Structures and Types of Syllables of Words in the Dictionaries of New Words Edited by Thai Royal Institute

Abstract

This research aimed to study the structures and types of syllables of words in dictionaries of New Words edited by the Royal Institute. The sample was a total of 1,634 random words selected systematically from two dictionaries of it. The data were analyzed using the concepts of “Structures and Types of Syllables”, “Types and Place of Articulation of Consonants” and “The Sound System of Thai Language”.

The findings revealed that the structures and types of syllables of words classified by the word types, consisting of verbs, nouns, adverbs, Idioms, interjections, measure words, pronouns, conjunctions, words that can be both verbs and nouns, words that can be both nouns and adverbs, and words that can be both verbs and adverbs. The structures and types of syllables of words which appeared most commonly were verbs in syllable structure of "closed syllable + closed syllable" (27.59%) and "non-checked syllable + non-checked syllable" (21.11%); followed by nouns in syllable structure of "closed syllable + closed syllable" (20.34%) and "non-checked syllable + non-checked syllable" (20.20%); while adverbs in syllable structures of "closed syllable + closed syllable" (34.78%) and "non-checked syllable + non-checked syllable" (18.48%). Moreover, it was discovered that the most apparent syllable codas of words in the dictionaries of New Words edited by the Royal Institute were plosive sounds (41.00%), nasal sounds (39.15%), and open sounds (19.57%) respectively.