A Study of Usage Phenomenon on Melayu Verbs of Motion in La-Ngu District, Satun Province

Abstract

This research aims to analyze the language usage phenomenon in Satun dialect of Melayu verbs of motion in La-Ngu district, Satun province. This was considered from lexical variations upon speakers’ age groups and linguistic variables, which examined 51 semantic units of verbs of motion. The selective sampling groups were speakers who speak Satun dialect of Melayu. The researcher divided them into three groups based on their age, including the elderly group, the adulthood group, and the childhood and adolescence group. Each group comprised 10 persons, which came to a total of 30 persons. The result showed that the elderly group mostly used old words which was a lexical variation of Melayu dialect, followed by merging old words and new words together which was a lexical variation of Thai Southern dialect. The adulthood group also mostly used old words which was a lexical variation of Melayu dialect, followed by merging old words and new words together which was a lexical variation of Thai Southern dialect. The childhood and adolescence group mostly used a lexical variation of Melayu dialect, followed by merging old words and new words together which was a lexical variation of standard Thai. Hence, the language usage phenomenon in Satun dialect of Melayu verbs of motion in La-Ngu district, Satun province was caused by a lexical variation and dialect language contact. Social factors were also related to the intensity of language contact. If the government has no action for implementing effective policies and establishing language maintenance, there might be in-between and mixed lexical dialect variations in this multicultural area.