DOCSLIB.ORG

Modern Thai Alphabet Written Script, Elaborate Style

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Modern Thai Alphabet Written Script, Elaborate Style 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.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • THE Tal of MUONG VAT DO NOT SPEAK the BLACK Tal
    THE TAl OF MUONG VAT Daecha 1989, Kanchana Panka 1980, Suree Pengsombat 1990, Wipawan DO NOT SPEAK THE Plungsuwan 1981, Anculee Buranasing BLACK TAl LANGUAGE 1988, Orapin Maneewong 1987, Kantima Wattanaprasert & Suwattana Theraphan L-Thongkum1 Liarnprawat 1985, Suwattana (Liampra­ wat) Damkham & Kantima Wattana­ prasert 1997, Oraphan Unakonsawat Abstract 1993). A word list of 3,343 items with Standard In most of these previous studies, Thai, English and Vietnamese glosses especially by Thai linguists, a Black Tai was used for eliciting the Black Tai or variety spoken at one location is Tai Dam language data at each of the described and in some cases compared twelve research sites: ten in northern with the other Tai or Lao dialcets spoken Vietnam, one in northern Laos, and one in nearby areas. The Black Tai varieties in central Thaialnd. The data collected spoken in Laos and Vietnam have never at two villages in Muong Vat could not been investigated seriously by Thai be used for a reconstruction of Old linguists. Contrarily, in the works done Black Tai phonological system and a by non-Thai linguists, generallingusitic lexicon because on a phonological basis characteristics of the language are and a lexical basis, the Tai dialect of attempted with no emphasis on the Muong Vat is not Black Tai, especially location where it is spoken. In other the one spoken at Ban Phat, Chieng Pan words, a description and explanation of sub-district and Ban Coc Lac, Tu Nang the so-called Common Black Tai is their sub-district, Son La province, Vietnam. major aim. Introduction Not only Thai linguists but also Thai anthropologists and historians are The Black Tai (Tai Darn, Thai Song, Lao interested in the Black Tai of Sip Song Song, Lao Song Dam, Phu Tai Song Chou Tai.
    [Show full text]
  • The King's Nation: a Study of the Emergence and Development of Nation and Nationalism in Thailand
    THE KING’S NATION: A STUDY OF THE EMERGENCE AND DEVELOPMENT OF NATION AND NATIONALISM IN THAILAND Andreas Sturm Presented for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy of the University of London (London School of Economics and Political Science) 2006 UMI Number: U215429 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Dissertation Publishing UMI U215429 Published by ProQuest LLC 2014. Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 I Declaration I hereby declare that the thesis, submitted in partial fulfillment o f the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and entitled ‘The King’s Nation: A Study of the Emergence and Development of Nation and Nationalism in Thailand’, represents my own work and has not been previously submitted to this or any other institution for any degree, diploma or other qualification. Andreas Sturm 2 VV Abstract This thesis presents an overview over the history of the concepts ofnation and nationalism in Thailand. Based on the ethno-symbolist approach to the study of nationalism, this thesis proposes to see the Thai nation as a result of a long process, reflecting the three-phases-model (ethnie , pre-modem and modem nation) for the potential development of a nation as outlined by Anthony Smith.
    [Show full text]
  • “White Elephant” the King's Auspicious Animal
    แนวทางการบริหารการจัดการเรียนรู้ภาษาจีนส าหรับโรงเรียนสองภาษา (ไทย-จีน) สังกัดกรุงเทพมหานคร ประกอบด้วยองค์ประกอบหลักที่ส าคัญ 4 องค์ประกอบ ได้แก่ 1) เป้าหมายและ หลักการ 2) หลักสูตรและสื่อการสอน 3) เทคนิคและวิธีการสอน และ 4) การพัฒนาผู้สอนและผู้เรียน ค าส าคัญ: แนวทาง, การบริหารการจัดการเรียนรู้ภาษาจีน, โรงเรียนสองภาษา (ไทย-จีน) Abstract This study aimed to develop a guidelines on managing Chinese language learning for Bilingual Schools (Thai – Chinese) under the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration. The study was divided into 2 phases. Phase 1 was to investigate the present state and needs on managing Chinese language learning for Bilingual Schools (Thai – Chinese) under the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration from the perspectives of the involved personnel in Bilingual Schools (Thai – Chinese) under the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration Phase 2 was to create guidelines on managing Chinese language learning for Bilingual Schools (Thai – Chinese) under the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration and to verify the accuracy and suitability of the guidelines by interviewing experts on teaching Chinese language and school management. A questionnaire, a semi-structured interview form, and an evaluation form were used as tools for collecting data. Percentage, mean, and Standard Deviation were employed for analyzing quantitative data. Modified Priority Needs Index (PNImodified) and content analysis were used for needs assessment and analyzing qualitative data, respectively. The results of this research found that the actual state of the Chinese language learning management for Bilingual Schools (Thai – Chinese) in all aspects was at a high level ( x =4.00) and the expected state of the Chinese language learning management for Bilingual Schools (Thai – Chinese) in the overall was at the highest level ( x =4.62). The difference between the actual state and the expected state were significant different at .01 level.
    [Show full text]
  • Ecological Structure of a Tropical Urban Forest in Bang Kachao Peninsula
    Preprints (www.preprints.org) | NOT PEER-REVIEWED | Posted: 20 November 2017 doi:10.20944/preprints201711.0131.v1 Peer-reviewed version available at Forests 2018, 9, 36; doi:10.3390/f9010036 1 Article 2 Ecological structure of a tropical urban forest in Bang 3 Kachao peninsula, Bangkok 4 Montathip Sommeechai 1, 2, Chongrak Wachrinrat 1,2 *, Bernard Dell 3, Nipon Thangtam 4 and 5 Jamroon Srichaichana 5 6 1 Faculty of Forestry, Kasetsart University, Chatuchak, Bangkok, 10900, Thailand; [email protected] 7 2 Center for Advanced Studies in Tropical Natural Resources, National Research University-Kasetsart 8 University, Bangkok, 10900, Thailand; [email protected] 9 3 Murdoch University, Perth, Western Australia, 6150, Australia; [email protected] 10 4 Faculty of Forestry, Kasetsart University, Chatuchak, Bangkok, 10900, Thailand; [email protected] 11 5 Thaksin University, Songkhla Province, 90000, Thailand; [email protected] 12 * Correspondence: [email protected]; Tel.: +66-81-255-6340 13 14 15 Abstract: Rapid urbanization has changed the structure and function of natural ecosystems, 16 especially the floodplain ecosystems in SE Asia. This paper describes the ecological structure of 17 vegetation stands and the usefulness of satellite images to characterize a disturbed tropical urban 18 forest located in the lower floodplain of the Chao Phraya River, Thailand. Nine representative plots 19 were established in Bang Kachao peninsula in 4 tropical urban forest types: rehabilitation forest, 20 home-garden agroforestry, mangrove and park. The correlation between NDVI and LAI obtained 21 from satellite images and plant structure from field surveys were analyzed. The NDVI had the 22 highest relationship with stand factors for the number of families, number of species, Shannon- 23 Weiner’s diversity index and total basal area.
    [Show full text]
  • Sports in Pre-Modern and Early Modern Siam: Aggressive and Civilised Masculinities
    Sports in Pre-Modern and Early Modern Siam: Aggressive and Civilised Masculinities Charn Panarut A thesis submitted in fulfilment of The requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Sociology and Social Policy Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences The University of Sydney 2018 Statement of Authorship This dissertation is the copyrighted work of the author, Charn Panarut, and the University of Sydney. This thesis has not been previously submitted for any degree or other objectives. I certify that this thesis contains no documents previously written or published by anyone except where due reference is referenced in the dissertation itself. i Abstract This thesis is a contribution to two bodies of scholarship: first, the historical understanding of the modernisation process in Siam, and in particular the role of sport in the gradual pacification of violent forms of behaviour; second, one of the central bodies of scholarship used to analyse sport sociologically, the work of Norbert Elias and Eric Dunning on sport and the civilising process. Previous studies of the emergence of a more civilised form of behaviour in modern Siam highlight the imitation of Western civilised conducts in political and sporting contexts, largely overlooking the continued role of violence in this change in Siamese behaviour from the pre- modern to modern periods. This thesis examines the historical evidence which shows that, from around the 1900s, Siamese elites engaged in deliberate projects to civilise prevalent non-elites’ aggressive conducts. This in turn has implications for the Eliasian understanding of sports and civilising process, which emphasises their unplanned development alongside political and economic changes in Europe, at the expense of grasping the deliberate interventions of the Siamese elites.
    [Show full text]
  • THE KHMER INSCRIPTIONS of TENASSERIM : a REINTERPRETATION by Michael Vickery
    THE KHMER INSCRIPTIONS OF TENASSERIM : A REINTERPRETATION by Michael Vickery These four short inscriptions were discovered in 1954 and were published in 1965 by Prof. George Coedes who interpreted them as diplomas conferring rank or titles. ' They are dated 1384-1388 s·aka corresponding to 1462-1466 A.D., and all of them contain the titles, in full or in part, of the king who was responsible for them. In Coedes' opinion these titles cannot refer to the king ruling at Ayutthaya because ~t that time the ruler was Paramatrai1okanatha, and in any case, according to Coedes, the Khmer language was unlikely to have been used for Ayutthayan inscriptions, "carle Cambodge et sa langue n'avaient aucune raison de jouir d'un pareil prestige". 2 He concluded that the Tenasserim inscriptions must have been due to a Cambodian prince and explained his presence at Tenasserim by a Thai invasion of Cambodia during which t wo of that country's princes were taken to Ayutthaya. 3 Further evidence supporting this view was the fact that the royal title in the Tenasserim inscriptions, according to Coedes, is "presque identique" to tba t of the Khmer king who had the bas-reliefs of Angkor Vat completed in the period between 1546 and 1564. 4 Since then Prof. 0 . Wolters has written about the Cambodian chronicles of this period and has accepted these inscriptions as proof of Notes Transcription : For citations from inscriptions and pre-modern documents an d for the names of archeological sites I have used the system based on the Sanskrit value of the letters of the Thai and Cambodian alphabets as described, fo r T hai , by Coedes in Pra.chum Uwm.' l< sayam , Bangkok, 2467 ( 1924).
    [Show full text]
  • Pronominal Reference in Thai, Burmese, and Vietnamese
    Pronominal Reference in Thai, Burmese, and Vietnamese By Joseph Robinson Cooke B.Th. (Biola College, Los Angeles) 19^9 A.B. (Biola College, Los Angeles) 1952 A.B. (University of California) 1961 DISSERTATION Submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in Linguistics in the GRADUATE DIVISION of the UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY Approved: "> Committee in Charge Degree conferred Date Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This study has been prepared as a doctoral dissertation in Linguistics, for presentation to the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley, in 1965* Ik is the result of some eighteen months of research undertaken between November, 1963 and May, 1965i and it has been made possible largely by the financial aid of the American Council of Learned Societies. This aid has enabled me to devote full time to my studies and to complete the task more quickly and easily than would otherwise have been possible. I cannot sufficiently express my appreciation for the help and advice of those who have directed my research. Foremost among these is Professor Mary R. Haas, whose constant interest, encouragement, suggestions, and careful attention to detail have contributed immeasurably to any merits that the present study may possess. I have also profited materially from the help and encouragement of Professors Murray B. Emeneau and Kun Chang, who have shared responsibility for directing my work. I am in debt, too, to a rather large number of Thai, Burmese and Vietnamese informants. These have given in­ valuable assistance in my work,with their helpfulness, con­ sideration, interest, and cooperation.
    [Show full text]
  • Computers and the Thai Language
    [3B2-6] man2009010046.3d 12/2/09 13:47 Page 46 Computers and the Thai Language Hugh Thaweesak Koanantakool National Science and Technology Development Agency Theppitak Karoonboonyanan Thai Linux Working Group Chai Wutiwiwatchai National Electronics and Computer Technology Center This article explains the history of Thai language development for computers, examining such factors as the language, script, and writing system, among others. The article also analyzes characteristics of Thai characters and I/O methods, and addresses key issues involved in Thai text processing. Finally, the article reports on language processing research and provides detailed information on Thai language resources. Thai is the official language of Thailand. Certain vowels, all tone marks, and diacritics The Thai script system has been used are written above and below the main for Thai, Pali, and Sanskrit languages in Bud- character. dhist texts all over the country. Standard Pronunciation of Thai words does not Thai is used in all schools in Thailand, and change with their usage, as each word has a most dialects of Thai use the same script. fixed tone. Changing the tone of a syllable Thai is the language of 65 million people, may lead to a totally different meaning. and has a number of regional dialects, such Thai verbs do not change their forms as as Northeastern Thai (or Isan; 15 million with tense, gender, and singular or plural people), Northern Thai (or Kam Meuang or form,asisthecaseinEuropeanlanguages.In- Lanna; 6 million people), Southern Thai stead, there are other additional words to help (5 million people), Khorat Thai (400,000 with the meaning for tense, gender, and sin- people), and many more variations (http:// gular or plural.
    [Show full text]
  • The Mon Language Editmj
    Zurich Open Repository and Archive University of Zurich Main Library Strickhofstrasse 39 CH-8057 Zurich www.zora.uzh.ch Year: 2013 The Mon language:recipient and donor between Burmese and Thai Jenny, Mathias Abstract: Mon is spoken in south Myanmar and parts of central and northern Thailand and has been in intense contact with its neighboring languages for many centuries. While Mon was the culturally and politically dominant language in the first millennium, its role was reduced to a local minority language first in Thailand, later in Myanmar. The different contact situations in which the Mon languagehas been between Thailand and Myanmar has led to numerous instances of language change. The influence has not been one-way, with Mon on the receiving end only, but Mon was also the source of restructuring in Burmese and Thai. The present paper attempts to trace some of the contact induced changes in the three languages involved. It is not always clear which language was the source of shared vocabulary and constructions, but in many cases linguistic and historical facts can be adduced to find answers. While Mon language use in Thailand is diminishing fast and Mon in this country is undergoing restructuring according to Thai patterns, in Myanmar Mon is actually still exerting influence on Burmese, albeit mostly on a local level in varieties spoken in Mon and Karen States. The contact between genetically and typologically very different languages as is the case here leads in many cases to linguistically interesting outcomes. Posted at the Zurich Open Repository and Archive, University of Zurich ZORA URL: https://doi.org/10.5167/uzh-81044 Journal Article Accepted Version Originally published at: Jenny, Mathias (2013).
    [Show full text]
  • Aslian: Mon-Khmer of the Malay Peninsula
    1 Aslian: Mon-Khmer of the Malay Peninsula. James A. Matisoff University of California, Berkeley Depending from the Southeast Asian mainland like “a long-necked bottle or an Indian club,”1 the Malay Peninsula lies in tropical splendor, separated from the island of Sumatra by the peaceful tidal waters of the Strait of Malacca. In the geological past, before the sinking of the Sunda Shelf, the west (‘Selangor’) coast of Malaya and the east coast of Sumatra were in fact connected by land—and at an even earlier period the two coastlines must have fit neatly together like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle (see Map 1). * This monograph was originally written in 1982-83, almost twenty years ago now, with the intention of incorporating it into the Mon-Khmer chapter of my long-suffering book, Languages of Mainland Southeast Asia. This book, to be published eventually in the Language Surveys series (familiarly know as the “green books”) by Cambridge University Press, is still far from completion, but will hopefully appear sometime during the 21st century. Meanwhile it has become clear that this study of the Aslian branch of Mon-Khmer is far too long and detailed to serve merely as part of a single chapter of a general book on Southeast Asian languages. However, in view of the fact that no other overall treatment of the Aslian languages has appeared in the past 20 years, perhaps the time has come to publish it separately. Since I am certainly no specialist in Mon-Khmer, I have obviously had to rely on the true masters of the field, especially the works of the two preeminent Aslianists, Gérard Diffloth and Geoffrey Benjamin, both of whom have been kind enough to approve of my attempts to summarize their research.
    [Show full text]
  • The Rhyme in Old Burmese Frederic Pain
    Towards a panchronic perspective on a diachronic issue: the rhyme in Old Burmese Frederic Pain To cite this version: Frederic Pain. Towards a panchronic perspective on a diachronic issue: the rhyme in Old Burmese. 2014. hal-01009543 HAL Id: hal-01009543 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01009543 Preprint submitted on 18 Jun 2014 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. PRE-PRINT VERSION | 1 TOWARDS A PANCHRONIC PERSPECTIVE ON A DIACHRONIC ISSUE: THE RHYME <<----UIW>UIW> IN OLD BURMESE Pain Frederic Academia Sinica, Institute of Linguistics — Taipei Laboratoire Langues et Civilisations à Tradition Orale — Paris1 1.1.1. Theoretical background: PanchronPanchronyy and "Diahoric" StudiesStudies This paper aims at introducing to the panchronic perspective based on a specific problem of historical linguistics in Burmese. Its purpose is to demonstrate that a diachrony is not exclusively indicative of systemic internal contingencies but also a medium through which a socio-cultural situation of the past surfaces. In this sense, I will argue that both internal and external factors of a specific diachrony belong to both obverses of a same panchronic coin and that a combined analysis of both diachronic factors generates powerful explanatory models.
    [Show full text]
  • Brāhmaṇa As an Honorific in 'Indianized' Southeast Asia. a Linguistic Approach
    Brāhmaṇa as an honorific in ’Indianized’ Southeast Asia. A Linguistic Approach Frederic Pain To cite this version: Frederic Pain. Brāhmaṇa as an honorific in ’Indianized’ Southeast Asia. A Linguistic Approach. 2014. hal-01009585 HAL Id: hal-01009585 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01009585 Preprint submitted on 18 Jun 2014 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. PRE-PRINT VERSION | 1 """B"BBBRĀHMARĀHMARĀHMAṆṆṆṆAAAA"""" ASASAS AN HONORIFIC INININ ‘I‘I‘INDIANIZED‘INDIANIZEDNDIANIZED’’ MAINLAND SSSOUTHEASTSOUTHEAST ASIA A LINGUISTIC APPROACH111 Frédéric Pain Academia Sinica (Institute of Linguistics, Taipei) KULeuven (Belgium) – LACITO (France) With the editorial assistance of Jonathan Evans, Academia Sinica Abstract. This article demonstrates that the Old Khmer b/vraḥ originates from a syllabic reduction of Sanskrit brāhmaṇa via monosyllabization, a widespread diachronic phenomenon among the Mon-Khmer languages of Mainland Southeast Asia and will show that this term must have been originally used as an honorific for deities and, consequently for royalty. We then respectfully disagree with two other current hypotheses explaining the etymology of this word, that is b/vraḥ is an autochthonous Mon-Khmer word or, according to the second hypothesis, that b/vraḥ originates in the Sanskrit/ Pāli word vara- "excellent, splendid, noble".
    [Show full text]