Vietnamese edit

Pronunciation edit

Verb edit

nói ngọng

  1. (colloquial, pseudo-linguistics) to have a "speech impediment" where one has difficulty in articulating certain phoneme(s) that is/are not native to their dialect, most stereotypically associated with those who have the /n/-/l/ merger or switch
    Nàm thì nười, thấy nòng nợn thì gắp nia nịa.
    Thằng khỉ! Mày nói ngọng đấy à?
    Not only are ya a lathy arth, yer altho a greedy bathtard.
    Hey dummy! Do you have some sort of lisp or what?

Usage notes edit

  • This pseudolinguistic term is often utilized to indicate those with the /n/-/l/ mergers or switch (either to [n] or to [l], or the switch in phonetic values between the two phonemes) in certain regions of Northern Vietnam, which is heavily stigmatized by other speakers (Northerners or not) who do not have these particular mergers or switch, and by the speakers themselves. However, it is also used to refer to other sound shifts.