Like the majority of South East and East Asian languages, Vietnamese is a tonal language. This means that for each syllable there are six different tones that can change the meaning of a phrase.

 Help to correct

This can be unusual for Westerners since there are times we have a natural inclination to change the tone of our speech - the most common is raisinng the pitch of your voice when asking a question. Don't let it put you off though - once you have mastered the pronunciation, Vietnamese is a satisfyingly straightforward language, with a grammar system that is much easier than that of a language like French.

 Help to correct

Another great advantage learners of Vietnamese have over those studying other Asian languages is that the Vietnamese alphabet is essentially a modified version of the Roman alphabet, making it easy to read signs and addresses when travelling around.

 Help to correct

Tones

This tone is very strong in the North around Hanoi where there is a perceptible 'cut' in the sound. In the South around Saigon people tend to speak in a more 'smooth' manner, and many would say this tone becomes almost identical to the low, rising tone above it ('Ye-es, M'lud'')

 Help to correct

Vietnamese Alphabet

Although the Vietnamese use the same alphabet as Latin languages such as English and French, some of the sounds are fairly different to their English equivalent. There are a few similarities with French, however.

 Help to correct

To hear the sounds described here, see http://www.seasite.niu.edu/Vietnamese/Guide_to_Pronunciation/alphabet/alphabet_system.htm
Consonants

 Help to correct

Vowels
One rule to pronouncing vowels in Vietnam that is very useful to remember is that whenever you get two vowels together - for example 'ui' - the first vowel should have much more emphasis than the second - 'ui'

 Help to correct