Reconsider the origin, formation and concept of So-called Vietnamized Sino-Vietnamese words

Abstract

In The Study of Chinese Loanwords in Vietnamese (汉越语研究,1948), Wang Li categorized these loanwords into three layers: Old Sino-Vietnamese words (OSV), Sino-Vietnamese words (SV), Vietnamized Sino-Vietnamese words (VSV). He and Vietnamese researchers believed VSV resulted from the subsequent native changes of SV. However, they did not explain how or why these words were nativized. Based on key historical-phonological characteristics: (i) Contact between Chinese and Vietnamese and their tonogenesis; (ii) Alternating of tones between the OSV and SV periods, including shangsheng (B tone; previous *-ʔ) shifting to qusheng (C tone; previous *-s), qusheng shifting to shangsheng, pingsheng (A tone) shifting to qusheng (C tone); (iii) The loss of presyllables and spirantization of intervocalic segment of sesquisyllables; we have found 89 out of WL’s proposed 128 VSV words are Old Sino-Vietnamese words. They did not result from continuous changes inside Vietnamese but from changes in Chinese before they were borrowed. The remaining 39 words are also OSV words which can be explained by other historical phonological characteristics that hopefully will be presented in another article. That is why the term and concept of VSV should no longer be used.