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Article published In: Diachrony of Tone
Edited by Sandra Auderset, Rikker Dockum and Ryan Gehrmann
[Diachronica 42:3/4] 2025
► pp. 508–525

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Siamese tones in the late 16th century as reflected in the Sino-Siamese Manual of Translation

ORCiD logo with link | Ohio State University
ORCiD logo with link | Chulalongkorn University
Published online: 23 May 2025
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/dia.24019.tan
Abstract
This study aims to reconstruct the tone system of late 16th century Siamese by analyzing the Sino-Siamese Manual of Translation. The compilers’ preference for transcribing Siamese tonal categories using Chinese characters suggests that late 16th century Siamese had seven phonemic tones with phonetic characteristics aligned with the broader picture of tonal development in Siamese. This case study serves as an example of how to reconstruct tonal systems using Chinese primary sources.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Literature review
  • 3.Data and methodology
  • 4.Results
  • 5.Discussion
  • 6.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
References (36)
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