Abstract:
The purpose of the present study is to compile a list of Swatow loanwords in their
current Thai usage in order to study the semantic understanding of the loanwords of
the Thai Swatow-Chinese and that of the Thais, and thereby to study the semantic
change. An interview was used to collect the data. The sample consisted of 50 subjects
(25 subjects in each group). The data was analyzed by means of percentages.
The findings indicate that the current knowledge and usage of Swatow-loanwords
in Thai decreased from 290 loanwords to 222 loanwords. The lowest percentage of
words used by the Thai Swatow-Chinese is 28.57% in the field of transportation
whereas the lowest percentage of words used by the Thais is 50.00% in the field of
utensil instruments.
A comparison between the semantic understanding of Swatow loanwords in the
two groups and the dictionary definition of the Swatow loanwords found that the
semantic understanding of the Thai Swatow-Chinese, which is similar to the dictionary
definition, is 87.12% compared to Thai group which is 44.70%. The highest difference
in meaning of the Thai Swatow-Chinese compared to the dictionary definition is in the
field of transportation, quantitative measurement, and construction and furniture. As
for the Thai usage, the highest difference in meaning is in the field of transportation,
quantitative measurement, and verbs describing action.
The study of semantic change shows that the Thai Swatow-Chinese have 91.90%
of constant meaning, but the percentage of semantic change is 8.10% (2.30% for
narrowing, 2.60% for broadening, and 3.20% for shifting). However, for the Swatow-
Chinese group, the percentages are 45.90% and 45.10%, which consists of (12.20%
for narrowing, 17.60% for broadening, and 24.30% for shifting).
The emphasis of this study is the reduction and semantic change of the Swatow
Loanwords, especially in the group of the Thais. Moreover, the Chinese culture has
been absorbed by Thai society via the loanwords in each semantic field