Lanna (, ), also called Kam Mueang (, ), Tai Yuan (, ), or Northern Thai (), is the language spoken by the Lanna people of Thailand. It is a Southwestern Tai language. The language has approximately six million speakers, most of whom live in Northern Thailand, with a smaller community of speakers in northwestern Laos.
Speakers of this language generally consider the name "Tai Yuan" to be pejorative. They refer to themselves as (, คนเมือง, – literally "people of Mueang" meaning "city dwellers"), Lanna, or Northern Thai. The language is also sometimes referred to as (พายัพ, ), "Northwestern (speech)".
The term Yuan is still sometimes used for Lanna's distinctive Tai Tham alphabet, which is closely related to the old Tai Lue alphabet and the Lao religious alphabets. The use of the , as the traditional alphabet is known, is now largely limited to Buddhist temples, where many old sermon manuscripts are still in active use. There is no active production of literature in the traditional alphabet, and when used in writing standard Thai script is invariably used. The modern spoken form is called . There is a resurgence of interest in writing it in the traditional way, but the modern pronunciation differs from that prescribed in spelling rules.Natnapang 2004, Section 3.5.6 The changing pronunciation of the Lanna script and Kammuang As with all languages, the pronunciation of the written and spoken forms changes over time. This is another problem that Kammuang speakers may have when they learn to write the Lanna script. These changes occur in only some words, and there are no readily apparent rules to explain the changes....
Classification
Lanna is classified as one of the Chiang Saen branch, a model popularized by foundational linguists such as Fang-Kuei Li (1960) and Marvin Brown (1965), others being Thai, Southern 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.
From a purely genealogical standpoint, most linguists consider Lanna to be more closely related to Central Thai than to Lao or Isan, but the language has been heavily influenced by both Lao and Central Thai throughout history. All Southwestern Tai languages form a coherent dialect continuum of more or less mutually intelligible varieties, with few sharp dividing lines. However, this genealogical classification is increasingly contested by modern scholars. Critics argue that these groupings may reflect political "Thaification" and a drive for national unity rather than purely linguistic history. While the Chiang Saen group (including Central Thai, Northern Thai, and Southern Thai) is the standard model, it often masks the closer historical ties Lanna has with the Lao-Phutai branch. Nevertheless, Lanna has today become closer to the Central Thai language, as Standard Thai is the principal language of education and government and spoken throughout Thailand.
Names The Lanna language has various names in Northern Thai, Thai, and other Tai languages. In Northern Thai, it is commonly called ( กำเมือง, , literally "city language"; cf. Standard Thai: คำเมือง ), or (, ภาษาล้านนา , literally "the language of Lanna"). In Central Thai and Southern Thai, Lanna is known as phasa thin phayap (ภาษาถิ่นพายัพ , literally "the language of the northwestern region"), or phasa thai thin nuea (ภาษาไทยถิ่นเหนือ , literally "the Thai language of the northern region", or colloquially it is known as phasa nuea (ภาษาเหนือ , literally "the northern language"). In Lao, it is known as or ( or respectively, or respectively, literally "the Tai Yuan language"). In Tai Lü, it is known as kam yon ( , literally "the Tai Yuan language"). In Shan it is known as kwam yon ( , literally "the Tai Yuan language").
History
Tai migration
The ancestors of the Lanna people were speakers of Southwestern Tai dialects that migrated from what is now southeastern China, specifically what is now Guangxi and northern Vietnam where the diversity of various Tai languages suggests an Urheimat. The Southwestern Tai languages began to diverge from the Northern and Central branches of the Tai languages, covered mainly by various Zhuang languages, sometime around 112 AD, but likely completed by the sixth century.Edmondson, J.A. and Gregerson, K.J. (2007). The Languages of Vietnam: Mosaics and Expansions in Language and Linguistics Compass, 1(0). pp. 727–749. Due to the influx of Han Chinese soldiers and settlers, the end of the Chinese occupation of Vietnam, the fall of Jiaozhi and turbulence associated with the decline and fall of the Tang dynasty led some of the Tai peoples speaking Southwestern Tai to flee into Southeast Asia, with the small-scale migration mainly taking place between the eighth and twelfth centuries. The Tais split and followed the major river courses, with the ancestral Lanna originating in the Tai migrants that followed the Mekong River.Pittayaporn, Pittayawat (2014). 'Layers of Chinese Loanwords in Proto-Southwestern Tai as Evidence for the Dating of the Spread of Southwestern Tai.' MANUSYA: Journal of Humanities, Special Issue No 20: 47–64.
Indianized kingdoms Ancestors of the Lanna people established Ngoenyang, an early kingdom that existed between the 7th to 13th centuries, as well as smaller kingdoms like Phayao, in what is now modern-day northern Thailand. They settled in areas adjacent to the kingdom of Hariphunchai, coming into contact with Mon-speaking people whose writing system was eventually adapted for the Lanna language as the Tai Tham script. In the 13th century, King Mangrai consolidated control of these territories, establishing the kingdom of Lan Na. In the 15th century, King Tilokkarat ushered in a golden age for Northern Thai literature, with a profusion of palm leaf manuscripts written in Tai Tham, using vernacular Lanna and interspersed with Pali and Buddhist Indic vocabulary.
Thai subordination In 1775, Kawila of Lampang revolted with Siamese assistance, and captured the city, ending 200 years of Burmese rule. Kawila was installed as the prince of Lampang and Phraya Chaban as the prince of Chiang Mai, both as vassals of Siam. In 1899, Siam annexed the Northern Thai principalities, effectively dissolving their status as sovereign tributary states.
The Compulsory Education Act of 1921 banned schools and temples from using languages other than Central Thai (standard Thai), in an effort to bring remote regions under Siamese control. Lanna was relegated from the public sphere, with influential religious leaders like Khruba Srivichai jailed for using Lanna in sermons. In the 1940s, authorities promulgated Thai cultural mandates that reinforced the importance of learning and using Central Thai as the prestige language.
These economic and educational pressures have increased the use of standard Thai to the detriment of other regional languages like Lanna. Today, Lanna is typically code-switched with standard Thai, especially in more developed and urbanized areas of Northern Thailand, whereas exclusive use of Lanna remains prevalent in more remote areas.
Dialects Thanajirawat (2018)Thanajirawat, Zirivarnphicha (2018). Tonal Geography of Tai Yuan in Southeast Asia. Paper presented at the 28th Annual Meeting of the Southeast Asian Linguistics Society, held May 17–19, 2018 in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. classifies Tai Yuan into five major dialect groups based on tonal split and merger patterns. (See also Proto-Tai language#Tones)
most Tai Yuan varieties in Thailand, Laos and Myanmar Bokeo Province, Laos (A12-34 and BCD123-4 (B4=DL4=DS4)) Mae Chaem District, Chiang Mai Province and Laplae District, Uttaradit Province, Thailand (A12-34 and BCD123-4 (A34=B123=DL123)) Tha Pla District, Uttaradit Province and Xayaburi Province, Laos (A12-34, BDL1234, and CDS123-4) Ratchaburi Province, Thailand (A12-34 and BCD123-4 (A34=B123=DL123, B4=C4=DL4))
Phonology
Consonants
Initial consonants Lanna consonant inventory is similar to that of Lao (Isan); both languages have the sound and lack .
LabialDental/Alveolar(Alveolo-)PalatalVelarGlottalNasal ม ณ, น ญ, ย งPlosive/Affricatetenuis ป ฏ, ต จ กอaspirate ผ, พ, ภ ฐ, ฑ, ฒ, ถ, ท, ธ()ฉ, ช, ฌ ข, ฃ, ค, ฅ, ฆvoicedบฎ, ดFricative ฝ, ฟ ซ, ศ, ษ, ส() ห, ฮApproximantว ล, ฬยTrill() ร
Initial consonant clusters There are two relatively common consonant clusters:
/kw/ (กว) /kʰw/ (ขว, คว)
There are also several other, less frequent clusters recorded,Rungruengsi 2004, pp. ณ-ด though apparently in the process of being lost:Natnapang 2004, Section 3.5.2 Initial consonant clusters in the Lanna script
/ŋw/ (งว) /tɕw/ (จว) /sw/ (ซว, สว) /tw/ (ตว) /tʰw/Rungrueangsi 2004, p. 307, but not listed by Natnapang (ถว, ทว) /nw/ (นว) /ɲw/ Rungruengsi 2004, p. 795, word (ญว, ยว) /jw/ (ยว) /lw/ (ลว) /ʔw/ (อว)
Final consonants All plosive sounds (besides the glottal stop /ʔ/) are unreleased. Hence, final , , and sounds are pronounced as , , and respectively. LabialAlveolarPalatalVelarGlottalNasal ม ญ, ณ, น, ร, ล, ฬ งPlosive บ, ป, พ, ฟ, ภ จ, ช, ซ, ฌ, ฎ, ฏ, ฐ, ฑ, ฒ ,ด, ต, ถ, ท, ธ, ศ, ษ, ส ก, ข, ค, ฆApproximant ว ย
Vowels The basic vowels of the Lanna language are similar to those of Standard 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.
FrontCentralBack short long short long short longClose -ิ -ี -ึ -ื- -ุ -ู Midเ-ะเ-เ-อะเ-อโ-ะโ-Openแ-ะแ--ะ, -ั--าเ-าะ-อ
The vowels each exist in long-short pairs: these are distinct phonemes forming unrelated words in Lanna, but usually transliterated the same: เขา (khao) means "they/them", while ขาว (khao) means "white".
The long-short pairs are as follows:
LongShortThaiIPAExampleThaiIPAExample–า ฝาน 'to slice'–ะ ฝัน 'to dream'–ี ตี๋ 'to cut'–ิ ติ๋ 'to criticize'–ู สูด 'to inhale'–ุ สุ๋ด 'rearmost'เ– เอน 'to recline'เ–ะ เอ็น 'tendon, ligament'แ– แก่ 'to be old'แ–ะ แก๋ะ 'sheep'–ื- ฅืน (คืน) 'to return'–ึ ขึ้น 'to go up'เ–อ เมิน 'to delay; long time'เ–อะ เงิน 'silver'โ– โจ๋ร (โจ๋น) 'thief'โ–ะ จ๋น 'to be poor'–อ ลอง 'to try'เ–าะ เซาะ 'to search'
The basic vowels can be combined into diphthongs. For purposes of determining tone, those marked with an asterisk are sometimes classified as long:
LongShortThai scriptIPAThai scriptIPA–ายไ–*, ใ–*, ไ–ย, -ัย–าวเ–า*เ–ียเ–ียะ–––ิว–ัว–ัวะ–ูย–ุยเ–วเ–็วแ–ว––เ–ือเ–ือะเ–ย–––อย––โ–ย––
Additionally, there are three triphthongs, For purposes of determining tone, those marked with an asterisk are sometimes classified as long:
Thai scriptIPAเ–ียว*–วย*เ–ือย*
Allophones The following section largely concerns the Nan dialect of Lanna.Hundius, Harald. Phonologie und Schrift des Nordthai. Marburg: Deutsche Morgenländische Gesellschaft, 1990. Print. PhonemeAllophoneContextExample (Tai Tham script)Example (Thai script)IPAGloss onsetบ่า shoulder onsetดอย mountain onsetป่า forest codaอาบ bath coda, emphasisedบ่หลับ don't sleep! onsetตา eye codaเปิด open coda, emphasisedบ่เผ็ด not spicy! onsetกา crow codaปีก wing coda, emphasisedบ่สุก not ripe! before non-front vowelsแขก guest before front vowelsฅิง you (familiar) onsetซาว twenty under emphasisสาทุ surely non-intervocalicห้า five intervocalicใผมาหา who come find (Who is here to see you?) after bilabial stopฅืบนึ่ง span one (one more span) after alveolar stopแถมขวดนึ่ง more bottle one (one more bottle) after velar stopแถมดอกนึ่ง more flower one (one more flower)
Tones