Vietnamese is a tricky language to learn. It features one tone more than Mandarin (six tones rather than five) and most words have both a tone and an accent. Unfortunately for those of us trying to learn, the sound of each tone also varies from region to region.
Originally, written Vietnamese took the form of what’s called Chữ Nôm — Chinese characters adapted for spoken Vietnamese. However sometime in the 17th century, written Vietnamese was slowly Latinized, becoming what’s known as Chữ Quốc ngữ. This new writing system was created by Portuguese missionaries and then enforced by French colonialists.
All this to say, Vietnamese is a particularly unique language. This uniqueness extends to the names they have conjured for wildlife. Over the last couple of years, I have been making a list of my favorites.
Kangaroo – Chuột túi – Bag Mouse
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Penguin – Chim Cánh Cụt – Amputated wing bird
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Dolphin – Cá heo – Pig fish
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Rat – Chuột Cống – Sewage Mouse
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Swan – Thiên nga – God goose
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Whale – Cá voi – Elephant fish
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Giraffe – Hươu cao cổ – High neck deer
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Lemur – Vượn cáo – Fox monkey
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Orca – Cá voi sát thủ – Assassin elephant fish
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Crocodile – Cá sấu – Ugly fish
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Zebra fish – Cá sọc ngựa cánh tiên vây dài – Striped horse fish with long fairy wings
Photo: Shutterstock
