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The number of individuals in the United States whose native language is Vietnamese has increased dramatically during the past decade. To work effectively with Vietnamese speakers, speech-language practitioners need to understand basic aspects of the Vietnamese language, especially the sound system, and how it differs from English. The purpose of this report is to provide basic information that can be used by practitioners to understand not only the differences between Vietnamese and English phonology, but also the influence of
dialects. Characteristics of Vietnamese phonology and speech samples of three native speakers, representing the northern, central, and southern dialects, are used to illustrate information from the literature in this tutorial. Clinical Implications include considerations for assessment and intervention with Vietnamese individuals who may have a phonological disorder.
Key Words: dialects, differences, phonology, Vietnamese
The United States is becoming increasingly diverse linguistically and culturally. In fact, between 1980 and 1990, the Asian Pacific Islander population-a term used to describe a grouping of culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) groups ranging from the people of China to those of the Pacific Islands, Southeast Asia, and Indiaincreased over 99%, while the Hispanic population grew only 54% during this same period (Statistical Abstract, 1998). This trend is expected to continue through 2020 (U.S. Department of Commerce, 1997). Most Asian American individuals (62.1 %) were born in other countries, with the majority, 1.5 million (90.5%), being Vietnamese (Harry, 1992; Vietnamese Broadcasting Network [VBN] website, June 20, 2000; Weinberg, 1997). Vietnamese people make up the fourth largest Asian group in the United States (U.S. Department of Commerce, 1997).
In the past, the Asian population primarily resided on the East and West coasts, living in low-income neighborhoods. During the past 10 years, however, Asian individuals have migrated to more inland states. Large cohorts of Asian Americans now live in the midwestern states of Oklahoma, Kansas, Illinois, Michigan, and Minnesota, as well as the coastal locations of California, Texas, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, Hawaii, Louisiana, Alabama, and along the eastern coast (U.S. Department of Commerce, 1997).
When facing a client from different cultural and linguistic background who struggles to learn English, practitioners should ask themselves whether the client's difficulty is in learning a second language or from a language disorder. Some...