dái tai

Vietnamese

Alternative forms

(North Central Vietnam) trấy tai
(Southern Vietnam) trái tai
(etymological spelling, not used) giái tai

Etymology

Originally a compound of giái (“fruit”) +‎ tai (“ear”), the first element is an alternative form of trái (see giai for the sound change).[1] The current spelling is probably due to the ‹gi›-‹d› merger in most dialects and influence from folk etymology (as if from dái (“scrotum”) +‎ tai, cf. Korean 귓불 (gwitbul)). Compare Phong Nha dialect ʈɤj³²⁴ which means both "fruit" and "earlobe", while "scrotum, testicles" is ɗaj³²⁴.[2]

This form is originally Northern, then spread to other dialects.

Pronunciation

(Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [zaːj˧˦ taːj˧˧]
(Huế) IPA^(key): [jaːj˨˩˦ taːj˧˧]
(Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [jaːj˦˥ taːj˧˧]

Noun

dái tai

earlobe

References

Vũ, Đức Nghiệu. "Các biến đổi ngữ âm lịch sử với việc tạo từ tiếng Việt".
Ferlus, Michel; Michaud, Alexis; Nguyễn, Minh Châu. "Strata of standardization: The Phong Nha dialect of Vietnamese (Quảng Bình Province) in historical perspective".

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[1] Vũ, Đức Nghiệu. "Các biến đổi ngữ âm lịch sử với việc tạo từ tiếng Việt".

[2] Ferlus, Michel; Michaud, Alexis; Nguyễn, Minh Châu. "Strata of standardization: The Phong Nha dialect of Vietnamese (Quảng Bình Province) in historical perspective".