Abstract:
The main objective of this thesis is to present a Grammar study of the Kontoj
dialect of Plang, an Austroasiatic language spoken in Thailand, at Huay Namkhun
village, Mae Fa Luang District, Chiang Rai Province. The study describes the
phonological and syntactical characteristics of morphology, word, phrase, clause and
sentence following the grammatical hierarchy of the Tagmemics model.
The results show that in Plang phonology, there are 9 main vowel phonemes and
25 consonant phonemes and there are two registers, clear voice quality ( R1) and breathy
voice quality ( R2 ). Syntax is described in terms of morphology, word, phrase, clause
and sentence. The normal order of the elements is S-P-O consisting of an obligatory
nucleus and optional periphery. There are some special syntactic structures found in this
study. In the morphology of the Kontoj dialect, there is the prefixation /ni-/ used with
verbs to produce negation and / l´- / used with pronouns to make singular pronouns
plural. The suffix / -ri/ / is used with one syllable nouns and / ni- / is used with
compound nouns to make the noun possessive. Additionally, the suffix / -ri/ / is used
with verbs to make the verb reflexive. Certain clauses in Plang are items of great interest
such as possessive clauses which can be divided into two types, one by use of the
possessive verb / kHo/R1 / 'of', plus possessive marker /-ri// or /-ni// after a nominal
phrase. Moreover, /-ri/ / can be the reflexive marker, after a verb to produce a
reflexive phrase.
The study also indicates that the Plang language is now in a process of developing
into a tone language, since breathy voice register is now dying in the new Plang
generation.