The Observation on Factors Determining
Thai Tonal Conjugation
Somchai Menyam B.Ed., Dip.TEFL., M.Litt.
i|Page
Contents
Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 1
1. Significance of the Problems .................................................................................................. 3
2. Thai Tonal Marks ................................................................................................................... 5
3. Thai Consonants or Word-Initials ........................................................................................... 6
3.1 Mid Consonants or Mid-tone Unaspirated Voiceless and Devoiced Phonemes or
MUPh ............................................................................................................................. 8
3.2 Low Consonants or Mid-tone Sibilant (Voiceless) and Sonorant (Voiced)
Phonemes or MSSPh ....................................................................................................... 8
3.2.1 Voiceless Low Consonants (Voiceless) or Mid-tone Sibilant Phonemes or MSiPh .. 9
3.2.2 Voiced Low Consonants or Mid-tone Sonorant Phonemes or MSoPh.................... 10
3.3 Rising Consonants or Rising-tone Sibilant (Voiceless) and Sonorant (Voiced)
Phonemes or RSSPh...................................................................................................... 10
3.3.1 Voiceless Rising Consonants or Rising-tone Sibilant Phonemes or RSiPh ............. 10
3.3.2 Voiced Rising Consonants or Rising-tone Sonorant Phonemes or RSoPh .............. 11
3.4 Are RSSPh (RSiPh & RSoPh) Allophones or Phonemes?.............................................. 12
4
Vowels ................................................................................................................................. 13
5
Word-finals (Substitute Phonemes) ...................................................................................... 16
6
New Paradigm ...................................................................................................................... 20
6.1 The Principle of Economy ............................................................................................. 22
6.2 The Principle of Tonal Assimilation .............................................................................. 24
6.3 The Principle of Word-Pushing ..................................................................................... 25
Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 33
Bibliography .............................................................................................................................. 34
ii | P a g e
Introduction
One of the most important principles in understanding the Thai language is the use of Thai tonal
marks or superscripts otherwise known as ‘Thai tonal conjugation’. This refers to reading and
writing about Thai words with and without tone marks. The style of Thai tonal pronunciation can
be challenging for foreign learners since there are five tones which communicate different
meanings. To step up the challenge, Thai tonal marks, in many instances, do not occupy its tonal
utterance. The very same tonal mark can be pronounced as different tones, for example, the lowtone mark ( ):
ป่ า
[p ː] Low-tone
ค่า [kʰ
‘forest’
ː] Falling-tone
‘value’
Although there have been several researches about the problem of Thai tones, the problems
about tonal marks have not been interpreted concretely. The current teaching convention
emphasises on:
1. Word-initials: mid, low and rising consonants
2. Vowels: short and long
3. Word-finals: ‘live’ and ‘dead’
The purpose of this paper is not denying the use of the three concepts in explaining tonal
conjugation but to critique the explanations of these. I will argue that the current explanations of
mid, low and rising (initial) consonants; short and long vowels; ‘live’ and ‘dead’ word-finals—
which have been taught in the Thai school system and overseas to foreign learners of Thai
language—do not provide a concrete and rational explanation. For this reason, by applying
linguistics, especially articulatory phonetics and phonology and having found that tones are a
fundamental basis, I propose a new paradigm to understanding Thai tonal conjugation and
renaming the existing explanations with new terms:
1. Word-initials:
Mid-tone Word-initials
i) Mid-tone Unaspirated Voiceless and Devoiced Phonemes or MUPh and
ii) Mid-tone Sibilants Voiceless and Sonorants Voiced Phonemes or MSSPh
Rising-tone consonants
Rising-tone Sibilant (Voiceless) and Sonorant (Voiced) Phonemes or RSSPh
2. Vowels: mid-tone, low-tone and high-tone vowels
1|Page
3. Word-finals: mid-tone and low-tone word-finals.
The first section will explore the significance of the problem; secondly, tonal marks will be
discussed as it underpins Thai language and provides meaning; thirdly, this section analyses and
provides a new explanation to word-initials, vowels and word-finals, and lastly, sample problem
words will be analysed with the new paradigm of Thai tonal conjugation.
2|Page
1. Significance of the Problems
The tonal conjugation--tonal marks reading and writing--is problematic not only for foreign
students studying Thai but also for Thais themselves. Udom Warotamasikkhadit, a Thai linguist,
articulates the problems of Thai tonal marks as follows:1
“One should note that we are studying about the sounds of the tonal
system—what the sounds are. Therefore, learners must not be
preoccupied with the tonal conjugation of the written language. This is
because a word pronounced with a low-tone sound is in some instances
written with the low-tone mark or without any tonal marks at all. This is
unsystematic. It is the same with words with falling-tone sound, which in
some occasions are written with a falling-tone mark or with a low-tone
mark. It is even more complicated when it comes to words with a risingtone which can be written with both rising-tone mark, falling-tone mark
or without any tonal mark at all. Similarly, a word with a high-tone sound
can be written without any tonal mark or may be preceded by the
consonant ห. For these reasons, Thai tone writing cannot be used as the
basis to understand tones. Rather, emphasis should be placed on tonal
utterances.”
Thai tonal conjugation appears to be unsystematic and complex. Therefore, many Thai linguists
often limit their study of Thai tonal conjugation to merely the tones of the sound system without
investigating the principles of tonal mark writing. However, this paper will propose an
alternative view that it is possible to derive a system.
Thai tonal system is traditionally and currently explained as follows: 1) Consonants or Wordinitials: Thai consonants or word-initials are classified as mid, low and rising groups or the
‘Traiyangsa’ (three-grouped consonants); 2) Tonal marks: There are five tones, i.e. mid, low,
falling, high and rising tones; however, there are only four tonal marks, i.e. – ่ (low-tone mark)
-่ (falling-tone mark) -่ (high-tone mark) and - ่ (rising-tone mark); 3) Vowels: Vowels (also
diphthongs) are classified into two groups, i.e. short and long vowels; and 4) Word-finals: The
word-finals are classified into two groups: live and dead word-finals.
In my opinion, the four concepts mentioned above need a revision so as to clarify the written
usage of Thai tonal conjugation. Articulatory Phonetics will be used to investigate whether the
‘Traiyangsa’ composed of mid, low and rising ones are phonetically and tonally different.
Articulatory phonetics will also be used to investigate the word-finals—live and dead wordfinals— and why Thais use ‘a substitute phoneme’ for other word-finals in each group. Thai
1
Udom Warotamasikkhadit, phaasaasaat beungton (The Introduction to Linguistics), (Bangkok: The Supervisory
Unit, Department of Teachers Training, 1971), p. 95.
3|Page
tonal conceptualisation or Thai Tonemics will also be used to study whether initial consonants,
vowels and word-final consonants possess tonal quality.
If it is found that there are tones in word-initials, vowels and word-finals, we can use the tonal
factors to explain the problems presented by Udom Warotamasikkhadit.
There are five tones in Thai. The tones or suprasegmental phonological units are not only pitches
of sound, but also meaningful units or morphemes. Tonal conjugation is organised in order to
utilise the five tonal slots even though some words do not have any meaning (see table 17).
Nevertheless, there are some linguistic restrictions which limit complete utilisation. Moreover,
some words drop their original tonal mark and adopt another one.
4|Page
2. Thai Tonal Marks
A tone is a pitch element or register added to a syllable to convey grammatical or lexical
information.2 A tone in Thai is a morpheme. There are five tones in Thai, but there are only four
tonal marks. The 1st tonal slot is blank (see table 1). Each of the other four tonal marks is located
in its tonal slot. Thais perceive their tones as mid, low, falling, rising, and high tones, but
Gandour and Abramson discovered the new tonal order.
Gandour & Abramson studied the perceptual latitudes of the five Thai tones--/s man/, / /,
/tʰo /, /tri / and /j ttawa / and called them as mid-tone, low-tone, falling-tone, high-tone and
rising-tone, respectively.3
Table 1: Gandour’s and Abramson’s Perceptions of Thai tones
Tones
Mid
(1)
/s ːman/
Tonal
marks
Low
(2)
k/
Falling
(3)
High
(4)
ʰoː/
riː/
Rising
(5)
aː/
Unmarked
Figure 1: Gandour’s and Abramson’s contours for the Thai tones
2
SIL
International,
‘What
is
Tone’,
SIL
International,
23th
April
2002,
http://www01.sil.org/linguistics/GlossaryOfLinguisticTerms/WhatIsTone.htm, accessed 28th October 2013.
3
Jac son T. Gandour, “Perception Dimensions of Tone: Thai,” in Southeast Asian Linguistics Studies, 1979, Vol. 3,
pp. 278-79, and Arthur S. Abramson, “The Thai tonal spaces,” in Southeast Asian linguistics Studies in Honor of
Vichin Panupong, (Chulalongkorn University Press,1997), p. 2.
5|Page
3. Thai Consonants or Word-Initials
There are 44 Thai consonants which are placed from the rear places of articulation to the front
ones:
ก ข ฃ4 ค ฅ5 ฆ ง จ ฉ ช ซ ฌ ญ ฎ ฏ ฐ ฑ ฒ ณ ด ต ถ ท ธ น บ ป ผ ฝ พ ฟ ภ ม
ยรลวศษสหฬอฮ
They are classified into three groups or the so-called “Triyangsa”—mid, low and rising
consonants. Having examined tones more closely, I propose that there are only two tones, i.e.
Mid-tone Consonants (which are consisted of Mid Consonants and Low Consonants) and
Rising-tone Consonants which are called Rising Consonants (see table 2).
Table 2: Triyangsa
Thai Consonantal Alphabet
กจดฎตฏบปอ
คฅฆชฌซทธฑฒพภฟ
ฮงนณยญรวมลฬ
ขฃฉฐถผฝสษศห
4
5
The Conventional Classes of
Consonants
Mid Consonants
Proposed Classes of Tones
(9)
Low Consonants
Mid tone
(24)
Rising Consonants
(11)
Rising tone
Not being used.
Not being used.
6|Page
First of all, the consonants should be investigated by the articulatory phonetics (see table 3).
Table 3: Thai Consonants (Word-initials)
Bilabial
Plosive
Affricate
LabioDental
ApicalAlveolar*
Vl unasp
pป
ตฏ
Vd
bบ
ดฎ
Vl asp
pʰ พ ภ
ʰ ทธฑฒ
Vl asp
ingressive
pʰ ผ
ʰ ถฐ
cʰ ช ฌ
fฟ
Vl
ingressive
Vd
Trill
Vd
Semivowels
Vd
ʔอ
ʰฉ
Vl
Lateral
Glottal
ʰข ฃ
Vl asp
Vd
Velar
kʰ ค ฅ ฆ
cจ
Nasal
Palatal
kก
Vl unasp
Vl asp
ingressive
Fricative
PalatoAlveolar
ฝ
mม
wว
h ฮ
ซ
สศษ
ห
ŋง
นณ
ลฬ
ร
yยญ
* Most of Thai linguists interpret that this part of place of articulation is ‘alveolar’; see Udom Warotamasikkhadit,
phaasaasaat beungton (The Introduction to Linguistics), (Bangkok: The Supervisory Unit, Department of Teachers
Training, 1971), p. 43, and see Shoich Iwasako and Preeya Ingkaphirom, A Reference of Grammar of Thai,
(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009), p.4. However, Harris interpreted that it is ‘apico-alveolar’ (see J.G.
Harris, "Phonetic Notes on Some Siamese Consonants", in A Conference on Tai Phonetics and Phonology, 1972, ed.
J.G. Harris and R.B. Noss, pp. 8-22, Mahidol University. Prapart Brudhiprabha interpreted that it is ‘apical’, see
Prapart Brudhiprabha, “Languages in Thailand,” in Llamzon, Teodero A., Papers on Southeast Asian Languages:
An introduction to the languages of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, (Singapore:
Singapore University Press, 1979), p. 301. In this paper, this place of articulation is ‘apical alveolar’ which refers to
the sound articulated with the tip of tongue and the alveolar ridge forming the primary occlusion, see R.L.Trask, A
Dictionary of Phonetics and Phonology, (London: Routledge, 1996), pp. 28-9.
7|Page
3.1 Mid Consonants or Mid-tone Unaspirated Voiceless and Devoiced Phonemes
or MUPh
The Mid Consonants (Aksorn Klaang) or Mid-tone Unaspirated Voiceless and Devoiced
Phonemes consists of two sub-groups:
i)
Voiceless Unaspirated which includes Voiceless Unaspirated Plosives: /p/ ป ,
/ /ต ฏ, /k/ ก, /ʔ/ อ and Voiceless Unaspirated Affricate /c/ จ.
ii)
Voiced Plosives: /b/ บ, / / ด ฎ. The Voiced Plosives are so devoiced that they
sound to be unaspirated.6
These consonants are mid-tone. The common features of these Mid Consonants are weakly
plosive and affricate (see table 4).
Table 4: Mid Consonants or Mid-tone Unaspirated Voiceless and Devoiced Phonemes or
MUPh
Bilabial
Plosive
Affricate
Vl unasp
p ป
Vd devd
b บ
Vl unasp
LabioDental
Apical
Alveolar
PalatoAlveolar
Palatal
Velar
kก
ตฏ
ดฎ
Glottal
ʔ อ
c จ
3.2 Low Consonants or Mid-tone Sibilant (Voiceless) and Sonorant (Voiced)
Phonemes or MSSPh
The common features of these consonants are non-unaspirated (see table 5). The Low
Consonants (Aksorn Tam) or Mid-tone Sibilant (Voiceless) and Sonorant (Voiced) Phonemes
(MSSPh) consist of two sub-groups: i) Voiceless Low Consonants or Aksorn Tam Khu or Midtone Sibilant Phonemes (MSiPh) and ii) Voiced Low Consonant or Aksorn Tam Diao or Midtone Sonorant Phonemes (MSoPh).
6
Prapart Brudhiprabha called the devoiced plosives ‘voiced unaspirated stops’. See Prapart Brudhiprabha, op.cit,
p. 301.
8|Page
Table 5: Double and Single Low Consonants or Mid-tone Sibilant (Voiceless) and Sonorant
(Voiced) Phonemes or MSSPh
Bilabial
Plosive
Affricate
Vl asp
LabioDental
Apical
Alveolar
Nasal
Vd
Lateral
Vd
Trill
Vd
Semivowels
Vd
Velar
Glottal
kʰ
ทธฑฒ
คฅฆ
cʰ ช ฌ
fฟ
Vl
Palatal
ʰ
pʰ พ ภ
Vl asp
Fricative
PalatoAlveolar
mม
ซ
h ฮ
นณ
ลฬ
ร
ŋง
wว
yยญ
3.2.1 Voiceless Low Consonants (Voiceless) or Mid-tone Sibilant
Phonemes or MSiPh
The Voiceless Low Consonants (Aksorn Tam Khu) or Mid-tone Sibilant Phonemes (MSiPh) are
sibilants,7(voiceless) i.e. plosives pʰ พ ภ, / ʰ/ ท ธ ฑ ฒ, kʰ ค ฅ ฆ, an affricate cʰ ช ฌ, and
fricatives /f/ ฟ,
/ ซ and /h/ ฮ (see table 6).
Table 6: Voiceless Low Consonants (Voiceless) or Mid-tone Sibilant Phonemes or MSiPh
Bilabial
Plosive
Affricate
Fricative
Vl
asp
Vl
asp
Vl
LabioDental
Apical
Alveolar
PalatoAlveolar
ʰ ทธฑฒ
pʰ พ ภ
Palatal
Velar
Glottal
kʰ ค ฅ ฆ
cʰ ช ฌ
fฟ
ซ
h ฮ
7
sibilant, in phonetics, is a fricative consonant sound, in which the tip, or blade, of the tongue is brought near the
roof of the mouth and air is pushed past the tongue to make a hissing sound. See Encyclopaedia Britannica,
‘Sibilant’, Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2013, http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/542648/sibilant, accessed
28th October 2013.
9|Page
3.2.2 Voiced Low Consonants or Mid-tone Sonorant Phonemes or
MSoPh
Voiced Low Consonant (Aksorn Tam Diao) or Mid-tone Sonorant Phonemes (MSoPh). The
consonants in this group are sonorants8 (voiced and frictionless), i.e. nasals /m/ ม, / น ณ, ŋ ง,
a lateral / ล ฬ, a trill / ร, and semi-vowels /w/ ว and /y/ ย ญ (see table 7).
Table 7: Single Low Consonants (Voiced) or Mid-tone Sonorant Phonemes or MSoPh
Bilabial
Nasal
Vd
Lateral
Vd
Trill
Vd
Semivowels
Vd
mม
wว
LabioDental
Apical
Alveolar
PalatoAlveolar
Palatal
นณ
ลฬ
ร
Velar
Glottal
ŋง
yยญ
3.3 Rising Consonants or Rising-tone Sibilant (Voiceless) and Sonorant (Voiced)
Phonemes or RSSPh
The Rising Consonants (Aksorn Suung) or the Rising-tone Sibilant (Voiceless) and Sonorant
(Voiced) Phonemes (RSSPh) consist of two sub-groups: i) Rising-tone Sibilant Phonemes
(RSiPh) and ii) Rising-tone Sonorant Phonemes (RSoPh). Their acoustic features are ingressive.
3.3.1 Voiceless Rising Consonants or Rising-tone Sibilant Phonemes
or RSiPh
Consonants in the group of Rising-tone Sibilant Phonemes (RSiPh): /pʰ/ ผ, / ʰ/ ถ ฐ, / ʰ/ ข ฃ,
/ ʰ/ ฉ , / / ฝ, / / ส ศ ษ, and / / ห are arbitrary (see table 8) and are minimal pairs with MSiPh
(see table 9).
8
Sonorant, in phonetics, any of the nasal, liquid, and glide consonants that are marked by a continuing resonant
sound. Sonorants have more acoustic energy than other consonants. See Encyclopaedia Britannica, ‘Sonorant’,
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2013, http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/554579/sonorant, accessed 28th
October 2013. See also Shoich Iwasako and Preeya Ingkaphirom, op.cit., p. 7
10 | P a g e
Table 8: Rising-tone Sibilant Phonemes (RSiPh)
Bilabial
Plosive
Affricate
Fricative
LabioDental
pʰ ผ
Vl asp
ingressive
Vl asp
ingressive
Vl
ingressive
Apical
Alveolar
PalatoAlveolar
Velar
Glottal
ʰ ขฃ
ʰถฐ
ʰ
ฝ
Palatal
ฉ
สศษ
ห
Table 9: Showing the minimal pairs of consonants of Mid-tone Sibilant arbitrary
Phonemes (MSiPh) and Rising-tone Sibilant arbitrary Phonemes (RSiPh)
Mid-tone
Sibilant
Arbitrary
พภ
ทธฑฒ
คฅฆ
ชฌ
ฟ
ซ
ฮ
pʰ
ʰ
kʰ
cʰ
f
h
Rising-tone
pʰ
ʰ
ʰ
ʰ
Sibilant
Arbitrary
ผ
ถฐ
ขฃ
ฉ
ฝ
สศษ
ห
3.3.2 Voiced Rising Consonants or Rising-tone Sonorant Phonemes
or RSoPh
Consonants in the group of Rising-tone Sonorant Phonemes (RSoPh): / /หม- , / /หน-, /ŋ/หง-,
/ /หล- ,
/หร-, / /หว- and
/หย หญ are reproduced by adding
ห in the initial position (see table
10) and in minimal pairs with MSoPh (see table 11).
11 | P a g e
Table 10: The Reproduction of Rising-tone Sonorant Phonemes (RSoPh)
Bilabial
Nasal
Lateral
Trill
Semivowels
Vd
ingressive
Vd
ingressive
Vd
ingressive
Vd
ingressive
LabioDental
Apical
Alveolar
หม-
PalatoAlveolar
Palatal
หนหลหร-
Velar
Glottal
ŋ หง-
หว-
หย หญ
Table 11: Showing the minimal pairs of Mid-tone Sonorant (Arbitrary) Phonemes
(MSoPh) and Rising-tone Sonorant (Reproduced) Phonemes (RSoPh)
Mid-tone
m
Sonorant
Arbitrary
Rising-tone
ม
นณ
ŋ
ง
ŋ
ลฬ
ร
w
ว
y
ยญ
Sonorant
Reproduced
หมหนหงหลหรหวหย- หญ-
3.4 Are RSSPh (RSiPh & RSoPh) Allophones or Phonemes?
There is still some argument whether each of the RSSPh (RSiPh & RSoPh) is a separate
phoneme or an allophone of the mid-tone low consonant phoneme or MSSPh (MSiPh &
MSoPh). A phoneme can be described as the smallest contrastive linguistic unit which may
bring about a change of meaning; an allophone is the different phonetic realisation of a phoneme
and does not bring about a change of meaning. The phonemes /pʰ/and /pʰ/ in Thai are different
phonemes because they represent different meanings, e.g.
พี [pʰiː]
a lot
ผี [pʰ ː] ghost
We can conclude that phonemes in RSSPh are not allophones of MSSPh but separate phonemes.
12 | P a g e
4 Vowels
In any traditional Thai grammar textbook, e.g. Jindamanee, vowels are classified into two
groups: long and short vowels, as shown in table 12. The vowels classification does not explain
tonal conjugation. For example, when a MUPh consonant (a Mid consonant) is followed by long
vowels, i.e. กา กี กื กู เก แก โก กอ เกอ เกีย เกือ กัว, these words are pronounced with mid-tone. However, when
the same consonant followed by a short vowel, i.e. กะ กิ กึ กุ เกะ แกะ โกะ เกาะ เกอะ เกียะ เกือะ กัวะ, these words
are pronounced as low-tone, whereas short vowels
mid-tone.
–่า . ไ-. ใ-, เ-า in กา ไก ใก เกา are pronounced as
Consequently, I propose that ่า [am], ไ- [ai], ใ- [ai] and เ-า [au] be removed from the short-vowel
slot to the long-vowel one as they share the same tonal properties. I also suggest renaming the
long vowels into ‘mid-tone vowels’; the short vowels into ‘low-tone vowels’, as shown in table
13. There are also two rising-tone vowels which are very rare in Thai writing, except in some
words based on Sanskrit.
13 | P a g e
Table 12: Traditional Understanding of Vowels
Long Vowels
Short Vowels
-า
[ ː]
-ะ
[ ]
-ี
[iː]
-ี
[]
-ี
[ɨː]
-ี
[]
-ี
[uː]
-ี
[ ]
เ-
[eː]
เ-ะ
[ ]
แ-
[æː]
แ-ะ
[æ]
โ
[oː]
โ-ะ
[ ]
-อ
[ɔː]
เ-าะ
[ɔ]
เ-อ
[əː]
เ-อะ
[ə]
เ-ีย
[i ː]
เ-ียะ
[ ]
เ-ีอ
[ɨəː]
เ-ีอะ
[ ə]
ี-ว
[uəː]
-ีวะ
[ ə]
ีา
[am]
ไ-
[ai]
ใ-
[ai]
เ-า
[au]
ฤๅ
rɨː
ฤ
[r ]
ฦๅ
lɨː
ฦ
[l ]
14 | P a g e
Table 13: Revised Version of Understanding Tones—Showing Vowels Classified by Tones
Mid-tone Vowels
Low-tone Vowels
High-tone Vowels
-า
[ ː]
-ะ
[ ]
-ี
[iː]
-ี
[]
-ี
[ɨː]
-ี
[]
-ี
[uː]
-ี
[ ]
เ-
[eː]
เ-ะ
[ ]
แ-
[æː]
แ-ะ
[æ]
โ
[oː]
โ-ะ
[ ]
-อ
[ɔː]
เ-าะ
[ɔ]
เ-อ
[əː]
เ-อะ
[ə]
เ-ีย
[i ː]
เ-ียะ
[ ]
เ-ีอ
[ɨəː]
เ-ีอะ
[ ə]
ี-ว
[uəː]
-ีวะ
[ ə]
-ีา
[am]
ไ-
[ai]
ใ-
[ai]
เ-า
[au]
ฤๅ
[rɨː]
ฤ
[r ]
ฦๅ
[lɨː]
ฦ
[l ]
15 | P a g e
5 Word-finals (Substitute Phonemes)
In any Thai grammatical texts, there are eight word-finals in Thai and they are classified into two
groups, i.e. Live Word-finals and Dead Word-finals.
Table 14: Traditional Thai Word-Finals
Dead
แม่กบ [บ]
แม่กด [ด]
แม่กก [ก]
Word-finals
[ æːk p] or[p]
[ æːk ]or [t]
[ æːk k]or [k]
Live
แม่กม [ม]
แม่กน [น]
แม่กง [ง]
แม่เกอย [ย]
แม่ เกอว [ว]
Word-finals
[ æːkom]or [m]
[ æːkon] or [n]
[ æːkoŋ] or [ŋ]
[ æːkəːi]or [y]
[ æːkəːu] or [w]
Each of the eight word-finals is preceded with ‘ æː’, e.g. แม่กน [ æːko ] because the word
[ æː] refers to ‘subject of its members’. 9 [ æːko ] which means the number of word-finals in
the group called [ æːko ] is pronounced [น] or [n] as the ‘substitute phoneme’ of other wordfinals of which places of articulation being adjacent to [n] (see table 15).
แม่ กบ /บ/ [ æːk p] or /b/ pronounced as [pˈ]. The ‘voiceless labial’ word-final บ /b/ – ป [pˈ]
phonetically – is the substitute phoneme for ป /p/, บ /b/, พ ภ pʰ , ผ /pʰ/, ฟ /f/ and ฝ
/. In
articulatory phonetics this word-final is not pronounced as [b] but unreleased [p’], but Thais
misinterpret it as บ [b]. Phonetically, the [b] sound is pronounced as devoiced and similar to the
unreleased ป [p’]. Then จบ [
] is heard as [ p’].
แม่ กด /ด/ [ æːk ] or /d/ pronounced as [tˈ]. The ‘voiceless alveolar’ word-final ด
phonetically – is the substitute phoneme for ต ฏ
/, ด ฎ
/, ท ธ ฑ ฒ
ʰ/, ถ ฐ
ʰ/,ซ
/ – ต[ ˈ]
/ and ส ศ ษ
/s/. In articulatory phonetics this word-final is not pronounced as [d] but unreleased [tˈ], but
Thais misinterpret it as ด [ ]. Phonetically, the [ ] sound is pronounced as devoiced and similar to
the unreleased ต [tˈ]. Then จด [
] is heard as [j tˈ].
แม่ กก /ก/ [ æːk k] or /k/. The ‘voiceless velar’ word-final /kˈ/ is the substitute phoneme for ก /k/,
ค ฅ ฆ /kʰ/and ข ฃ ʰ/.
Photjanaanukrom chabap ratchabanthityasthaan ๒๕๒๕ B.E. (Royal Academy’s Dictionary, 2525 B.E.), 6th ed.
(Bangkok: Aksorn JaroenThatsana Co.Ltd., 2539 B.E.).
9
16 | P a g e
แม่ กม /ม/ [ æːkom] or /m/. The ‘voiced labial’ word-final /m/ is the substitute phoneme for itself,
i.e. ม /m/.
แม่ กน /น/ [ æːkon] or /n/. The ‘voiced alveolar’ word-final /n/ is the substitute phoneme for
น
ณ /n/, ล ฬ /l/ and ร /r/.
แม่ กง /ง/ [ æːkoŋ] or /ŋ/. The ‘voiced velar’ word-final /ŋ/ phoneme is the representative of
itself, i.e. ง /ŋ/.
แม่ เกอย /ย/ [ æːkəːi] or /y/ and แม่ เกอว /ว/ / æːkəːu/ or /w/ are semi-vowels but Thais perceive
that /ย/ and /ว/ are word-finals. When the /ย/ and /ว/ is examined by articulatory phonetics, we
find that each just expresses itself as part of a diphthong. For แม่ เกอย /ย/ [m
ə i] or /y/, Thais
interpret that the ย /y/ is the substitute phoneme for ย ญ /y/, but phonetically the sound /y/ is not
/y/ as a consonant phoneme as believed but is /i/ as a part of the diphthong /ə i/. Moreover,
Thais do not pronounce ย /y/ as a word-final.
Also for แม่ เกอว /ว/ [ æːkəːu] or /w/ Thais interpret that the ว /w/ is the substitute phoneme for ว
/w/, but phonetically the sound /w/ is not a consonant phoneme as believed but is /u/ as a part
of the diphthong, e.g. /ə u/. Moreover, Thais do not pronounce ว /w/ as a word-final (see table
15).
Thais pronounce word-finals with easy and simple sounds, so each of the ‘six substitute
phonemes’ is used to substitute the sounds in its similar or adjacent places of articulation (see
table15).
17 | P a g e
Table 15: Showing Substitute Phonemes for Word-finals and Their Members with Same or
Adjacent Places of Articulation
Bilabial
Plosive
Affricate
Vl unasp
pป
Vd
bบ
Vl asp
pʰ พ ภ
Vl asp
ingressive
pʰผ
LabioDental
ApicoAlveolar
Palatal
ตฏ
dด ฎ
tʰ ท ธ ฑ
ฒ
tʰ ถ ฐ
Velar
Glottal
kก
ʔอ
kʰ ค
ฅฆ
ʰข ฃ
Vl unasp
cจ
Vl asp
cʰ ช ฌ
ʰฉ
Vl asp
ingressive
Fricative
PalatoAlveolar
fฟ
Vl
Vl
ingressive
ฝ
mม
sซ
สศษ
ห
นณ
Nasal
Vd
Lateral
Vd
ลฬ
Trill
Vd
ร
Semivowels
Vd
wว
h ฮ
ŋง
yย ญ
Consequently, there are only six word-finals: i) voiceless ป /p/, ต /t/, ก /k/, and ii) voiced ม /m/, น
/n/, and ง ŋ/. After close observation, the word-finals can be classified into two categories: mid-
tone word-finals /m/, /n/, and /ŋ/ and low-tone word-finals /p/, /t/, /k/, (see table 16).
18 | P a g e
Table 16: New Perspective on the Thai Word-finals
Mid-tone Word-finals
แม่กม /ม/
แม่กน /น/
แม่กง /ง/
[ æːkom]or /m/
[ æːkon] or /n/
[ æːkoŋ] or /ŋ/
Low-tone Word-finals
แม่กบ /บ/
แม่กด /ด/
แม่กก /ก/
[ æːk p] or /p/
[ æːk ] or /t/
[ æːk k] or /k/
However, the so-called ‘Live’ and ‘Dead’ word-finals do not explain why Thai tone marks
writing is dynamic. I suggest renaming Live word-finals into mid-tone ones and Dead wordfinals into low-tone ones. This will aid in explaining or conceptualising tonal conjugation in
reading and writing. Consequently, in my opinion, there are only mid-tone and low-tone wordfinals in Thai.
19 | P a g e
6 New Paradigm
Before we will investigate the Thai tonal conjugation, I would like to summarise the key factors
in the conjugation.
Mid consonants are renamed as Mid-tone Unaspirated Phonemes or MUPh;
Low consonants are renamed as Mid-tone Sibilant and sonorant Phonemes or MSSPh (MSiPh
& MSoPh); and
Rising consonants are also renamed as Rising-tone Sibilant and Sonorant Phonemes or RSSPh
(RSiPh & RSoPh);
Vowels are classified by tones and renamed as Mid-tone vowels-MV, Low-tone vowels-LV and
Rising-tone vowel-RVs;
Word-finals are classified by tones and renamed as Mid-tone Word-finals-MW and Low-tone
Word-finals-LW.
Words in table 17 can be assumed that they represent the whole perception of the Thai tonal
conjugation. The substitution in table 18 shows us how they are conjugated.
20 | P a g e
Table 17: Showing Tonal Conjugation in MUPh, MSiPh and RSiPh and Problem Words
Mid
MUPh+MV
กา [k
Low
ː]
MUPh+LV
MUPh+MV+MW
กาน [k
ː ]
MUPh+MV+LW
MUPh+LV+MW
กัน [kan]
MUPh+LV+LW
MSiPh+MV
พา [pʰ
กา [k ː]
กะ [k ʔ]
กาน [k ː ]
กาด [k ː ]
กัน่ [k ]
กัด [k ]
ː]
MSiPh+LV
MSiPh+MV+MW
พาน
[pʰ ː ]
พัน [pʰ
]
MSiPh+LV+LW
RSiPh+MV
RSiPh+LV
RSiPh+MV+MW
RSiPh+MV+LW
RSiPh+LV+MW
RSiPh+LV+LW
ผา [pʰ ː]
ผะ [pʰ ʔ]
ผาน [pʰ ː ]
ผาด [pʰ ː ]
ผัน่ [pʰ n]
ผัด [pʰ t]
High
Rising
กา [k ː]
กะ [k ʔ]
กาน [k ː ]
กาด [k ː ]
กั้น [k ]
กั้ด [k ]
กา[k ː]
กะ[k ʔ]
กาน [k ː ]
กาด [k ː ]
กัน๊ [k ]
กัด๊ [k ]
พา [pʰ ː]
พะ [pʰ ʔ]
พา [pʰ ː]
พาน [pʰ
พาน [pʰ
ː ]
พาด [pʰ ː ]
พัน่ [pʰ n]
พัด่ [pʰ t]
MSiPh+MV+LW
MSiPh+LV+MW
Falling
พะ [pʰ
กา [k ː]
กะ [k ʔ]
กาน [k ː ]
กาด [k ː ]
กัน๋ [k ]
กัด๋ [k ]
ʔ]
ː ]
พาด [pʰ ː ]
พั้น [pʰ n]
พัด [pʰ t]
ผา [pʰ ː]
ผะ [pʰ ʔ]
ผาน [pʰ ː ]
ผาด [pʰ ː ]
ผั้น [pʰ n]
ผั้ด [pʰ t]
ผา [pʰ ː]
ผะ [pʰ ʔ]
ผาน [pʰ ː ]
ผาด [pʰ ː ]
ผัน [pʰ n]
ผัด๋ [pʰ t]
MUPh= Mid-tone-Unaspirated Phoneme
MV=Mid-tone vowel
MW=Mid-tone word-final
L=Low-tone mark
MSiPh=Mid-tone Sibilant Phoneme
LV=Low-tone vowel
LW=Low-tone word-final
F=Falling-tone mark
RSiPh=Rising-tone Sibilant Phoneme
H= High-tone mark
R=Rising-tone mark
21 | P a g e
Table 18: Substitution of table 19
Mid-tone
MUPh+MV
MUPh+LV
MUPh+MV+MW
MUPh+MV+LW
MUPh+LV+MW
MUPh+LV+LW
MUPh+MV
MSiPh+MV
MSiPh+LV
MSiPh+MV+MW
MSiPh+MV+LW
MSiPh+LV+MW
MSiPh+LV+LW
MSiPh+MV
MUPh+MV+MW
MUPh+LV+MW
Low-tone
Falling-tone
High-tone
Rising-tone
MUPh+MV+L
MUPh+LV
MUPh+MV+MW+L
MUPh+MV+LW
MUPh+LV+MW+L
MUPh+LV+LW
MUPh+MV+F
MUPh+LV+F
MUPh+MV+MW+F
MUPh+MV+LW+F
MUPh+LV+MW+F
MUPh+LV+LW+F
MUPh+MV+H
MUPh+LV+H
MUPh+MV+MW+H
MUPh+MV+LW+H
MUPh+LV+MW+H
MUPh+LV+LW+H
MUPh+MV+R
MUPh+LV+R
MUPh+MV+MW+R
MUPh+MV+LW+R
MUPh+LV+MW+R
MUPh+LV+LW+R
MSiPh+MV+L
MSiPh+LV+L
MSiPh+MV+MW+L
MSiPh+MV+LW
MSiPh+LV+MW+L
MsiPh+LV+LW+L
MSiPh+MV+F
MSiPh+LV
MSiPh+MV+MW+F
MSiPh+MV+LW+F
MSiPh+LV+MW+F
MsiPh+LV+LW
MSiPh+MV+MW
MSiPh+LV+MW
RSiPh+MV
RSiPh+LV
RSiPh+MV+MW
RSiPh+MV+LW
RSiPh+LV+MW
RSiPh+MV+L
RSiPh+LV
RSiPh+MV+MW+L
RSiPh+MV+LW
RSiPh+LV+MW+L
RSiPh+MV+F
RSiPh+LV+F
RSiPh+MV+MW+F
RSiPh+MV+LW+F
RSiPh+LV+MW+F
RSiPh+MV
RSiPh+LV+R
RSiPh+MV+MW
RSiPh+MV+LW+R
RSiPh+LV+MW
RSiPh+LV+LW
RSiPh+LV+LW
RSiPh+LV+LW+F
RSiPh+LV+LW+R
MUPh= Mid-tone-Unaspirated Phoneme
MV=Mid-tone vowel
MW=Mid-tone word-final
L=Low-tone mark
MSiPh=Mid-tone Sibilant Phoneme
LV=Low-tone vowel
LW=Low-tone word-final
F=Falling-tone mark
RSiPh=Rising-tone Sibilant Phoneme
H= High-tone mark
R=Rising-tone mark
Having observed the tone conjugation in the tables 17 & 18, I found that there are three concepts
about Thai tone conjugation, i.e. the Principle of Economy, the Principle of Tonal Assimilation
and the Principle of Word-Pushing.
6.1 The Principle of Economy
Mid-tone Consonants or MUPh and Rising-tone Consonants or RSSPh (RSiPh/RSoPh) are ended
by either a low-tone vowel or a low-tone word-final, i.e. MUPh: กะ [k ʔ] กาด [k t] กัด [k t] RSiPh:
ผะ [pʰ ʔ] ผาด [pʰ t] ผัด [pʰ t].
22 | P a g e
Table 19: Tonal Conjugation and the Principle of Economy. Sample Words and Problem
Words in the Tonal Conjugation With/Without Low-tone Mark
Mid
Low
MUPh+MV+MW
กา [k ː]
กะ [k ʔ]
กาน [k ː ]
MUPh+MV+LW
กาด [k ː ]
MUPh+MV
MUPh+LV
MUPh+LV+MW
MUPh+LV+LW
RSiPh+MV
RSiPh+LV
RSiPh+MV+MW
RSiPh+MV+LW
RSiPh+LV+MW
RSiPh+LV+LW
Falling
High
Rising
กัน่ [k ]
กัด [k ]
ผา [pʰ ː]
ผะ [pʰ ʔ]
ผาน [pʰ ː ]
ผาด [pʰ ː ]
ผัน่ [pʰ n]
ผัด [pʰ t]
MUPh= Mid-tone-Unaspirated Phoneme
MV=Mid-tone vowel
MW=Mid-tone word-final
L=Low-tone mark
MSiPh=Mid-tone Sibilant Phoneme
LV=Low-tone vowel
LW=Low-tone word-final
F=Falling-tone mark
RSiPh=Rising-tone Sibilant Phoneme
H= High-tone mark
R=Rising-tone mark
23 | P a g e
Table 20: Substitution of table 21
Mid-tone
Low-tone
MUPh+MV
MUPh+LV
MUPh+MV+MW
MUPh+MV+LW
MUPh+LV+MW
MUPh+LV+LW
MUPh+MV+L
MUPh+LV
MUPh+MV+MW+L
MUPh+MV+LW
MUPh+LV+MW+L
MUPh+LV+LW
RSiPh+MV
RSiPh+LV
RSiPh+MV+MW
RSiPh+MV+LW
RSiPh+LV+MW
RSiPh+MV+L
RSiPh+LV
RSiPh+MV+MW+L
RSiPh+MV+LW
RSiPh+LV+MW+L
RSiPh+LV+LW
RSiPh+LV+LW
Falling-tone
High-tone
Rising-tone
It is noticeable that MUPh’s words with low-tone utterance ended with any ‘low-tone’ linguistic
particles, i.e. a low-tone mark กา [k ], a low-tone vowel กะ [k ʔ], or a low-tone word-final กาด
[k t]. กา [k ] กาน [k n] กัน่ [k n] are pronounced with low-tone utterance because they are ended
with low-tone mark. กะ [k ʔ] กาด [k t] and กัด [k t] are also pronounced with low-tone utterance
because they are ended with either a low-tone vowel or a low-tone word-final, no matter what
tone of the vowel is. Consequently, a low-tone mark is not needed. The concept explaining กะ
[k ʔ] กาด [k t] and กัด [k t] can be used to explain ผะ [pʰ ʔ] ผาด [pʰ t] and ผัด [pʰ t], too.
6.2 The Principle of Tonal Assimilation
In linguistics, assimilation is a common phonological process by which phoneme becomes
determined by another. Tonal assimilation in Thai language is the tonal process by which a
rising-tone word-initial determines the word pronounced with rising-tone but without rising-tone
mark, e.g. ผา [pʰ ] ผาน [pʰ n] ผัน [pʰ n]. However, it is important to note that a rising-tone wordinitial or RSSPh (RSiPh & RSoPh) pronounced with a rising-tone but without a rising-tone mark
must be followed by three patterns which end with either a mid-tone vowel or a mid-tone wordfinal, no matter what tone of the vowel is:
24 | P a g e
Pattern 1
Pattern 2
Pattern 3
ผา [pʰ ː]
ผาน [pʰ ː ]
ผัน [pʰ n]
RSSPh +
MV
RSSPh +
MV
+
MW
RSSPh +
LV
+
MW
Table 21 Tonal Conjugation and the Principle of Tonal Assimilation and Sample Words in
the Tonal Conjugation With/Without Rising-tone Mark
Mid
Low
Falling
High
Rising
ผา [pʰ ː]
ผะ [pʰ ʔ]
ผาน [pʰ ː ]
ผาด [pʰ ː ]
ผัน [pʰ n]
ผัด๋ [pʰ t]
RSiPh+MV
RSiPh+LV
RSiPh+MV+MW
RSiPh+MV+LW
RSiPh+LV+MW
RSiPh+LV+LW
Table 22 Substitution of table 23
Mid-tone
Low-tone
Falling-tone
High-tone
Rising-tone
RSiPh +MV
RSiPh +LV
RSiPh +MV+MW
RSiPh +MV+LW
RSiPh +LV+MW
RSSPh+MV
RSiPh +LV+LW
RSSPh+LV+LW+H
RSSPh+LV+H
RSSPh+MV+MW
RSSPh+MV+LW+H
RSSPh+LV+MW
6.3 The Principle of Word-Pushing
Tonal mark changes, i.e. tonal mark slides and tonal mark loss, occur only in Aksorn Tam or
Low Consonants which are called in this paper MSSPh (MSiPh & MSoPh). There are tonal
mark changes which do not correspond to the standard rules of tonal conjugation: i) MSSPh with
low-tone mark but pronounced as falling-tone, พา [pʰ ]; ii) MSSPh with falling-tone mark
pronounced as high-tone, พา [pʰ ]; iii) MSSPh pronounced as falling-tone but without any tonal
25 | P a g e
mark, พาด [pʰ t]; iv) MSSPh pronounced as high-tone but without any tonal mark, พะ [pʰ ʔ] and
พัด [pʰ t] (see table 23). The tonal mark changes are caused by, what I would like to call, the
principle of word-pushing (see tables 25&27).
Table 23: Tonal mark changes in MSSPh (MSiPh & MSoPh)
Mid
(1)
Low
(2)
k/
/s ːma /
MSiPh+MV
พา [pʰ ː]
RSiPh+LV
RSiPh+MV+MW
RSiPh+MV+LW
พะ [pʰ ʔ]
ผะ [pʰ ʔ]
พาน [pʰ ː ]
ผาน [pʰ ː ]
พาน [pʰ ː ]
ผาน [pʰ ː ]
พาด [pʰ ː ]
ผาด [pʰ ː ]
พาด [pʰ ː ]
ผาด [pʰ ː ]
พั้น [pʰ n]
ผัน่ [pʰ n]
พัน่ [pʰ n]
ผั้น [pʰ n]
พัด [pʰ t]
ผัด [pʰ
พัด่ [pʰ t]
ผั้ด [pʰ t]
พัน [pʰ ]
MSiPh+LV+LW
t]
Rising
(5)
tawaː/
พา [pʰ ː]
พะ [pʰ ʔ]
ผะ [pʰ ʔ]
MSiPh+MV+LW
RSiPh+LV+LW
riː/
ผา [pʰ ː]
พาน [pʰ ː ]
RSiPh+LV+MW
/ ʰoː/
ผา [pʰ ː]
MSiPh+LV
MSiPh+LV+MW
High
(4)
พา [pʰ ː]
RSiPh+MV
MSiPh+MV+MW
Falling
(3)
ผา [pʰ ː]
ผะ [pʰ ʔ]
ผาน [pʰ ː ]
ผาด [pʰ ː ]
MSiPh = Mid-tone Sibilant Phoneme
MV= Mid-tone vowel
MW=Mid-tone Word-final
RSiPh = Rising-tone Sibilant Phoneme
LV= Low-tone vowel
LW= Low-tone Word-final
ผัน [pʰ n]
ผัด๋ [pʰ t]
26 | P a g e
Tonal marks changes in MSSPh are not in accordance with the tonal conjugation in MUPh.
Conversely, the changes in MSSPh are pushed by RSSPh. There are two observable patterns in
the Principle of Word-Pushing.
Pattern 1: Word Pushing in MSSPh words ended with mid-tone environments
before adding tonal marks
The tonal conjugation is done with words ending with mid-tone environments, i.e. either a midtone vowel or a mid-tone word-final, no matter what tone the vowel is (see table 24).
Table 24: Showing the tonal mark changes in MSiPh (and MSoPh) ending with mid-tone
environments
Mid
(1)
/s ːma /
MSiPh+MV
พา [pʰ ː]
พาน [pʰ ː ]
RSiPh+LV+MW
High
(4)
/ ʰoː/
riː/
Rising
(5)
ttawaː/
พา [pʰ ː]
ผา [pʰ ː]
ผา [pʰ ː]
พาน [pʰ ː ] พาน [pʰ ː ]
ผาน [pʰ ː ] ผาน [pʰ ː ]
RSiPh+MV+MW
MSiPh+LV+MW
Falling
(3)
พา [pʰ ː]
ผา [pʰ ː]
RSiPh+MV
MSiPh+MV+MW
Low
(2)
k/
พัน [pʰ ]
พัน่ [pʰ n]
ผัน่ [pʰ n]
ผัน้ [pʰ n]
ผาน [pʰ ː ]
พั้น [pʰ n]
ผัน [pʰ n]
Each of the following words: พา [pʰ ], พาน [pʰ n] and พัน่ [pʰ n] is written with a low-tone mark
but pronounced as a falling-tone sound. Also each of the following words: พา [pʰ ], พาน [pʰ n]
and พั้น [pʰ n] is written with a falling-tone mark but pronounced as a high-tone sound. The tonal
change occurrence is to be explained by the Principle of Word-Pushing as in table 25.
An interesting observation is that Thais fill the tonal conjugation table with as many words as
possible even though those words are meaningless. For this reason, MSSPH (MSiPh & MSoPh)
27 | P a g e
and RSSPh (RSiPh & RSoPh) are determined in the same set of the tonal conjugations to fill up
the five tonal slots.
Table 25: Showing the tonal mark changes in MSSPh (MSiPh & MSoPh) ending with midtone environments pushed by RSSPh
Mid
(1)
/s ːma /
MSiPh+MV
พา [pʰ
ː]
พาน [pʰ
ː ]
RSiPh+LV+MW
พัน [pʰ
]
Falling
(3)
High
(4)
/ ʰoː/
riː/
พา [pʰ
พา
ː]
ผา [pʰ ː]
พาน
พาน [pʰ
พาน
ː ]
ผาน [pʰ
ː ]
พัน่ [pʰ
พั้น
n]
ผั้น [pʰ
n]
ː ]
พัน่
ผัน่ [pʰ
n]
พา [pʰ
Rising
(5)
tawaː/
ː]
ผา [pʰ
ː]
ผาน [pʰ
RSiPh+MV+MW
MSiPh+LV+MW
พา
ผา [pʰ
RSiPh+MV
MSiPh+MV+MW
Low
(2)
k/
พาน [pʰ
พั้น [pʰ
ː]
ː ]
ผาน [pʰ
ː ]
ผัน [pʰ
n]
n]
In my understanding the words พา พาน and พัน่ were located in the low-tone slot and pronounced
as low-tone, but ผา [pʰ ], ผาน [pʰ n] and ผัน่ [pʰ n] push พา พาน and พัน่ , respectively, to their
next tonal slots. That also occurs with พา [pʰ ], พาน [pʰ n] and พั้น [pʰ n] which are pushed to
their next tonal slots by ผา [pʰ ], ผาน [pʰ n] and ผั้น [pʰ n], respectively. It can be briefly said
28 | P a g e
that an MSSPh (MSiPh & MSoPh) is pushed to another tonal slot by an RSSPh (RSiPh &
RSoPh).
Pattern 2: Word Pushing in MSSPh words ended with low-tone environments
before adding tonal marks
Pattern 2 tonal conjugation occurs with words ending with low-tone environments, i.e. either a
low-tone vowel or a low-tone word-final, without being influenced by low-tone or mid-tone
vowels (see tables 28 & 29).
Table 26: Showing the tonal mark changes in MSSPh (MSiPh & MSoPh) ending with lowtone environments
Mid
(1)
/s ːma /
Low
(2)
k/
MSiPh+LV
RSiPh+LV
ผะ [pʰ
ʔ]
MSiPh+LV+LW
RSiPh+LV+LW
ผัด [pʰ
t]
MSiPh+MV+LW
RSiPh+MV+LW
ผาด [pʰ
ː]
Falling
(3)
High
(4)
/ ʰoː/
riː/
พะ [pʰ
ʔ]
ผะ [pʰ
ʔ]
พัด่ [pʰ
t]
ผัด้ [pʰ
t]
พาด [pʰ
ː]
ผาด [pʰ
ː]
พะ[pʰ
Rising
(5)
tawaː/
ʔ]
ผะ [pʰ
พัด [pʰ
t]
ผัด๋
พาด [pʰ
ʔ]
[pʰ t]
ː]
ผาด [pʰ ː ]
29 | P a g e
Table 27: Showing the tonal mark changes in MSiPh (and MSoPh) ending with low-tone
environments pushed by RSSPh
Mid
(1)
/s ːma /
MSiPh+LV
RSiPh+LV
MSiPh+LV+LW
RSiPh+LV+LW
MSiPh+MV+LW
Low
(2)
k/
พะ
ผะ [pʰ
ʔ]
พัด่
ผัด [pʰ
t]
พาด
Falling
(3)
High
(4)
/ ʰoː/
riː/
พะ [pʰ
พะ
ʔ]
ผะ [pʰ
ʔ]
พัด่ [pʰ
พั้ด
t]
ผั้ด [pʰ
t]
พาด [pʰ
พาด
ː]
ผาด [pʰ
ː]
RSiPh+MV+LW
ผาด [pʰ
ː]
พะ[pʰ
พัด [pʰ
พาด [pʰ
Rising
(5)
tawaː/
ʔ]
ผะ [pʰ
ʔ]
ผัด๋ [pʰ
t]
t]
ː]
ผาด
[pʰ ː ]
In pattern 2 there are four expressions, i.e.
i)
ii)
พะ and พัด่ in the low-tone slot pushed to the falling-tone slot are still maintaining the
low-tone mark but pronounced as falling-tone as พะ [pʰ ʔ] and พัด่ [pʰ t]; both words are
written with a low-tone vowel or a low-tone vowel + a low-tone word-final, respectively;
พาด in the low-tone slot pushed to the falling-tone slot but the low-tone mark disappears
but pronounced as falling-tone พาด [pʰ ːt]; the word is written with a mid-tone vowel + a
low-tone word-final;
30 | P a g e
iii)
iv)
พะ and พั้ด in the falling-tone slot pushed to the high-tone slot but the falling-tone mark
disappears and is pronounced as high-tone พะ [pʰ ʔ] and พัด [pʰ t]; both words are written
with a low-tone vowel or a low-tone vowel + a low-tone word-final, respectively; and
พาด in the falling-tone slot pushed to the high-tone slot and still maintaining the fallingtone mark but pronounced as high-tone พาด [pʰ ːt]. The word is written with a mid-tone
vowel + a low-tone word-final.
Table 28: Showing the tonal mark changes in MSSPh (MSiPh & MSoPh) ending with lowtone environments
Mid
(1)
/s ːma /
พะ
MSiPh+LV
RSiPh+LV
Low
(2)
k/
Falling
(3)
High
(4)
/ ʰoː/
riː/
พะ [pʰ
พะ
ʔ]
ผะ [pʰ
ʔ]
พัด่ [pʰ
t]
พะ [pʰ
Rising
(5)
tawaː/
ʔ]
1
ผะ [pʰ
ʔ]
3
พัด่
MSiPh+LV+LW
พั้ด
ผะ [pʰ
พัด [pʰ
t]
RSiPh+LV+LW
ผัด [pʰ
MSiPh+MV+LW
2
t]
ผั้ด [pʰ
t]
ː]
4
พาด [pʰ
พาด
ː]
ผาด [pʰ
ː]
พาด
RSiPh+MV+LW
ผาด [pʰ
พาด [pʰ
ʔ]
ผัด๋
[pʰ t]
ผาด
[pʰ ː ]
ː]
It is to note that MSSPh (MSiPh & MSoPh) with a low-tone vowel or a low-tone vowel + a lowtone word-final in the low-tone slot which has been pushed to the falling-tone slot still maintains
the low-tone mark (see cycle 1 in table 28). However, MSSPh (MSiPh & MSoPh) a mid-tone
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vowel + a low-tone word-final in the low-tone slot that has been pushed to the falling-tone slot
loses its low-tone mark (see cycle 2 in table 28).
1.From a low-tone slot to a falling-tone slot
พะพ
MSSPh + LV + LW พัด
่
MSSPh + LV พพ่
Low-tone mark maintained พะ
Low-tone mark maintained
พัด่
2.From a low-tone slot to a falling-tone slot
MSSPh + MV + LWพพาด
Low-tone mark disappears
พาด
It is also to note that MSSPh (MSiPh & MSoPh) with a low-tone vowel or a low-tone vowel + a
low-tone word-final in the falling-tone slot that is pushed to the high-tone slot loses their fallingtone marks (see cycle 3 in table 28). However, MSSPh (MSiPh & MSoPh) with a mid-tone
vowel + a low-tone word-final in the falling-tone slot that are pushed to the high-tone slot
maintains the falling-tone mark (see cycle 4 in table 28).
3.From a falling-tone slot to a high-tone slot
พะ
MSSPh + LV + LW พพัด้
MSSPh + LV พ
Falling-tone mark disappears พะ
Falling-tone mark disappears
พัด
4.From a falling-tone slot to a high-tone slot
MSSPh + MV + LWพพาด
Falling-tone mark maintained
พาด
32 | P a g e
Conclusion
The three consonant groups perceived as the word-initial consonants: mid, low and rising
consonants were investigated by phonetics and found that the Mid Consonants are mid-tone
unaspirated or devoiced phonemes (MUPh); the Low Consonants are mid-tone sibilants and
sonorants (MSSPh) and consists of mid-tone sibilant phonemes (MSiPh) and mid-tone
sonorant phonemes (MSoPh), and the Rising Consonants are rising-tone sibilants and
sonorants (RSSPh) and consists of rising-tone sibilant phonemes (RSiPh) and rising-tone
sonorant phonemes (RSoPh). RSiPh & RSoPh are the minimal pairs of MSiPh & MSoPh,
respectively. The traditional perceptions of vowels as short and long ones are interpreted into
low-tone and mid-tone ones, respectively. The word-finals which are perceived as live and dead
ones are renamed mid-tone and low-tone ones, respectively. It is also found that the six of the
eight word-finals are the representative or responsible or substitute final phonemes of their
adjacent phonemes. The representative or responsible final phonemes occur because Thais
pronounce word-final phonemes in an unaspirated way – i.e. devoiced or pronounced
incompletely.
The change of word-initial consonants’ names is done to ma e the explanation of the difference
of mid and low consonants more concrete. The renaming of vowels’ names and word-final
consonants’ names help explain the tonal conjugation both in tonal pronunciation and tonal mar
writing which are both ‘systematic’ and ‘dynamic’, especially the tonal conjugation in MSSPh &
RSSPh. This paper also finds that the tones in word-initials, vowels and word-finals also play
important roles in tonal conjugation. Moreover, tones in vowels and word-finals in MSSPh are
interdependent in tonal conjugation. This paper also finds the rules in tonal conjugation, i.e. i)
principle of economy; ii) principle of tonal assimilation and iii) principle of word-pushing.
Importantly, this paper presents a new paradigm in the unsolved problems of why some MSSPh
words, which are pushed to the next tonal slots, either maintain or lose their tonal marks.
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