Abstract:
Cluster simplification, which is considered to be non-standard, is found in several languages including Thai, as shown in Beebe (1974) that simplification of the clusters with /r/, /l/, and /w/ in Bangkok Thai vary according to social factors. Also, simplification of the cluster with /w/ has been observed in Central Thai, e.g., /kwaat2/ to sweep and /khwaam1/ matter, are pronounced as [faat2] and [faam1], which are stigmatized variants. It was interesting to find out whether this phenomenon would be the same as in Bangkok Thai. Therefore, the purpose of this thesis is to analyze the variation of (kw) and (khw) in the Thai dialect spoken in Tambon Ban Phraek, Amphoe Ban Phraek, Ayutthaya and their relationship with the speakers gender, age, educational background, and style. The data were taken from 60 informants who are native speakers of Ayutthaya Thai. They were divided into two sex groups: male and female, three age groups: 10-20, 30-40 and over 60 years old, and three educational groups: high level (holding a bachelors), middle level (high school) and low level (primary school). Regarding style, three styles were selected for this study: interviewing, passage reading and wordlist reading, representing informal, fairly formal and very formal styles, respectively. The results of the analysis show that the cluster (kw) has four variants: [kw] (standard), [k], [f], and [khw], and that the cluster (khw) has three variants: [khw] (standard), [kw], and [f]. It was found that the standard variants [kw] and [khw] (standard) were used most frequently. When social variables were considered, it was found that in general each of them was related to the use of the standard variants significantly at 0.01 level. An interesting finding in this study is that female speakers used more stigmatized variants than male speakers. This is contrary to the hypothesis of this study. When controlling for other variables, the results show that (kw) is not related to any social factor, except education, which affected womens pronunciation; i.e., educated women used the standard variant [kw] more frequently than uneducated women. The difference was significant at 0.01 level. Concerning (khw), the results show that social factors are related to the use of the standard variant [khw] significantly at 0.01. However, age and education did not influence the male group. The findings of this study shows sound change in progress in Ayutthaya Thai. It can be concluded that in this dialect the standard variants are commonly used, probably due to the influence of Standard Thai. In the future the non-standard variants, which mark the identity of Ayutthaya Thai, may be lost.