PL-SKT Loanwords in NE Thai Dialect Dictionary: A Case Study of Sound Changes in Vowels and Consonants

The Northeastern (NE) Thai dialect dictionary compiled by the National Cultural Council is one of the best NE dialect dictionaries. Pali and Sanskrit (PL-SKT) loanwords used in the spoken and written language and in NE literature were collected from the dictionary. Some words were very different from the original Pali and Sanskrit words because of sound changes in vowels and consonants. The objectives of this study were to explore the sound changes in vowels and consonants of PL-SKT loanwords in the Northeastern (NE) dialect dictionary compiled by the National Cultural Council. The conceptual framework of this study consists of usage of PL-SKT words through sound change theories. A qualitative method was employed and the data collection was done from the Northeastern (NE) dialect dictionary compiled by the National Cultural Council. It was found that there were 3,022 PL-SKT loanwords. Two kinds of sound change in vowels and consonants were found: intentional sound change and unintentional sound change. Seven types of vowel sound change and fourteen types of consonant sound change were found. Surprisingly sound changes in vowels and consonants with analogy in PL-SKT declension were found. The types of sound change in PL-SKT words seem to have occurred because they were more convenient to pronounce and beautiful in the spoken and written language including NE dialect literature.