Nói lái
French version
Vietnamese version
The exact date of the appearance of spoonerisms in Vietnam is not known, but during the French colonial period, it was discovered by a researcher from the French School of the Far East, M.A. Chéon. He maintains that it is a language formed mechanically and artificially from the mixing or inversion of elements of two or three consecutive monosyllables in a sentence. It is considered a true linguistic gymnastics and is characteristic in conversation. When someone says something, the listener must know how to interpret it in another way according to a tacit convention that only a small group of people in the profession or among friends can understand. Today, it has become popular among the population and is used to joke playfully among close friends, such as « khoái ăn sang » (to enjoy eating abundantly) (sáng ăn khoai « eat sweet potatoes for breakfast »), (chà đồ nhôm « rub aluminum objects ») (chôm đồ nhà « steal things from the house »), (hạ cờ tây « lower the French flag ») (hạ cầy tơ « eat dog meat »).
Words of extreme elegance can become vulgar words in carelessness or with the intention of teasing someone or mocking others, especially the beautiful names that parents have given their children such as Cảnh hu, Thu đạm, Thái Đức, etc. Sometimes in a statement, no meaning is found, but when the words are reversed, it gives it a meaning like « man cái » becoming « cái màn » (curtain) or vice versa like « đơi chi » becoming « đi chơi » (to stroll).
According to the French researcher M.A. Cheon, Vietnamese people often have the habit of easily separating the elements (consonants and vowels) of words. It is on this separation that the whole rule of wordplay is established. The first word lends its final ending to the following word and in return, it takes back the final ending of the following word.
Thus, « đi chơi » (to stroll) is divided into d + i and becomes « đơi chi » by inversion. This is a very simple rule but it also includes very complex rules that are often found in wordplay with the three principles below.
Example: cờ tây (French flag) becomes cầy tơ (a young dog). This method proves harmonious and is more frequently encountered. Cờ and cầy always keep the two tones (bằng) of the two original sounds like tây and tơ.
Second method:
1°) Completely swap syllables.
2°) Keep the two tones (accents) of the two original sounds.
For example: đấu tranh (to fight) becomes tránh đâu (to avoid). This method does not seem pleasant to the ear and is rarely used.
Third method:
1°) Reverse the sound pattern.
2°) Swap the two tones (accents) of the two syllables.
For example: khó đi (difficult to go) becomes khi đó (at that moment). This method is also not pleasant to the ear and its use is also rare.
According to the writer Phụng Nghi, in a word of 3 or 4 syllables, if one wants to say it « backwards, » one must keep the linking sounds (conjunctions) or the sounds with secondary meaning. The syllables with the correct meaning are exchanged in the three ways mentioned above.
Example: khoái ăn sang (to enjoy eating abundantly) -> sáng ăn khoai (« to eat sweet potatoes for breakfast »)
cái trâm em cài (the brooch I wear) -> (cái trài em câm) -> (cái chai em cầm « the bottle I hold »)
làm sương cho sáo (to make dew for the flute: no meaning) -> (làm sao cho sướng « how to make myself happy »)
cầu gia đạo (family prayer) -> (cạo da đầu « scalp shaving »)
This wordplay is often used with the intention of reflecting a social reality such as
Ban lãnh đạo (« leadership team ») -> Bao lãnh đạn (« cartridge case »)
Thủ tục đầu tiên (« the first procedure to take ») -> (thủ tục tiền đâu « monetary procedure (corruption) »)
Chiều 30 Tết thầy giáo tháo giầy đi chợ, mồng một giáo chức (giức cháo) dứt cháo vui Xuân. Trong câu nầy thì có sự châm chước trong lỗi chính tả như hai chữ giức và dứt.
On the afternoon of the 30th of Tết, teachers take off their shoes to go to the market. On the first day of Tết, teachers finish their soup and celebrate the spring. In this statement, there is some tolerance for spelling mistakes such as the two words « giức » (no meaning) and « dứt » (to cease).
With the characteristic of « transforming the ‘vulgar’ into ‘distinguished’, » the spoonerism is a technique that appears in scholarly literature and popular couplets. It is also satirical and ironic, as in the poem titled « Monastic Life » by Hồ Xuân Hương:
Cái kiếp tu hành nặng đá đeo
Vị gì một chút tẻo tèo teo (quá nhỏ)
Thuyền từ muốn về Tây trúc
Trái gió phải nên phải lộn lèo
The monastic life is burdened with heavy stones,
What taste is there in a little bit so tiny (too small)?
The boat wants to return to India,
The contrary wind forces it to turn around.
Or not strictly adhering to the rising and falling tones in the poem « Summer Awaits the Lover » by Nguyễn Khoa Vy:
Nực cổi chỉ ra nỗi cực lòng
Dòng châu lai láng đĩa dầu chong
Khó đi tìm hiểu nhau khi đó
Công khó chờ ai biết có không
The heat’s relief only reveals deep despair,
Tears flow abundantly on the oil lamp’s plate.
It is difficult to understand each other at that moment,
The effort to wait for someone, does anyone know?
We are used to listening to the following riddles
I do not dislike compotes except chè ghim (chìm nghe « sunken boat »)
Bằng ngón tay trên bàn Phật
Tụng kinh rồi búng cánh bay xa (bánh cúng)
– Just the size of a finger on the Buddha’s altar
Once the prayer is finished, the cake offered to him flies very far (búng cánh « bánh cúng »)
Cái bông trên cành, cái trái cận mây (cây mận)
– The flower is on the branch, the fruit is close to the cloud (cận mây) (prunier tree).
The flower being on the branch, the fruit is very close to the cloud (cận mây), that is, on the « cây mận (prunier) »
Cục đo đỏ bỏ vô giường (Cục đường bỏ vô giỏ)
– The reddish piece is on the bed (Cục đo đỏ bỏ vô giường) (Cục đường bỏ vô giỏ « the piece of sugar is in the basket »)
or to find the spoonerism in the following parallel sentences:
Con mèo cái nằm mãi trên mái kèo
Con cá đối nằm trong cối đá
Con chim mỏ kiến đậu trên miếng cỏ
The female cat rests eternally on the roof framework.
The mule rests in the stone mortar.
The woodpecker perches on a piece of grass.
There are certain puns in spoonerisms that the listener thinks they are dealing with, such as Western or Chinese words during their listening, which first causes confusion and leaves them stunned for a moment before realizing it and bursting out laughing. This is the case with the following example:
Quýt xơ măng bông sên (Quăng xơ mýt (mít) bên sông « throwing jackfruit fibers by the riverbank »).
Chúng mình đập chuông nhé? -> Chúng mình đuông chập nhé? -> Chúng mình đuông chậm nhé? -> ? Chúng mình đâm chuột nhé? -> Chúng mình đâm tí (tý) nhé? -> (Chúng mình đi tắm nhé? « Let’s go swimming »)
