Dialect Geography of Khmer in Northeastern Thailand: An Analysis of Regional Variation and Sub-dialect Classification
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Abstract
This study investigates the dialect geography of the Khmer dialect in northeastern Thailand, employing Chambers and Trudgill’s dialectology approach and applying GIS for linguistic map analysis. This study is a synchronic analysis of Khmer phonological variation which aims to identify sub-dialects spoken in Thailand’s northeastern provinces, focusing on regional variations in initials, vowels, and finals. The findings result in a classification of Khmer into two main groups: a Western Khmer and an Eastern Khmer group, including fifteen sub-dialects within the studied region concerning the overlap on linguistic maps of the initial consonant, vowel, and final consonant.
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