"L" or "n": It's not just pronunciation, it's thinking and integration

(Dan Tri) - The goal by 2030 is that 100% of teachers will not mispronounce "l" and "n", and 80% of students who make these mistakes will be able to correct them - a determined goal of the Department of Education and Training of Hung Yen province.

Writing familiarization activity of students at Chu Phan Kindergarten, Hanoi (Photo: School).

* The following article is a sharing and in-depth perspective from Dr. Le Thi Ngan, an experienced researcher in the fields of: Vietnamese Literature, Culture, Social Work and Management Science .

Three factors that affect the pronunciation of “l" and “n"

At first glance, this may seem like a small issue. But in reality, it has major implications for the thinking, communication, and development of the young generation in the integration era.

I was really impressed when reading the information that the Department of Education and Training of Hung Yen province launched a movement to overcome the situation of misreading and pronouncing the first two consonants "l, n". This is based on the results of a survey in the province.

The purpose of the movement is to build a healthy cultural communication environment, reading - writing - speaking - listening correctly, preserving the purity of Vietnamese.

Along with that, the movement encourages students to practice to be confident in communication, study and life; contributes to creative teaching and learning competition, comprehensively developing students' qualities and abilities.

Regarding specific goals, this department divides into two phases. From now until 2026, 80% of teachers who mispronounce "l, n" will be able to correct this situation. For students, the rate is 50% of students who mispronounce and spell these errors can be corrected.

By 2030, all teachers will pronounce correctly. As for students, 80% will be able to correct their pronunciation and spelling mistakes.

Students of Chu Phan Kindergarten, Hanoi (Photo: School).

In fact, the confusion of “l” and “n” is not rare. This appears more prominently in some dialect regions of the North Central and the North. However, it is not enough to attribute the cause to regional factors alone.

In my opinion, there are three additional factors besides the regional dialect factor.

One is family habits. Children receive pronunciation patterns from relatives during the “golden period” of phoneme formation.

Second , the learning environment. When teachers do not pronounce correctly, it will greatly affect students, especially elementary school students.

Third , on social media. Many TikTok, Zalo channels or other platforms, including famous ones, still make mistakes in pronouncing "l/n" or intentionally mimic mistakes to impress. This unintentionally shapes bad habits for young people.

In other words, dialect is the “foundation”, but habit and environment are the important causes for that mispronunciation. The proof is that many people who grew up in that locality used to confuse “l” and “n”, but later, during their studies and work, they corrected it.

Consequences beyond spelling

Pronouncing and mispronouncing “l” and “n” is not just a matter of spelling, but also of language thinking and communication.

First, it blurs the phoneme-script boundary, hindering phonemic awareness, a key skill for effective reading and writing.

In terms of thinking, children easily accept “almost correct” instead of “correct”, reducing sensitivity to semantic differences (for example: “long”/“brown”, “leaf”/“slingshot”…).

In terms of communication, repetitive errors create an impression of inattention, especially in academic and professional contexts that require standardization of language. In the long run, learners are burdened with an excess “cognitive load,” expressing and explaining at the same time, instead of focusing on the content.

If not corrected, the "l"-"n" pronunciation error will cause consequences when entering the learning and professional working environment.
In terms of academics, this will be a minus point in presentations, debates, and thesis defense; there is a risk of misunderstanding near-sounding terms.

A lesson about letters (Photo: MNCP).

Professionally, it undermines credibility in fields that require precise communication (education, law, medicine, journalism, customer service). A small mistake repeatedly can become an unwanted “mark of recognition.”

As for integration, lisping "l" - "n" when learning a foreign language, if there is no standard pronunciation, will lead to misunderstanding of the meaning of the word, leading to misunderstanding of expression.

The Role of Family and Society: From Identity to Normation

To thoroughly solve this problem, there needs to be synchronous coordination from family to school and the whole society. In which, each family should respect the dialect, but there needs to be a "standard channel". The family can still maintain the local accent in daily life, but there needs to be a unified "standard school channel".

At school, there needs to be consistent regulation of reading, speaking, and writing in the school environment, not just during class hours.

At the same time, it is necessary to communicate with the community, encourage short, fun but standard digital content; invite program hosts and announcers to participate in "quick sound correction" sessions; school libraries increase the activities of book clubs to act as "sound correction stations".

Correcting the pronunciation of "l" - "n" is not just a small matter but a big vision. It is a test of the sophistication and discipline of education in the integration era, the new era: respecting local identity, ensuring national language standards, and phonetic competence for international integration.

Dr. Le Thi Ngan - author of the article (Photo: NVCC).

When we agree on a consonant, it also means we agree on a way of thinking: A child who is properly educated from the smallest things will grow up to be a person with a precise, serious and responsible working spirit.

As poet Luu Quang Vu said, in the midst of “the vast Earth rich with many languages…”, the Vietnamese language to the Vietnamese people is like “the heartbeat of a human being”. Preserving the purity of the Vietnamese language, to the Vietnamese people, is not simply a matter of language, but a story of love for the Fatherland.

Dr. Le Thi Ngan

Faculty of Languages ​​and Cultures

Gia Dinh University

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/giao-duc/l-hay-n-khong-chi-phat-am-ma-con-la-tu-duy-va-hoi-nhap-20250924114130349.htm