Motion of Time in Northern Thai Dialect: A Cognitive Linguistics Approach

Abstract

This research aims to 1) analyze motion of time when co-occurred with vertical words movement, horizontal words movement and directionless words movement, 2) present image schemas of motion of time. The data were collected from 35 northern Thai literature “khâw” published in 1782-2012. The results indicated that there were 3 types of motion of time. 

The first type of motion of time is “vertical movement”. When time co-occurred with the word /khɯ̑n/ “up”, it conveyed an ascending motion (moving upward) and when time co-occurred with the word /loŋ/ “down”, it indicated a descending motion (moving downward).

                  The second type of motion of time is “horizontal movement”. It was related to a person who witnessed an event of time movement if time co-occurred with the words              / khâw / “in”, /ɔ̀:k/ “out”, /pai-nâ:/ “moving forward” or /pa:i-nâ:/ “moving forward”, /lun/ “after” and /lăŋ/ “after”.

The last type of motion of time is “directionless movement”. It was movement which moved out of the starting point without the finishing point of motion. In addition, this motion conveyed past events.

Three types of motion can be explained that the movement of time related to humans. No matter the movement was identified in a space, the perception of time which is movable related to perception via human senses. The aforementioned findings showed the relationship between concept, knowledge, and perception via senses of the person who perceives time movement.