The land with the most distinctive accent in Nghe An.

(Baonghean.vn) - Nghi Loc is known as one of the regions with the most distinctive accent in Nghe An province, with its spoken language lacking diacritical marks, many sounds having altered tones and colors, and using many local dialect words. And although they are also Nghi Loc residents, the accent of the "Phuc - Thai - Tho" region is completely different from the rest of the district.

People of Nghi Thai during a New Year's festival.

Watch the clip of the young man from Nghi Thai telling the story of "The Lice":

The communes of Nghi Thai and Phuc Tho have traditionally been collectively known as 'Phuc Thai Tho'. The people of these communes live in the same geographical area and share a common dialect and customs. Their way of speaking is "Ca co cuong, ca co duoi" (meaning "eggplant has a stem, fish has a tail"). Although there are commonalities, the local inhabitants can still distinguish six to seven different dialects within the same commune, such as Nghi Thai. The differences in each dialect are based on pitch and the intensity of pronunciation. A common characteristic of the spoken language in the Phuc Thai Tho region is the omission of diacritical marks, the use of many local words, and changes in tone, such as: 'toi – garlic, gang – leg, oi – basket, gon – reed; cho ma – but, di tay – go there, han lo cay ray – if something goes wrong, then I'm afraid'…

Children in Nghi Thai

People in Nghi Loc often compose and pass down many poems and folk songs in their native dialect with affection and pride. Nowadays, it's not difficult to find poems, songs, and folk songs in the Nghi Loc dialect on forums and social media. These true stories are told with humor and an unmistakable accent, making them laugh even when people don't quite understand them.

The folk poem by a scholar sent to a shopkeeper in Quynh Luu, passed down through many generations of people in 'Phuc Thai Tho', is one example:

How old is the woman selling goods today?
Is the water still hot or has it cooled down?
Down below, a quiet bundle of rags
A few bananas sprouted sparsely underneath.
Both thin and thick cakes are smooth, ma'am.
Taro and sweet potatoes must be dipped in salt...

Mean:

How old is the woman selling drinks?
Is the water still hot or has it cooled down?
A package of spring rolls was hanging from the ceiling.
A few bananas hung loosely under the hook.
Both thin and thick cakes are slippery with grease.
Taro and sweet potato must be dipped in salt.

People from Phuc Thai Tho never lose their distinctive accent, no matter where they go.

When we asked the oldest people in the "Phuc Thai Tho" area about the origin of the accent, no one in the "Nghi Loc" area understood why their people spoke that way. They only knew that since they were born, they had heard their grandparents and parents speak that way, and each child here inherited this unique accent from the moment they began to learn to speak. Thus, it has been passed down from generation to generation with this familiar and unmistakable accent. People in Nghi Thai and Phuc Tho find it difficult to change their accent when communicating with outsiders. Therefore, they usually use common words in their local accent when communicating with people from outside the region.

Besides losing intonation when speaking and speaking too quickly, people from Phuc Tho also use filler words at the beginning or end of sentences, such as 'woa', and their voices are drawn out, giving many people the impression that it sounds like an exclamation…

Let's watch the video clip of the dialogue between the people of 'Phuc Thai Tho' area:

A conversation between two girls from Phuc Tho. The older sister's name is Thao, the younger sister's name is Nga:

- Wow, where did Nga go and where did she come from...?

- Nga went to Ms. Binh's house and came back. Thao got Nga some water! (Nga went to Ms. Binh's house and came back, Thao got Nga some water.)

- Why didn't you call Thao when you left? What a pity!

Not only do the people of Phuc Tho speak with an incomprehensible accent, but they also use dialects and local slang such as: 'nác means water, kênh means rice, mói means salt, cơi means yard, đọi means bowl,...'

In Nghi Loc, many communes have different ways of speaking. Each dialect is difficult to understand and comprehend. Even within a single commune, villages separated only by a road or canal can have different accents. Yet, the people of 'Phuc Thai Tho' are proud of their uniqueness compared to the 'rest'. Even if people from this region travel across the five continents, they can recognize each other by their accent, find each other, and connect.

Linguistics researchers suggest that the primary cause of this difference is the "similarity" in tones. However, while these tones sound similar to the ears of a standard Vietnamese speaker, native speakers can still perceive the differences between them. This phenomenon is considered quite "normal." Because, no matter how difficult it is to understand, the voices of the local people are still those of genuine Vietnamese speakers. It's just that their voices either retain a rather archaic form of Vietnamese or have some rather "unusual" variations compared to standard pronunciation.

The accent of the people of 'Phuc Thai Tho' is not only a beautiful cultural feature in the lives of the local people but also contributes to enriching the Nghe An dialect and culture.

Wang Yun - Lan Tai

Technical: Duong Tuan