Social:Northern Thai language

Short description: Thai language related to standard Thai and Lao

Northern Thai
Template:Script/Tai Tham กำเมือง
Tai Tham script traditional transcription (top) Thai alphabet currently popular with non-standard form (bottom)
Pronunciation	Template:IPA-nod, (listen)
Native to	Thailand (Chiang Mai, Lamphun, Lampang, Uttaradit, Phrae, Nan, Phayao, Chiang Rai, Mae Hong Son and Communities throughout Thailand) Myanmar (Tachileik, Myawaddy) Laos (Houayxay, Ton Pheung)
Region	Northern Thailand
Ethnicity	Northern Thai
Native speakers	6 million (2015)
Language family	Kra–Dai Tai Southwestern (Thai) Chiang Saen Northern Thai
Writing system	Tai Tham script Thai script
Official status
Recognised minority language in	Thailand
Language codes
ISO 639-3	nod
Glottolog	nort2740

Kam Mueang (Template:Lang-nod (listen)) or Northern Thai language (Thai: ภาษาไทยถิ่นเหนือ) is the language of the Northern Thai people of Lanna, Thailand. It is a Southwestern Tai language that is closely related to Tai Lue language. Kam Mueang has approximately six million speakers, most of whom live in the native Northern Thailand, with a smaller community of Lanna speakers in northwestern Laos.

Speakers of this language generally consider the name "Tai Yuan" to be pejorative. They refer to themselves as Khon Mueang (Template:Script/Tai Tham, คนเมือง, Template:IPA-nod – literally "people of Mueang" meaning "city dwellers"), Lanna, or Northern Thai. The language is also sometimes referred to as Phayap (พายัพ, Thai pronunciation: [pʰāː.jáp]), "Northwestern (speech)".

The term Yuan is still sometimes used for Northern Thai's distinctive Tai Tham alphabet, which is closely related to the old Tai Lue alphabet and the Lao religious alphabets. The use of the Tua Mueang, 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 Kam Mueang. There is a resurgence of interest in writing it in the traditional way, but the modern pronunciation differs from that prescribed in spelling rules.

Nameboard of a Buddhist temple in Chiang Mai written with Tai Tham script: Wat Mokhamtuang (and street number 119 in Thai)

Classification

Northern Thai is classified as one of the Chiang Saen languages—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 Northern Thai 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. Nevertheless, Northern Thai has today become closer to the Central Thai language, as Standard Thai is the principal language of education and government and spoken throughout Thailand.

Kra‑Dai

Hlai languages     Kam-Sui languages     Kra languages     Be language    Tai languages    Northern Tai languages     Central Tai languages   Southwestern Tai languages Northwestern Tai languages   Khamti language     Shan language     others     Chiang Saen languages   Tai Lue language     Kam Mueang language   Sukhothai language   Thai language     Southern Thai language       Lao‑Phuthai languages   Tai Yo language     Phuthai language     Lao language (Isan language)

Names

The Northern Thai language has various names in Northern Thai, Thai, and other Tai languages.

• In Northern Thai, it is commonly called kam mueang (Template:Script/Tai Tham, /kām.mɯ̄aŋ/, literally "city language"; cf. Standard Thai: คำเมือง /kʰām.mɯ̄əŋ/), or phasa Lan Na (Template:Script/Tai Tham, ภาษาล้านนา /pʰāː.sǎː.láːn.nāː/, literally "the language of Lan Na").
• In Central Thai and Southern Thai, Northern Thai is known as phasa thin phayap (ภาษาถิ่นพายัพ /pʰāː.sǎː.tʰìn.pʰāː.jáp/, literally "the language of the northwestern region"), or phasa thai thin nuea (ภาษาไทยถิ่นเหนือ /pʰāː.sǎː.tʰāj.tʰìn.nɯ̌a/, literally "the Thai language of the northern region", or colloquially it is known as phasa nuea (ภาษาเหนือ /pʰāː.sǎː.nɯ̌a/, literally "the northern language").
• In Lao, it is known as phasa nyuan or phasa nyon (ພາສາຍວນ or ພາສາໂຍນ respectively, /pʰáː.sǎː.ɲúan/ or /pʰáː.sǎː.ɲóːn/ respectively, literally "the Tai Yuan language").
• In Tai Lü, it is known as kam yon (Template:Script/New Tai Lue kâm.jôn, literally "the Tai Yuan language").
• In Shan it is known as kwam yon (Template:Script/Mymr kwáːm.jón, literally "the Tai Yuan language").

History

Tai migration

Map showing the general migration patterns and diversification of the Tai peoples and languages from the original Tai Urheimat of southeastern China.

The ancestors of the Northern Thai 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. 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 Northern Thai originating in the Tai migrants that followed the Mekong River.

Indianized kingdoms

Ancestors of the Northern Thai 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 Northern Thai 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 Northern Thai 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. Northern Thai was relegated from the public sphere, with influential religious leaders like Khruba Srivichai jailed for using Northern Thai 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 Northern Thai. Today, Northern Thai is typically code-switched with standard Thai, especially in more developed and urbanized areas of Northern Thailand, whereas exclusive use of Northern Thai remains prevalent in more remote areas.

Dialects

Thanajirawat (2018) classifies Tai Yuan into five major dialect groups based on tonal split and merger patterns. (See also Proto-Tai language)

1. most Tai Yuan varieties in Thailand, Laos and Myanmar
2. Bokeo Province, Laos (A12-34 and BCD123-4 (B4=DL4=DS4))
3. Mae Chaem District, Chiang Mai Province and Laplae District, Uttaradit Province, Thailand (A12-34 and BCD123-4 (A34=B123=DL123))
4. Tha Pla District, Uttaradit Province and Xayaburi Province, Laos (A12-34, BDL1234, and CDS123-4)
5. Ratchaburi Province, Thailand (A12-34 and BCD123-4 (A34=B123=DL123, B4=C4=DL4))

Phonology

Consonants

Initial consonants

Northern Thai consonant inventory is similar to that of Lao (Isan); both languages have the /ɲ/ sound and lack /tɕʰ/.

		Labial	Dental/ Alveolar	(Alveolo-) Palatal	Velar	Glottal
Nasal		/m/ Template:Script/Tai Tham Template:Script/Tai Tham	/n/ Template:Script/Tai Tham Template:Script/Tai Tham Template:Script/Tai Tham	/ɲ/ Template:Script/Tai Tham Template:Script/Tai Tham Template:Script/Tai Tham	/ŋ/ Template:Script/Tai Tham Template:Script/Tai Tham
Plosive/ Affricate	tenuis	/p/ Template:Script/Tai Tham Template:Script/Tai Tham	/t/ Template:Script/Tai Tham Template:Script/Tai Tham Template:Script/Tai Tham	/tɕ/ Template:Script/Tai Tham Template:Script/Tai Tham	/k/ Template:Script/Tai Tham Template:Script/Tai Tham	/ʔ/ Template:Script/Tai Tham
	aspirate	/pʰ/ Template:Script/Tai Tham Template:Script/Tai Tham Template:Script/Tai Tham Template:Script/Tai Tham Template:Script/Tai Tham	/tʰ/ Template:Script/Tai Tham Template:Script/Tai Tham Template:Script/Tai Tham Template:Script/Tai Tham Template:Script/Tai Tham Template:Script/Tai Tham	(/tɕʰ/)	/kʰ/ Template:Script/Tai Tham Template:Script/Tai Tham Template:Script/Tai Tham Template:Script/Tai Tham Template:Script/Tai Tham Template:Script/Tai Tham Template:Script/Tai Tham
	voiced	/b/ Template:Script/Tai Tham	/d/ Template:Script/Tai Tham
Fricative		/f/ Template:Script/Tai Tham Template:Script/Tai Tham	/s/ Template:Script/Tai Tham Template:Script/Tai Tham Template:Script/Tai Tham Template:Script/Tai Tham Template:Script/Tai Tham Template:Script/Tai Tham		(/x/)	/h/ Template:Script/Tai Tham Template:Script/Tai Tham Template:Script/Tai Tham Template:Script/Tai Tham
Approximant		/w/ Template:Script/Tai Tham Template:Script/Tai Tham	/l/ Template:Script/Tai Tham Template:Script/Tai Tham Template:Script/Tai Tham Template:Script/Tai Tham Template:Script/Tai Tham	/j/ Template:Script/Tai Tham
Rhotic/Liquid			(/r/) Template:Script/Tai Tham Template:Script/Tai Tham

Initial consonant clusters

There are two relatively common consonant clusters:

• /kw/ Template:Script/Tai Tham Template:Script/Tai Tham
• /kʰw/ Template:Script/Tai Tham Template:Script/Tai Tham Template:Script/Tai Tham Template:Script/Tai Tham

There are also several other, less frequent clusters recorded, though apparently in the process of being lost:

• /ŋw/ Template:Script/Tai Tham Template:Script/Tai Tham
• /tɕw/ Template:Script/Tai Tham Template:Script/Tai Tham
• /sw/ Template:Script/Tai Tham Template:Script/Tai Tham
• /tw/ Template:Script/Tai Tham Template:Script/Tai Tham
• /tʰw/ Template:Script/Tai Tham
• /nw/ Template:Script/Tai Tham
• /ɲw/ Template:Script/Tai Tham Template:Script/Tai Tham
• /jw/ Template:Script/Tai Tham
• /lw/ Template:Script/Tai Tham Template:Script/Tai Tham Template:Script/Tai Tham Template:Script/Tai Tham
• /ʔw/ Template:Script/Tai Tham

Final consonants

All plosive sounds are unreleased. Hence, final /p/, /t/, and /k/ sounds are pronounced as [p̚], [t̚], and [k̚] respectively.

	Labial	Alveolar	Palatal	Velar	Glottal
Nasal	/m/ Template:Script/Tai Tham	/n/ Template:Script/Tai Tham		/ŋ/ Template:Script/Tai Tham
Plosive	/p/ Template:Script/Tai Tham	/t/ Template:Script/Tai Tham		/k/ Template:Script/Tai Tham	/ʔ/
Approximant	/w/ Template:Script/Tai Tham		/j/ Template:Script/Tai Tham

Vowels

The basic vowels of the Northern Thai 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.

	Front		Central		Back
	short	long	short	long	short	long
Close	/i/  -ิ	/iː/  -ี	/ɯ/  -ึ	/ɯː/  -ื-	/u/  -ุ	/uː/  -ู
Mid	/e/ เ-ะ	/eː/ เ-	/ɤ/ เ-อะ	/ɤː/ เ-อ	/o/ โ-ะ	/oː/ โ-
Open	/ɛ/ แ-ะ	/ɛː/ แ-	/a/ -ะ, -ั-	/aː/ -า	/ɔ/ เ-าะ	/ɔː/ -อ

The vowels each exist in long-short pairs: these are distinct phonemes forming unrelated words in Northern Thai, but usually transliterated the same: เขา (khao) means "they/them", while ขาว (khao) means "white".

The long-short pairs are as follows:

Long						Short
Thai	IPA	Example				Thai	IPA	Example
–า	/aː/	Template:Script/Tai Tham	ฝาน	/fǎːn/	'to slice'	–ะ	/a/	Template:Script/Tai Tham	ฝัน	/fǎn/	'to dream'
–ี	/iː/	Template:Script/Tai Tham	ตี๋	/tǐː/	'to cut'	–ิ	/i/	Template:Script/Tai Tham	ติ๋	/tǐʔ/	'to criticize'
–ู	/uː/	Template:Script/Tai Tham	สูด	/sùːt/	'to inhale'	–ุ	/u/	Template:Script/Tai Tham	สุ๋ด	/sǔt/	'rearmost'
เ–	/eː/	Template:Script/Tai Tham	เอน	/ʔēːn/	'to recline'	เ–ะ	/e/	Template:Script/Tai Tham	เอ็น	/ʔēn/	'tendon, ligament'
แ–	/ɛː/	Template:Script/Tai Tham	แก่	/kɛ̀ː/	'to be old'	แ–ะ	/ɛ/	Template:Script/Tai Tham	แก๋ะ	/kɛ̌ʔ/	'sheep'
–ื-	/ɯː/	Template:Script/Tai Tham	ฅืน (คืน)	/kʰɯ̄ːn/	'to return'	–ึ	/ɯ/	Template:Script/Tai Tham	ขึ้น	/kʰɯ᷇n/	'to go up'
เ–อ	/ɤː/	Template:Script/Tai Tham	เมิน	/mɤː̄n/	'to delay; long time'	เ–อะ	/ɤ/	Template:Script/Tai Tham	เงิน	/ŋɤ̄n/	'silver'
โ–	/oː/	Template:Script/Tai Tham	โจ๋ร (โจ๋น)	/tɕǒːn/	'thief'	โ–ะ	/o/	Template:Script/Tai Tham	จ๋น	/tɕǒn/	'to be poor'
–อ	/ɔː/	Template:Script/Tai Tham	ลอง	/lɔ̄ːŋ/	'to try'	เ–าะ	/ɔ/	Template:Script/Tai Tham	เซาะ	/sɔ́ʔ/	'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:

Long		Short
Thai script	IPA	Thai script	IPA
–าย	/aːj/	ไ–*, ใ–*, ไ–ย, -ัย	/aj/
–าว	/aːw/	เ–า*	/aw/
เ–ีย	/ia/	เ–ียะ	/iaʔ/
–	–	–ิว	/iw/
–ัว	/ua/	–ัวะ	/uaʔ/
–ูย	/uːj/	–ุย	/uj/
เ–ว	/eːw/	เ–็ว	/ew/
แ–ว	/ɛːw/	–	–
เ–ือ	/ɯa/	เ–ือะ	/ɯaʔ/
เ–ย	/ɤːj/	–	–
–อย	/ɔːj/	–	–
โ–ย	/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*	/iaw/
–วย*	/uaj/
เ–ือย*	/ɯaj/

Allophones

The following section largely concerns the Nan dialect of Northern Thai.

Phoneme	Allophone	Context	Example (Tai Tham script)	Example (Thai script)	IPA	Gloss
/b/	[b]	onset	Template:Script/Tai Tham	บ่า	/bàː/	shoulder
/d/	[d]	onset	Template:Script/Tai Tham	ดอย	/dɔ̄ːj/	mountain
/p/	[p]	onset	Template:Script/Tai Tham	ป่า	/pàː/	forest
	[p̚]	coda	Template:Script/Tai Tham	อาบ	/ʔàːp/	bath
	[pm̩]	coda, emphasised	Template:Script/Tai Tham	บ่หลับ	/bɔ̀ lǎp/	don't sleep!
/t/	[t]	onset	Template:Script/Tai Tham	ตา	/tǎː/	eye
	[t̚]	coda	Template:Script/Tai Tham	เปิด	/pɤ̀ːt/	open
	[tn̩]	coda, emphasised	Template:Script/Tai Tham	บ่เผ็ด	/bɔ̀ pʰět/	not spicy!
/k/	[k]	onset	Template:Script/Tai Tham	กา	/kǎː/	crow
	[k̚]	coda	Template:Script/Tai Tham	ปีก	/pìːk/	wing
	[kŋ̩]	coda, emphasised	Template:Script/Tai Tham	บ่สุก	/bɔ̀ sǔk/	not ripe!
/x/	[x]	before non-front vowels	Template:Script/Tai Tham	แขก	/xɛ̀ːk/	guest
	[ç]	before front vowels	Template:Script/Tai Tham	ฅิง	/xīŋ/	you (familiar)
/s/	[s]	onset	Template:Script/Tai Tham	ซาว	/sāːw/	twenty
	[ɕ]	under emphasis	Template:Script/Tai Tham	สาทุ	/sǎː.túʔ/	surely
/h/	[h]	non-intervocalic	Template:Script/Tai Tham	ห้า	/ha᷇ː/	five
	[ɦ]	intervocalic	Template:Script/Tai Tham	ใผมาหา	/pʰǎj māː hǎː/	who come find (Who is here to see you?)
/nɯ̂ŋ/	[m̩]	after bilabial stop	Template:Script/Tai Tham	ฅืบนึ่ง	/xɯ̂ːp nɯ̂ŋ/	span one (one more span)
	[n̩]	after alveolar stop	Template:Script/Tai Tham	แถมขวดนึ่ง	/tʰɛ̌ːm xùat nɯ̂ŋ/	more bottle one (one more bottle)
	[ŋ̩]	after velar stop	Template:Script/Tai Tham	แถมดอกนึ่ง	/tʰɛ̌ːm dɔ̀ːk nɯ̂ŋ/	more flower one (one more flower)

Tones

The six phonemic tones in Northern Thai pronounced with the syllable '/law/':

File:Nod-Northern Thai tones marked with IPA with law.ogg

There are six phonemic tones in the Chiang Mai dialect of Northern Thai: low-rising, low-falling, high-level with glottal closure, mid-level, high-falling, and high-rising. or low-rising, mid-low, high-falling, mid-high, falling, and high rising-falling

Contrastive tones in smooth syllables

The table below presents six phonemic tones in the Chiang Mai and Nan dialects in smooth syllables, i.e. closed syllables ending in sonorant sounds such as [m], [n], [ŋ], [w], and [j] and open syllables. Sources have not agreed on the phonetic realization of the six tones in the Chiang Mai dialect. The table presents information based on two sources, one from Gedney (1999) and the other one from the Lanna dictionary (2007) which is a Northern Thai-Thai dictionary. Although published in 1999, Gedney's information about the Chiang Mai dialect is based on data he collected from one speaker in Chiang Mai in 1964 (p. 725). As tones may change within one's lifetime (e.g., Bangkok Thai tones have changed over the past 100 years), the information about the six tones from Gedney (1999) should be considered with caution.

The six tones in the Chiang Mai and Nan dialects

Chiang Mai (the Lanna dictionary, 2007, p. ต)		Chiang Mai (Gedney, 1999, p. 725)		Standard Thai tone Equated to	Example based on the Chiang Mai tones described in the Lanna Dictionary (2007)
Name	Tone letters	Name	Tone letters		Tone letters	Phonemic	Phonetic	Northern Thai script	Thai script	Gloss
low-rising (A1-2)	24 or ˨˦	low-rising (A1-2)	14 or ˩˦	23 or ˨˧	rising	/lǎw/	[läu̯˨˦]	Template:Script/Tai Tham	เหลา	sharpen
low-falling (B1-3)	21 or ˨˩	mid-low (B1-3)	22 or ˨˨	22 or ˨˨	low	/làw/	[läu̯˨˨]	Template:Script/Tai Tham	เหล่า	forest; group
high-level with glottal closure (which falls slightly at the end) (C1-3)	44ʔ or ˦˦ʔ	high-falling, glottalized (C1-3)	53ʔ or ˥˧ʔ	44ʔ or ˦˦ʔ	(none)	/la᷇w/	[läu̯˦˦ʔ]	Template:Script/Tai Tham	เหล้า	liquor, alcoholic drink
mid-level (A3-4)	33 or ˧˧	mid-high (A3-4) (which sometimes rises at the end)	44 or ˦˦	35 or ˧˥	mid	/lāw/	[läu̯˧˧]	Template:Script/Tai Tham	เลา	beautiful, pretty; reed
high-falling (B4)	42 or ˦˨	falling (B4)	41 or ˦˩	31 or ˧˩	falling	/lâw/	[läu̯˦˨]	Template:Script/Tai Tham	เล่า	tell (a story)
high-rising (C4)	45 or ˦˥	high rising-falling, glottalized (C4)	454ʔ or ˦˥˦ʔ	41ʔ or ˦˩ʔ	high	/láw/	[läu̯˦˥]	Template:Script/Tai Tham	เล้า	coop, pen (for chickens or pigs)

The Gedney boxes for the tones are shown below the descriptions.

Contrastive tones in checked syllables

The table below presents four phonemic tones in checked syllables, i.e. closed syllables ending in a glottal stop [ʔ] and obstruent sounds such as [p], [t], and [k].

Tone	Standard Thai Tone Equated to	Example (Northern Thai script)	Example (Thai script)	Phonemic	Phonetic	gloss
low-rising (D1-3S)	rising	Template:Script/Tai Tham	หลั๋ก	/lǎk/	[l̪äk̚˨˦]	post
high-rising (D4S)	high	Template:Script/Tai Tham	ลัก	/la᷇k/	[l̪äk̚˦˥]	steal
low-falling (D1-3L)	low	Template:Script/Tai Tham	หลาก	/làːk/	[l̪äːk̚˨˩]	differ from others
high-falling (D4L)	falling	Template:Script/Tai Tham	ลาก	/lâːk/	[l̪äːk̚˦˨]	drag

Grammar

The grammar of Northern Thai is similar to those of other Tai languages. The word order is subject–verb–object, although the subject is often omitted. Just as Standard Thai, Northern Thai pronouns are selected according to the gender and relative status of speaker and audience.

Adjectives and adverbs

There is no morphological distinction between adverbs and adjectives. Many words can be used in either function. They succeed the word which they modify, which may be a noun, verb, or another adjective or adverb.

• Template:Script/Tai Tham / แม่ญิงเฒ่า (mae nying thao, [mɛ̂ː.ɲīŋ.tʰa᷇w]) an old woman
• Template:Script/Tai Tham / แม่ญิงตี้เฒ่าโวย (mae nying ti thao woi, [mɛ̂ː.ɲīŋ.tîː.tʰa᷇w.wōːj]) a woman who became old quickly

Because adjectives can be used as complete predicates, many words used to indicate tense in verbs (see Verbs:Aspect below) may be used to describe adjectives.

• Template:Script/Tai Tham / ข้าหิว (kha hiw, [kʰa᷇ː hǐw]) I am hungry.
• Template:Script/Tai Tham / ข้าจะหิว (kha cha hiw, [kʰa᷇ː t͡ɕa hǐw]) I will be hungry.
• Template:Script/Tai Tham / ข้ากะลังหิว (kha kalang hiw, [kʰa᷇ː ka.lāŋ hǐw]) I am hungry right now.
• Template:Script/Tai Tham / ข้าหิวแล้ว (kha hiu laew, [kʰa᷇ː hǐw lɛ́ːw]) I am already hungry.

Verbs

Verbs do not inflect. They do not change with person, tense, voice, mood, or number; nor are there any participles.

• Template:Script/Tai Tham / ข้าตี๋เปิ้น (kha ti poen, [kʰa᷇ː tǐː pɤ̂n]), I hit him.
• Template:Script/Tai Tham / เปิ้นตี๋ข้า (poen ti kha, [pɤ̂n tǐː kʰa᷇ː]), He hit me.

The passive voice is indicated by the insertion of Template:Script/Tai Tham / โดน (don, [dōːn]) before the verb. For example:

• Template:Script/Tai Tham / เปิ้นโดนตี๋ (poen don ti, [pɤ̂n dōːn tǐː]), He is hit or He got hit. This describes an action that is out of the receiver's control and, thus, conveys suffering.

To convey the opposite sense, a sense of having an opportunity arrive, Template:Script/Tai Tham / ได้ (dai, [da᷇j], can) is used. For example:

• Template:Script/Tai Tham / เปิ้นจะได้ไปแอ่วเมืองลาว (poen cha dai pai aew mueang lao, [pɤ̂n t͡ɕa da᷇j pǎj ʔɛ̀w mɯ̄a̯ŋ lāːw]), He gets to visit Laos.
• Template:Script/Tai Tham / เปิ้นตี๋ได้ (poen ti dai, [pɤ̂n tǐː da᷇j]), He is/was allowed to hit or He is/was able to hit

Negation is indicated by placing บ่ (bor,[bɔ̀ː] or [bàʔ] not) before the verb.

• Template:Script/Tai Tham / เปิ้นบ่ตี๋, (poen bor ti, [pɤ̂n bɔ̀ː tǐː]) He is not hitting. or He not hit.

Aspect is conveyed by aspect markers before or after the verb.

Present can be indicated by Template:Script/Tai Tham / กะลัง (kalang, [ka.lāŋ], currently) or Template:Script/Tai Tham / กะลังหะ (kalangha, [ka.lāŋ.hà], currently) before the verb for ongoing action (like English -ing form), by Template:Script/Tai Tham / อยู่ (yu, [jùː]) after the verb, or by both. For example:

• Template:Script/Tai Tham / เปิ้นกะลังหะล่น (poen kalangha lon, [pɤ̂n ka.lāŋ.hà lôn]), or
• Template:Script/Tai Tham / เปิ้นล่นอยู่ (poen lon yu, [pɤ̂n lôn jùː]), or
• Template:Script/Tai Tham / เปิ้นกะลังหะล่นอยู่ (poen kalanɡha lon yu, [pɤ̂n ka.lāŋ.hà lôn jùː]), He is running.

Future can be indicated by Template:Script/Tai Tham / จะ (cha, [t͡ɕaʔ], will) before the verb or by a time expression indicating the future. For example:

• Template:Script/Tai Tham / เปิ้นจะล่น (poen cha lon, [pɤ̂n t͡ɕaʔ lôn]), He will run or He is going to run.

Past can be indicated by Template:Script/Tai Tham / ได้ (dai, [da᷇j]) before the verb or by a time expression indicating the past. However, Template:Script/Tai Tham / แล้ว (laew,  :[lɛ́ːw], already) is often used to indicate the past aspect by being placed behind the verb. Or, both ได้ and แล้ว are put together to form the past aspect expression. For example:

• Template:Script/Tai Tham / เปิ้นได้กิ๋น (poen dai kin, [pɤ̂n da᷇j kǐn]), He ate.
• Template:Script/Tai Tham / เปิ้นกิ๋นแล้ว (poen kin laew, [pɤ̂n kǐn lɛ́ːw], He has eaten.
• Template:Script/Tai Tham / เปิ้นได้กิ๋นแล้ว (poen dai kin laew, [pɤ̂n da᷇j kǐn lɛ́ːw]), He's already eaten.

Aspect markers are not required.

• Template:Script/Tai Tham / ข้ากิ๋นตี้หั้น (kha kin tihan, [kʰa᷇ kǐn tîː.ha᷇n]), I eat there.
• Template:Script/Tai Tham / ข้ากิ๋นตี้หั้นตะวา (kha kin tihan tawa, [kʰa᷇ kǐn tîː.ha᷇n ta.wāː]), I ate there yesterday.
• Template:Script/Tai Tham / ข้ากิ๋นตี้หั้นวันพูก (kha kin tihan wanphuk, [kʰa᷇ kǐn tîː.ha᷇n wān.pʰûːk]), I'll eat there tomorrow.

Words that indicate obligation include at cha (Template:Script/Tai Tham / อาจจะ), na cha (Template:Script/Tai Tham / น่าจะ), khuan cha (Template:Script/Tai Tham / ควรจะ), and tong (Template:Script/Tai Tham / ต้อง).

• at cha (Template:Script/Tai Tham / อาจจะ, [ʔàːt.t͡ɕa]) Might

• Template:Script/Tai Tham / เปิ้นอาจจะมา (poen at cha ma, [pɤ̂n ʔàːt.t͡ɕa māː]) He might come.

• na cha (Template:Script/Tai Tham / น่าจะ, [na᷇ː.t͡ɕa]) Likely to

• Template:Script/Tai Tham / เปิ้นน่าจะมา (poen na cha ma, [pɤ̂n na᷇ː.t͡ɕa māː]) He is likely to come.

• khuan cha (Template:Script/Tai Tham / ควรจะ, [kʰūa̯n.t͡ɕa]) Should

• Template:Script/Tai Tham / เปิ้นควรจะมา (poen khuan cha ma, [pɤ̂n kʰūa̯n.t͡ɕa māː]) He should come.

• tong (Template:Script/Tai Tham / ต้อง, /tɔ᷇ːŋ/) Must

• Template:Script/Tai Tham / เปิ้นต้องมา (poen tong ma, /pɤ̂n tɔ᷇ŋ māː]) He must come.

Actions that wherein one is busily engaged can be indicated by มัวก่า (mua ka, [mūa̯.kàː]).

• Template:Script/Tai Tham / ก่อมัวก่ากิ๋นหั้นเนาะ (kor mua ka kin han nor, [kɔ̀ mūa̯ kàː kǐn ha᷇n nɔ᷇ʔ]) (It's that you/he/she) just keeps on eating it like that, you know?

Words that express one's desire to do something can by indicated by khai (ใค่) and kan (กั๊น).

• khai (Template:Script/Tai Tham / ใค่, /kʰâj/, to want, to desire)

• Template:Script/Tai Tham / ข้าเจ้าใค่กิ๋น (kha.chao khai kin, [kʰa᷇ː.t͡ɕa᷇w kʰâj kǐn]) I want to eat.

• kan (Template:Script/Tai Tham / กั๊น, /kán/, to try)

• Template:Script/Tai Tham / ข้าเจ้ากั๊นกิ๋น (kha.chao kan kin, [kʰa᷇ː.t͡ɕa᷇w kán kǐn]) I try to eat.

Phor tha wa (Template:Script/Tai Tham / ผ่อท่าว่า, [pʰɔ̀ː.tʰâː.wâː]) is used to give the impression or sensation of being something or having a particular quality.

• Template:Script/Tai Tham / ผ่อท่าว่าเปิ้นปิ๊กมาแล้ว (phor tha wa poen pik ma laew, [pʰɔ̀ː tʰâː wâː pɤ̂n pi᷇k māː lɛ́ːw]) It seems that he has returned.

Final particles

Northern Thai has a number of final particles, which have different functions.

Interrogative particles

Some of the most common interrogative particles are kor (Template:Script/Tai Tham / ก่อ, [kɔ̀ː]) and ka (Template:Script/Tai Tham / กา, /kāː/)

• kor (Template:Script/Tai Tham / ก่อ, [kɔ̀ː], denoting yes/no question)

• Template:Script/Tai Tham / ม่วนก่อ (muan kor, [mûa̯n kɔ̀ː]) Is it fun?

• ka (Template:Script/Tai Tham / กา (and its variants: ก๋า, กา), [kāː], denoting confirmative question)

• Template:Script/Tai Tham / ม่วนกา (muan ka, [mûa̯n kāː]) It is fun, right?

Imperative particles

Some imperative particles are Template:Script/Tai Tham (แล่), Template:Script/Tai Tham (จิ่ม), and Template:Script/Tai Tham (เตอะ).

lae (Template:Script/Tai Tham / แล่, [lɛ̂ː])

• Template:Script/Tai Tham / กิ๋นแล่ (kin lae, [kǐn lɛ̂ː]) Eat! (Authoritative).

chim (Template:Script/Tai Tham / จิ่ม, [t͡ɕìm])

• Template:Script/Tai Tham / ขอกิ๋นจิ่ม (khor kin chim, /kʰɔ̌ː kǐn t͡ɕìm/) May I eat please?

hia (Template:Script/Tai Tham / เหีย, /hǐa/)

• Template:Script/Tai Tham / กิ๋นเหีย (kin hia, /kǐn hǐa/) Eat! (because I know it will be beneficial to you).

toe (Template:Script/Tai Tham / เต๊อะ, /tɤ᷇ʔ/)

• Template:Script/Tai Tham / กิ๋นเต๊อะ (kin toe, /kǐn tɤ᷇ʔ/) Eat, please.

Polite particles

Polite particles include Template:Script/Tai Tham (คับ) and Template:Script/Tai Tham (เจ้า).

• khap (Template:Script/Tai Tham / คับ, /kʰa᷇p/, used by males)

• Template:Script/Tai Tham / กิ๋นเข้าแล้วคับ (kin khaw laew khap, /kǐn kʰa᷇w lɛ́ːw kʰa᷇p/) I have eaten, sir/ma'am.

• chao (Template:Script/Tai Tham / เจ้า, /t͡ɕa᷇w/, used by females)

• Template:Script/Tai Tham / กิ๋นเข้าแล้วเจ้า (kin khaw laew chao, /kǐn kʰa᷇w lɛ́ːw t͡ɕa᷇w/) I have eaten, sir/ma'am.

Nouns

Nouns are uninflected and have no gender; there are no articles.

Nouns are neither singular nor plural. Some specific nouns are reduplicated to form collectives: Template:Script/Tai Tham / ละอ่อน (la-orn, [la.ʔɔ̀ːn], child) is often repeated as Template:Script/Tai Tham ละอ่อน ๆ (la-orn la-orn, [la.ʔɔ̀ːn la.ʔɔ̀ːn],) to refer to a group of children.

The word Template:Script/Tai Tham / หมู่(mu, [mùː]) may be used as a prefix of a noun or pronoun as a collective to pluralize or emphasise the following word. (Template:Script/Tai Tham / หมู่ผม, mu phom, [mùː pʰǒm], we (exclusive), masculine; Template:Script/Tai Tham / หมู่เฮา mu hao, [mùː hāw], emphasised we; Template:Script/Tai Tham / หมู่หมา mu ma, [mùː mǎː], (the) dogs).

Plurals are expressed by adding classifiers, used as measure words (ลักษณนาม), in the form of noun-number-classifier ( Template:Script/Tai Tham / คูห้าคน, "teacher five person" for "five teachers").

Pronouns

Pronouns may be omitted once they have already been established in the first sentence, unless the pronoun in the following sentences is different from the first sentence. The pronoun "you" may also be omitted if the speaker is speaking directly to a second person. Moreover, names may replace pronouns, and they can even replace the first person singular pronoun.

Person	Tai Tham script	Thai script	Transliteration	Phonemic (IPA)	Phonetic (IPA)	Meaning
first	Template:Script/Tai Tham	กู	kūu	/kūː/	[kuː˧]	I/me (vulgar)
	Template:Script/Tai Tham	ฮา	hāa	/hāː/	[häː˧]	I/me (familiar; informal)
	Template:Script/Tai Tham	ข้า	kha᷇a	/kʰa᷇ː/	[kʰäː˥˧]	I/me (formal; used by male). Literally "servant, slave".
	Template:Script/Tai Tham	ผู้ข้า	pʰu᷇u kha᷇a	/pʰu᷇ː.kʰa᷇ː/	[p̪ʰuː˥˧.kʰäː˥˧]	I/me (formal)
	Template:Script/Tai Tham	ข้าน้อย	kha᷇a nóoi	/kʰa᷇ː.nɔ́ːj/	[kʰäː˥˧.n̪ɔːi̯˦˥]	I/me (formal; used by male; archaic)
	Template:Script/Tai Tham	ข้าเจ้า	kha᷇a cha᷇o	/kʰa᷇ː.tɕa᷇w/	[kʰäː˥˧.t͡ɕäu̯˥˧]	I/me (formal; used by female; historically also used by male)
	Template:Script/Tai Tham	ข้าผะเจ้า	kha᷇a pʰà cha᷇o	/kʰa᷇ː.pʰà.tɕa᷇w/	[kʰäː˥˧.p̪ʰä˨.t͡ɕäu̯˥˧]	I/me (very formal)
	Template:Script/Tai Tham	เฮา	hāo	/hāw/	[häu̯˧]	we/us
	Template:Script/Tai Tham	ตู๋	tǔu	/tǔː/	[t̪uː˨˦]	we/us (exclusive)
second	Template:Script/Tai Tham	มึง	mūenɡ	/mɯ̄ŋ/	[mɨŋ˧]	you (vulgar)
	Template:Script/Tai Tham	ฅิง	khīng	/kʰīŋ/	[kʰiŋ˧]	you (informal, singular)
	Template:Script/Tai Tham	ตั๋ว	tǔa	/tǔa/	[t̪uə̯˨˦]	you (familiar, singular)
	Template:Script/Tai Tham	เจ้า	cha᷇o	/tɕa᷇w/	[t͡ɕäu̯˥˧]	you (formal, singular). Literally "master, lord"
	Template:Script/Tai Tham	สู	sǔu	/sǔː/	[s̪uː˨˦]	you (informal, plural or formal, singular)
	Template:Script/Tai Tham	สูเขา	sǔu khǎo	/sǔː.kʰǎw/	[s̪uː˨˦.kʰäu̯˨˦]	you (informal, plural)
	Template:Script/Tai Tham	สูเจ้า	sǔu cha᷇o	/sǔː.tɕa᷇w/	[s̪uː˨˦.t͡ɕäu̯˥˧]	you (formal, plural)
third	Template:Script/Tai Tham	มัน	mān	/mān/	[män˧]	it (very rude if used on a person)
	Template:Script/Tai Tham	เขา	khǎo	/kʰǎw/	[kʰäu̯˨˦]	they/them
	Template:Script/Tai Tham	เปิ้น	pôen	/pɤ̂n/	[p̪ən˥˩]	he/she (general), others
	Template:Script/Tai Tham	ต้าน	tâan	/tâːn/	[t̪äːn˥˩]	he/she (formal), you (formal), others
reflexive	Template:Script/Tai Tham	ตั๋วเก่า	tǔa kàw	/tǔa.kàw/	[t̪uə̯˨˦.käu̯˨]	oneself

Vocabulary

Northern Thai shares much vocabulary with Standard Thai, especially scientific terms, which draw many prefixes and suffixes from Sanskrit and Pali, and it also has its own distinctive words. Just like Thai and Lao, Northern Thai has borrowed many loanwords from Khmer, Sanskrit, and Pali.

word	gloss	origin
[kʰɔ̌ːŋ kǐn] Template:Script/Tai Tham ของกิ๋น	food	native Tai word
[ʔāː hǎːn] Template:Script/Tai Tham อาหาร	food	Pali and/or Sanskrit
[kàm nɤ̀ːt] Template:Script/Tai Tham ก่ำเนิด (กำเนิด)	birth	Khmer

Writing system

Northern Thai in its own alphabet, the Tai Tham alphabet

Currently, different scripts are used to write Northern Thai. Northern Thai is traditionally written with the Tai Tham script, which in Northern Thai is called tua mueang (Template:Script/Tai Tham ตั๋วเมือง /tǔa.mɯ̄aŋ/) or tua tham (Template:Script/Tai Tham ตั๋วธัมม์ /tǔa.tʰām/). However, native speakers are presently illiterate in the traditional script; therefore, they instead use the Thai script to write the language. In Laos, the Lao script is commonly used to write Northern Thai.

A sign written in Northern Thai, Thai, and English

Some problems arise when the Thai script is used to write Northern Thai. In particular, Standard Thai script cannot transcribe all Northern Thai tones. The two falling tones in Northern Thai correspond to a single falling tone in Thai. Specifically, Northern Thai has two types of falling tones: high-falling tone (˥˧) and falling tone (˥˩). However, Thai lacks the distinction between the two falling tones, not having a high-falling tone (˥˧). When using Thai script to write Northern Thai tones, the distinction of the two falling tones is lost because Thai script can only indicate a low falling tone (˥˩). As an example, the tonal distinction between /ka᷇ː/ (ก้า (Template:Script/Tai Tham กล้า) "to be brave") and /kâː/ (ก้า (Template:Script/Tai Tham ค่า) "value") is lost when written in Thai since as only /kâː/ (ก้า) is permitted. Consequently, the meaning of ก้า is ambiguous as it can mean both "to be brave" and "value". Similarly, /pa᷇ːj/ (ป้าย (Template:Script/Tai Tham ป้าย) "sign") and /pâːj/ (ป้าย (Template:Script/Tai Tham พ่าย) "to lose") have the same problem and only /pâːj/ (ป้าย) is permitted. As a result, the spelling ป้าย is ambiguous because it can mean both "sign" or "to lose". Such tonal mergence ambiguity is avoided when the language is written with the Northern Thai script.

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  Northern Thai script page 1

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  Northern Thai script page 2

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  Northern Thai script page 3

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  Northern Thai script page 4

Northern Thai and Standard Thai

The tables below present the differences between Northern Thai and Standard Thai.

Different sounds

Unlike Northern Thai, Standard Thai lacks alveolo-palatal nasal sound (/ɲ/). Thus, the alveolo-palatal nasal sound (/ɲ/) and the palatal approximant sound (/j/) in Northern Thai both correspond to the palatal approximant sound in Standard Thai:

Standard Thai	Northern Thai	gloss	note
[jâːk] ยาก	[ɲâːk] Template:Script/Tai Tham	difficult	cf. Lao: ຍາກ [ɲâːk]
[jūŋ] ยุง	[ɲūŋ] Template:Script/Tai Tham	mosquito	cf. Lao: ຍຸງ [ɲúŋ]
[jāːw] ยาว	[ɲāːw] Template:Script/Tai Tham	long	cf. Lao: ຍາວ [ɲáːw]
[jāː] ยา	[jāː] Template:Script/Tai Tham	medicine	cf. Lao: ຢາ [jàː]
[jàːk] อยาก	[jàːk] Template:Script/Tai Tham	desire	cf. Lao: ຢາກ [jȁːk]
[jàːŋ] อย่าง	[jàːŋ] Template:Script/Tai Tham	manner, way	cf. Lao: ຢ່າງ [jāːŋ]

Unlike Northern Thai, Standard Thai lacks a high-falling tone ([˥˧]). The high falling tone ([˥˧]) and falling tone ([˥˩]) in Northern Thai both correspond to the falling tone in Standard Thai ([˥˩]).

Standard Thai	Northern Thai	gloss
[bâːn] บ้าน	[ba᷇ːn] Template:Script/Tai Tham	village, home
[hâː] ห้า	[ha᷇ː] Template:Script/Tai Tham	five
[t͡ɕâw] เจ้า	[t͡ɕa᷇w] Template:Script/Tai Tham	master, lord, you
[lâw] เหล้า	[la᷇w] Template:Script/Tai Tham	alcohol
[lâw] เล่า	[lâw] Template:Script/Tai Tham	tell (a story)

Different words

Many words differ from Standard Thai greatly:

Standard Thai	Northern Thai	gloss	note
/jîː.sìp/ ยี่สิบ	/sāːw/ Template:Script/Tai Tham ซาว	twenty	cf. Lao: ຊາວ /sáːw/ "twenty" and Shan: Template:Script/Mymr /sáːw/ "twenty"
/pʰûːt/ พูด	/ʔu᷇ː/ Template:Script/Tai Tham อู้	speak
/pʰîː.tɕʰaːj/ พี่ชาย	/ʔa᷇ːj/ Template:Script/Tai Tham อ้าย	older brother	cf. Lao: ອ້າຍ /ʔâːj/ "older brother" and Shan: Template:Script/Mymr /ʔāːj/ "eldest brother, first born son"
/tʰáːj.tʰɔ̄ːj/ ท้ายทอย	/ŋɔ̂n/ Template:Script/Tai Tham ง่อน	nape	cf. Lao: ງ່ອນ /ŋɔ̄ɔn/ "nape"
/t͡ɕa.mùːk/ จมูก	/dāŋ/ Template:Script/Tai Tham ดัง	nose	cf. Lao: ດັງ /dàŋ/ "nose", Standard Thai: ดั้ง /dâŋ/ "nasal bridge".
/tʰām/ ทำ	/ɲa᷇ʔ/ Template:Script/Tai Tham/Template:Script/Tai Tham ญะ/เญียะ	do
/dūː/ ดู	/pʰɔ̀ː/ Template:Script/Tai Tham ผ่อ	look	cf. Lao: ຜໍ່ /pʰɔ̀ː/ "to see, to look" and Tai Lü: Template:Script/New Tai Lue /pʰɔ̀ː/ "to see, to look"
/tʰîaw/ เที่ยว	/ʔɛ̀ːw/ Template:Script/Tai Tham แอ่ว	visit, travel	cf. Tai Lü: Template:Script/New Tai Lue /ʔɛ᷄w/ "to visit, to travel"
/nɯ́a/ เนื้อ	/t͡ɕín/ Template:Script/Tai Tham จิ๊น	meat	cf. Lao: ຊີ້ນ /sîːn/ "meat"
/mâj/ ไม่	/bɔ̀ː/ Template:Script/Tai Tham บ่อ	no	cf. Lao: ບໍ່ /bɔ̄ː/ "no, not"
/t͡ɕʰɔ̂ːp/ ชอบ	/ma᷇k/ Template:Script/Tai Tham มัก	like	cf. Lao: ມັກ /māk/ "to like"
/mâːk/ มาก	/na᷇k/ Template:Script/Tai Tham นัก	much, many
/dɤ̄ːn/ เดิน	/tīaw/ Template:Script/Tai Tham เตียว	walk	cf. Tai Lü: Template:Script/New Tai Lue /têw/ "to walk"
/wîŋ/ วิ่ง	/lôn/ Template:Script/Tai Tham ล่น	run
/hǔa.rɔ́ʔ/ หัวเราะ	/kʰâj.hǔa/ Template:Script/Tai Tham ใค่หัว	laugh	cf. Tai Lü: Template:Script/New Tai Lue /xāj.hó/ "to laugh"
/sa.nùk/ สนุก	/mûan/ Template:Script/Tai Tham ม่วน	funny, amusing	cf. Lao: ມ່ວນ /mūan/ "fun, amusing, pleasant", Tai Lü: Template:Script/New Tai Lue /mōn/ "fun, amusing, pleasant", and Shan: Template:Script/Mymr /mōn/ "fun, amusing, pleasant"
/kōː.hòk/ โกหก	/t͡ɕúʔ/ Template:Script/Tai Tham จุ๋	lie	cf. Tai Lü: Template:Script/New Tai Lue /t͡su᷄ʔ/ "to lie, to deceive"
/ʔa.rāj/ อะไร	/ʔa.ɲǎŋ/ Template:Script/Tai Tham อะหญัง	what	cf. Lao: ອີ່ຫຍັງ /ʔī.ɲǎŋ/ "what"
/dèk/ เด็ก	/la.ʔɔ̀ːn/ Template:Script/Tai Tham ละอ่อน	child	cf. Tai Lü: Template:Script/New Tai Lue /lūk.ʔɔ᷄n/ "child, young offspring"
/pʰráʔ/ พระ	/tu᷇.t͡ɕa᷇w/ Template:Script/Tai Tham ตุ๊เจ้า	Buddhist monk	cf. Tai Lü: Template:Script/New Tai Lue /tūʔ.tsa᷅w/ "Buddhist monk"

Similar words

There is not a straightforward correspondence between the tones of Northern and Standard Thai. It also depends on the initial consonant, as can be seen from the merged Gedney tone boxes for Standard Thai and the accent of Chiang Mai:

Ancestral tone:	A (smooth, no tone mark)			B (mai ek)			DL (checked, long vowel)			DS (dead, short vowel)			C (mai tho)
Initial Consonant	Std Thai	CM NT	gloss	Std Thai	CM NT	gloss	Std Thai	CM NT	gloss	Std Thai	CM NT	gloss	Std Thai	CM NT	gloss
1. High	rising	low-rising	ear	low	mid-low	four	low	low	to hit	low	low-rising	to dig	falling	high-falling	old
	/hǔː/ หู	/hǔː/ Template:Script/Tai Tham หู		/sìː/ สี่	/sìː/ Template:Script/Tai Tham สี่		/tʰùːk/ ถูก	/tʰùːk/ Template:Script/Tai Tham ถูก		/kʰùt/ ขุด	/kʰǔt/ Template:Script/Tai Tham ขุ๋ด		/tʰâw/ เฒ่า	/tʰa᷇w/ Template:Script/Tai Tham เฒ่า
2. CM High but Std Mid (= Std Thai ก ต ป)	mid	low-rising	eye	low	mid-low	turtle	low	low	mouth	low	low-rising	to fall	falling	high-falling	aunt
	/tāː/ ตา	/tǎː/ Template:Script/Tai Tham ต๋า		/tàw/ เต่า	/tàw/ Template:Script/Tai Tham เต่า		/pàːk/ ปาก	/pàːk/ Template:Script/Tai Tham ปาก		/tòk/ ตก	/tǒk/ Template:Script/Tai Tham ต๋ก		/pâː/ ป้า	/pa᷇ː/ Template:Script/Tai Tham ป้า
3. Mid for Both (= Std Thai ด บ อ อย)	mid	mid-high	good	low	mid-low	to scold	low	low	flower	low	low-rising	to bend	falling	high-falling	mad
	/dīː/ ดี	/dīː/ Template:Script/Tai Tham ดี		/dàː/ ด่า	/dà:/ Template:Script/Tai Tham ด่า		/dɔ̀ːk/ ดอก	/dɔ̀ːk/ Template:Script/Tai Tham ดอก		/dàt/ ดัด	/dǎt/ Template:Script/Tai Tham ดั่ด		/bâː/ บ้า	/ba᷇ː/ Template:Script/Tai Tham บ้า
4. Low	mid	mid-high	fly	falling	falling	mother	falling	falling	knife	high	high-falling	bird	high	high rising-falling	horse
	/bīn/ บิน	/bīn/ Template:Script/Tai Tham บิน		/mɛ̂ː/ แม่	/mɛ̂ː/ Template:Script/Tai Tham แม่		/mîːt/ มีด	/mîːt/ Template:Script/Tai Tham มีด		/nók/ นก	/no᷇k/ Template:Script/Tai Tham นก		/máː/ ม้า	/máː/ Template:Script/Tai Tham ม้า

Note that the commonalities between columns are features of the Chiang Mai accent. On the other hand, the relationships between rows are typical of Northern Thai, being found for at least for Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Phayao, Nan and Prae, and extending at least to Tak and the old 6-tone accent of Tai Khuen, except that the checked syllables of Chiang Rai are more complicated.

The primary function of a tone box is etymological. However, it also serves as a summary of the rules for tone indication when the writing system is essentially etymological in that regard, as is the case with the major Tai-language writing systems using the Thai, Lanna, New Tai Lue, Lao and Tai Dam scripts.

Some words differ only as a result of the regular tone correspondences:

Standard Thai	Northern Thai	gloss
/hòk/ หก	/hǒk/ Template:Script/Tai Tham ห๋ก	six
/t͡ɕèt/ เจ็ด	/t͡ɕět/ Template:Script/Tai Tham เจ๋ด	seven
/sìp/ สิบ	/sǐp/ Template:Script/Tai Tham สิ๋บ	ten
/pēn/ เป็น	/pěn/ Template:Script/Tai Tham เป๋น	be (copula)
/kīn/ กิน	/kǐn/ Template:Script/Tai Tham กิ๋น	eat

Other tone differences are unpredictable, such as:

Standard Thai	Northern Thai	gloss
/nɯ̀ŋ/ หนึ่ง	/nɯ̂ŋ/ Template:Script/Tai Tham นึ่ง	one

Some words differ in a single sound and associated tone. In many words, the initial ร (/r/) in Standard Thai corresponds to ฮ (/h/) in Northern Thai:

Standard Thai	Northern Thai	gloss	note
/rɔ́ːn/ ร้อน	/hɔ́ːn/ Template:Script/Tai Tham ฮ้อน	hot	cf. Lao: ຮ້ອນ /hɔ̂ːn/ "to be hot" and Shan: Template:Script/Mymr /hɔ̰n/ "to be hot"
/rák/ รัก	/ha᷇k/ Template:Script/Tai Tham ฮัก	love	cf. Lao: ຮັກ /hāk/ "to love" and Shan: Template:Script/Mymr /ha̰k/ "to love"
/rúː/ รู้	/húː/ Template:Script/Tai Tham ฮู้	know	cf. Lao: ຮູ້ /hûː/ "know" and Shan: Template:Script/Mymr /hṵ/ "know"

Aspiration of initial consonants

Some aspirated consonants in the low-class consonant group (อักษรต่ำ /ʔàk.sɔ̌ːn.tàm/) in Standard Thai correspond to unaspirated sounds in Northern Thai. These sounds include ค, ช, ท, and พ (/kʰ/, /t͡ɕʰ/, /tʰ/, and /pʰ/ respectively), but sounds such as ฅ, คร, ฆ, ฒ, พร, ภ (/kʰ/, /kʰr/, /kʰ/, /tʰ/, /pʰr/, and /pʰ/ respectively) remain aspirated. Such aspirated consonants that are unaspirated in Northern Thai correspond to unaspirated voiced sounds in Proto-Tai which are *ɡ, *ɟ, *d, and *b (ค, ช, ท, and พ respectively).:

Standard Thai	Northern Thai	gloss	note
/t͡ɕʰiaŋ.rāːj/ เชียงราย	/t͡ɕiaŋ.hāːj/ Template:Script/Tai Tham เจียงฮาย	Chiang Rai city and province	cf. Tai Lü: Template:Script/New Tai Lue /tsêŋ.hâːj/ "Chiang Rai"
/kʰít/ คิด	/kɯ́t/ Template:Script/Tai Tham กึ๊ด	think	cf. Tai Lü: Template:Script/New Tai Lue /kɯ̄t/ "to think"
/t͡ɕʰɔ́ːn/ ช้อน	/t͡ɕɔ́ːn/ Template:Script/Tai Tham จ๊อน	spoon	cf. Tai Lü: Template:Script/New Tai Lue /tsɔ̀n/ "spoon"
/t͡ɕʰáj/ ใช้	/t͡ɕáj/ Template:Script/Tai Tham ใจ๊	use	cf. Shan: Template:Script/Mymr /tsa̰ɰ/ "to use", Tai Lü: Template:Script/New Tai Lue /tsàj/ "to use"
/pʰɔ̂ː/ พ่อ	/pɔ̂ː/ Template:Script/Tai Tham ป้อ	father	cf. Shan: Template:Script/Mymr /pɔ̄/ "father", Tai Lü: Template:Script/New Tai Lue /pɔ̄/ "father"
/tʰāːŋ/ ทาง	/tāːŋ/ Template:Script/Tai Tham ตาง	way	cf. Shan: Template:Script/Mymr /táːŋ/ "way", Tai Lü: Template:Script/New Tai Lue /tâːŋ/ "way"

But not:

Standard Thai	Northern Thai	gloss	note
/kʰôːt.sa.nāː/ โฆษณา	/kʰôːt.sa.nāː/ Template:Script/Tai Tham โฆษณา	commercial, advertisement	cf. Tai Lü: Template:Script/New Tai Lue /xôː.sa.nâː/ "advertisement"
/pʰāː.sǎː/ ภาษา	/pʰāː.sǎː/ Template:Script/Tai Tham ภาษา	language	cf. Tai Lü: Template:Script/New Tai Lue /pʰâː.sáː/ "nationality"
/wát.tʰa.náʔ.tʰām/ วัฒนธรรม	/wa᷇t.tʰa.na᷇ʔ.tʰām/ Template:Script/Tai Tham วัฒนธัมม์	culture	cf. Tai Lü: Template:Script/New Tai Lue /wāt.tʰa.na.tʰâm/ "culture"
/tʰām/ ธรรม	/tʰām/ Template:Script/Tai Tham ธัมม์	Dharma	cf. Tai Lü: Template:Script/New Tai Lue /tʰâm/ "Dharma"

Though a number of aspirated consonants in Standard Thai often correspond to unaspirated sounds in Northern Thai, when an unaspirated consonant is followed by ร (/r/) the unaspirated consonant becomes aspirated:

Standard Thai	Northern Thai	gloss	note
/pràʔ.tʰêːt/ ประเทศ	/pʰa.têːt/ Template:Script/Tai Tham ผะเต้ด	country	cf. Tai Lü: Template:Script/New Tai Lue /pʰa.te᷄ːt/ "country"
/kràːp/ กราบ	/xàːp/ or /kʰàːp/ Template:Script/Tai Tham ขาบ	kowtow, prostrate	cf. Tai Lü: Template:Script/New Tai Lue /xa᷄ːp/ "to prostrate oneself"
/prāː.sàːt/ ปราสาท	/pʰǎː.sàːt/ Template:Script/Tai Tham ผาสาท	palace	cf. Tai Lü: Template:Script/New Tai Lue /pʰáː.sa᷄ːt/ "palace"

References

• Khamjan, Mala (2008) (in th). Kham Mueang Dictionary. Chiang Mai: Bookworm. ISBN 978-974-8418-55-1. 
• Natnapang Burutphakdee (October 2004). Khon Muang Neu Kap Phasa Muang (M.A. Thesis). Presented at 4th National Symposium on Graduate Research, Chiang Mai, Thailand, August 10–11, 2004. Asst. Prof. Dr. Kirk R. Person, adviser. Chiang Mai: Payap University. http://ic.payap.ac.th/graduate/linguistics/theses/Natnapang_Thesis.pdf. Retrieved June 8, 2013. 
• Rungrueangsi, Udom (ศาสตราจารย์ ดร.อุดม รุ่งเรืองศรี) (2004) (in th). Lanna-Thai Dictionary, Princess Mother Version (Revision 1 ed.). Chiang Mai: Rongphim Ming Mueang (โรงพิมพ์มิ่งเมือง). ISBN 974-8359-03-4. 

Further reading

• Bilmes, J. (1996). Problems And Resources In Analyzing Northern Thai Conversation For English Language Readers. Journal of Pragmatics, 26(2), 171–188.
• Davis, R. (1970). A Northern Thai reader. Bangkok: Siam Society.
• Filbeck, D. (1973). Pronouns in Northern Thai. Anthropological Linguistics, 15(8), 345–361.
• Herington, Jennifer, Margaret Potter, Amy Ryan and Jennifer Simmons (2013). Sociolinguistic Survey of Northern Thai. SIL Electronic Survey Reports.
• Howard, K. M. (2009). "When Meeting Khun Teacher, Each Time We Should Pay Respect": Standardizing Respect In A Northern Thai Classroom. Linguistics and Education, 20(3), 254–272.
• Khankasikam, K. (2012). Printed Lanna character recognition by using conway's game of life. In ICDIM (pp. 104–109).
• Pankhuenkhat, R. (1982). The Phonology of the Lanna Language:(a Northern Thai Dialect). Institute of Language and Culture for Rural Development, Mahidol University.
• Strecker, D. (1979). "A preliminary typology of tone shapes and tonal sound changes in Tai: the La-n N-a A-tones", in Studies in Tai and Mon-Khmer Phonetics and Phonology In Honour of Eugénie J.A. Henderson, ed. T.L. Thongkum et al., pp. 171–240. Chulalongkorn University Press.
• Wangsai, Piyawat. (2007). A Comparative Study of Phonological Yong and Northern Thai Language (Kammuang). M.A. thesis. Kasetsart University.

External links

• Northern Thai New Testament. The New Testament in hard copy form was written using two scripts Amazon link.
• Khamuang (Chiang Mai variety) (Intercontinental Dictionary Series)