SIL Electronic Survey Reports
SILESR 2008-015
- Author:
Erin Dawkins, Cortney Kirkland
Title: A sociolinguistic survey of Tai Ya in Thailand
Abstract:
Paper: PDF (1126 KB, 49 pages)The purpose of this survey was to assess the need for vernacular literature development among the Tai Ya of Chiang Rai Province, Thailand. Further, it aimed to determine whether the Tai Ya of Thailand could use literature which could be developed in the Tai Ya variety in China, and if not, what strategies might be used to develop the Thailand variety. The researchers used sociolinguistic questionnaires to assess language vitality, language attitudes, and bilingual proficiency among the Tai Ya of Thailand. An existing Tai Ya wordlist from China was used to compare to the corresponding words in Thailand. The data for this survey was collected in August 2005 in two villages, Ban Nam Bor Khaw and Ban Pa Sak Khwang. The survey concludes that language vitality of Tai Ya is weak. In addition, vernacular literature development is probably not needed for the Tai Ya people in Thailand, since preliminary research indicates high proficiency in Central Thai or Northern Thai and no negative attitudes towards those languages.
Language: Tai Ya
Country: Thailand
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