Thai Language
The Thai language, also known as Siamese, is a member of the Tai language family, originating from a parent language known as Proto-Tai, which developed near the border of northern Vietnam and southeastern China. Spoken primarily in Thailand by approximately sixty-five million people, Thai is characterized by its syllabic alphabet comprising forty-four consonants and fifteen vowel graphemes, arranged into various combinations. The language is tonal, featuring five distinct tones—mid, low, high, rising, and falling—that can change a word's meaning based on pitch. Historically, Thai evolved over two millennia as speakers migrated into Southeast Asia, gaining independence from the Khmer people in the mid-thirteenth century.
King Ramkhamhaeng is credited with creating the Thai script, which has remained largely unchanged since its introduction. Thai is recognized not only for its complexity but also for its emphasis on politeness, shaping social interactions with different forms used depending on the status of individuals involved. Within Thailand, several dialects exist, with Central Thai being the most widely spoken and understood. The Royal Institute oversees the language, ensuring the publication of an official dictionary and the incorporation of new terms.
Thai Language
The Thai language, also known as Siamese, belongs to the Tai language family, which is a subgroup of the Tai-Kadai family. Also known as Kadai or Kam-Tai, all members of this language family descended from a parent language known as Proto-Tai that developed near the border of northern Vietnam and southeastern China. Currently, Tai languages are spoken in Assam, northern Burma, Thailand, Laos, northern Vietnam, and the Chinese provinces of Yunnan, Guizhou (Kweichow), and Guangxi (Kwangsi).
The Thai language is very similar to the Lao language of Laos, particularly the Lao spoken in northern Thailand. The two languages share grammar, vocabulary, vowel usage, and intonation. Those capable of understanding either written language can usually understand the other.
The Thai language depends on a syllabic alphabet consisting of forty-four basic consonants and fifteen basic vowel graphemes arranged into thirty-two vowel combinations. A grapheme is a letter or group of letters that represents a sound. Vowel graphemes can be written above, below, before, or after the consonants they modify. When spoken, the sound of the consonants always comes before that of the vowels. Thai characters are written from left to right in horizontal lines. Spaces are not used between words but instead indicate the end of a clause or sentence.
A syllable in Thai must contain a vowel sound but may begin and/or end with a consonant sound. A syllable ending in a vowel sound is said to be open; whereas a syllable ending in a consonant is said to be closed. Most Thai words have only one syllable. Multi-syllable words are generally used to describe concepts relating to government, religion, or academics.
The Thai alphabet is phonemic, so the pronunciation of a word is independent of its meaning. However, Thai is a tonal language, which means that the pitch with which a word is spoken affects its meaning. The Thai language uses five tones: mid, low, high, rising, and falling. The tone of a syllable is determined by several factors, including the class of consonant, the type of syllable (open or closed), the tone marker, and the length of the vowel. Consonants can be categorized into three classes: low, mid, and high. In addition, the sounds represented by some consonants change when they are used at the end of a syllable and some consonants can be used only at the beginning of a syllable.
Words in the Thai language are not modified or conjugated for tense, person, possession, number, gender, or subject-verb agreement. In addition, words such as a, an, and the are not used.
History and Classification
The origin of the Thai language can be traced back two thousand years when speakers of Tai languages moved southward into Southeast Asia. The Thai people were originally controlled by the Mon people and then later by the Khmer people. The Thai people became independent in the mid-thirteenth century. The country became known as Siam and its language as Siamese. (In 1939, Siam became the country of Thailand.)
The written Thai Language, or script, is attributed to King Ramkhamhaeng in the late thirteenth century shortly after the Thais gained their independence. Remembered as one of the greatest kings in Thai history, Ramkhamhaeng supported tremendous cultural growth during his reign. The writing he created has changed little since its introduction and can therefore be read by modern scholars. It was based on Pali (the language of Buddhism), Sanskrit, and Indian foundations. The Thai script appears to be based on Old Khmer script, which came from the Brahmi script of India. This script, dating back to the seventh century, is one of the earliest writing systems in Southeast Asia.
Geographic Distribution and Modern Usage
Thai is the national language of Thailand. It is currently spoken by about sixty-five million people mainly in Thailand and also in the Midway Islands, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States.
The Royal Institute is the governing body of the Thai language. It is responsible for publishing the official Thai dictionary and adding new words to the language as required. New words required in Thai are usually taken from Sanskrit. Because of the historical connection between Greek and Latin and the ancient languages of Asia and India, some similarities between high-level Thai words and their English equivalents exist.
Within Thailand, there are four major dialects corresponding to geographical locations: southern, northern ("Yuan"), northeastern, and central. The dialect of the central region is called Central Thai, Standard Thai, or Bangkok Thai. This is the dialect that is most widely understood, taught in all schools, and used by the government and media. Residents who live outside central Thailand generally use their local dialects at home, but they switch to Central Thai when conducting business or in school. A few minor Thai dialects, such as Phuan and Lue, are spoken by small populations.
In addition, there are different versions of the language that depend on social circumstances. The high form of the language is used when talking to or about members of royalty, religious figures, and people of high social status. The low form is used in everyday conversation and when discussing anyone other than those for which the high form is required.
The Thai language has an emphasis on politeness to reflect mutual respect among people. Conversations tend to be pleasant, controversial subjects are avoided, and sarcasm is not used. Speaking loudly or rudely should be avoided.
Bibliography
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Comrie, Bernard, ed. The World’s Major Languages. New York: Oxford UP. 1990. Print.
Dalby, Andrew. Dictionary of Languages: The Definitive Reference to More than 400 Languages. New York: Columbia UP, 2004. Print.
"Thai." Omniglot. Simon Ager, 2015. Web. 9 Sept. 2015. <w.omniglot.com/writing/thai.htm" http://www.omniglot.com/writing/thai.htm>.
Thai Dictionary and Phrasebook. New York: Hippocrene, 2012. Print.
Slayden, Glenn . "History of the Thai Language." 5 Nov. 2010. Web. 9 Sept. 2015. <http://www.thai-language.com/ref/Overview>.