Thổ phonetic system

Abstract

Tho is a language with a small population belonging to the Vietic (Viet-Muong) group, Mon-Khmer subfamily, Austroasiatic family. In linguistic studies, Tho has been mentioned when referring to the history of the Vietic language group, which has not been studied from a synchronous perspective. This article describes the Tho phonetic system in Yen Le commune (currently belongs to Yen Cat town), Nhu Xuan district, Thanh Hoa province. The article has two purposes: (a) Introducing the phonetic-phonological characteristics of the Tho phonetic system (including syllables, onsets, rhyme and tones); (b) Contribute to archiving and preservation of the Tho language; providing valuable material for researching the phonetic history of Vietnamese in particular and languages of the Vietic group in general.