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45-470: Phra Sunthorn Vohara (Phu) ( Thai : พระสุนทรโวหาร (ภู่) , RTGS :  Phra Sunthonwohan (Phu) , pronounced [pʰá.sǔn.tʰɔ̄ːn.woː.hǎːn.pʰûː] ; 26 June 1786 – 1855), known as Sunthorn Phu ( Thai : สุนทรภู่ , RTGS :  Sunthonphu , pronounced [sǔn.tʰɔ̄ːn.pʰûː] ), is Thailand 's best-known royal poet. He wrote during the Rattanakosin period . Phu's career as

90-411: A dialect continuum . Thai language is spoken by over 69 million people (2020). Moreover, most Thais in the northern (Lanna) and the northeastern (Isan) parts of the country today are bilingual speakers of Central Thai and their respective regional dialects because Central Thai is the language of television, education, news reporting, and all forms of media. A recent research found that the speakers of

135-551: A second language among the country's minority ethnic groups from the mid-late Ayutthaya period onward. Ethnic minorities today are predominantly bilingual, speaking Thai alongside their native language or dialect. Standard Thai is classified as one of the Chiang Saen languages—others being Northern Thai , Southern Thai and numerous smaller languages, which together with the Northwestern Tai and Lao-Phutai languages, form

180-598: A collection of poems recounting his journey to the Golden Mountain; Nirat Suphan , his journey to Suphan Buri province ; and the Phra Aphai Mani saga. Sunthorn Phu was born in the reign of King Rama I , on 26 June 1786 ( year of the Horse ), around 8.00 a.m. His family's house was behind the royal palace , near the present day Bangkok Noi railway station and Wang Lang Market . It is generally understood that his father

225-533: A four-way distinction among stops and affricates . The maximal four-way occurred in labials ( /p pʰ b ʔb/ ) and denti-alveolars ( /t tʰ d ʔd/ ); the three-way distinction among velars ( /k kʰ ɡ/ ) and palatals ( /tɕ tɕʰ dʑ/ ), with the glottalized member of each set apparently missing. The major change between old and modern Thai was due to voicing distinction losses and the concomitant tone split . This may have happened between about 1300 and 1600 CE, possibly occurring at different times in different parts of

270-412: A great world poet. His Phra Aphai Mani poems describe a fantastical world, where people of all races and religions live and interact together in harmony. Recently, his literary works have been adapted in various media such as comics, films and songs. Thai cinema's first and only cel-animated cartoon feature film, The Adventure of Sudsakorn (1979), was based on a character from Phra Aphai Mani . It

315-677: A hillside. Three sculptures surround the statue of Sunthorn Phu. The other sculptures represent the main characters in his literary works, including Prince Aphai Mani , the ocean butterfly, and the mermaid. Sukij Laidej created the Phu statue. Gaisorn Srisuwan sculpted Aphai Mani. Saroj Jaruc carved the mermaid, and Thana Laohathaikul executed the ocean butterfly. Chakri dynasty Kings Viceroys Deputy Viceroy Crown Prince Hereditary Prince Royalty Siamese Foreigners Key events Thai language Thai , or Central Thai (historically Siamese ; Thai: ภาษาไทย ),

360-409: A modern civil service system. His successor Vajiravudh (Rama VI, r. 1910–1925) introduced a military-style promotion-based rank system, superseding the traditional titles, though they could still be granted at the king's discretion. Following the abolition of absolute monarchy in 1932, royal decrees issued during the government of Plaek Phibunsongkhram in 1942 abolished the use of noble titles and

405-444: A monk at Ban Kram temple. His mother became a wet nurse for the royal family. Phu had an opportunity to work in the palace with his mother, where he fell in love with a lady in the palace named Chan, who was related to the royal family. The couple were arrested and punished as their relationship violated the traditional social order, but they were pardoned on the king's death. Phu later returned to Rayong to visit his father, and wrote

450-449: A poem about the journey called Nirat Mueang Klaeng which became one of his most famous poems. He wrote the epic poem for his fiancée, Chan. After he returned to the palace in Bangkok he married Chan, and they had a son named Phat. It was at this time that King Rama II appointed him court poet. However, the couple were not married long, divorcing after Phu had an affair with another woman. This

495-466: A rank and a title, which denote the holder's post or office. Unlike in European aristocracies, Thai noble titles were not inherited, but individually granted based on personal merit. Nevertheless, familial influence was substantial, and some families were able to accumulate large amounts of wealth and power, especially during the 17th to 19th centuries. While the use of noble rank and title words are found in

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540-453: A royal poet began in the reign of King Rama II , and when the king died, he resigned from the role and became a monk. Twenty years later, in the reign of King Rama III , he returned to court as a royal scribe, where he remained for the rest of his life. Phu was renowned for composing verse, and his epic poetry is popular in Thailand to the present day. His works include Nirat Phukhao Thong ,

585-525: A syllable that formerly began with a voiceless consonant (including glottalized stops). An additional complication is that formerly voiceless unaspirated stops/affricates (original /p t k tɕ ʔb ʔd/ ) also caused original tone 1 to lower, but had no such effect on original tones 2 or 3. The above consonant mergers and tone splits account for the complex relationship between spelling and sound in modern Thai. Modern "low"-class consonants were voiced in Old Thai, and

630-562: Is a Tai language of the Kra–Dai language family spoken by the Central Thai , Mon , Lao Wiang , Phuan people in Central Thailand and the vast majority of Thai Chinese enclaves throughout the country. It is the sole official language of Thailand . Thai is the most spoken of over 60 languages of Thailand by both number of native and overall speakers. Over half of its vocabulary

675-443: Is celebrated in Thailand as Sunthorn Phu Day. Sunthorn Phu Memorial Park is a 33.15 acre facility. The foundation stone was set on 30 December 1955 by Prime Minister Pibulsongkram, but construction stopped for 10 years, until 1968. The Rayong Governor at that time was Vithya Kasetsaowapak who donated 962,766.10 baht to purchase the land. It was completed on 5 March 1970 and had its official opening on 25 May 1970. The memorial sits on

720-523: Is derived from or borrowed from Pali , Sanskrit , Mon and Old Khmer . It is a tonal and analytic language . Thai has a complex orthography and system of relational markers . Spoken Thai, depending on standard sociolinguistic factors such as age, gender, class, spatial proximity, and the urban/rural divide, is partly mutually intelligible with Lao , Isan , and some fellow Thai topolects . These languages are written with slightly different scripts, but are linguistically similar and effectively form

765-577: The Front Palace 's Royal Scribes Department , and was awarded the title of " Phra ". He died in 1855 at a house by the Khlong Chak Phra canal near Wat Rae Rai temple in Taling Chan district , Bangkok. Sunthorn left behind a legacy of poems that have become famous over time because of their description of Thai history. In 1986, the 200th anniversary of his birth, Sunthorn Phu was honored by UNESCO as

810-459: The Northern Thai language (also known as Phasa Mueang or Kham Mueang) have become so few, as most people in northern Thailand now invariably speak Standard Thai, so that they are now using mostly Central Thai words and only seasoning their speech with the "Kham Mueang" accent. Standard Thai is based on the register of the educated classes by Central Thai and ethnic minorities in the area along

855-510: The Southwestern branch of Tai languages . The Tai languages are a branch of the Kra–Dai language family , which encompasses a large number of indigenous languages spoken in an arc from Hainan and Guangxi south through Laos and Northern Vietnam to the Cambodian border. Standard Thai is the principal language of education and government and spoken throughout Thailand. The standard is based on

900-547: The Khmer system first before the Thai borrowed. Old Thai had a three-way tone distinction on "live syllables" (those not ending in a stop), with no possible distinction on "dead syllables" (those ending in a stop, i.e. either /p/, /t/, /k/ or the glottal stop that automatically closes syllables otherwise ending in a short vowel). There was a two-way voiced vs. voiceless distinction among all fricative and sonorant consonants, and up to

945-515: The King. The latter was the case especially from the late 19th century, as the proliferation of officials necessitated the creation of a large number of titles. Nobles would be known almost exclusively by their current title. Historical references to holders of shared titles conventionally include the person's birth name in parentheses, e.g. Chao Phraya Chakri (Mut) , who was chief minister under King Taksin . The ranks, in descending order, are: Some of

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990-484: The Thai-speaking area. All voiced–voiceless pairs of consonants lost the voicing distinction: However, in the process of these mergers, the former distinction of voice was transferred into a new set of tonal distinctions. In essence, every tone in Old Thai split into two new tones, with a lower-pitched tone corresponding to a syllable that formerly began with a voiced consonant, and a higher-pitched tone corresponding to

1035-483: The determining factor for promotions. Several noble families gained much power and influence during the late Ayutthaya period, and even more so during early Rattanakosin; some, such as the Bunnags , effectively became as powerful as the monarchy. King Chulalongkorn (Rama V, r. 1868–1910) introduced reforms that ended the system that allowed nobles to command manpower, and transformed titled nobles into paid officials under

1080-541: The dialect of the central Thai people, and it is written in the Thai script . Hlai languages Kam-Sui languages Kra languages Be language Northern Tai languages Central Tai languages Khamti language Tai Lue language Shan language others Northern Thai language Thai language Southern Thai language Tai Yo language Phuthai language Lao language (PDR Lao, Isan language ) Thai has undergone various historical sound changes. Some of

1125-457: The documents of many early Tai city states including Sukhothai , the earliest extensive descriptions are from the administrative reforms introduced in 1448 by King Borommatrailokanat of Ayutthaya, which by then had become the dominant polity in the region. The reforms established official titles for high-ranking ministers of the chatusadom system, and the rank of phra was added to the previously used khun and nai , in order to accommodate

1170-411: The expanding machinery of government. (The ranks luang and okya were further introduced during the mid- and late-16th century, respectively.) The sakdina system, which assigned a numeral rank representing the amount of land one was entitled to own, was also officially described. Nobles were not directly remunerated for their service, but enjoyed earnings and benefits derived from their office and

1215-515: The local patois as pronounced in Guangdong Ayutthaya , the old capital of Thailand from 1351 - 1767 A.D., was from the beginning a bilingual society, speaking Thai and Khmer . Bilingualism must have been strengthened and maintained for some time by the great number of Khmer-speaking captives the Thais took from Angkor Thom after their victories in 1369, 1388 and 1431. Gradually toward the end of

1260-547: The most significant changes occurred during the evolution from Old Thai to modern Thai. The Thai writing system has an eight-century history and many of these changes, especially in consonants and tones, are evidenced in the modern orthography . According to a Chinese source, during the Ming dynasty , Yingya Shenglan (1405–1433), Ma Huan reported on the language of the Xiānluó (暹羅) or Ayutthaya Kingdom, saying that it somewhat resembled

1305-656: The noble posts and titles include: The samuhanayok was head of the Mahatthai . During the Ayutthaya period, office-holders took the title Chakri , with the rank of phraya . The rank was increased to chaophraya during Thonburi, and in Rattanakosin individualized titles were granted to each appointee. According to the Three Seals Law , the samuhanayok had a sakdina of 10,000. ( List of samuhanayok ) The samuhakalahom

1350-415: The period, a language shift took place. Khmer fell out of use. Both Thai and Khmer descendants whose great-grand parents or earlier ancestors were bilingual came to use only Thai. In the process of language shift, an abundance of Khmer elements were transferred into Thai and permeated all aspects of the language. Consequently, the Thai of the late Ayutthaya Period which later became Ratanakosin or Bangkok Thai,

1395-568: The rank of chaophraya . The head of the Krom Wang was titled Thammathikon after the department, or Thammathikoranathibodi . Most heads of the Krom Phra Khlang took the rank and title Chaophraya Phra Khlang , while during Ayutthaya period the title was also called Kosathibodi . The heads of Krom Na or Kasettrathikan had the rank and title Chaophraya Phonlathep . Governorships were major noble positions, with several types of posts depending on

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1440-501: The rank system. While the decree abolishing titles was repealed by the Khuang Aphaiwong government two years later, allowing previously held titles to be reinstated, the granting of noble titles never resumed after 1932. Thai noble titles comprise a rank ( บรรดาศักดิ์ , bandasak ) and a title ( ราชทินนาม , ratchathinnanam ), which denote the holder's post or office ( ตำแหน่ง , tamnaeng ). For example, Chaophraya Chakri

1485-513: The ring surrounding the Metropolis . In addition to Central Thai, Thailand is home to other related Tai languages . Although most linguists classify these dialects as related but distinct languages, native speakers often identify them as regional variants or dialects of the "same" Thai language, or as "different kinds of Thai". As a dominant language in all aspects of society in Thailand, Thai initially saw gradual and later widespread adoption as

1530-484: The royal vocabulary according to their immediate environment. Thai and Pali, the latter from Theravada Buddhism, were added to the vocabulary. An investigation of the Ayutthaya Rajasap reveals that three languages, Thai, Khmer and Khmero-Indic were at work closely both in formulaic expressions and in normal discourse. In fact, Khmero-Indic may be classified in the same category as Khmer because Indic had been adapted to

1575-535: The terminology "low" reflects the lower tone variants that resulted. Modern "mid"-class consonants were voiceless unaspirated stops or affricates in Old Thai—precisely the class that triggered lowering in original tone 1 but not tones 2 or 3. Modern "high"-class consonants were the remaining voiceless consonants in Old Thai (voiceless fricatives, voiceless sonorants, voiceless aspirated stops). The three most common tone "marks" (the lack of any tone mark, as well as

1620-425: The three tones of Old Thai were split have since merged into five in standard Thai, with the lower variant of former tone 2 merging with the higher variant of former tone 3, becoming the modern "falling" tone. หม ม หน น, ณ หญ ญ หง ง ป ผ พ, ภ บ ฏ, ต ฐ, ถ ท, ธ ฎ, ด จ ฉ ช Phra (noble title) Thai noble titles comprise

1665-423: The two marks termed mai ek and mai tho ) represent the three tones of Old Thai, and the complex relationship between tone mark and actual tone is due to the various tonal changes since then. Since the tone split, the tones have changed in actual representation to the point that the former relationship between lower and higher tonal variants has been completely obscured. Furthermore, the six tones that resulted after

1710-510: The work of commoners ( phrai ) under their command. Unlike in European aristocracies, Thai noble titles were not inherited, but individually granted by the king or his ministers based on personal merit. Noble families could, however, present their sons to the royal household, placing them at an advantage to succeeding in those positions. This practice became especially influential from the 17th century, when war subsided and commerce flourished, leading personal patronage to displace martial ability as

1755-449: Was a thorough mixture of Thai and Khmer. There were more Khmer words in use than Tai cognates. Khmer grammatical rules were used actively to coin new disyllabic and polysyllabic words and phrases. Khmer expressions, sayings, and proverbs were expressed in Thai through transference. Thais borrowed both the Royal vocabulary and rules to enlarge the vocabulary from Khmer. The Thais later developed

1800-499: Was directed by Payut Ngaokrachang . A live-action version of the tale was made in 2006, titled Legend of Sudsakorn . Monuments of two characters from his epic work, Phra Aphai Mani have been erected on Ko Samet 's Hat Sai Kaeo beach, the title character, Prince Aphai Mani, and the siren/mermaid character. A memorial to Sunthorn Phu was elected in Klaeng district , Rayong province , the birthplace of his father. His birthday, 26 June,

1845-517: Was from Ban Kram, Klaeng district , Rayong province , but in the belief of a new generation of historians that in fact his father was of Brahmin lineage from Ban Samo Phlue , Ban Lat district in Phetchaburi province today. At the time the epic poet was born, Bangkok had been established as the Thai capital just four years earlier, founding the Rattanakosin era which continues to the present day. His father and mother divorced. His father became

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1890-502: Was head of the Kalahom . Like the samuhanayok , the post had a sakdina of 10,000. Most of office-holders were titled Chaophraya Mahasena well into the Rattanakosin period. ( List of samuhakalahom ) Four ministers headed the four government departments of the chatusadom . By the Rattanakosin period, the head of the Krom Mueang or Nakhonban were titled Yommarat , with most having

1935-499: Was so pleased with Phu's poetry that he awarded him the title of " Khun ". During the reign of King Rama III, however, Phu made the grave mistake of publicly correcting one of the king's poems, and was stripped of his title as punishment. After this disgrace, he initially entered the Buddhist priesthood, but later became a merchant. During the reign of King Rama IV , Phu came into the service of viceroy (or vice-king) Pinklao as head of

1980-461: Was the first of many marriages ending in divorce, although he later professed that the wife he had loved the most was Chan. Phu became an alcoholic , and, around 1821, was jailed after a fight. He began the poem, Phra Aphai Mani in prison, and published it in installments over the next twenty years. The epic tale follows the title character, Prince Aphai Mani, a Byronic hero , in his romantic adventures throughout ancient Thailand. King Rama II

2025-418: Was the full title of the samuhanayok , one of the king's two chief ministers. Chaophraya was the highest rank of the nobility, and Chakri was the title associated with the post. The titleholder would also have received a numerical rank under the sakdina system. Most major titles were tied to the post, and shared by successive holders, while others could be created specifically for a singular person by

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