, sounds like “Oh” but softer. Cơ, try not to close your mouth when you say “come,” and you got it}: The Mother of the Vietnamese people. Married to Lạc Long Quân. Little is known about her. She took 50 of the original 100 Vietnamese unto the mountains.

Thủy Cung (Water Palace) {Thủy, or “water.” Really annunciate “three,” but don’t roll the “r.” Cung, imitate an owl and go “koo, koo,” now as the sound is coming out, close your mouth, you might approximately get this word. This one is difficult!}: The Water Palace is home to the dragons and fishfolks and merfolks of Asia. There are many scattered around the world, but the main headquarters is based in Vietnam. A long time ago, it was located inside the bellybutton of the Red Demon. After a bitter war with the fishfolks and the humans, their King (Lạc Long Quân’s grandfather) decided to move The Palace out to sea.

Long Nữ (Dragon Girl) {Nữ, or “woman, girl.”}: The Princess of Thủy Cung. Mother of Lạc Long Quân.

Lộc Tục: Father of Lạc Long Quân.