Northern Thai Language

These are some of my observations regarding the use of the Northern Thai (Kham Muang) language amongst the Tai Yuan people.

A COLLOQUIAL LANGUAGE
Only a few Tai Yuan I’ve met are able to read and write the N.Thai script. Some still do because they have to lead many Tai Yuan ceremonies and customs that require them to check back with the old ‘manual’ handed down to them on how these are done. The Northern Thai language has very much developed through the years into a colloquial language amongst the Tai Yuan.

This can be down to North Thailand’s interesting mix of people groups living in close proximity with each other, and also migration of these people into many Tai Yuan villages. Colloquial because every village’s way of speaking Northern Thai differs. In our village, they claim to speak authentic Northern Thai language, while the village before them speaks a mix of Northern Thai with Shan. Funny because I had conversations with people from the village before and they too claim that they speak authentic Northern Thai while the village above has it mixed. Even in my own village, when my wife was learning the Northern Thai language, she had 2 different language helpers from the same village. First an older lady, later a younger lady and both would teach different tones to similar Northern Thai words. Interestingly, my wife observed that for these Tai Yuan, they can catch the slightest change in tones and realise that one is not from around here. Which brings us to the 2nd point.

A COMMUNAL LANGUAGE
It is also important to note that the Tai Yuan are highly communal, with many families and ‘last names’ dominant in each village. With that as a background, I am beginning to see how the Northern Thai language differentiation in villages evolved as a social need for distinction, or protection. Maybe that is the reason why there isn’t a standard way of speaking Northern Thailand and why the Tai Yuan are probably keen to keep it that way, because this has been an effective way in the running and safekeeping of a Tai Yuan community’s distinction. Someone moving in from another Northern province would immediately be identified. 

WHAT ABOUT A NORTHERN THAI TRANSLATION OF THE BIBLE ?
The Northern Thai translation of the Bible would probably be difficult to introduce in churches in Chiang Rai because most of these Northern Thai translations are closer to the Northern Thai spoken in Chiang Mai.

Another key reason is that majority of the churches here in Chiang Rai, are affiliated with either CCT or EFT. And they see Bangkok as their ‘Mother Church’ (คริสตจักรแม่), the headquarters, not Chiang Mai. Thus, these churches in Chiang Rai value and have a bigger ‘allegiance’ to the main church in Bangkok. Thus the Central Thai Bible translation and script still has a big role Chiang Rai churches. A Northern Thai translation of the Bible may be used as an alternative, and that is if they are willing to accept the translation in the first place.