| Southern Thai | |
| Nativename: | ภาษาไทยถิ่นใต้ |
| Pronunciation: | pronounced as //pʰaːsǎː tʰaj tʰìn tâːj// |
| States: | Southern Thailand, Kedah, Kelantan and Tanintharyi Region |
| Ethnicity: | Southern Thai Peranakans Malaysian Siamese Thai Malays |
| Script: | Thai script Thai Braille |
| Speakers: | 4.5 million |
| Date: | 2006 |
| Ref: | e18 |
| Familycolor: | Tai-Kadai |
| Fam2: | Tai |
| Fam3: | Southwestern Tai |
| Fam4: | Chiang Saen |
| Fam5: | Sukhothai |
| Iso3: | sou |
| Glotto: | sout2746 |
| Minority: | Thailand |
| Agency: | None |
| Glottorefname: | Southern Thai |
| Notice: | IPA |
| Map: | Lang Status 99-NE.svg |
Southern Thai (ภาษาไทยถิ่นใต้ in Thai pronounced as /pʰaːsǎː tʰaj tʰìn tâːj/), also known as Dambro (ภาษาตามโพร in Thai pronounced as /pʰaːsǎː taːm pʰroː/), Pak Tai (ภาษาปักษ์ใต้ in Thai pronounced as /pʰaːsǎː pàk tâːj/), or "Southern language" (ภาษาใต้ in Thai pronounced as /pʰaːsǎː tâːj/), is a Southwestern Tai ethnolinguistic identity[1] and language spoken in southern Thailand as well as by small communities in the northernmost Malaysian states. It is spoken by roughly five million people, and as a second language by the 1.5 million speakers of Pattani and other ethnic groups such as the local Peranakans communities, Negritos, and other tribal groups. Most speakers are also fluent in or understand the Central Thai dialects.
Southern Thai is classified as one of the Chiang Saen languages—others being Thai, Northern 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.
Phonyarit (2018)[2] recognizes the following nine main dialects of Southern Thai, based on tone split and merger patterns.
In Thailand, speakers of Southern Thai can be found in a contiguous region beginning as far north as southern part of Prachuap Khiri Khan Province and extending southward to the border with Malaysia. Smaller numbers of speakers reside in the Malaysian border states, especially Kedah, Kelantan, Penang, Perlis, and Perak. In these areas, it is the primary language of ethnic Thais as well as of the ethnically Malay people on both sides of the Thai-Malaysian border in Satun and Songkhla provinces. Although numerous regional variations exist and there is no one standard, the language is most distinct near the Malaysian border. All varieties, however, remain mutually intelligible. For economic reasons, many speakers of Southern Thai have migrated to Bangkok and other Thai cities. Some have also emigrated to Malaysia, which offers not only economic opportunity but also a culture which shares the Islamic faith practiced by some speakers of Southern Thai.
Malay kingdoms ruled much of the Malay Peninsula, such as the Pattani Kingdom and Tambralinga, but most of the area, at one time or another, was under the rule of Srivijaya. The population of the Malay peninsula was heavily influenced by the culture of India transmitted through missionaries or indirectly through traders. Numerous Buddhist and Hindu shrines attest to the diffusion of Indian culture. The power vacuum left by the collapse of Srivijaya was filled by the growth of the kingdom of Nakhon Si Thammarat, which subsequently became a vassal of the Sukhothai Kingdom. The area has been a frontier between the northern Tai peoples and the southern ethnic Malays as well as between Buddhism and Islam.
The majority of speakers using Southern Thai varieties display five phonemic tones (tonemes) in citation monosyllables, although effects of sandhi can result in a substantially higher number of tonal allophones. This is true for dialects north of approximately 10° N and south of 7° N latitude, as well as urban sociolects throughout Southern Thailand. In between, there are dialects with six- and seven-tone systems. The dialect of Nakhon Si Thammarat Province (approximately centered on 8° N latitude) for example, has seven phonemic tones.[3]
| Labial | Dental/ Alveolar | (Alveolo-) Palatal | Velar | Glottal | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | style=background-color:#ccf | pronounced as /link/ ม | style=background-color:#cfc | pronounced as /link/ ณ, น | style=background-color:#fcf | pronounced as /link/ ญ | |||||
| Plosive/ Affricate | tenuis | style=background-color:#ccf | pronounced as /link/ ป | style=background-color:#cfc | pronounced as /link/ ฏ, ต | style=background-color:#fcf | pronounced as /link/ จ | style=background-color:#fcc | pronounced as /link/ ก | style=background-color:#ccc | pronounced as /link/ อ |
| aspirate | style=background-color:#ccf | pronounced as /link/ ผ, พ, ภ | style=background-color:#cfc | pronounced as /link/ ฐ, ฑ, ฒ, ถ, ท, ธ | style=background-color:#fcf | pronounced as /link/ ฉ, ช, ฌ | style=background-color:#fcc | pronounced as /link/ ข, ฃ, ค, ฅ, ฆ | |||
| voiced | style=background-color:#ccf | pronounced as /link/ บ | style=background-color:#cfc | pronounced as /link/ ฎ, ด | |||||||
| Fricative | style=background-color:#ccf | pronounced as /link/ ฝ, ฟ | style=background-color:#ffc | pronounced as /link/ ซ, ศ, ษ, ส | style=background-color:#ccc | pronounced as /link/ ง, ห, ฮ | |||||
| Approximant | style=background-color:#cff | pronounced as /link/ ว | style=background-color:#cff | pronounced as /link/ ล, ฬ | style=background-color:#cff | pronounced as /link/ ญ, ย | |||||
| Rhotic/Liquid | style=background-color:#cff | pronounced as /link/ ร | |||||||||
In Southern Thai, each syllable in a word is considered separate from the others, so combinations of consonants from adjacent syllables are never recognised as a cluster. Southern thai has phonotactical constraints that define permissible syllable structure, consonant clusters, and vowel sequences. Original Thai vocabulary introduces only 11 combined consonantal patterns:
All plosive sounds (besides the glottal stop /ʔ/) are unreleased. Hence, final pronounced as //p//, pronounced as //t//, and pronounced as //k// sounds are pronounced as pronounced as /[p̚]/, pronounced as /[t̚]/, and pronounced as /[k̚]/ respectively. Of the consonant letters, excluding the disused ฃ and ฅ, six (ฉ ผ ฝ ห อ ฮ) cannot be used as a final and the other 36 are grouped as following.
| Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | style=background:#ccf | pronounced as /link/ ม | style=background:#cfc | pronounced as /link/ ญ, ณ, น, ร, ล, ฬ | style=background:#fcc | pronounced as /link/ ง | |||
| Plosive | style=background:#ccf | pronounced as /link/ บ, ป, พ, ฟ, ภ | style=background:#cfc | pronounced as /link/ จ, ช, ซ, ฌ, ฎ, ฏ, ฐ, ฑ,ฒ,ด, ต, ถ, ท, ธ, ศ, ษ, ส | style=background:#fcc | pronounced as /link/ ก, ข, ค, ฆ | style=background:#ccc | pronounced as /link/ | |
| Approximant | style=background:#cff | pronounced as /link/ ว | style=background:#cff | pronounced as /link/ ย |
The vowels of the Southern Thai are similar to those of Central 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 | pronounced as /link/ -ิ | pronounced as /link/ -ี | pronounced as /link/ -ึ | pronounced as /link/ -ื- | pronounced as /link/ -ุ | pronounced as /link/ -ู | |
| Mid | pronounced as /link/ เ-ะ | pronounced as /link/ เ- | pronounced as /link/ เ-อะ | pronounced as /link/ เ-อ | pronounced as /link/ โ-ะ | pronounced as /link/ โ- | |
| Open | pronounced as /link/ แ-ะ | pronounced as /link/ แ- | pronounced as /link/ -ะ, -ั- | pronounced as /link/ -า | pronounced as /link/ เ-าะ | pronounced as /link/ -อ | |
The vowels each exist in long-short pairs: these are distinct phonemes forming unrelated words in Southern Thai, but usually transliterated the same: เขา /khaw/ means "he/she", while ขาว /khaːw/ means "white".
The long-short pairs are as follows:
| Long | Short | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thai | IPA | Example | Thai | IPA | Example | |||||
| –า | pronounced as //aː// | ฝาน | pronounced as //faːn// | 'to slice' | –ะ | pronounced as //a// | ฝัน | pronounced as //fan// | 'to dream' | |
| –ี | pronounced as //iː// | –ิ | pronounced as //i// | |||||||
| –ู | pronounced as //uː// | –ุ | pronounced as //u// | หนุน | pronounced as //nun// | 'jackfruit' | ||||
| เ– | pronounced as //eː// | เล | pronounced as //leː// | 'sea' | เ–ะ | pronounced as //e// | ||||
| แ– | pronounced as //ɛː// | แขบ | pronounced as //kʰɛːp// | 'hurry' | แ–ะ | pronounced as //ɛ// | แหยะ | pronounced as //jɛʔ// | 'leftover' | |
| –ื- | pronounced as //ɯː// | คืน | pronounced as //kʰɯːn// | 'to return' | –ึ | pronounced as //ɯ// | ||||
| เ–อ | pronounced as //ɤː// | เ–อะ | pronounced as //ɤ// | เงิน | pronounced as //hɤn// | 'money' | ||||
| โ– | pronounced as //oː// | โหนด | pronounced as //noːt// | 'palmyra palm' | โ–ะ | pronounced as //o// | จก | pronounced as //tɕok// | 'mirror, glass' | |
| –อ | pronounced as //ɔː// | เ–าะ | pronounced as //ɔ// | |||||||
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 | pronounced as //aːj// | ไ–*, ใ–*, ไ–ย, -ัย | pronounced as //aj// | |
| –าว | pronounced as //aːw// | เ–า* | pronounced as //aw// | |
| เ–ีย | pronounced as //ia// | เ–ียะ | pronounced as //iaʔ// | |
| – | – | –ิว | pronounced as //iw// | |
| –ัว | pronounced as //ua// | –ัวะ | pronounced as //uaʔ// | |
| –ูย | pronounced as //uːj// | –ุย | pronounced as //uj// | |
| เ–ว | pronounced as //eːw// | เ–็ว | pronounced as //ew// | |
| แ–ว | pronounced as //ɛːw// | – | – | |
| เ–ือ | pronounced as //ɯa// | เ–ือะ | pronounced as //ɯaʔ// | |
| เ–ย | pronounced as //ɤːj// | – | – | |
| –อย | pronounced as //ɔːj// | – | – | |
| โ–ย | pronounced as //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* | pronounced as //iaw// | |
| –วย* | pronounced as //uaj// | |
| เ–ือย* | pronounced as //ɯaj// |
Although of the major regional languages of Thailand, Southern Thai is most similar in lexicon and grammar to Central Thai, the varieties are sufficiently different that mutual intelligibility between the two can be problematic. Southern Thai presents a diglossic situation wherein registers range from the most formal (Standard Central Thai spoken with Southern Thai tones and accent) to the common vernacular (usually a contracted form of Thai expressions and with some amount of loan words from Malay). The Thai language was introduced with Siamese incursions into the Malay Peninsula possibly starting as early as the Sukhothai Kingdom. During this and successive kingdoms, the area in which Southern Thai is spoken was a frontier zone between Thai polities and the Malay Sultanates. Malay vocabulary has been absorbed into the lexicon, as a considerable number of Malay speakers lived in or near Patani polity and interacted with the Thai speakers through trade; and the Malay language was formerly considered to be a lingua franca of the southern part of the Malay peninsula.
Southern Thai is mainly a spoken language, although the Thai alphabet is often used in the informal situations when it is written.
The words used that are etymologically Thai are often spoken in a reduced and rapid manner, making comprehension by speakers of other varieties difficult. Also, as Southern Thai uses up to seven tones in certain provinces, the tonal distribution is different from other regional varieties of Thai. Additionally, Southern Thai speakers almost always preserve ร as /r/ in contrast to Northern Thai, the Lao-based Isan language, and informal registers of Central Thai where it is generally realized as /l/.
| หร่อย pronounced as /[rɔj]/ | อร่อย pronounced as /[ʔa.rɔ̀j]/ | delicious | |
| ม่าย pronounced as /[maːj]/ | ไหม pronounced as /[mǎj]/ | question particle | |
| แหลง pronounced as /[lɛːŋ]/ | พูด pronounced as /[pʰûːt]/ | to speak | |
| จังหู้ pronounced as /[tɕaŋ huː]/ | มาก pronounced as /[mâːk]/ | a lot | |
| ดีปรี pronounced as /[diː.priː]/ | พริก pronounced as /[pʰrík]/ | chilli | |
| หลุหละ pronounced as /[lu.laʔ]/ | สกปรก pronounced as /[sòk ka.pròk]/ | dirty | |
| หยีบ pronounced as /[jiːp]/ | ยี่สิบ pronounced as /[jîː sìp]/ | twenty | |
| บาย pronounced as /[baːj]/ | สบาย pronounced as /[sa.bāːj]/ | to be well | |
| ยานัด pronounced as /[jaː nat]/ | สับปะรด pronounced as /[sàp pa.rót]/ | pineapple | |
| นากา pronounced as /[naː kaː]/ | นาฬิกา pronounced as /[nāː lí.kāː]/ | clock | |
| ขี้มัน pronounced as /[kʰiː man]/ | ขี้เหนียว pronounced as /[kʰîː nǐaw]/ | stingy | |
| พรือ pronounced as /[pʰrɯː]/ | อะไร pronounced as /[ʔa.rāj]/ | what? | |
| ยัง pronounced as /[jaŋ]/ | มี pronounced as /[mīː]/ | to have | |
| แค pronounced as /[kʰɛː]/ | ใกล้ pronounced as /[klâj]/ | near | |
| พี่บ่าว pronounced as /[pʰiː baːw]/ | พี่ชาย pronounced as /[pʰîː tɕʰāːj]/ | older brother | |
| เกือก pronounced as /[kɯak]/ | รองเท้า pronounced as /[rɔːŋ tʰáːw]/ | shoe | |
| ตอเช้า pronounced as /[tɔː tɕʰaːw]/ | พรุ่งนี้ pronounced as /[pʰrûŋ níː]/ | tomorrow | |
| พร้าว pronounced as /[pʰraːw]/ | มะพร้าว pronounced as /[ma.pʰráːw]/ | coconut | |
| หลาด pronounced as /[laːt]/ | ตลาด pronounced as /[ta.làːt]/ | market | |
| ตู pronounced as /[tuː]/ | ประตู pronounced as /[pra.tūː]/ | door | |
| แล pronounced as /[lɛː]/ | ดู pronounced as /[duː]/ | to see | |
| นายหัว pronounced as /[naːj hua]/ | หัวหน้า pronounced as /[hǔa.nâː]/ | boss |