ABSTRACT
An attempt to state possible discrete factors in the analysis of basic tones in Thai is bound to make certain initial assumptions. For instance, it will be taken for granted that the Thai tonal system resembles that of Chinese and, in a most general sense, that of Burmese, or Vietnamese. It will be taken for granted that the problem of tone in the ‘tonal’ languages of South East Asia is, at heart, a common one and that disparities, such as actually occur in present-day speech are attributable to processes of change not so much in the nature of the basic tones themselves as in their environment within the syllable. A brief explanation of the influences due to syllable environment must. be given, of course, but the main point in this paper is to focus attention on the basic, tonal, phonematic units that persist even after the various levels of conditioning due to surrounding ‘extra-tonal’ factors have been allowed for.
