Vietnamese or Anglicized pronunciation of cu-nao

[PHenry1026]

Greetings:

Can anyone provide an IPA phoneme pronunciation of the Vietnamese word cu-nao as used in the following sentence:

“characteristic high-necked white pajama type of garment, called a cu-nao, and he wore open-toed rubber sandals.”

Quote is from a New York Times article.

;-) Percy

P.S. It could be that the author of the New York Times article made a mistake. It would be very helpful to me if there is another name (in Vietnamese or an Anglicization) for the "high-necked white pajama type of garment" referred to as a cu-nao in the quote from the New York Times.

 

[Robert.Tran]

Hi Percy,
I am a Vietnamese but I've never seen the word "cu-nao" before.
Could you share me the quote that you got so I can see exactly what they mean?


Robert.

 

[PHenry1026]

Greetings Robert:

The quote referenced in the New York Times article is:

“characteristic high-necked white pajama type of garment, called a cu-nao, and he wore open-toed rubber sandals.”

You can find a link to the New York Times article here.

I believe you are correct that cu-nao is not a word in Vietnamese. You can find an interesting discussion of this point here.

Please let me know what you think of the discussion noted above.

;-) Percy

 

[Raymott]

I'd assume it's pronounced /ku: nao/; or /koo-now/ in simple terms.

 

[PHenry1026]

The pronunciation I approximated, based on the Vietnamese word củ nâu, is /ˈkoʊˈnoʊ/.

See my post above for the derivation of củ nâu.

;-) Percy

 

[Robert.Tran]

Hi Percy,
Sorry for my belated reply!
I did refer the link to the New York Times article and I think they had something's wrong here.
There is no pajama or garment from Vietnam that can be call "cu-nao" or something like this.
Maybe "cu-nau" is "củ nâu" as your mention above.
But if so, the Pajama cannot be in "white", it should be is in "brown". 'Cause "nâu" in Vietnamese means "Brown" (a color).
Long time ago, when Vietnam was in war, they used it to dye the garment.
I cannot find a word in English to define the garments that Mr. Ho dressed. But you can see the picture in link below:
https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/...XrIuF306LjGsNxS4rreiDJIMu431fufnGAgLtYwxc1JOQ

And actual color here: http://www.google.com.vn/imgres?img...=rc&uact=3&dur=1254&page=10&start=197&ndsp=24

Anyway, I think the New York Times had a wrong point here.

Hope it will help!

Robert.

PS. My English is very poor. I am trying to make it better day by day. So, if you see any mistake on my post (i think you can find a lot J), pls kindly let me know. Thanks in advance!

 

[PHenry1026]

Greetings Robert,

Thanks for thoughtful reply. Your written English is very understandable.

;-) Percy

 

[Robert.Tran]

Hi Herry,
You are welcome!
My pleasure to know you via this great forum!
And questions or anything need to be clearer, pls don't hesitate to reach me.


Regards,
Robert.

 

[Raymott]

But if so, the Pajama cannot be in "white", it should be is in "brown". 'Cause "nâu" in Vietnamese means "Brown" (a color).
So, if you see any mistake on my post (i think you can find a lot J), pls kindly let me know. Thanks in advance!

"'Cause" is not an English word. You need "because". 'I' is always capitalised.

 

[Robert.Tran]

"'Cause" is not an English word. You need "because". 'I' is always capitalised.

Hi Raymott,
Well noted and thank you very much for your explanation!
This really helps me well. J
You know, it's very good if you can help to teach me they way English or American use for this situation. Because sometimes I think my English just is the translation from Vietnamese to English word by word. It's not a writing like English or American.


Regards,
Robert

 

[PHenry1026]

Hi Robert,

I realized that your thank you note to me was riddled with errors but I did not correct you because doing so would have been rude at that point: since you were providing critical help to me and correcting your English was not the focus of this post.

I recommend that, in the future, when you need help with your English you start a new post of your own where forum participants can focus on helping you with specific problems.

;-) Percy

 

[Robert.Tran]

Here we go: This is the new British Council phonemic chart. Help your students hear the sounds of English by clicking on the symbols below. Click on the top right hand corner of each symbol to hear sample words including the sounds: https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/phonemic-chart

Hi LeonardoCorrect,
Thank you very much for your sharing!


Regards,
Robert.

 

[Raymott]

Leonardo, it your profile correct? It seems rather incongruent.
Apologies if a moderator has already asked you this.

 

[Robert.Tran]

Hi Robert,

I realized that your thank you note to me was riddled with errors but I did not correct you because doing so would have been rude at that point: since you were providing critical help to me and correcting your English was not the focus of this post.

I recommend that, in the future, when you need help with your English you start a new post of your own where forum participants can focus on helping you with specific problems.

;-) Percy

Hi Percy,
Well noted and so sorry about that! My bad.
I understood the rule and will be careful for next time.

Regards,
Robert.