The Relationship Between Language and The Creation of Ethnic Identities of Tai Loei in The Northeastern of Thailand

Abstract

This research paper aims to study the relationship between language and the ethnic identity formation process of Tai Loei people in northeastern Thailand by applying the study of language and identity framework as the key concepts for analysing the language data of Tai Loei people used in daily communication and the Tai Loei language data contained in written documents. The study results showed that 1) the characteristics of the sound of Loei ethnic groups have syllable structures as follows:  (1) CVT,  2) CVCT,  3) CV:T,  4) CV:CT,  5) CVVT, 6) CVVCT, and 7) CCV:CT.The phonemes of Tai Loei appear in 3 phonemes, which are consonant phonemes, vowel phonemes, and tone phonemes. However, the researcher found that the end of the word, according to Thai grammar, is an adverb such as “Na,” while Tai Loei uses the words “Ko” and “Unneaw”. As for the issue of the ethnic identity of the Tai Loei people, the history of the city is found in relation to the Tai Loei ethnic language, traditions, and cultures, which contain myths, tales, and stories.  The ethnic identity of the Tai Loei people was found to be 1) the ethnic group name “Tai Loei,”The name of goods and services with the expression of the ethnic identity of Tai Loei people 3) The naming of the Red Cross Festival and the expression of ethnic identity of Tai Loei people. In terms of communication ethnography in the comedy show in Isan (speak Tai Loei), the communication events of ethnic groups in the social space are observed. The communication content and the sequence of the speech in terms of the presentation of Tai Loei representations in the cultural society from the traditions, language, and media interestingly show the dimension of the relationship between language and the establishment of the ethnic identity of Tai Loei people in the Thailand area.