"Sum se" and "Xum xue"

The contestant suggested writing "xum xuê," but it was not accepted because the program's answer was "sum sê."

However, this is a completely false conclusion.

Firstly, the spelling "xum xuê" (meaning lush and abundant) was chosen in the Vietnamese Language 1 textbook (Knowledge Connection series), Lesson 7, to guide students in the spelling section of oai, uê, uy, with the example: "Ha's maternal hometown has a green bamboo hedge and lush fruit trees."

In addition, we have at least seven dictionaries in hand that contain extensive information. Here are four of those seven:

1. The Dictionary of Southern Vietnamese Vocabulary (by Dr. Huynh Cong Tin) records "xum xuê" through the entry "xuê," and explains it as follows: "xuê: (short for 'xum xuê') lush, beautiful, eye-catching, pleasing to the eye. 'During the rainy season, these trees look really lush.'"

2. The Nghe An dialect dictionary (Tran Huu Thung - Thai Kim Dinh) under the entry for "xum" explains: "Xum or xum often combines with Xum xue or sum sue: Xum xue fruit. Xum xoe: dense. Xum xoe tree."

3. The Vietnamese Dictionary (edited by Hoang Phe - Vietlex) collects the word "sum suê" and provides instructions on how to read it.

4. The Great Vietnamese Dictionary (edited by Nguyen Nhu Y) collects "sum suê" and provides guidance on how to read "sum suê".

In principle, if a word is considered misspelled, it will never be included in a dictionary. Once included, it means that spelling has been accepted by the dictionary compiler. And this acceptance by the compiler is based on the spelling used in practice and accepted by the community, not on an imposed spelling by the dictionary compiler.

The fact that dictionaries collect a large number of words and then suggest "see" or recommend "writing" them as "a common spelling" means that the compilers are aiming for a spelling that is considered more common, not that one spelling negates another. Similarly, if a dictionary collects "dúm dó" and suggests "see" or recommends "writing" it as "rúm ró," it doesn't mean "dúm dó" is a spelling error.

It should also be noted that sometimes the instructions to "see" or the advice to "write" are only relative, as they depend on statistical results, or even the perspective of the dictionary compiler. For example, the Vietnamese Dictionary (Hoang Phe - Vietlex) collects a large number of entries and then advises "see" them extensively; conversely, the Dictionary of Reduplicated Words in Vietnamese (Institute of Linguistics - Hoang Van Hanh editor-in-chief) collects a large number of entries but notes that they are rarely used (id.), and then advises "see" them extensively.

This shows that sum/sum and xuê/sê are complex phenomena, and it's not easy to choose one spelling and discard another, or to determine which spelling is more common.

Reference: In the article "Tet Reunion or Tet Reunion" (Casual Conversations on Words and Meanings - Thanh Hoa Newspaper), we wrote:

"The character 'sum' in 'sum vầy' (to gather together) is of Chinese origin, derived from the character 'sâm' (森). This character is composed of three 'mộc' (木) characters formed by combining ideograms, signifying lush, dense growth of trees and plants; its original meaning is dense, crowded. Later, the character 'sâm' acquired several noteworthy meanings, as explained in the Comprehensive Dictionary of Chinese Language: 1. lush, thriving trees and plants [thụ mộc cao tủng phồn mật mạo 樹木高聳繁密貌]; 2. crowdedness; a large, cheerful crowd of people or things [chúng đa mạo, chúng thịnh mạo 眾多貌,眾盛貌]."

The Nôm script dictionary (chunom.org) notes that the character 森 (sâm) has several pronunciations such as sum, sùm, xum:

1- The sound of SUM (ginseng): "My wife is Yang Shi, her name is this, Together we are united in marriage and happiness (Thach Sanh)."

2- The sound of "SUM" (sam): So it took all the good clothes and put them on in a messy, baggy way... (Ancient story).

3- XUM (ginseng) sound: Empty, without liver or intestines, Fat and rich, from sum to bitter and pungent, avoid it (Double essence).

We see that the character 森 (shān) has a pronunciation of "xum" in the phrase "xum đến" (meaning to gather together, to huddle together). But "xum" is simply a variant pronunciation of "sum". Therefore, the Dictionnaire Annamite-Français (Génibrel, JFM, 1898) recorded the spellings "súm đến" and "súm lại". Notably, in reality, both spellings "sùm sòa" and "xùm xòa" exist, and both are recorded in dictionaries.

Thus, it can be seen that sum (sum suê), xum (xum xuê), xùm (xùm xòa), xúm (xúm xít)... all have the same root from the word sâm 森, with the original meaning of lush, thriving trees; a crowded, cheerful appearance.

Once we accept the spelling "xùm xòa" alongside "sùm sòa" (tummy, dense), there's no reason why we shouldn't accept "xum xuê" alongside "sum suê" in the sense of "dense, lush branches and leaves."

Hoang Tuan Cong (Contributor)

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/sum-se-va-nbsp-xum-xue-273855.htm