The language shift in progress of Thai Song

Abstract

The research question of this paper is: To what extent has the Thai Song language been influenced by the Thai language? The finding of this question is obtained by a sociolinguistic study of phonological variation and lexical replacement among Thai Song speakers of three age groups: old generation (over 60), middle generation (35-55), and young generation (18-30). Thai Song speakers residing at two locations in Nakhon Pathom province are selected as a case study of Thai Song in the western region of Thailand. The study of phonological variation reveals that Thai Song has progressively shifted to Thai in the speech of middle and young generations. The study of lexical replacement shows that young generation speakers use fewer Thai Song words than the older generations. Show more