Vowel Changes in Pali and Sanskrit Loanwords in Thai

Abstract

Over half of the loanwords found in Thai are borrowed from Pali and Sanskrit. This phenomenon is a result of language contact between Pali Sanskrit and Thai all of which have been around for over a thousand years. This article aims to study phonological changes in Pali and Sanskrit loanwords that are used in Thai with emphasis on vowel changes, according to a historical-comparative linguistics-based study. The process of the phonological change in Pali and Sanskrit loanwords in Thai was found to be systematical. Specifically, the vowel changes in Pali and Sanskrit loanwords were to reduce the number of syllables in original Pali and Sanskrit words. Here are the processes of vowel change in Pali and Sanskrit loanwords in Thai: lengthening, shortening, vowel shifting, diphthongization, monothongization, consonantization and apocope.