Comitatives and Instrumentals in Thai : A Diachronic Typological Perspective

Authors

• Vipas Pothipath

Publication Date

2023

Abstract

Languages can be divided into three types with respect to the encoding of comitatives and instrumentals: identity, differentiation and mixed (Stolz, Stroh and Urdze 2013). Diachronic data from Thai dating from 13th to 21st centuries ce suggests that these three language types correspond to the three stages of development of the relation between the two categories in Thai, which progress as follows. Between the 13th and the mid-18th centuries, Thai employed the pattern of identity. In general, the preposition dûaj ‘with’ was the relator for the two categories. Later, in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, Thai displayed mixed structures. While the preposition dûaj was preserved to encode both categories, the preposition kàp ‘and/with’ was also the relator for the comitative. Still later, from the mid-19th century to the present, Thai favored differentiation. The preposition dûaj remains in its function as an instrumental relator, while the preposition kàp has been employed as a comitative relator.

DOI

10.1163/26659077-26010001

First Page

1

Last Page

20

Recommended Citation

Pothipath, Vipas (2023) "Comitatives and Instrumentals in Thai : A Diachronic Typological Perspective," Manusya, Journal of Humanities: Vol. 26: No. 1, Article 19.
DOI: 10.1163/26659077-26010001
Available at: https://digital.car.chula.ac.th/manusya/vol26/iss1/19