Classification of words in Thai language : Similarities and Dissimilarity between the traditional textbook and the new textbook

Abstract

This article presented a comparative study of classification of words in Thai language between the traditional textbook; Grammar of Thai language by Phraya Upakitsinlapasan and the modern textbook; the Thai Reference Grammar: volume 3, Thai Standard Grammar . It was found that both texts possessed of different concepts of different word classification, namely 1) the issue of collective nouns that were absent in the new textbook, 2) the issue of minor difference of distributive pronouns in two books, 3) the issue of whether or not the pronouns should be classified in the pronoun category, 4) the issue of whether or not the clausal verb verbs classified as verbs or nouns, 5) the issues of difference of adjectives and adverbs, 6) the issues of new type of verbs which were absent in traditional textbook, 7) the issue of whether or not helping verb should be considered a verb, 8) the issues of various functions and definitions of adverbs in the old texts, 9) the issues of similarities and dissimilarity of prepositions according to the old text and the new text, 10) the issues of the difference of conjunctions, 11) the issue of whether or not certain words should be considered as exclamations.