31-534: Yaowarat Road ( Thai : ถนนเยาวราช , pronounced [tʰā.nǒn jāw.wā.râːt] ; Chinese : 耀華力路 ) in Samphanthawong District is the main artery of Bangkok's Chinatown . Modern Chinatown now covers a large area around Yaowarat and Charoen Krung Road . It has been the main centre for trading by the Chinese community since they moved from their old site some 200 years ago to make way for
62-623: A dominant language in all aspects of society in Thailand, Thai initially saw gradual and later widespread adoption as 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
93-533: 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
124-530: 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
155-633: A total of 40 gold shops and a total of 132 shops in Chinatown, considered as the area with the most gold shops in the world. Therefore, it was dubbed as "Golden Road" in tandem "Dragon Road". Land prices around Yaowarat Road have always been among the most expensive in Bangkok and Thailand due to limited land which is mostly owned by prominent Thai-Chinese families. This road was originally named "Yuppharat Road" and later changed to "Yaowarat Road", which means "young king", in honour to Prince Vajirunhis ,
186-974: A venue for great celebrations. The road will be closed to completely turn into a pedestrian street . Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn has always presided over the opening ceremony. Yaowarat is a road with a total length of 1,532 m (5,026.2 ft) with traffic management as one-way running in opposite directions to the parallel, Charoen Krung Road. Starting from the Odeon Circle near Wat Traimit , or Temple of Golden Buddha, and spans canal Khlong Ong Ang to end at Wang Burapha Intersection in front of Wang Burapha area in Phra Nakhon District . There are several bus lines that pass through Yaowarat such as 3-35, 4 (3-36), 7 (4-36), 25 (3-7E), 40 (4-39), 53 (2-9), and there are four bus stops at Thian Fah Foundation Hospital , Chaloem Buri , Talat Kao (Old Market), with Wat Tuek . The road also served by
217-506: Is based on the register of the educated classes by Central Thai and ethnic minorities in the area along 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
248-557: Is based on 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
279-607: Is considered a milestone of Yaowarat and causing conflicts between Thais and Thais of Chinese descent, including overseas Chinese who live in Thailand to end. On Saturday 6 July 2024, at about 8:41 pm, a fire broke out in the Trok Pho community, a narrow lane separated from Yaowarat Road near Guanyin Shrine and Sampheng , burning out a number of houses, injuring two firefighters, and at least 30 people were affected. Nowadays, every Chinese New Year festival Yaowarat Road will become
310-595: Is the center of the area. The path of the road is said to resemble a dragon's curvy body, making it an auspicious location for business. Since it was built to avoid the existing cluster of houses of the people according the king's policy. Yaowarat is a road with a length of about 1.5 km (0.93 mi), 20 m (65 ft) wide and takes 8 years to build (1892–1900). There are many shops selling gold , garments , textiles , stationery , souvenirs, second-hand parts and equipment, electric goods, computer parts, antiques, imported musical instruments and local delicacies. Based on 2002, there were
341-404: Is the first foundation and private hospital in Thailand, including shrine. Located at 606 Yaowarat Road , Samphanthawong Subdistrict, Samphanthawong District, Bangkok near Wat Traimit , Odeon Circle and Chaloem Buri Intersection . It was established during the reign of King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) in 1903 and completed in 1905. This was due to the merge of five Chinese dialect groups with
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#1732781169173372-486: Is the language of television, education, news reporting, and all forms of media. A recent research found that the speakers of 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
403-709: The Wat Mangkon Station of the MRT Subway , whose Blue Line runs under the nearby Charoen Krung Road. Thai language Thai , or Central Thai (historically Siamese ; Thai: ภาษาไทย ), 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
434-555: 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
465-628: The Northwestern Tai and Lao-Phutai languages, form 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
496-491: 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
527-592: The construction of Wat Phra Kaew , the Grand Palace . Nearby is the Phahurat or Little India . The area is bordered by the Chao Phraya River from the west to the south. Yaowarat Road is well known for its variety of foodstuffs, and at night turns into a large "food street" that draws tourists and locals from all over the city. Chinatown is in one of the oldest areas of Bangkok. It is the result of
558-499: 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 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
589-462: The first crown prince of Thailand , who was the first son of King Rama V. Before it was a road, it was just rice fields and canals . In 1894, an electric tram car service passed through Charoen Krung and Yaowarat Roads, this service only ceased in 1968. Prior World War II , regarded as the busiest area in Bangkok, it was the first road where the country's tallest buildings where situated, called seven-storeyed and nine-storeyed buildings on both sides of
620-657: The intention of helping the poor who could not afford medication at that time. They have both modern and traditional Chinese treatments and the foundation is preserved till today. There is a beauty statue of Bodhisattva Guanyin estimated to be about 800–900 years old since the Song dynasty . The statue was carved with the sandalwood and painted in gold. In 1958, it was invited from China and enshrined until today. This shrine open 24 hours and so popular among people both Thai and Chinese to pray for good health especially during Chinese New Year and some of them are teenagers to pray for
651-528: 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
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#1732781169173682-551: 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
713-415: 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,
744-744: The resettlement of Chinese on the west bank of Chao Phraya River after King Rama I moved the capital of the kingdom from Thonburi to Rattanakosin . From there Chinese traders operated maritime junk trade between ( Siam ) and China throughout the Rattanakosin period . By the end of 1891, King Rama V had ordered the construction of many roads, including Yaowarat Road. The areas that will become these roads were previously rice fields and canals . Chinatown does not consist of only Yaowarat Road, but also includes others such as Charoen Krung Road , Mangkon Road , Songwat Road , Songsawat Road, Ratchawong Road , and Chakkrawat Road . Yaowarat's Sampheng Market
775-561: The road. There were many famous Chinese restaurants, Chaloem Buri Cinema the most modern one in that decade, many reliable gold shops as well as hundred of shops selling both fresh and preserved merchandised used for Chinese food cooking. At present, Yaowarat's significance is not fading. It is still one of the country's most busting commercial and delicious food district. On Monday 3 June 1946, King Rama VIII and his younger brother, Prince Bhumibol (later King Rama IX), visited Yaowarat and Sampheng by walking from morning until noon. This event
806-492: 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
837-535: 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
868-618: 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 Thian Fah Foundation Hospital Thian Fah Foundation Hospital , shortened to Thian Fah Foundation ( Thai : โรงพยาบาลเทียนฟ้ามูลนิธิ, เทียนฟ้ามูลนิธิ ; traditional Chinese : 天華醫院; simplified Chinese : 天华医院; pinyin : Tiān huá yī yuàn ),
899-423: 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
930-508: 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 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
961-453: 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