A Comparative Study of the Phonological Systems between Northern Thai dialect Tai Yuan language and Chinese Zhuang language

Abstract

          This paper compares the phonological systems between Northern Thai dialect Tai Yuan language and the Wuming Zhuang language in China, finds the identical, similar, and different characteristics of the initials, finals, and tones of the two languages.The study shows thatbothTai Yuan dialect and Zhuang language belong to the Zhuang-Dai language (Tai language family),however, they have similarities and differences in the phonological systems.There are two more consonants in Zhuang language than in Taiyuan dialect, but there are more vowels in Taiyuan dialect than in Zhuang language. In terms of tones, both languagescan besorted according to live syllableand dead syllable.The similarities and differences between the two languages ​​allow us to understand the relationship between the Northern Thai dialect and the Chinese Zhuang language, which will be of some value for the study of the Tai language family.