Dialogue

Vocabulary

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Lesson Notes

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Lesson Transcript

Introduction
Eric: Welcome to 3-Minute Vietnamese Season 1, Lesson 7 - Do You Speak English? In this lesson, you’ll learn how to ask and answer the question “Do you speak English?” in Vietnamese.
Body
Eric: Here's the informal way to ask "Do you speak English?" in Vietnamese.
Hoang Anh: [Normal] Bạn biết nói tiếng Anh không?
Eric: First is a pronoun meaning "you"
Hoang Anh: [Normal] bạn [Slow] bạn
Eric: Next is the verb meaning "to know"
Hoang Anh: [Normal] biết [Slow] biết
Eric: Next is the verb meaning "to speak"
Hoang Anh: [Normal] nói [Slow] nói
Eric: Next is the noun meaning "English"
Hoang Anh: [Normal] tiếng Anh [Slow] tiếng Anh
Eric: Last is the question word meaning "no, not"
Hoang Anh: [Normal] không [Slow] không
Eric: Note the rising intonation. Listen again to the informal question meaning "Do you speak English?"
Hoang Anh: [Slow] Bạn biết nói tiếng Anh không? [Normal] Bạn biết nói tiếng Anh không?
Eric: Now, imagine you're speaking to a stranger. Here's the formal way to ask, "Do you speak English?"
Hoang Anh: [Normal] Anh biết nói tiếng Anh không?
Eric: First is a word meaning "you” for a man.
Hoang Anh: [Normal] anh [Slow] anh
Eric: Next is the verb meaning "to know"
Hoang Anh: [Normal] biết [Slow] biết
Eric: Next is the verb meaning "to speak"
Hoang Anh: [Normal] nói [Slow] nói
Eric: Next is the noun meaning "English"
Hoang Anh: [Normal] tiếng Anh [Slow] tiếng Anh
Eric: Last is the question word meaning "no, not"
Hoang Anh: [Normal] không [Slow] không
Eric: Note again the rising intonation. Listen again to the formal question meaning "Do you speak English?"
Hoang Anh: [Slow] Anh biết nói tiếng Anh không? [Normal] Anh biết nói tiếng Anh không?
Eric: Please note that you can only use this question when the other person is male.
Hoang Anh: If it’s a woman, simply replace Anh with chị and say… Chị biết nói tiếng Anh không?
Eric: “Do you speak English?”
Eric: Here's a response meaning "Yes, I speak English."
Hoang Anh: [Normal] Có, tôi biết nói tiếng Anh.
Eric: First is an interjection meaning "yes"
Hoang Anh: [Normal] có [Slow] có
Eric: Next is the pronoun meaning "I"
Hoang Anh: [Normal] tôi [Slow] tôi
Eric: Next is the verb meaning "to know"
Hoang Anh: [Normal] biết [Slow] biết
Eric: Next is the verb meaning "to speak"
Hoang Anh: [Normal] nói [Slow] nói
Eric: Last is the noun meaning "English"
Hoang Anh: [Normal] tiếng Anh [Slow] tiếng Anh
Eric: Listen again to the response meaning "Yes, I speak English."
Hoang Anh: [Slow] Có, tôi biết nói tiếng Anh. [Normal] Có, tôi biết nói tiếng Anh.
Eric: Here's a response meaning, "No, I don"t speak English."
Hoang Anh: [Normal] Không, tôi không biết nói tiếng Anh.
Eric: First is an interjection meaning "no, not"
Hoang Anh: [Normal] không [Slow] không
Eric: Next is the pronoun meaning "I"
Hoang Anh: [Normal] tôi [Slow] tôi
Eric: Next is the verb meaning "don’t know"
Hoang Anh: [Normal] không biết [Slow] không biết
Eric: Next is the verb meaning "to speak"
Hoang Anh: [Normal] nói [Slow] nói
Eric: Last is the noun meaning "English"
Hoang Anh: [Normal] tiếng Anh [Slow] tiếng Anh
Eric: Listen again to the response meaning "No, I don"t speak English."
Hoang Anh: [Slow] Không, tôi không biết nói tiếng Anh. [Normal] Không, tôi không biết nói tiếng Anh.
Cultural Insight
Eric: Now it's time for a quick cultural insight.
Hoang Anh: Many Vietnamese people can’t speak English but they’re not afraid of foreigners. So, it’s totally fine to ask a Vietnamese person on the street about something. You may not get the answer, but you won't receive unfriendly treatment. Some people will even find a way to help you out. One tip is to ask a younger person because they’re more likely to speak some English.

Outro

Eric: And that’s all for this lesson. Don’t forget to check out the lesson notes, and we’ll see you in the next lesson!
Hoang Anh: Tạm biệt.

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