Northern Thai language

Template:Short description Template:Template otherTemplate:Main other Template:Contains special characters Northern Thai (Template:Langx), also called Kam Mueang (Template:Langx, กำเมือง) or Lanna, is the language spoken by the Northern Thai people of Thailand. It is a Southwestern Tai language. The language has approximately six million speakers, most of whom live in Northern Thailand, with a smaller community of speakers in northwestern Laos.

Speakers of this language generally consider the name "Tai Yuan" to be pejorative. They refer to themselves as (Template:Script, คนเมือง, – literally "people of Mueang" meaning "city dwellers"), Lanna, or Northern Thai. The language is also sometimes referred to as (พายัพ, ), "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 , 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 . There is a resurgence of interest in writing it in the traditional way, but the modern pronunciation differs from that prescribed in spelling rules.

File:Lanna cm2.jpg

Nameboard of a Buddhist temple in Chiang Mai written with Tai Tham script: Wat Mokhamtuang (and street number 119 in Thai)

Classification

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. Template:Clade

Names

The Northern Thai language has various names in Northern Thai, Thai, and other Tai languages.

• In Northern Thai, it is commonly called (Template:Script, , literally "city language"; cf. Standard Thai: คำเมือง ), or (Template:Script, ภาษาล้านนา , literally "the language of Lan Na").
• In Central Thai and Southern Thai, Northern Thai is known as phasa thin phayap (ภาษาถิ่นพายัพ , literally "the language of the northwestern region"), or phasa thai thin nuea (ภาษาไทยถิ่นเหนือ , literally "the Thai language of the northern region", or colloquially it is known as phasa nuea (ภาษาเหนือ , literally "the northern language").
• In Lao, it is known as or ( or respectively, or respectively, literally "the Tai Yuan language").
• In Tai Lü, it is known as kam yon (Template:Script , literally "the Tai Yuan language").
• In Shan it is known as kwam yon (Template:Script , literally "the Tai Yuan language").

History

Tai migration

File:Tai Migration.svg

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. 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.

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. 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.

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. Northern Thai was relegated from the public sphere, with influential religious leaders like Khruba Srivichai jailed for using Northern Thai in sermons. In the 1940s, authorities promulgated Thai cultural mandates that reinforced the importance of learning and using Central Thai as the prestige language.

These economic and educational pressures have increased the use of standard Thai to the detriment of other regional languages like Northern Thai. 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.

Dialects

Thanajirawat (2018) classifies Tai Yuan into five major dialect groups based on tonal split and merger patterns. (See also Proto-Tai language#Tones)

1. most Tai Yuan varieties in Thailand, Laos and Myanmar
2. Bokeo Province, Laos (A12-34 and BCD123-4 (B4=DL4=DS4))
3. Mae Chaem District, Chiang Mai Province and Laplae District, Uttaradit Province, Thailand (A12-34 and BCD123-4 (A34=B123=DL123))
4. Tha Pla District, Uttaradit Province and Xayaburi Province, Laos (A12-34, BDL1234, and CDS123-4)
5. Ratchaburi Province, Thailand (A12-34 and BCD123-4 (A34=B123=DL123, B4=C4=DL4))

Phonology

Consonants

Initial consonants

Northern Thai consonant inventory is similar to that of Lao (Isan); both languages have the Template:IPAslink sound and lack Template:IPAslink.

		Labial	Dental/ Alveolar	(Alveolo-) Palatal	Velar	Glottal
Nasal		Template:IPAslink Template:Script Template:Script ม	Template:IPAslink Template:Script Template:Script Template:Script ณ, น	Template:IPAslink Template:Script Template:Script Template:Script ญ, ย	Template:IPAslink Template:Script Template:Script ง
Plosive/ Affricate	tenuis	Template:IPAslink Template:Script Template:Script ป	Template:IPAslink Template:Script Template:Script Template:Script ฏ, ต	Template:IPAslink Template:Script Template:Script จ	Template:IPAslink Template:Script Template:Script ก	Template:IPAslinkTemplate:Efn Template:Script อ
	aspirate	Template:IPAslink Template:Script Template:Script Template:Script Template:Script Template:Script ผ, พ, ภ	Template:IPAslink Template:Script Template:Script Template:Script Template:Script Template:Script Template:Script ฐ, ฑ, ฒ, ถ, ท, ธ	(Template:IPAslink)Template:Efn ฉ, ช, ฌ	Template:IPAslink Template:Script Template:Script Template:Script Template:Script Template:Script Template:Script Template:Script ข, ฃ, ค, ฅ, ฆ
	voiced	Template:IPAslink Template:Script บ	Template:IPAslink Template:Script ฎ, ด
Fricative		Template:IPAslink Template:Script Template:Script ฝ, ฟ	Template:IPAslink Template:Script Template:Script Template:Script Template:Script Template:Script Template:Script ซ, ศ, ษ, ส		(Template:IPAslink)Template:Efn	Template:IPAslink Template:Script Template:Script Template:Script Template:Script ห, ฮ
Approximant		Template:IPAslink Template:Script Template:Script ว	Template:IPAslink Template:Script Template:Script Template:Script Template:Script Template:Script ล, ฬ	Template:IPAslink Template:Script ย
Rhotic/Liquid			(Template:IPAslink)Template:Efn Template:Script Template:Script ร

Initial consonant clusters

There are two relatively common consonant clusters:

• /kw/ Template:Script Template:Script (กว)
• /kʰw/ Template:Script Template:Script Template:Script Template:Script (ขว, คว)

There are also several other, less frequent clusters recorded, though apparently in the process of being lost:

• /ŋw/ Template:Script Template:Script (งว)
• /tɕw/ Template:Script Template:Script (จว)
• /sw/ Template:Script Template:Script (ซว, สว)
• /tw/ Template:Script Template:Script (ตว)
• /tʰw/ Template:Script (ถว, ทว)
• /nw/ Template:Script (นว)
• /ɲw/ Template:Script Template:Script (ญว, ยว)
• /jw/ Template:Script (ยว)
• /lw/ Template:Script Template:Script Template:Script Template:Script (ลว)
• /ʔw/ Template:Script (อว)

Final consonants

All plosive sounds (besides the glottal stop /ʔ/) are unreleased. Hence, final , , and sounds are pronounced as , , and respectively.

	Labial	Alveolar	Palatal	Velar	Glottal
Nasal	Template:IPAslink Template:Script ม	Template:IPAslink Template:Script ญ, ณ, น, ร, ล, ฬ		Template:IPAslink Template:Script ง
Plosive	Template:IPAslink Template:Script บ, ป, พ, ฟ, ภ	Template:IPAslink Template:Script จ, ช, ซ, ฌ, ฎ, ฏ, ฐ, ฑ, ฒ ,ด, ต, ถ, ท, ธ, ศ, ษ, ส		Template:IPAslink Template:Script ก, ข, ค, ฆ	Template:IPAslinkTemplate:Efn
Approximant	Template:IPAslink Template:Script ว		Template:IPAslink Template:Script ย

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.

	Front		Central		Back
	short	long	short	long	short	long
Close	Template:IPAslink  -ิ	Template:IPAslink  -ี	Template:IPAslink  -ึ	Template:IPAslink  -ื-	Template:IPAslink  -ุ	Template:IPAslink  -ู
Mid	Template:IPAslink เ-ะ	Template:IPAslink เ-	Template:IPAslink เ-อะ	Template:IPAslink เ-อ	Template:IPAslink โ-ะ	Template:IPAslink โ-
Open	Template:IPAslink แ-ะ	Template:IPAslink แ-	Template:IPAslink -ะ, -ั-	Template:IPAslink -า	Template:IPAslink เ-าะ	Template:IPAslink -อ

The vowels each exist in long-short pairs: these are distinct phonemes forming unrelated words in Northern Thai, 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		Template:Script	ฝาน		'to slice'	–ะ		Template:Script	ฝัน		'to dream'
–ี		Template:Script	ตี๋		'to cut'	–ิ		Template:Script	ติ๋		'to criticize'
–ู		Template:Script	สูด		'to inhale'	–ุ		Template:Script	สุ๋ด		'rearmost'
เ–		Template:Script	เอน		'to recline'	เ–ะ		Template:Script	เอ็น		'tendon, ligament'
แ–		Template:Script	แก่		'to be old'	แ–ะ		Template:Script	แก๋ะ		'sheep'
–ื-		Template:Script	ฅืน (คืน)		'to return'	–ึ		Template:Script	ขึ้น		'to go up'
เ–อ		Template:Script	เมิน		'to delay; long time'	เ–อะ		Template:Script	เงิน		'silver'
โ–		Template:Script	โจ๋ร (โจ๋น)		'thief'	โ–ะ		Template:Script	จ๋น		'to be poor'
–อ		Template:Script	ลอง		'to try'	เ–าะ		Template:Script	เซาะ		'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		ไ–*, ใ–*, ไ–ย, -ัย
–าว		เ–า*
เ–ีย		เ–ียะ
–	–	–ิว
–ัว		–ัวะ
–ูย		–ุย
เ–ว		เ–็ว
แ–ว		–	–
เ–ือ		เ–ือะ
เ–ย		–	–
–อย		–	–
โ–ย		–	–

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*
–วย*
เ–ือย*

Allophones

The following section largely concerns the Nan dialect of Northern Thai.

Phoneme	Allophone	Context	Example (Tai Tham script)	Example (Thai script)	IPA	Gloss
		onset	Template:Script	บ่า		shoulder
		onset	Template:Script	ดอย		mountain
		onset	Template:Script	ป่า		forest
		coda	Template:Script	อาบ		bath
		coda, emphasised	Template:Script	บ่หลับ		don't sleep!
		onset	Template:Script	ตา		eye
		coda	Template:Script	เปิด		open
		coda, emphasised	Template:Script	บ่เผ็ด		not spicy!
		onset	Template:Script	กา		crow
		coda	Template:Script	ปีก		wing
		coda, emphasised	Template:Script	บ่สุก		not ripe!
		before non-front vowels	Template:Script	แขก		guest
		before front vowels	Template:Script	ฅิง		you (familiar)
		onset	Template:Script	ซาว		twenty
		under emphasis	Template:Script	สาทุ		surely
		non-intervocalic	Template:Script	ห้า		five
		intervocalic	Template:Script	ใผมาหา		who come find (Who is here to see you?)
		after bilabial stop	Template:Script	ฅืบนึ่ง		span one (one more span)
		after alveolar stop	Template:Script	แถมขวดนึ่ง		more bottle one (one more bottle)
		after velar stop	Template:Script	แถมดอกนึ่ง		more flower one (one more flower)

Tones

Template:Multiple image 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. or low-rising, mid-low, high-falling, mid-high, falling, and high rising-falling

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) and the other one from the Lanna dictionary (2007) 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), the information about the six tones from Gedney (1999) should be considered with caution.

The six tones in the Chiang Mai and Nan dialects

Chiang Mai (the Lanna dictionary, 2007, p. ต)		Chiang Mai (Gedney, 1999, p. 725)		Standard Thai tone Equated to	Example based on the Chiang Mai tones described in the Lanna Dictionary (2007)
Name	Tone letters	Name	Tone letters		Tone letters	Phonemic	Phonetic	Northern Thai script	Thai script	Gloss
low-rising (A1-2)	24 or ˨˦	low-rising (A1-2)	14 or ˩˦	23 or ˨˧	rising			Template:Script	เหลา	sharpen
low-falling (B1-3)	21 or ˨˩	mid-low (B1-3)	22 or ˨˨	22 or ˨˨	low			Template:Script	เหล่า	forest; group
high-level with glottal closure (which falls slightly at the end) (C1-3)	44ʔ or ˦˦ʔ	high-falling, glottalized (C1-3)	53ʔ or ˥˧ʔ	44ʔ or ˦˦ʔ	(none)			Template:Script	เหล้า	liquor, alcoholic drink
mid-level (A3-4)	33 or ˧˧	mid-high (A3-4) (which sometimes rises at the end)	44 or ˦˦	35 or ˧˥	mid			Template:Script	เลา	beautiful, pretty; reed
high-falling (B4)	42 or ˦˨	falling (B4)	41 or ˦˩	31 or ˧˩	falling			Template:Script	เล่า	tell (a story)
high-rising (C4)	45 or ˦˥	high rising-falling, glottalized (C4)	454ʔ or ˦˥˦ʔ	41ʔ or ˦˩ʔ	high			Template:Script	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].

Tone	Standard Thai Tone Equated to	Example (Northern Thai script)	Example (Thai script)	Phonemic	Phonetic	gloss
low-rising (D1-3S)	rising	Template:Script	หลั๋ก			post
high-rising (D4S)	high	Template:Script	ลัก			steal
low-falling (D1-3L)	low	Template:Script	หลาก			differ from others
high-falling (D4L)	falling	Template:Script	ลาก			drag

Grammar

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.

• Template:Script / แม่ญิงเฒ่า (, ) an old woman
• Template:Script / แม่ญิงตี้เฒ่าโวย (, ) 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.

• Template:Script / ข้าหิว (, ) I am hungry.
• Template:Script / ข้าจะหิว (, ) I will be hungry.
• Template:Script / ข้ากะลังหิว (, ) I am hungry right now.
• Template:Script / ข้าหิวแล้ว (, ) 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.

• Template:Script / ข้าตี๋เปิ้น (, ), I hit him.
• Template:Script / เปิ้นตี๋ข้า (, ), He hit me.

The passive voice is indicated by the insertion of Template:Script / โดน (, ) before the verb. For example:

• Template:Script / เปิ้นโดนตี๋ (, ), 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, Template:Script / ได้ (dai, , can) is used. For example:

• Template:Script / เปิ้นจะได้ไปแอ่วเมืองลาว (, ), He gets to visit Laos.
• Template:Script / เปิ้นตี๋ได้ (, ), He is/was allowed to hit or He is/was able to hit

Negation is indicated by placing บ่ (bor, or not) before the verb.

• Template:Script / เปิ้นบ่ตี๋, (, ) He is not hitting. or He not hit.

Aspect is conveyed by aspect markers before or after the verb.

Present can be indicated by Template:Script / กะลัง (, , currently) or Template:Script / กะลังหะ (, , currently) before the verb for ongoing action (like English -ing form), by Template:Script / อยู่ (, ) after the verb, or by both. For example:

• Template:Script / เปิ้นกะลังหะล่น (, ), or
• Template:Script / เปิ้นล่นอยู่ (, ), or
• Template:Script / เปิ้นกะลังหะล่นอยู่ (, ), He is running.

Future can be indicated by Template:Script / จะ (cha, , will) before the verb or by a time expression indicating the future. For example:

• Template:Script / เปิ้นจะล่น (, ), He will run or He is going to run.

Past can be indicated by Template:Script / ได้ (dai, ) before the verb or by a time expression indicating the past. However, Template:Script / แล้ว (laew,  :, 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:

• Template:Script / เปิ้นได้กิ๋น (, ), He ate.
• Template:Script / เปิ้นกิ๋นแล้ว (, , He has eaten.
• Template:Script / เปิ้นได้กิ๋นแล้ว (, ), He's already eaten.

Aspect markers are not required.

• Template:Script / ข้ากิ๋นตี้หั้น (, ), I eat there.
• Template:Script / ข้ากิ๋นตี้หั้นตะวา (, ), I ate there yesterday.
• Template:Script / ข้ากิ๋นตี้หั้นวันพูก (, ), I'll eat there tomorrow.

Words that indicate obligation include at cha (Template:Script / อาจจะ), na cha (Template:Script / หน้าจะ), khuan cha (Template:Script / ควรจะ), and tong (Template:Script / ต้อง).

• (Template:Script / อาจจะ, ) Might

• Template:Script / เปิ้นอาจจะมา (, ) He might come.

• (Template:Script / น่าจะ, ) Likely to

• Template:Script / เปิ้นน่าจะมา (, ) He is likely to come.

• (Template:Script / ควรจะ, ) Should

• Template:Script / เปิ้นควรจะมา (, ) He should come.

• (Template:Script / ต้อง, ) Must

• Template:Script / เปิ้นต้องมา (, ) He must come.

Actions that wherein one is busily engaged can be indicated by มัวก่า (mua ka, ).

• Template:Script / ก่อมัวก่ากิ๋นหั้นเนาะ (kor mua ka kin han nor, ) (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).

• (Template:Script / ใค่, , to want, to desire)

• Template:Script / ข้าเจ้าใค่กิ๋น (, ) I want to eat.

• (Template:Script / กั๊น, , to try)

• Template:Script / ข้าเจ้ากั๊นกิ๋น (, ) I try to eat.

(Template:Script / ผ่อท่าว่า, ) is used to give the impression or sensation of being something or having a particular quality.

• Template:Script / ผ่อท่าว่าเปิ้นปิ๊กมาแล้ว (, ) 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 (Template:Script / ก่อ, ) and (Template:Script / กา, )

• (Template:Script / ก่อ, , denoting yes/no question)

• Template:Script / ม่วนก่อ (, ) Is it fun?

• (Template:Script / กา (and its variants: ก๋า, กา), , denoting confirmative question)

• Template:Script / ม่วนกา (, ) It is fun, right?

Imperative particles

Some imperative particles are Template:Script (แล่), Template:Script (จิ่ม), and Template:Script (เตอะ).

(Template:Script / แล่, )

• Template:Script / กิ๋นแล่ (, ) Eat! (Authoritative).

(Template:Script / จิ่ม, )

• Template:Script / ขอกิ๋นจิ่ม (, ) May I eat please?

(Template:Script / เหีย, )

• Template:Script / กิ๋นเหีย (, ) Eat! (because I know it will be beneficial to you).

(Template:Script / เต๊อะ, )

• Template:Script / กิ๋นเต๊อะ (, ) Eat, please.

Polite particles

Polite particles include Template:Script (คับ) and Template:Script (เจ้า).

• (Template:Script / คับ, , used by males)

• Template:Script / กิ๋นเข้าแล้วคับ (, ) I have eaten, sir/ma'am.

• (Template:Script / เจ้า, , used by females)

• Template:Script / กิ๋นเข้าแล้วเจ้า (, ) I have eaten, sir/ma'am.

Nouns

Nouns are uninflected and have no gender; there are no articles.

Nouns are neither singular nor plural. Some specific nouns are reduplicated to form collectives: Template:Script / ละอ่อน (, , child) is often repeated as Template:Script ละอ่อน ๆ (, ,) to refer to a group of children.

The word Template:Script / หมู่(, ) may be used as a prefix of a noun or pronoun as a collective to pluralize or emphasise the following word. (Template:Script / หมู่ผม, , , we (exclusive), masculine; Template:Script / หมู่เฮา , , emphasised we; Template:Script / หมู่หมา , , (the) dogs).

Plurals are expressed by adding classifiers, used as measure words (ลักษณนาม), in the form of noun-number-classifier ( Template:Script / 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.

Person	Tai Tham script	Thai script	Transliteration	Phonemic (IPA)	Phonetic (IPA)	Meaning
first	Template:Script	กู		/kūː/	[kuː˧]	I/me (impolite/vulgar)
	Template:Script	ฮา		/hāː/	[häː˧]	I/me (from high-status to low-status or familiar; informal)
	Template:Script	ข้า		/kʰa᷇ː/	[kʰäː˥˧]	I/me (formal; used by male). Literally "servant, slave".
	Template:Script	ผู้ข้า		/pʰu᷇ː.kʰa᷇ː/	[pʰuː˥˧.kʰäː˥˧]	I/me (formal)
	Template:Script	ข้าน้อย		/kʰa᷇ː nɔ́ːj/	[kʰäː˥˧ nɔːi̯˦˥]	I/me (formal; used by male/archaic)
	Template:Script	ข้าเจ้า		/kʰa᷇ː tɕa᷇w/	[kʰäː˥˧.t͡ɕäu̯˥˧]	I/me (formal; used by female/historically also used by male)
	Template:Script	ข้าผะเจ้า		/kʰa᷇ː.pʰa.tɕa᷇w/	[kʰäː˥˧.pʰä˨.t͡ɕäu̯˥˧]	I/me (very formal)
	Template:Script	เฮา		/hāw/	[häu̯˧]	we/us (common)
	Template:Script	ตู๋		/tǔː/	[t̪uː˨˦]	we/us (exclusive)
second	Template:Script	มึง		/mɯ̄ŋ/	[mɯŋ˧]	you (impolite/vulgar)
	Template:Script	ฅิง		/kʰīŋ/	[kʰiŋ˧]	you (from high-status to low-status or familiar; informal/singular)
	Template:Script	ตั๋ว		/tǔa/	[tua˨˦]	you (familiar/singular)
	Template:Script	เจ้า		/tɕa᷇w/	[tɕäw˥˧]	you (formal/singular). Literally "master, lord"
	Template:Script	สู		/sǔː/	[suː˨˦]	you (informal; plural or formal/singular)
	Template:Script	สูเขา		/sǔː kʰǎw/	[suː˨˦ kʰäw˨˦]	you (informal/plural)
	Template:Script	สูเจ้า		/sǔː tɕa᷇w/	[suː˨˦ tɕäw˥˧]	you (formal/plural)
third	Template:Script	มัน		/mān/	[män˧]	it, he/she (offensive if used to refer to a person)
	Template:Script	เขา		/kʰǎw/	[kʰäw˨˦]	they/them
	Template:Script	เปิ้น		/pɤ̂n/	[pɤn˥˩]	he/she (general), others
	Template:Script	ต้าน		/tâːn/	[täːn˥˩]	he/she (formal), you (formal), others
reflexive	Template:Script	ตั๋วเก่า		/tǔa kàw/	[tua˨˦ käw˨˩]	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.

word	gloss	origin
Template:Script ของกิ๋น	food	native Tai word
Template:Script อาหาร	food	Pali and/or Sanskrit
Template:Script ก่ำเนิด (กำเนิด)	birth	Khmer

Writing system

File:Lanna lng.png

Northern Thai in its own alphabet, the Tai Tham alphabet

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 (Template:Script ตั๋วเมือง ) or (Template:Script ตั๋วธัมม์ ). However, native speakers are presently illiterate in the traditional script; therefore, they instead use the Thai script to write the language. In Laos, the Lao script is commonly used to write Northern Thai.

File:Sign in Tai Tham and Thai King Kawilorot Suriyawong.jpg

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 (ก้า (Template:Script กล้า) "to be brave") and (ก้า (Template:Script ค่า) "value") is lost when written in Thai since as only (ก้า) is permitted. Consequently, the meaning of ก้า is ambiguous as it can mean both "to be brave" and "value". Similarly, (ป้าย (Template:Script ป้าย) "sign") and (ป้าย (Template:Script พ่าย) "to lose") have the same problem and only (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 1
• Northern Thai script page 2
  Northern Thai script page 2
• Northern Thai script page 3
  Northern Thai script page 3
• Northern Thai script page 4
  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:

Standard Thai	Northern Thai	gloss	note
[jâːk] ยาก	[ɲâːk] Template:Script	difficult	cf. Template:Langx [ɲâːk]
[jūŋ] ยุง	[ɲūŋ] Template:Script	mosquito	cf. Template:Langx [ɲúŋ]
[jāːw] ยาว	[ɲāːw] Template:Script	long	cf. Template:Langx [ɲáːw]
[jāː] ยา	[jāː] Template:Script	medicine	cf. Template:Langx [jàː]
[jàːk] อยาก	[jàːk] Template:Script	desire	cf. Template:Langx [jȁːk]
[jàːŋ] อย่าง	[jàːŋ] Template:Script	manner, way	cf. Template:Langx [jāːŋ]

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 ([˦˩]).

Standard Thai	Northern Thai	gloss
[bâːn] บ้าน	[ba᷇ːn] Template:Script	village, home
[hâː] ห้า	[ha᷇ː] Template:Script	five
[tɕâw] เจ้า	[tɕa᷇w] Template:Script	master, lord, you
[lâw] เหล้า	[la᷇w] Template:Script	alcohol
[lâw] เล่า	[lâw] Template:Script	tell (a story)

Different words

Many words differ from Standard Thai greatly:

Standard Thai	Northern Thai	gloss	note
[jîː sìp] ยี่สิบ	[sāːw] Template:Script ซาว	twenty	cf. Template:Langx [sáːw] "twenty" and Shan: Template:Script [sáːw] "twenty"
[pʰûːt] พูด	[ʔu᷇ː] Template:Script อู้	speak
[pʰîː tɕʰāːj] พี่ชาย	[ʔa᷇ːj] Template:Script อ้าย	older brother	cf. Template:Langx [ʔâːj] "older brother" and Shan: Template:Script [ʔāːj] "eldest brother, first born son"
[tʰáːj tʰɔ̄ːj] ท้ายทอย	[ŋɔ̂n] Template:Script ง่อน	nape	cf. Template:Langx [ŋɔ̄n] "nape"
[tɕā.mùːk] จมูก	[dāŋ] Template:Script ดัง	nose	cf. Template:Langx [dàŋ] "nose", Standard Thai: ดั้ง [dâŋ] "nasal bridge".
[tʰām] ทำ	[ɲa᷇ʔ] Template:Script/Template:Script ยะ/เยียะ	do
[dūː] ดู	[pʰɔ̀ː] Template:Script ผ่อ	look	cf. Template:Langx [pʰɔ̄ː] "to see, to look" and Tai Lü: Template:Script [pʰɔ̀ː] "to see, to look"
[tʰîaw] เที่ยว	[ʔɛ̀w] Template:Script แอ่ว	visit, travel	cf. Tai Lü: Template:Script [ʔɛ᷄w] "to visit, to travel"
[nɯ́a] เนื้อ	[tɕín] Template:Script จิ๊น	meat	cf. Template:Langx [sîːn] "meat"
[mâj] ไม่	[bɔ̀ː] Template:Script บ่อ	no	cf. Template:Langx [bɔ̄ː] "no, not"
[tɕʰɔ̂ːp] ชอบ	[ma᷇k] Template:Script มัก	like	cf. Template:Langx [māk] "to like"
[mâːk] มาก	[na᷇k] Template:Script นัก	much, many
[dɤ̄ːn] เดิน	[tīaw] Template:Script เตียว	walk	cf. Tai Lü: Template:Script [têw] "to walk"
[wîŋ] วิ่ง	[lôn] Template:Script ล่น	run
[hǔa rɔ́ʔ] หัวเราะ	[kʰâj hǔa] Template:Script ใค่หัว	laugh	cf. Tai Lü: Template:Script [xāj hó] "to laugh"
[sā.nùk] สนุก	[mûan] Template:Script ม่วน	funny, amusing	cf. Template:Langx [mūan] "fun, amusing, pleasant", Tai Lü: Template:Script [mōn] "fun, amusing, pleasant", and Shan: Template:Script [mōn] "fun, amusing, pleasant"
[kōː hòk] โกหก	[tɕúʔ] Template:Script จุ๋	lie	cf. Tai Lü: Template:Script [tsu᷄ʔ] "to lie, to deceive"
[ʔā.rāj] อะไร	[ʔā.ɲǎŋ] Template:Script อะหยัง	what	cf. Template:Langx [ʔī.ɲǎŋ] "what"
[dèk] เด็ก	[lā.ʔɔ̀n] Template:Script ละอ่อน	child	cf. Tai Lü: Template:Script [lūk.ʔɔ᷄n] "child, young offspring"
[pʰráʔ] พระ	[túʔ tɕa᷇w] Template:Script ตุ๊เจ้า	Buddhist monk	cf. Tai Lü: Template:Script [tūʔ tsa᷅w] "Buddhist monk"

Similar words

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/ Template:Script หู		/sìː/ สี่	/sìː/ Template:Script สี่		/tʰùːk/ ถูก	/tʰùːk/ Template:Script ถูก		/kʰùt/ ขุด	/kʰǔt/ Template:Script ขุ๋ด		/tʰâw/ เฒ่า	/tʰa᷇w/ Template:Script 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/ Template:Script ต๋า		/tàw/ เต่า	/tàw/ Template:Script เต่า		/pàːk/ ปาก	/pàːk/ Template:Script ปาก		/tòk/ ตก	/tǒk/ Template:Script ต๋ก		/pâː/ ป้า	/pa᷇ː/ Template:Script 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/ Template:Script ดี		/dàː/ ด่า	/dà:/ Template:Script ด่า		/dɔ̀ːk/ ดอก	/dɔ̀ːk/ Template:Script ดอก		/dàt/ ดัด	/dǎt/ Template:Script ดั่ด		/bâː/ บ้า	/ba᷇ː/ Template:Script 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/ Template:Script บิน		/mɛ̂ː/ แม่	/mɛ̂ː/ Template:Script แม่		/mîːt/ มีด	/mîːt/ Template:Script มีด		/nók/ นก	/no᷇k/ Template:Script นก		/máː/ ม้า	/máː/ Template:Script 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, Phayao, Nan and Prae, and extending at least to Tak and the old 6-tone accent of Tai Khuen, 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:

Standard Thai	Northern Thai	gloss
[hòk] หก	[hǒk] Template:Script ห๋ก	six
[tɕèt] เจ็ด	[tɕět] Template:Script เจ๋ด	seven
[sìp] สิบ	[sǐp] Template:Script สิ๋บ	ten
[pēn] เป็น	[pěn] Template:Script เป๋น	be (copula)
[kīn] กิน	[kǐn] Template:Script กิ๋น	eat

Other tone differences are unpredictable, such as:

Standard Thai	Northern Thai	gloss
[nɯ̀ŋ] หนึ่ง	[nɯ̂ŋ] Template:Script นึ่ง	one

Some words differ in a single sound and associated tone. In many words, the initial ร (/r/) in Standard Thai corresponds to ฮ (/h/) in Northern Thai:

Standard Thai	Northern Thai	gloss	note
[rɔ́ːn] ร้อน	[hɔ́ːn] Template:Script ฮ้อน	hot	cf. Lao: ຮ້ອນ [hɔ̂ːn] "to be hot" and Shan: Template:Script [hɔ̰n] "to be hot"
[rák] รัก	[ha᷇k] Template:Script ฮัก	love	cf. Lao: ຮັກ [hāk] "to love" and Shan: Template:Script [ha̰k] "to love"
[rúː] รู้	[húː] Template:Script ฮู้	know	cf. Lao: ຮູ້ [hûː] "know" and Shan: Template:Script [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).:

Standard Thai	Northern Thai	gloss	note
[tɕʰīaŋ rāːj] เชียงราย	[tɕīaŋ hāːj] Template:Script เจียงฮาย	Chiang Rai city and province	cf. Tai Lü: Template:Script [tsêŋ hâːj] "Chiang Rai"
[kʰít] คิด	[kɯ́t] Template:Script กึ๊ด	think	cf. Tai Lü: Template:Script [kɯ̄t] "to think"
[tɕʰɔ́ːn] ช้อน	[tɕɔ́ːn] Template:Script จ๊อน	spoon	cf. Tai Lü: Template:Script [tsɔ̀n] "spoon"
[tɕʰáj] ใช้	[tɕáj] Template:Script ใจ๊	use	cf. Shan: Template:Script [tsa̰ɰ] "to use", Tai Lü: Template:Script [tsàj] "to use"
[pʰɔ̂ː] พ่อ	[pɔ̂ː] Template:Script ป้อ	father	cf. Shan: Template:Script [pɔ̄] "father", Tai Lü: Template:Script [pɔ̄] "father"
[tʰāːŋ] ทาง	[tāːŋ] Template:Script ตาง	way	cf. Shan: Template:Script [táːŋ] "way", Tai Lü: Template:Script [tâːŋ] "way"

But not:

Standard Thai	Northern Thai	gloss	note
[kʰôːt.sā.nāː] โฆษณา	[kʰôːt.sā.nāː] Template:Script โฆษณา	commercial, advertisement	cf. Tai Lü: Template:Script [xôː.sā.nâː] "advertisement"
[pʰāː.sǎː] ภาษา	[pʰāː.sǎː] Template:Script ภาษา	language	cf. Tai Lü: Template:Script [pʰâː.sáː] "nationality"
[wát.tʰā.ná(ʔ).tʰām] วัฒนธรรม	[wa᷇t.tʰā.na᷇(ʔ).tʰām] Template:Script วัฒนธัมม์	culture	cf. Tai Lü: Template:Script [wāt.tʰā.nā(ʔ).tʰâm] "culture"
[tʰām] ธรรม	[tʰām] Template:Script ธัมม์	Dharma	cf. Tai Lü: Template:Script [tʰâm] "Dharma"

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:

Standard Thai	Northern Thai	gloss	note
[prā.tʰêːt] ประเทศ	[pʰā.têːt] Template:Script ผะเต้ศ	country	cf. Tai Lü: Template:Script [pʰā.te᷄ːt] "country"
[kràːp] กราบ	[kʰàːp] Template:Script ขาบ	kowtow, prostrate	cf. Tai Lü: Template:Script [xa᷄ːp] "to prostrate oneself"
[prāː.sàːt] ปราสาท	[pʰǎː.sàːt] Template:Script ผาสาท	palace	cf. Tai Lü: Template:Script [pʰáː.sa᷄ːt] "palace"

Further reading

• Bilmes, J. (1996). Problems And Resources In Analyzing Northern Thai Conversation For English Language Readers. Journal of Pragmatics, 26(2), 171–188.
• Davis, R. (1970). A Northern Thai reader. Bangkok: Siam Society.
• Filbeck, D. (1973). Pronouns in Northern Thai. Anthropological Linguistics, 15(8), 345–361.
• Herington, Jennifer, Margaret Potter, Amy Ryan and Jennifer Simmons (2013). Sociolinguistic Survey of Northern Thai. SIL Electronic Survey Reports.
• 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.

External links

• Northern Thai New Testament. The New Testament in hard copy form was written using two scripts Amazon link.
• Khamuang (Chiang Mai variety) (Intercontinental Dictionary Series)
• Moradoklanna (in Thai)