Language as Identity and Evidence of Tai: A Case Study of Tai Phake and Tai Lue

Language is a key tool used in the creation, maintenance and expression of ethnic identity. The current paper discusses the role played by the languages of Tai Phake and Tai Lue in providing linguistic evidence of Tai identity and continuity outside the limits of the contemporary nation-state. The analysis utilizes the comparative phonological method from the perspective of ethnographic linguistics based on phonological data obtained in the field and in writing. It becomes clear that the languages of Tai Phake and Tai Lue possess phonological traits that are characteristic of Southwestern Tai languages such as similar consonantal inventories, syllable structure and tone system. The similarities demonstrate linguistic evidence for the genealogy and history of these languages among others within the Tai community. However, at the same time there are differences in the phonological systems due to the specific nature of their histories in various sociocultural surroundings. The paper suggests that the importance of phonology exceeds its function in language. Language for speakers of Tai Phake and Tai Lue is not only a means of communicating with each other but is also a way of emphasizing their ethnic origin as well as retaining their connection with common ancestry. It allows not only to communicate through speaking but also to preserve their collective memory through rituals and oral tradition. The results of research allow us to emphasize the significance of language as a tool of communication and culture. In this way, the examples of Tai Phake and Tai Lue reveal the importance of language not only as a means of historical identity but also as an archive of Tai identity.