THAI CULTURE NEW SERIES NO.10 THE NATURE AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE THAI LANGUAGE BY PHYA ANUMAN RAJADHON PUBLISHED BY THE FINE ARTS DEPARTMENT BANGKOK, THAILAND B.E. 2558 Preface Thailand is very rich in precious arts and cultural heritage which represents a long-lasting independence, prosperity and stability of the country. These various fields of heritage have been preserved, accumulated and inherited throughout generations until the present. This legacy brings pride, dignity and prestige to Thai people. Therefore, it should be shared with the world so that Thai wisdom can be appreciated. The Fine Arts Department is responsible for the preservation, promotion, transmission and dissemination of arts and culture of the Thai nation. As such it has compiled and published a book series of 25 volumes written by experts in their respective fields. Their areas of knowledge include artistic works, architecture, music and dramatic arts as well as language and literature. Each series has been reprinted from time to time. In this publication, there are no alterations to the contents although some illustrations have been added for the benefit of the readers. The Department hopes that this series of books will be a resource among the international community to help them understand Thailand better EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD through its unique arts and culture. Mr. Borvornvate Rungrujee Director General of the Fine Arts Department Mr. Pirapon Pisnupong Deputy Director General of the Fine Arts Department Mrs. Sunisa Chitrbhandh Deputy Director General of the Fine Arts Department Mr. Sahabhum Bhumtitterat Deputy Director General of the Fine Arts Department Mr. Boonteun Srivorapot Director of the Office of Literature and History Mr. Pakorn Pornpisut Director of the Office of the Performing Arts (Mr. Borvornvate Rungrujee) Miss Suporn Rattanapong Director of the Central Administrative Office Director General, EDITORIAL BOARD Miss Sukolrat Tharasak Mrs. Phornphan Thongtan The Fine Arts Department Mr. Charat Singhadechakul Mrs.Varanee Niamsorn Mrs. Ratchanee Ngamchareon Miss Rujira Chaikhampa Mrs. Kamonchanok Pornpassakorn Miss Siriporn Deeying Miss Darapha Muangtawee Miss Patnarin Rawinopparat PHOTOGRAPHERS Mr. Singkhom Bourisuth Mr. Thawatchai Ramanatta Mr. Narongsak Sutawan Mr. Navee Pongkarnjana Miss. Nuda Pintan THE NATURE AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE THAI LANGUAGE GRAPHIC EDITOR Mr. Tanakorn Kamsap FIRST EDITION 1961 SECOND EDITION 1963 GRAPHIC DESIGNER Mr. Weerayut Nartchaiyo THIRD EDITION 1970 FOURTH EDITION 1971 PUBLISHED BY FIFTH EDITION 1972 The Fine Arts Department, Na Phra That Road, Bangkok 10200,Thailand SIXTH EDITION 1989 Tel. 0 2224 2050, 0 2222 0934 SEVENTH EDITION 2015 PRINTED BY Rungsilp Printing Company Limited SEPTEMBER, 2015 (B.E. 2558) 85-95 Mahanakorn Road, Bangrak, Bangkok 10500, Thailand, ISBN 978-616-283-211-6 Tel. 0-2236-0058, 0-2266-5486 Fax. 0-2238-4028 PHYA ANUMAN RAJADHON D.Litt. (Honoris Causa), Chulalongkorn University, Philology, Comparative Literature and Thai Customs and Tradition was one of the greatest scholars and writers of Thailand. Not to be at Chulalongkorn University, and Comparative Religions at Thammasat classified specifically as a historian, an ethnologist, a philologist or University. He served as Vice-Chairman of the Thai History Revision an archaeologist, he typified that race of scholars with an unquenchable Committee,and also heads of the Thai Current Dictionary Committee spirit of enquiry and encyclopedic range that is fast dying out. His and Head of the Thai National Gazetteer Committee, Chief editor of writings, mostly under the pseudonym of “Sathira Koses” which thai Encyclopedia and Chief of the Philosophy Section, the National has become a household word, amply reflect his catholic tastes and Research Bureau. wide interests embracing the whole gamut of the humanities. He had a long and distinguished career of government service as Assistant Director General of Customs, Director General of the Fine Arts Department and Acting President of the Royal Institute. He taught THE NATURE AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE THAI LANGUAGE 3 THE NATURE AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE THAI LANGUAGE WORD AND SENTENCE The Thai language as spoken by the people of Thailand is in with the same sound but with a difference in meaning ( = homonyms) its original structure, comparable to Chinese. Hence the two languages, With such a phenomenon, the Thai language has availed itself of i.e. the Thai and the Chinese, are philologically grouped together The use of tones as a primary feature of the language to differentiate in the same family of languages. There are in both of these languages meaning in homonymous words. Each word is complete in itself and hundreds of similar words. No doubt these words are in most cases admits no modifications as do the inflectional languages with their due to cultural borrowings after long and continual contact of the differences of case, gender, member, etc. There is no hard and fast two peoples in both times of peace and war. Nevertheless, there rule that makes Thai words belong to a particular part of speech. are certain classes of words which derived from common sources Any word may become a noun, a verb, an adjective or an adverb, in remote times. etc., simply through the position of the word in the sentence. Each word stands distinctly and independently, and concedes no joining The Word. Fundamentally, the Thai language is monosyllabic of sounds or assimilations between words. There are five tones in its formation of words. It is a characteristic to be found also in in the standard Thai language, but in actual speaking there may be six Chinese and, more or less, in other language groups of South-East or even seven tones varying in certain dialectical areas. Asia. Due to the limited number of combinations of sounds which the consonants admit, there arises naturally a multitude of words Note : The spelling of Thai words in this book was written by the author before the Royal Institute of Thailand fixed the Principles for the Romanization of the Thai Script. For the current spelling which follows the Royal Institute's Principles, see the relevant footnote of each word. 4 THE NATURE AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE THAI LANGUAGE Even though differentiation of words by tones has been Sometimes four words are joined together to form a phrase introduced into the system, there is still a considerable number of but with a single meaning. homonymous words. Unless the context of a phrase or a sentence For example : “Khao yak mak phaeng” ( ข้าวยากหมากแพง ) shows otherwise, the meaning of the word may still be ambiguous. means famine. (khao = rice, yak = scarce, mak = fruit, phaeng = dear). In such instances, some other word or words have to be introduced to clarify the meaning. There are three devices for doing this, viz. In forming such words or phrases there is an unconscious selection of sounds. A word with a prominent or more musical sound 1. By prefixing a meaningful word to indicate the class of is selected always as a second of the two words. In the joining of objects to which the word belongs. four words in the form of a phrase as cited above the two words For example : “Yang” ( ยาง ) may mean a bird such as between the first and last word are mostly rhymed. heron, egret or bittern ; a tree such as a dipterocarpeaeii, rubber The juxtaposed words as described may be called synonymous tree;y an oil and sticky substance such as resin, gum, latex, wood oil. compounds. If the word “nok” ( นก ) meaning bird is prefixed it becomes “nok yang” ( นกยาง ) which means either a heron, an egret or a bittern. If 3. By joining into a compound a simple verb to which is the word “ton” ( ต้น ) meaning a bole or a trunk of a tree is prefixed added the object logically inherent in it. to the word “yang” in “ton yang” ( ต้นยาง ) it means a species of For example : “ying pün”** ( ยิงปืน ) literally “fire gun” = to trees (Dipterocarpus alatus). shoot, “kin toh”*** ( กินโต๊ะ ) literally “eat (on) table” = to dine on We may call such prefixed words Classifiers. a table. “Non sua”**** ( นอนเสื่อ ) literally “sleep (on a) mat”. 2. By juxtaposing two meaningful words of the same or allied One is apt to recognize such compound words as one factor meaning to clarify a certain word : that makes pidgin English. Karlgren in his book “Sound and symbols For example : “Kha fan” ( ฆ่าฟัน ) means to kill. The word in Chinese” gives such compound words in the Chinese also. “kha” has a number of meanings, and one of them is to kill. If the He calls them Elucidative Compounds. word is juxtaposed together with the word “fan” meaning to slash Thai, like the Chinese and other languages of South-East Asia, with a weapon. The word cannot mean otherwise than to kill only. uses enumerative words when using numbers with nouns. There is a The word “fan” as juxtaposed, serves to clarify the meaning of the large number of this category of words for each appropriate noun. word “kha.” Some juxtaposed words have sometimes lost their individual independent meanings in current use and have become If in some nouns no numeral descriptive noun can be merely a juxtaposing word only. appropriately used, or one cannot remember if there is such an appropriate one, the noun is repeated after the number. Sometimes two words of the same of allied meaning are juxtaposed to form a new meaning of an allied kind. For example : “Khon si khon” ( คนสี่คน ) i.e. “man, four men”. “Ma sam ma” ( ม้าสามม้า ) i.e. “horse, three horses”, In this instance For example : “Ban müang”* ( บ้านเมือง ) means country nation the appropriate numeral descriptive words is “tua” ( ตัว ) which will (ban = village, müang = city or town) be “Ma sam tua” ( ม้าสามตัว ) i.e. “horses three bodies”, but the former phrase “ma sam ma” can be tolerated as Thai also.