Minh Châu NGUYÊN (in Vietnam :
Nguyễn T. Minh Châu) 
阮氏明珠
PhD in Linguistics
Thesis defended at Sorbonne Nouvelle University – Paris III on 2021, December 14th: “Glottalization, tonal contrasts and intonation: An experimental study of the Kim Thuong dialect of Muong”
(supervisor: Alexis Michaud)
(formerly member of LACITO)
Research topic
My Ph. D. project builds on my M.A. (Nguyễn 2016), which was a study on the tone system of the Kim Thuong dialect of Muong (hereafter KTM). Muong is a language belonging to the Vietic branch of Austroasiatic. My Ph. D. project focuses on what is arguably the most striking feature of the KTM tone system: its glottalized tone (Tone 4). Interactions between this glottalized lexical tone and intonation will be studied through the experimental analysis of speech materials ranging from carefully controlled materials (such as words inside carrier sentences) to “spontaneous speech” (both monologues and dialogues). Experiments suggested by the analysis of production data will be verified through perception tests. Computer tools will be tailored to overcome difficulties in the quantitative study of glottalization as a component of lexical tone. The aim is to understand the full range of ways in which glottalization serves communicative functions in Muong. From the point of view of general phonological models, this study contributes to a better understanding (i) of tone systems in Vietic, a typologically unusual group in terms of tone, and (ii) of linguistic uses of the various avatars of glottalization.
Participation in research operations
Within the LACITO research centre:
• Languages of the Tibeto-Burman area
• Panchronic phonology
• Terrains, Analyses, et Comparaison des Langues
Within the Labex “Empirical Foundations of Linguistics”:
• Evolutionary approaches to phonology: New goals and new methods (in diachrony and panchrony) (strand 1, work package PPC-2)
Keywords
linguistic description – linguistic fieldwork – experimental phonetics/phonology – Vietic languages – Muong
Training
• 2014-2016 : Master en Linguistique. Université Nationale du Vietnam à Hanoï (VNU-USSH). Directeur: Alexis Michaud
• 2010-2014 — Licence (B.A.) en Linguistique. Université Nationale du Vietnam à Hanoï (VNU-USSH).
Other web pages
Publications
— 2020, Alexis Michaud, Minh‑Châu Nguyễn et Likun He 和丽昆, Voix de « ceux qui ne sont rien » en Asie du Sud-Est, Cahiers de Littérature Orale (hors-série “Oralités contestataires”): 147-154. (en ligne)
— 2016. Michaud, Alexis, Minh-Châu Nguyễn & Hiển Phạm. 2016. Z in company names: trendy clothing for a typical Vietnamese sound. Mon-Khmer Studies 45. 53–65.
— 2015. Michaud, Alexis, Michel Ferlus & Minh-Châu Nguyễn. 2015. Strata of standardization: the Phong Nha dialect of Vietnamese (Quảng Bình Province) in historical perspective. Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area 38(1). 124–162.
— 2015. Michaud, Alexis, Minh Châu Nguyễn & Jacqueline Vaissière. 2015. Phonetic insights into a simple level-tone system: “careful” vs. “impatient” realizations of Naxi High, Mid and Low tones. Proceedings of ICPhS XVIII (18th International Congress of Phonetic Sciences). Glasgow.
Mémoire :
— 2016. Mémoire de Master : The tone system of Kim Thượng Mường: an experimental
study of fundamental frequency, duration, and phonation types. (Egalement disponible en version vietnamienne)
Conference presentation
— 2019, Minh-Châu Nguyễn, Lise Crevier-Buchman, Alexis Michaud, Didier Demolin. A glottalized tone in Muong (Vietic): a pilot study based on audio and electroglottographic recordings. ICPhS XIX (19th International Congress of Phonetic Sciences), Melbourne, Australia. 5-9 August 2019.