Education
4 letters could be added to Vietnamese alphabet
  • | | August 10, 2011 10:14 PM

The Vietnamese alphabet will likely have 4 more letters including F and Z, according to a draft circular prepared by the Ministry of Education and Training that gives guidelines on the use of Vietnamese in textbooks and on computers.

Preschool kids are familiarizing themselves with Vietnamese letters at Vang Anh Kindergarten in District 5, Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Tuoi Tre

The other two that could be added are J and W.

The addition is intended to synchronize the use of the Vietnamese alphabet in textbooks and on computers, as those four letters are routinely used on the computer keyboards in combination with another letter to produce a distinct Vietnamese vowel, Quach Tuan Ngoc, director of the ministry’s Department of Information Technology, explained.

It would make it easier as well for Vietnamese to integrate into the international language family, he added.

The circular will be continuously revised based on the feedback and opinions of linguists about the proposed addition, he said.

It is scheduled to be officially released in October, Ngoc said.

The circular also aims to clarify the difference between the two confusing letters in the Vietnamese language, “y” and “i”, where the two have the same pronunciation.

The current Vietnamese alphabet has twenty nine letters, as below:

1. A/a

6. D/d

11. H/h

16. N/n

21. Q/q

26. Ư/ư

2. Ă/ă

7. Đ/đ

12. I/i

17. O/o

22. R/r

27. V/v

3. Â/â

8. E/e

13. K/k

18. Ô/ô

23. S/s

28. X/x

4. B/b

9. Ê/ê

14. L/l

19. Ơ/ơ

24. T/t

29. Y/y

5. C/c

10. G/g

15. M/m

20. P/p

25. U/u

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