The Forgotten Consonants in Thai Script

The Thai language, rich in history and evolution, has undergone many changes over the centuries. In this article, we’ll introduce you to two forgotten consonant symbols in Thai: ฃ (kɔ̌ɔ kùad) and ฅ (kɔɔ kon). Although these characters are no longer commonly used, they remain part of the 44 consonant symbols in Thai language learning.

This article draws on insights from an article originally published on Workpoint Today and explanations from Professor Dr. Pittayawat Pittayaporn of Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Arts.

Historical Sounds of ฃ and ฅ

According to Professor Pittayawat, the old pronunciations using the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) are as follows:

• ข (kɔ̌ɔ kài) was originally pronounced /kh/
• ฃ (kɔ̌ɔ kùad) was originally pronounced /x/
• ค (kɔɔ kwaay) was originally pronounced /g/
• ฅ (kɔɔ kon) was originally pronounced /ɣ/

Therefore, these different pronunciations justify why the Thai language had four different symbols. However, that is not the case now.

Origins and Evolution

The Thai alphabet derived from the old Khmer script but faced challenges in representing all the unique sounds of Thai. Specifically, the Khmer script lacked certain sound distinctions present in Thai. For instance, it included the sound /kh/ for ข (kɔ̌ɔ kài) and /g/ for ค (kɔɔ kwaay). However, Thai needed more phonetic symbols to represent its sounds, like /x/ and /ɣ/, so they created ฃ (kɔ̌ɔ kùad) and ฅ (kɔɔ kon).

Influence of Cultural Exchange and Decline in Usage

As time passed, Central Thai speakers borrowed words from Khmer, Pali, and Sanskrit. Consequently, these languages did not have the sounds ฃ and ฅ, leading to more use of ข and ค.

Over time, the sound ฃ in every word became ข, and the sound ฅ became ค. When the pronunciation is the same, writing becomes confusing. Words written with ฃ were confused with ข, and words written with ฅ were confused with ค. Because more words were spelled with ข and ค, people chose these letters over ฃ and ฅ.

Today, four sounds that were different in old times now sound the same as /kh/. The only difference is that ข is a high consonant, and ค is a low consonant. On this website, the Romanized letter “k” represents the /kh/ sound, making the lesson structure similar to what Thai native speakers learned when they started learning Thai.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the consonants ฃ (kɔ̌ɔ kùad) and ฅ (kɔɔ kon) serve as fascinating relics of the Thai language’s past. Their presence invites curiosity and exploration into the mysteries of Thai. Through explanations from experts like Professor Pittayawat, we gain a deeper understanding of the changes that shaped modern Thai. These obsolete characters remind us of the rich sounds and symbols that contribute to Thailand’s linguistic heritage. The language continues to evolve, and so do we.

source: https://workpointtoday.com/phonology-on-the-kh/