A comparative study of southern Thai idioms containing the word /kin/ and Chinese idioms with similar meanings

Abstract

For over four decades, comparative analyses of Thai and Chinese idioms have been conducted, yet a significant gap persists in the examination of idiomatic expressions specific to southern Thai dialects juxtaposed with Chinese equivalents. This study aims to address this gap by scrutinizing the structural and functional parallels and disparities between southern Thai idioms and Chinese idioms. This study curated a corpus of 47 southern Thai idioms incorporating the term /kin/ which had the same meaning as the English word eat, which were then contrasted with 57 Chinese idioms conveying similar meanings. Findings from this comparative analysis underscore the divergent idiomatic conventions inherent in both languages. Moreover, the study elucidates how idiomatic expressions, while bearing equivalent semantic content, may be employed within distinct sociocultural contexts owing to the inherent cultural disparities between the two linguistic traditions. Notably, the idiomatic repertoire of southern Thai dialects exhibits distinct features deviating from those observed in central Thai idioms, which have historically served as the benchmark for comparative investigations in prior academic.

Keywords

• Thai idioms
• Chinese idioms
• comparative
• eat
• Sociology of Education
• Subcultures