คำศัพท์ที่กำลังสูญไป: ข้อสันนิษฐานเกี่ยวกับการเปลี่ยนแปลงทางศัพท์ในภาษาไทถิ่นที่พูดในจังหวัดน่าน

Abstract

This paper is a part of the research results of the project entitled, ‘Lexical and Phonological Variation and Change in Tai Dialects Spoken in Nan Province’, which analyzes and compares variation and change in five Tai dialects, i.e. Kam Mueang, Lue, Khün, Phuan and Lao, spoken by three different age groups. The domains of language use are also considered. Some speculation on the tendency of phonological and lexical change in the future for these dialects are proposed.

The lexical data used in this paper were elicited by interviewing the language resource persons (LRPs) using two word lists, i.e., (1) A list of lexical items shared among all five Tai dialects (250 items) and (2) A list of lexical items used differently among the five Tai dialects or which some dialects use differently from the others (550 items). A total of 800 lexical items were elicited. The LRPs, both male and female, are classified into three age groups, an elderly group (60 years old and above), a middle-aged group (35-50 years old), and a young group (15-25 years old), with five LRPs in each age group. The data analyzed for this paper come from a total of 75 LRPs (5 LRPs X 3 age groups X 5 Tai dialects).

A part of the research findings on lexical variation in the five Tai dialects showed that some lexical items were rarely used among the speakers. Some were used only by the elderly group while the middle-aged and the young groups hardly used, or never used, or had never heard them. Therefore, lexical loss was speculated to occur in the future of these Tai dialects. This paper presents examples of the lexical items of each Tai dialect which tend to be lost. The grouping and numbers of those lexical items were presented in order to show which groups of lexical items possibly disappear from the Tai dialects in the near future.