Speakers of this language generally consider the name "Tai Yuan" to be pejorative[citation needed]. They refer to themselves as Khon Mueang (ᨤᩫ᩠ᨶᨾᩮᩬᩥᨦ, คนเมือง, [kʰon˧.mɯaŋ˧] – literally "people of Mueang" meaning "city dwellers"), Lanna, or Northern Thai. The language is also sometimes referred to as Phayap (พายัพ, Thai pronunciation:[pʰāː.jáp]), "Northwestern (speech)".
The term Yuan is still sometimes used for Northern Thai's distinctive Tai Tham alphabet, which is closely related to the old Tai Lue alphabet and the Lao religious alphabets. The use of the Tua Mueang, as the traditional alphabet is known, is now largely limited to Buddhist temples, where many old sermon manuscripts are still in active use. There is no active production of literature in the traditional alphabet, and when used in writing standard Thai script is invariably used. The modern spoken form is called Kam Mueang. There is a resurgence of interest in writing it in the traditional way, but the modern pronunciation differs from that prescribed in spelling rules.[2]
Nameboard of a Buddhist temple in Chiang Mai written with Tai Tham script: Wat Mokhamtuang (and street number 119 in Thai)
Northern Thai is classified as one of the Chiang Saen languages—others being Thai, Southern Thai and numerous smaller languages, which together with the Northwestern Tai and Lao-Phutai languages, form the Southwestern branch of Tai languages. The Tai languages are a branch of the Kra–Dai language family, which encompasses a large number of indigenous languages spoken in an arc from Hainan and Guangxi south through Laos and Northern Vietnam to the Cambodian border.
From a purely genealogical standpoint, most linguists consider Northern Thai to be more closely related to Central Thai than to Lao or Isan, but the language has been heavily influenced by both Lao and Central Thai throughout history. All Southwestern Tai languages form a coherent dialect continuum of more or less mutually intelligible varieties, with few sharp dividing lines. Nevertheless, Northern Thai has today become closer to the Central Thai language, as Standard Thai is the principal language of education and government and spoken throughout Thailand.
The Northern Thai language has various names in Northern Thai, Thai, and other Tai languages.
In Northern Thai, it is commonly called kam mueang (ᨣᩴᩤᨾᩮᩬᩥᨦ, /kām.mɯ̄aŋ/, literally "city language"; cf. Standard Thai: คำเมือง /kʰāmmɯ̄aŋ/), or phasa Lan Na (ᨽᩣᩈᩣᩃ᩶ᩣ᩠ᨶᨶᩣ, ภาษาล้านนา /pʰāː.sǎːláːnnāː/, literally "the language of Lan Na").
In Central Thai and Southern Thai, Northern Thai is known as phasa thin phayap (ภาษาถิ่นพายัพ /pʰāː.sǎː.tʰìn.pʰāː.jáp/, literally "the language of the northwestern region"), or phasa thai thin nuea (ภาษาไทยถิ่นเหนือ /pʰāː.sǎːtʰājtʰìnnɯ̌a/, literally "the Thai language of the northern region", or colloquially it is known as phasa nuea (ภาษาเหนือ /pʰāː.sǎːnɯ̌a/, literally "the northern language").
In Lao, it is known as phasa nyuan or phasa nyon (ພາສາຍວນ or ພາສາໂຍນ respectively, /pʰáː.sǎːɲúan/ or /pʰáː.sǎːɲóːn/ respectively, literally "the Tai Yuan language").
In Tai Lü, it is known as kam yon (ᦅᧄᦍᦷᧃkâmjôn, literally "the Tai Yuan language").
In Shan it is known as kwam yon (ၵႂၢမ်းယူၼ်းkwáːmjón, literally "the Tai Yuan language").
Map showing the general migration patterns and diversification of the Tai peoples and languages from the original Tai Urheimat of southeastern China.
The ancestors of the Northern Thai people were speakers of Southwestern Tai dialects that migrated from what is now southeastern China, specifically what is now Guangxi and northern Vietnam where the diversity of various Tai languages suggests an Urheimat. The Southwestern Tai languages began to diverge from the Northern and Central branches of the Tai languages, covered mainly by various Zhuang languages, sometime around 112 AD, but likely completed by the sixth century.[3] Due to the influx of Han Chinese soldiers and settlers, the end of the Chinese occupation of Vietnam, the fall of Jiaozhi and turbulence associated with the decline and fall of the Tang dynasty led some of the Tai peoples speaking Southwestern Tai to flee into Southeast Asia, with the small-scale migration mainly taking place between the eighth and twelfth centuries. The Tais split and followed the major river courses, with the ancestral Northern Thai originating in the Tai migrants that followed the Mekong River.[4]
Indianized kingdoms
Ancestors of the Northern Thai people established Ngoenyang, an early kingdom that existed between the 7th to 13th centuries, as well as smaller kingdoms like Phayao, in what is now modern-day northern Thailand. They settled in areas adjacent to the kingdom of Hariphunchai, coming into contact with Mon-speaking people whose writing system was eventually adapted for the Northern Thai language as the Tai Tham script.[5] In the 13th century, King Mangrai consolidated control of these territories, establishing the kingdom of Lan Na. In the 15th century, King Tilokkarat ushered in a golden age for Northern Thai literature, with a profusion of palm leaf manuscripts written in Tai Tham, using vernacular Northern Thai and interspersed with Pali and Buddhist Indic vocabulary.[6][5]
Thai subordination
In 1775, Kawila of Lampang revolted with Siamese assistance, and captured the city, ending 200 years of Burmese rule. Kawila was installed as the prince of Lampang and Phraya Chaban as the prince of Chiang Mai, both as vassals of Siam. In 1899, Siam annexed the Northern Thai principalities, effectively dissolving their status as sovereign tributary states.
The Compulsory Education Act of 1921 banned schools and temples from using languages other than Central Thai (standard Thai), in an effort to bring remote regions under Siamese control.[5] Northern Thai was relegated from the public sphere, with influential religious leaders like Khruba Srivichai jailed for using Northern Thai in sermons.[5] In the 1940s, authorities promulgated Thai cultural mandates that reinforced the importance of learning and using Central Thai as the prestige language.[5]
These economic and educational pressures have increased the use of standard Thai to the detriment of other regional languages like Northern Thai.[7][8] Today, Northern Thai is typically code-switched with standard Thai, especially in more developed and urbanized areas of Northern Thailand, whereas exclusive use of Northern Thai remains prevalent in more remote areas.[8]
Dialects
Thanajirawat (2018)[9] classifies Tai Yuan into five major dialect groups based on tonal split and merger patterns. (See also Proto-Tai language#Tones)
most Tai Yuan varieties in Thailand, Laos and Myanmar
All plosive sounds (besides the glottal stop /ʔ/) are unreleased. Hence, final /p/, /t/, and /k/ sounds are pronounced as [p̚], [t̚], and [k̚] respectively.
^A glottal stop occurs after a short vowel when no final consonant is written in the Thai script.
Vowels
The basic vowels of the Northern Thai language are similar to those of Standard Thai. They, from front to back and close to open, are given in the following table. The top entry in every cell is the symbol from the International Phonetic Alphabet, the second entry gives the spelling in the Thai alphabet, where a dash (–) indicates the position of the initial consonant after which the vowel is pronounced. A second dash indicates that a final consonant must follow.
The vowels each exist in long-short pairs: these are distinct phonemes forming unrelated words in Northern Thai,[14] but usually transliterated the same: เขา (khao) means "they/them", while ขาว (khao) means "white".
The long-short pairs are as follows:
Long
Short
Thai
IPA
Example
Thai
IPA
Example
–า
/aː/
ᨺᩣ᩠ᨶ
ฝาน
/fǎːn/
'to slice'
–ะ
/a/
ᨺᩢ᩠ᨶ
ฝัน
/fǎn/
'to dream'
–ี
/iː/
ᨲᩦ
ตี๋
/tǐː/
'to cut'
–ิ
/i/
ᨲᩥ
ติ๋
/tǐʔ/
'to criticize'
–ู
/uː/
ᩈᩪᨯ
สูด
/sùːt/
'to inhale'
–ุ
/u/
ᩈᩩᨯ
สุ๋ด
/sǔt/
'rearmost'
เ–
/eː/
ᩋᩮ᩠ᨶ
เอน
/ʔēːn/
'to recline'
เ–ะ
/e/
ᩋᩮᩢ᩠ᨶ
เอ็น
/ʔēn/
'tendon, ligament'
แ–
/ɛː/
ᨠᩯ᩵
แก่
/kɛ̀ː/
'to be old'
แ–ะ
/ɛ/
ᨠᩯᩡ
แก๋ะ
/kɛ̌ʔ/
'sheep'
–ื-
/ɯː/
ᨤᩨ᩠ᨶ
ฅืน (คืน)
/kʰɯ̄ːn/
'to return'
–ึ
/ɯ/
ᨡᩧ᩠᩶ᨶ
ขึ้น
/kʰɯ᷇n/
'to go up'
เ–อ
/ɤː/
ᨾᩮᩥ᩠ᨶ
เมิน
/mɤː̄n/
'to delay; long time'
เ–อะ
/ɤ/
ᨦᩮᩥ᩠ᨶ
เงิน
/ŋɤ̄n/
'silver'
โ–
/oː/
ᨧᩰᩫ᩠ᩁ
โจ๋ร (โจ๋น)
/tɕǒːn/
'thief'
โ–ะ
/o/
ᨧᩫ᩠ᨶ
จ๋น
/tɕǒn/
'to be poor'
–อ
/ɔː/
ᩃᩬᨦ
ลอง
/lɔ̄ːŋ/
'to try'
เ–าะ
/ɔ/
ᨪᩰᩬᩡ
เซาะ
/sɔ́ʔ/
'to search'
The basic vowels can be combined into diphthongs. For purposes of determining tone, those marked with an asterisk are sometimes classified as long:
Long
Short
Thai script
IPA
Thai script
IPA
–าย
/aːj/
ไ–*, ใ–*, ไ–ย, -ัย
/aj/
–าว
/aːw/
เ–า*
/aw/
เ–ีย
/ia/
เ–ียะ
/iaʔ/
–
–
–ิว
/iw/
–ัว
/ua/
–ัวะ
/uaʔ/
–ูย
/uːj/
–ุย
/uj/
เ–ว
/eːw/
เ–็ว
/ew/
แ–ว
/ɛːw/
–
–
เ–ือ
/ɯa/
เ–ือะ
/ɯaʔ/
เ–ย
/ɤːj/
–
–
–อย
/ɔːj/
–
–
โ–ย
/oːj/
–
–
Additionally, there are three triphthongs, For purposes of determining tone, those marked with an asterisk are sometimes classified as long:
Thai script
IPA
เ–ียว*
/iaw/
–วย*
/uaj/
เ–ือย*
/ɯaj/
Allophones
The following section largely concerns the Nan dialect of Northern Thai.[15]
The six phonemic tones in Northern Thai pronounced with the syllable '/law/':
There are six phonemic tones in the Chiang Mai dialect of Northern Thai: low-rising, low-falling, high-level with glottal closure, mid-level, high-falling, and high-rising.[16] or low-rising, mid-low, high-falling, mid-high, falling, and high rising-falling[17]
Contrastive tones in smooth syllables
The table below presents six phonemic tones in the Chiang Mai and Nan dialects in smooth syllables, i.e. closed syllables ending in sonorant sounds such as [m], [n], [ŋ], [w], and [j] and open syllables. Sources have not agreed on the phonetic realization of the six tones in the Chiang Mai dialect. The table presents information based on two sources, one from Gedney (1999)[17] and the other one from the Lanna dictionary (2007)[16] which is a Northern Thai-Thai dictionary. Although published in 1999, Gedney's information about the Chiang Mai dialect is based on data he collected from one speaker in Chiang Mai in 1964 (p. 725). As tones may change within one's lifetime (e.g., Bangkok Thai tones have changed over the past 100 years[18]), the information about the six tones from Gedney (1999) should be considered with caution.
high-level with glottal closure (which falls slightly at the end[16]) (C1-3)
44ʔ or ˦˦ʔ
high-falling, glottalized (C1-3)
53ʔ or ˥˧ʔ
44ʔ or ˦˦ʔ
(none)
/la᷇w/
[läu̯˦˦ʔ]
ᩉᩮᩖᩢ᩶ᩣ
เหล้า
liquor, alcoholic drink
mid-level (A3-4)
33 or ˧˧
mid-high (A3-4) (which sometimes rises at the end[17])
44 or ˦˦
35 or ˧˥
mid
/lāw/
[läu̯˧˧]
ᩃᩮᩢᩣ
เลา
beautiful, pretty; reed
high-falling (B4)
42 or ˦˨
falling (B4)
41 or ˦˩
31 or ˧˩
falling
/lâw/
[läu̯˦˨]
ᩃᩮᩢ᩵ᩣ
เล่า
tell (a story)
high-rising (C4)
45 or ˦˥
high rising-falling, glottalized (C4)
454ʔ or ˦˥˦ʔ
41ʔ or ˦˩ʔ
high
/láw/
[läu̯˦˥]
ᩃᩮᩢ᩶ᩣ
เล้า
coop, pen (for chickens or pigs)
The Gedney boxes for the tones are shown below the descriptions.
Contrastive tones in checked syllables
The table below presents four phonemic tones in checked syllables, i.e. closed syllables ending in a glottal stop [ʔ] and obstruent sounds such as [p], [t], and [k].
The grammar of Northern Thai is similar to those of other Tai languages. The word order is subject–verb–object, although the subject is often omitted. Just as Standard Thai, Northern Thai pronouns are selected according to the gender and relative status of speaker and audience.
Adjectives and adverbs
There is no morphological distinction between adverbs and adjectives. Many words can be used in either function. They succeed the word which they modify, which may be a noun, verb, or another adjective or adverb.
ᨾᩯ᩵ᨿᩥ᩠ᨦᨳᩮᩢ᩶ᩣ / แม่ญิงเฒ่า (mae ying thao, /mɛ̂ːɲīŋtʰa᷇w/) an old woman
ᨾᩯ᩵ᨿᩥ᩠ᨦᨴᩦ᩵ᨳᩮᩢ᩶ᩣᩅᩮᩥ᩠ᨿ / แม่ญิงตี้เฒ่าโวย (mae nying ti thao woi, [mɛ̂ː.ɲīŋ.tîː.tʰa᷇w.wōːj]) a woman who became old quickly
Because adjectives can be used as complete predicates, many words used to indicate tense in verbs (see Verbs:Aspect below) may be used to describe adjectives.
ᨡ᩶ᩣᩉᩥ᩠ᩅ / ข้าหิว (kha hiw, /kʰa᷇ːhǐw/) I am hungry.
ᨡ᩶ᩣᨧᩢᩉᩥ᩠ᩅ / ข้าจะหิว (kha cha hiw, /kʰa᷇ːtɕa.hǐw/) I will be hungry.
ᨡ᩶ᩣᨠ᩵ᩣᩴᩃᩢ᩠ᨦᩉᩥ᩠ᩅ / ข้ากะลังหิว (kha kalang hiw, [kʰa᷇ːka.lāŋhǐw]) I am hungry right now.
ᨡ᩶ᩣᩉᩥ᩠ᩅᩓ᩠ᩅ / ข้าหิวแล้ว (kha hiu laew, [kʰa᷇ːhǐwlɛ́ːw]) I am already hungry.
Verbs
Verbs do not inflect. They do not change with person, tense, voice, mood, or number; nor are there any participles.
ᨡ᩶ᩣᨲᩦᨻᩮᩥ᩠᩵ᨶ / ข้าตี๋เปิ้น (kha ti poen, [kʰa᷇ːtǐːpɤ̂n]), I hit him.
ᨻᩮᩥ᩠᩵ᨶᨲᩦᨡ᩶ᩣ / เปิ้นตี๋ข้า (poen ti kha, [pɤ̂ntǐːkʰa᷇ː]), He hit me.
The passive voice is indicated by the insertion of ᨯᩰ᩠ᨶ / โดน (don, [dōːn]) before the verb. For example:
ᨻᩮᩥ᩠᩵ᨶᨯᩰᩫ᩠ᨶᨲᩦ / เปิ้นโดนตี๋ (poen don ti, [pɤ̂ndōːntǐː]), He is hit or He got hit. This describes an action that is out of the receiver's control and, thus, conveys suffering.
To convey the opposite sense, a sense of having an opportunity arrive, ᨯᩱ᩶ / ได้ (dai, [da᷇j], can) is used. For example:
ᨻᩮᩥ᩠᩵ᨶᨧᩢᨯᩱ᩶ᨸᩱᩋᩯ᩠᩵ᩅᨾᩮᩬᩥᨦᩃᩣ᩠ᩅ / เปิ้นจะได้ไปแอ่วเมืองลาว (poen cha dai pai aew mueang lao, [pɤ̂nt͡ɕa.da᷇jpǎjʔɛ̀wmɯ̄a̯ŋlāːw]), He gets to visit Laos.
ᨻᩮᩥ᩠᩵ᨶᨲᩦᨯᩱ᩶ / เปิ้นตี๋ได้ (poen ti dai, [pɤ̂ntǐːda᷇j]), He is/was allowed to hit or He is/was able to hit
Negation is indicated by placing บ่ (bor,[bɔ̀ː] or [bàʔ] not) before the verb.
ᨻᩮᩥ᩠᩵ᨶᨷᩴ᩵ᨲᩦ / เปิ้นบ่ตี๋, (poen bor ti, [pɤ̂nbɔ̀ːtǐː]) He is not hitting. or He not hit.
Present can be indicated by ᨠ᩵ᩣᩴᩃᩢ᩠ᨦ / กะลัง (kalang, [ka.lāŋ], currently) or ᨠ᩵ᩣᩴᩃᩢ᩠ᨦᩉᩡ / กะลังหะ (kalangha, [ka.lāŋ.hà], currently) before the verb for ongoing action (like English -ing form), by ᩀᩪ᩵ / อยู่ (yu, [jùː]) after the verb, or by both. For example:
ᨻᩮᩥ᩠᩵ᨶᨠ᩵ᩣᩴᩃᩢ᩠ᨦᩉᩡᩃᩫ᩠᩵ᨶ / เปิ้นกะลังหะล่น (poen kalangha lon, [pɤ̂nka.lāŋ.hàlôn]), or
ᨻᩮᩥ᩠᩵ᨶᩃᩫ᩠᩵ᨶᩀᩪ᩵ / เปิ้นล่นอยู่ (poen lon yu, [pɤ̂nlônjùː]), or
ᨻᩮᩥ᩠᩵ᨶᨠ᩵ᩣᩴᩃᩢ᩠ᨦᩃᩫ᩠᩵ᨶᩀᩪ᩵ / เปิ้นกะลังหะล่นอยู่ (poen kalanɡha lon yu, [pɤ̂nka.lāŋ.hàlônjùː]), He is running.
Future can be indicated by ᨧᩢ / จะ (cha, [t͡ɕǎʔ], will) before the verb or by a time expression indicating the future. For example:
ᨻᩮᩥ᩠᩵ᨶᨧᩢᩃᩫ᩠᩵ᨶ / เปิ้นจะล่น (poen cha lon, [pɤ̂nt͡ɕa.lôn]), He will run or He is going to run.
Past can be indicated by ᨯᩱ᩶ / ได้ (dai, [da᷇j]) before the verb or by a time expression indicating the past. However, ᩓ᩠ᩅ / แล้ว (laew, :[lɛ́ːw], already) is often used to indicate the past aspect by being placed behind the verb. Or, both ได้ and แล้ว are put together to form the past aspect expression. For example:
ᨻᩮᩥ᩠᩵ᨶᨯᩱ᩶ᨠᩥ᩠ᨶ / เปิ้นได้กิ๋น (poen dai kin, [pɤ̂nda᷇jkǐn]), He ate.
ᨻᩮᩥ᩠᩵ᨶᨠᩥ᩠ᨶᩓ᩠ᩅ / เปิ้นกิ๋นแล้ว (poen kin laew, [pɤ̂nkǐnlɛ́ːw], He has eaten.
ᨻᩮᩥ᩠᩵ᨶᨯᩱ᩶ᨠᩥ᩠ᨶᩓ᩠ᩅ / เปิ้นได้กิ๋นแล้ว (poen dai kin laew, [pɤ̂nda᷇jkǐnlɛ́ːw]), He's already eaten.
Aspect markers are not required.
ᨡ᩶ᩣᨠᩥ᩠ᨶᨴᩦ᩵ᩉᩢ᩠᩶ᨶ / ข้ากิ๋นตี้หั้น (kha kin tihan, [kʰa᷇kǐntîː.ha᷇n]), I eat there.
ᨡ᩶ᩣᨠᩥ᩠ᨶᨴᩦ᩵ᩉᩢ᩠᩶ᨶᨲᩅᩤ / ข้ากิ๋นตี้หั้นตะวา (kha kin tihan tawa, [kʰa᷇kǐntîː.ha᷇nta.wāː]), I ate there yesterday.
ᨡ᩶ᩣᨠᩥ᩠ᨶᨴᩦ᩵ᩉᩢ᩠᩶ᨶᩅᩢ᩠ᨶᨻᩕᩪᨠ / ข้ากิ๋นตี้หั้นวันพูก (kha kin tihan wanphuk, [kʰa᷇kǐntîː.ha᷇nwān.pʰûːk]), I'll eat there tomorrow.
Words that indicate obligation include at cha (ᩣ᩠ᨧᨧᩢ / อาจจะ), na cha (ᩉ᩠ᨶ᩶ᩣᨧᩢ / น่าจะ), khuan cha (ᨤ᩠ᩅᩁᨧᩢ / ควรจะ)[dubious – discuss], and tong (ᨲ᩶ᩬᨦ / ต้อง).
at cha (ᩋᩣ᩠ᨧᨧᩢ / อาจจะ, [ʔàːt.t͡ɕǎ]) Might
ᨻᩮᩥ᩠᩵ᨶᩋᩣ᩠ᨧᨧᩢᨾᩣ / เปิ้นอาจจะมา (poen at cha ma, /pɤ̂nʔàːtt͡ɕa.māː/) He might come.
na cha (ᩉ᩠ᨶ᩶ᩣᨧᩢ / น่าจะ, [na᷇ː.t͡ɕǎ]) Likely to
ᨻᩮᩥ᩠᩵ᨶᩉ᩠ᨶ᩶ᩣᨧᩢᨾᩣ / เปิ้นน่าจะมา (poen na cha ma, /pɤ̂nna᷇ː.t͡ɕa.māː/) He is likely to come.
khuan cha (ᨤ᩠ᩅᩁᨧᩢ / ควรจะ, [kʰūan.t͡ɕǎ]) Should
ᨻᩮᩥ᩠᩵ᨶᨤ᩠ᩅᩁᨧᩢᨾᩣ / เปิ้นควรจะมา (poen khuan cha ma, /pɤ̂nkʰūan.t͡ɕa.māː/) He should come.
tong (ᨲᩬ᩶ᨦ / ต้อง, /tɔ᷇ːŋ/) Must
ᨻᩮᩥ᩠᩵ᨶᨲᩬ᩶ᨦᨾᩣ / เปิ้นต้องมา (poen tong ma, /pɤ̂ntɔ᷇ŋmāː/) He must come.
Actions that wherein one is busily engaged can be indicated by มัวก่า (mua ka, [mūa̯.kàː]).
ᨣᩴ᩵ᨾ᩠ᩅᩫᨣ᩵ᩤᨠᩥ᩠ᨶᩉᩢ᩠᩶ᨶᨶᩰᩬᩡ / ก่อมัวก่ากิ๋นหั้นเนาะ (kor mua ka kin han nor, [kɔ̀mūa̯kàːkǐnha᷇nnɔ᷇ʔ]) (It's that you/he/she) just keeps on eating it like that, you know?
Words that express one's desire to do something can by indicated by khai (ใค่) and kan (กั๊น).
khai (ᨣᩕᩲ᩵ / ใค่, /kʰâj/, to want, to desire)
ᨡ᩶ᩣᨧᩮᩢ᩶ᩣᨣᩕᩲ᩵ᨠᩥ᩠ᨶ / ข้าเจ้าใค่กิ๋น (kha.chao khai kin, [kʰa᷇ː.t͡ɕa᷇wkʰâjkǐn]) I want to eat.
kan (ᨣᩢ᩠᩶ᨶ / กั๊น, /kán/, to try)
ᨡ᩶ᩣᨧᩮᩢ᩶ᩣᨣᩢ᩠᩶ᨶᨠᩥ᩠ᨶ / ข้าเจ้ากั๊นกิ๋น (kha.chao kan kin, [kʰa᷇ː.t͡ɕa᷇wkánkǐn]) I try to eat.
Phor tha wa (ᨹᩬᩴ᩵ᨵ᩵ᩤᩅ᩵ / ผ่อท่าว่า, [pʰɔ̀ː.tʰâː.wâː]) is used to give the impression or sensation of being something or having a particular quality.
ᨹᩬᩴ᩵ᨵ᩵ᩤᩅ᩵ᩤᨻᩮᩥ᩠᩵ᨶᨻᩖᩥᨠᨾᩣᩓ᩠ᩅ / ผ่อท่าว่าเปิ้นปิ๊กมาแล้ว (phor tha wa poen pik ma laew, [pʰɔ̀ːtʰâːwâːpɤ̂npi᷇kmāːlɛ́ːw]) It seems that he has returned.
Final particles
Northern Thai has a number of final particles, which have different functions.
Interrogative particles
Some of the most common interrogative particles are kor (ᨣᩴ᩵ / ก่อ, [kɔ̀ː]) and ka (ᨣᩤ / กา, /kāː/)
kor (ᨣᩴ᩵ / ก่อ, [kɔ̀ː], denoting yes/no question)
ᨾ᩠ᩅ᩵ᩁᨣᩴ᩵ / ม่วนก่อ (muan kor, [mûa̯nkɔ̀ː]) Is it fun?
ka (ᨣᩤ / กา (and its variants: ก๋า, กา), [kāː], denoting confirmative question)
ᨾ᩠ᩅ᩵ᩁᨣᩤ / ม่วนกา (muan ka, [mûa̯nkāː]) It is fun, right?
Imperative particles
Some imperative particles are ᩃᩯ᩵ (แล่), ᨧᩥ᩠᩵ᨾ (จิ่ม), and ᨴᩮᩬᩥᩡ (เตอะ).
Nouns are neither singular nor plural. Some specific nouns are reduplicated to form collectives: ᩃᩡᩋᩬ᩵ᩁ / ละอ่อน (la-orn, [la.ʔɔ̀ːn], child) is often repeated as ᩃᩡᩋᩬ᩵ᩁᪧ ละอ่อน ๆ (la-orn la-orn, [la.ʔɔ̀ːnla.ʔɔ̀ːn],) to refer to a group of children.
The word ᩉ᩠ᨾᩪ᩵ / หมู่(mu, [mùː]) may be used as a prefix of a noun or pronoun as a collective to pluralize or emphasise the following word. (ᩉ᩠ᨾᩪ᩵ᨹᩫ᩠ᨾ / หมู่ผม, mu phom, [mùːpʰǒm], we (exclusive), masculine; ᩉ᩠ᨾᩪ᩵ᩁᩮᩢᩣ / หมู่เฮา mu hao, [mùːhāw], emphasised we; ᩉ᩠ᨾᩪ᩵ᩉ᩠ᨾᩣ / หมู่หมา mu ma, [mùːmǎː], (the) dogs).
Plurals are expressed by adding classifiers, used as measure words (ลักษณนาม), in the form of noun-number-classifier ( ᨣᩕᩪᩉ᩶ᩣᨤᩫ᩠ᨶ / คูห้าคน, "teacher five person" for "five teachers").
Pronouns
Pronouns may be omitted once they have already been established in the first sentence, unless the pronoun in the following sentences is different from the first sentence. The pronoun "you" may also be omitted if the speaker is speaking directly to a second person. Moreover, names may replace pronouns, and they can even replace the first person singular pronoun.
I/me (from high-status to low-status or familiar; informal)
ᨡ᩶ᩣ
ข้า
kha
/kʰa᷇ː/
[kʰäː˥˧]
I/me (formal; used by male). Literally "servant, slave".
ᨹᩪ᩶ᨡ᩶ᩣ
ผู้ข้า
phu kha
/pʰu᷇ː kʰa᷇ː/
[pʰuː˥˧.kʰäː˥˧]
I/me (formal)
ᨡ᩶ᩣᨶᩬ᩠᩶ᨿ, ᨡ᩶ᩣᨶ᩶ᩭ
ข้าน้อย
kha noi
/kʰa᷇ː nɔ́ːj/
[kʰäː˥˧ nɔːi̯˦˥]
I/me (formal; used by male/archaic)
ᨡ᩶ᩣᨧᩮᩢ᩶ᩣ
ข้าเจ้า
kha chao
/kʰa᷇ː tɕa᷇w/
[kʰäː˥˧.t͡ɕäu̯˥˧]
I/me (formal; used by female/historically also used by male)
ᨡ᩶ᩣᨻᩕᨧᩮᩢ᩶ᩣ
ข้าผะเจ้า
khaphachao
/kʰa᷇ː pʰa.tɕa᷇w/
[kʰäː˥˧.pʰä˨.t͡ɕäu̯˥˧]
I/me (very formal)
ᩁᩮᩢᩣ
เฮา
hao
/hāw/
[häu̯˧]
we/us (common)
ᨲᩪ
ตู๋
tu
/tǔː/
[t̪uː˨˦]
we/us (exclusive)
second
ᨾᩧ᩠ᨦ
มึง
mūenɡ
/mɯ̄ŋ/
[mɨŋ˧]
you (impolite/vulgar)
ᨤᩥ᩠ᨦ
ฅิง
khing
/kʰīŋ/
[kʰiŋ˧]
you (from high-status to low-status or familiar; informal/singular)
ᨲᩫ᩠ᩅ
ตั๋ว
tua
/tǔa/
[t̪uə̯˨˦]
you (familiar/singular)
ᨧᩮᩢ᩶ᩣ
เจ้า
chao
/tɕa᷇w/
[t͡ɕäu̯˥˧]
you (formal/singular). Literally "master, lord"
ᩈᩪ
สู
su
/sǔː/
[suː˨˦]
you (informal; plural or formal/singular)
ᩈᩪᨡᩮᩢᩣ
สูเขา
su khao
/sǔː kʰǎw/
[suː˨˦ kʰäu̯˨˦]
you (informal/plural)
ᩈᩪᨧᩮᩢ᩶ᩣ
สูเจ้า
su chao
/sǔː tɕa᷇w/
[suː˨˦ t͡ɕäu̯˥˧]
you (formal/plural)
third
ᨾᩢ᩠ᨶ
มัน
man
/mān/
[män˧]
it, he/she (offensive if used to refer to a person)
ᨡᩮᩢᩣ
เขา
khao
/kʰǎw/
[kʰäu̯˨˦]
they/them
ᨻᩮᩥ᩠᩵ᨶ
เปิ้น
poen
/pɤ̂n/
[pən˥˩]
he/she (general), others
ᨴ᩵ᩤ᩠ᨶ
ต้าน
tan
/tâːn/
[t̪äːn˥˩]
he/she (formal), you (formal), others
reflexive
ᨲᩫ᩠ᩅᨠᩮᩢ᩵ᩣ
ตั๋วเก่า
tua kaw
/tǔa kàw/
[t̪uə̯˨˦ käu̯˨˩]
oneself
Vocabulary
Northern Thai shares much vocabulary with Standard Thai, especially scientific terms, which draw many prefixes and suffixes from Sanskrit and Pali, and it also has its own distinctive words. Just like Thai and Lao, Northern Thai has borrowed many loanwords from Khmer, Sanskrit, and Pali.
Currently, different scripts are used to write Northern Thai. Northern Thai is traditionally written with the Tai Tham script, which in Northern Thai is called tua mueang (ᨲᩫ᩠ᩅᨾᩮᩬᩥᨦ ตั๋วเมือง /tǔa.mɯ̄aŋ/) or tua tham (ᨲᩫ᩠ᩅᨵᩢᨾ᩠ᨾ᩺ ตั๋วธัมม์ /tǔa.tʰām/). However, native speakers are presently illiterate in the traditional script;[citation needed] therefore, they instead use the Thai script to write the language.[citation needed] In Laos, the Lao script is commonly used to write Northern Thai.[citation needed]
A sign written in Northern Thai, Thai, and English
Some problems arise when the Thai script is used to write Northern Thai. In particular, Standard Thai script cannot transcribe all Northern Thai tones. The two falling tones in Northern Thai correspond to a single falling tone in Thai. Specifically, Northern Thai has two types of falling tones: high-mid falling tone (˥˧) and high-falling tone (˥˩). However, Thai lacks the distinction between the two falling tones, not having a high-falling tone (˥˧). When using Thai script to write Northern Thai tones, the distinction of the two falling tones is lost because Thai script can only indicate a low falling tone (˥˩). As an example, the tonal distinction between /ka᷇ː/ (ก้า (ᨠᩖ᩶ᩣ กล้า) "to be brave") and /kâː/ (ก้า (ᨣ᩵ᩤ ค่า) "value") is lost when written in Thai since as only /kâː/ (ก้า) is permitted. Consequently, the meaning of ก้า is ambiguous as it can mean both "to be brave" and "value". Similarly, /pa᷇ːj/ (ป้าย (ᨸ᩶ᩣ᩠ᨿ ป้าย) "sign") and /pâːj/ (ป้าย (ᨻ᩵ᩣ᩠ᨿ พ่าย) "to lose") have the same problem and only /pâːj/ (ป้าย) is permitted. As a result, the spelling ป้าย is ambiguous because it can mean both "sign" or "to lose". Such tonal mergence ambiguity is avoided when the language is written with the Northern Thai script.
Northern Thai script page 1
Northern Thai script page 2
Northern Thai script page 3
Northern Thai script page 4
Northern Thai and Standard Thai
The tables below present the differences between Northern Thai and Standard Thai.
Different sounds
Unlike Northern Thai, Standard Thai lacks alveolo-palatal nasal sound (/ɲ/). Thus, the alveolo-palatal nasal sound (/ɲ/) and the palatal approximant sound (/j/) in Northern Thai both correspond to the palatal approximant sound in Standard Thai:
Unlike Northern Thai, Standard Thai lacks a high-mid-falling tone ([˥˧]). The high-mid falling tone ([˥˧]) and high-falling tone ([˦˩]) in Northern Thai both correspond to the falling tone in Standard Thai ([˦˩]).
There is not a straightforward correspondence between the tones of Northern and Standard Thai. It also depends on the initial consonant, as can be seen from the merged Gedney tone boxes for Standard Thai and the accent of Chiang Mai:
Ancestral tone:
A (smooth, no tone mark)
B (mai ek)
DL (checked, long vowel)
DS (dead, short vowel)
C (mai tho)
Initial Consonant
Std Thai
CM NT
gloss
Std Thai
CM NT
gloss
Std Thai
CM NT
gloss
Std Thai
CM NT
gloss
Std Thai
CM NT
gloss
1. High
rising
low-rising
ear
low
mid-low
four
low
low
to hit
low
low-rising
to dig
falling
high-falling
old
/hǔː/ หู
/hǔː/ ᩉᩪ หู
/sìː/ สี่
/sìː/ ᩈᩦ᩵ สี่
/tʰùːk/ ถูก
/tʰùːk/ ᨳᩪᨠ ถูก
/kʰùt/ ขุด
/kʰǔt/ ᨡᩩᨯ ขุ๋ด
/tʰâw/ เฒ่า
/tʰa᷇w/ ᨳᩮᩢ᩶ᩣ เฒ่า
2. CM High but Std Mid (= Std Thai ก ต ป)
mid
low-rising
eye
low
mid-low
turtle
low
low
mouth
low
low-rising
to fall
falling
high-falling
aunt
/tāː/ ตา
/tǎː/ ᨲᩣ ต๋า
/tàw/ เต่า
/tàw/ ᨲᩮᩢ᩵ᩣ เต่า
/pàːk/ ปาก
/pàːk/ ᨯᩬᨠ ปาก
/tòk/ ตก
/tǒk/ ᨲᩫ᩠ᨠ ต๋ก
/pâː/ ป้า
/pa᷇ː/ ᨸ᩶ᩣ ป้า
3. Mid for Both (= Std Thai ด บ อ อย)
mid
mid-high
good
low
mid-low
to scold
low
low
flower
low
low-rising
to bend
falling
high-falling
mad
/dīː/ ดี
/dīː/ ᨯᩦ ดี
/dàː/ ด่า
/dà:/ ᨯ᩵ᩣ ด่า
/dɔ̀ːk/ ดอก
/dɔ̀ːk/ ᨯᩬᨠ ดอก
/dàt/ ดัด
/dǎt/ ᨯᩢ᩠ᨯ ดั่ด
/bâː/ บ้า
/ba᷇ː/ ᨷ᩶ᩤ บ้า
4. Low
mid
mid-high
fly
falling
falling
mother
falling
falling
knife
high
high-falling
bird
high
high rising-falling
horse
/bīn/ บิน
/bīn/ ᨷᩥ᩠ᨶ บิน
/mɛ̂ː/ แม่
/mɛ̂ː/ ᨾᩯ᩵ แม่
/mîːt/ มีด
/mîːt/ ᨾᩦ᩠ᨯ มีด
/nók/ นก
/no᷇k/ ᨶᩫ᩠ᨠ นก
/máː/ ม้า
/máː/ ᨾ᩶ᩣ ม้า
Note that the commonalities between columns are features of the Chiang Mai accent. On the other hand, the relationships between rows are typical of Northern Thai, being found for at least for Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai,[20]Phayao,[20]Nan and Prae,[20] and extending at least to Tak[20] and the old 6-tone accent of Tai Khuen,[20] except that the checked syllables of Chiang Rai are more complicated.
The primary function of a tone box is etymological. However, it also serves as a summary of the rules for tone indication when the writing system is essentially etymological in that regard, as is the case with the major Tai-language writing systems using the Thai, Lanna, New Tai Lue, Lao and Tai Dam scripts.
Some words differ only as a result of the regular tone correspondences:
cf. Lao: ຮູ້ [hûː] "know" and Shan: ႁူ [hṵ] "know"
Aspiration of initial consonants
Some aspirated consonants in the low-class consonant group (อักษรต่ำ /ʔàk.sɔ̌ːn.tàm/) in Standard Thai correspond to unaspirated sounds in Northern Thai. These sounds include ค, ช, ท, and พ (/kʰ/, /tɕʰ/, /tʰ/, and /pʰ/ respectively), but sounds such as ฅ, คร, ฆ, ฒ, พร, ภ (/kʰ/, /kʰr/, /kʰ/, /tʰ/, /pʰr/, and /pʰ/ respectively) remain aspirated. Such aspirated consonants that are unaspirated in Northern Thai correspond to unaspirated voiced sounds in Proto-Tai which are *ɡ, *ɟ, *d, and *b (ค, ช, ท, and พ respectively).:
Though a number of aspirated consonants in Standard Thai often correspond to unaspirated sounds in Northern Thai, when an unaspirated consonant is followed by ร (/r/) the unaspirated consonant becomes aspirated:
^Natnapang 2004, Section 3.5.6 The changing pronunciation of the Lanna script and Kammuang As with all languages, the pronunciation of the written and spoken forms changes over time. This is another problem that Kammuang speakers may have when they learn to write the Lanna script. These changes occur in only some words, and there are no readily apparent rules to explain the changes....
^Edmondson, J.A. and Gregerson, K.J. (2007). The Languages of Vietnam: Mosaics and Expansions in Language and Linguistics Compass, 1(0). pp. 727–749.
^Chiu, Angela S. (2017-03-31). The Buddha in Lanna: Art, Lineage, Power, and Place in Northern Thailand. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN978-0-8248-7312-7.
^Thanajirawat, Zirivarnphicha (2018). Tonal Geography of Tai Yuan in Southeast Asia. Paper presented at the 28th Annual Meeting of the Southeast Asian Linguistics Society, held May 17–19, 2018 in Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
^ abcdGedney, W. J. (1999). Southwestern Tai dialects: Glossaries, texts, and translations (T. J. Hudak, Ed.). University of Michigan Center for South East Asian Studies.
^Pittayaporn, P. (2007). Directionality of tone change. Proceedings of the 16th International Congress of Phonetic Sciences (ICPhS XVI), 1421–1424.
Khamjan, Mala (2008). Kham Mueang Dictionary พจนานุกรมคำเมือง [Photchananukrom Kham Mueang] (in Thai). Chiang Mai: Bookworm. ISBN978-974-8418-55-1.
Natnapang Burutphakdee (October 2004). Khon Muang Neu Kap Phasa Muang [Attitudes of Northern Thai Youth towards Kammuang and the Lanna Script] (PDF) (M.A. Thesis). Presented at 4th National Symposium on Graduate Research, Chiang Mai, Thailand, August 10–11, 2004. Asst. Prof. Dr. Kirk R. Person, adviser. Chiang Mai: Payap University. Archived from the original(PDF) on 2015-05-05. Retrieved June 8, 2013.
Howard, K. M. (2009). "When Meeting Khun Teacher, Each Time We Should Pay Respect": Standardizing Respect In A Northern Thai Classroom. Linguistics and Education, 20(3), 254–272.
Khankasikam, K. (2012). Printed Lanna character recognition by using conway's game of life. In ICDIM (pp. 104–109).
Pankhuenkhat, R. (1982). The Phonology of the Lanna Language:(a Northern Thai Dialect). Institute of Language and Culture for Rural Development, Mahidol University.
Strecker, D. (1979). "A preliminary typology of tone shapes and tonal sound changes in Tai: the La-n N-a A-tones", in Studies in Tai and Mon-Khmer Phonetics and Phonology In Honour of Eugénie J.A. Henderson, ed. T.L. Thongkum et al., pp. 171–240. Chulalongkorn University Press.
Wangsai, Piyawat. (2007). A Comparative Study of Phonological Yong and Northern Thai Language (Kammuang). M.A. thesis. Kasetsart University.
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