Passive Structure in the Isan Dialect of Thai from the Television Drama Nai Hoi Tamil, the Chief of the Caravan

Abstract

Thai people have adopted the passive voice pattern in Thai from foreign languages since the early Rattanakosin Period. As a result, the passive voice is widely used in formal and informal speech. The use of such linguistic forms has been widespread and extends to other Thai dialects. This research aimed to analyze passive voice usage patterns in Isaan languages. The data were collected from the selected conversation in the television script “Nai Hoy Tamil,” comprising 31 episodes, 26,115 words of the television script published on public websites, Thairath online and TrueId.net, in 2017, using Prasithrathsint (2006) for analyzing passive voice in the Thai language as the framework. The research results reveal that the use of the passive voice in Isan dialects is similar to and different from that in Thai. The Isaan language has a main verb passive structure like the Thai language, but the use of the Oblique passive does not appear in the drama script. This may be because the language used in television drama scripts is informal. The research revealed three subtypes of the passive voice: omitting the agent, omitting the patient, and omitting both the agent and the patient. This study concludes that the Isan dialect of Thai shares both similarities and differences with those in Standard Thai.