We know that members of different language groups have different onomatopoetic interpretations of animal and other sounds. However, are there examples of unrelated language groups that might have developed similar words because of onomatopoeia? For instance, 2 separate languages independently thought that the sound a fire makes when it burns sounds like "fire/fi", and that's why the words are similar?
Thai is a really unique language in that it had Chinese influence when the Tai peoples were in what is now China and Northern Vietnam, then they had a Mon influence when they moved to what is now Thailand (Dvaravati period), and then there is the massive influence of Pali, an Indo-European language (Indian Pakrit) spoken by the Buddha when he was an Indian prince in his last incarnation. To this day most Thai men who are Buddhist will know some Pali words, and many have a functional proficiency in the language (my Thai wife knows a dozen Pali prayers by heart -- I would compare it to Pre-Vatican 2 Catholics and Latin).
I suspect that Thai has more connections to Indo-European languages than other East Asian languages such as Vietnamese or Chinese. It is difficult to study early Thai though because the palm leaves that they used for paper do not last long in the tropical climate. we only have stone inscriptions to guide us, and those are not too common and overwhelmingly deal with Buddhism or the heroic deeds of monarch So-and-So.
What we increasingly do know is that ancient trade and travel were far more extensive than historians had previously thought. Thai archeological sites have had Greek and Roman coins. There are Greek makers-marks on Indian sculpture all over the Indian sub-continent and ruins of full Greek cities in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Tajikistan. One can find Buddhist art with European-faced Buddhas, Cupids, and even a carved Herakles holding up Buddha. The Indo-Greek king Menander is mentioned in the Pali Cannon (the sacred core written materials used by Theravada Buddhists). So there certainly had to be some influence Indo-European and Indo-Aryan languages. All of the pre-Tai-migration kingdoms of maritime Southeast Asia were heavily influenced by Indian Hindu and later Buddhist culture. If you read any book on Southeast Asian history you will see Ceodes' "Indianized States of Southeast Asia" cited repeatedly. That did not stop when the Tai people rolled in.
So there very well may be serious influences of outside languages. The tradition of wandering Buddhist monk-scholars probably facilitated this beyond trade networks.
What I want to know is why did everyone start moving around at that time. From like the 500's to the end of the millennium so many people moved to new places (Germans, Avars, Magyars, Bulgars in Europe, Arabs in the Middle East, Tai and Viet in East Asia,...). The only tools we have are linguistics and genetics.
You are the linguist, John but my favorite was always the literal translation of Coca-Cola as being "Bite the Wax Tadpole"
We know that members of different language groups have different onomatopoetic interpretations of animal and other sounds. However, are there examples of unrelated language groups that might have developed similar words because of onomatopoeia? For instance, 2 separate languages independently thought that the sound a fire makes when it burns sounds like "fire/fi", and that's why the words are similar?
Thai is a really unique language in that it had Chinese influence when the Tai peoples were in what is now China and Northern Vietnam, then they had a Mon influence when they moved to what is now Thailand (Dvaravati period), and then there is the massive influence of Pali, an Indo-European language (Indian Pakrit) spoken by the Buddha when he was an Indian prince in his last incarnation. To this day most Thai men who are Buddhist will know some Pali words, and many have a functional proficiency in the language (my Thai wife knows a dozen Pali prayers by heart -- I would compare it to Pre-Vatican 2 Catholics and Latin).
I suspect that Thai has more connections to Indo-European languages than other East Asian languages such as Vietnamese or Chinese. It is difficult to study early Thai though because the palm leaves that they used for paper do not last long in the tropical climate. we only have stone inscriptions to guide us, and those are not too common and overwhelmingly deal with Buddhism or the heroic deeds of monarch So-and-So.
What we increasingly do know is that ancient trade and travel were far more extensive than historians had previously thought. Thai archeological sites have had Greek and Roman coins. There are Greek makers-marks on Indian sculpture all over the Indian sub-continent and ruins of full Greek cities in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Tajikistan. One can find Buddhist art with European-faced Buddhas, Cupids, and even a carved Herakles holding up Buddha. The Indo-Greek king Menander is mentioned in the Pali Cannon (the sacred core written materials used by Theravada Buddhists). So there certainly had to be some influence Indo-European and Indo-Aryan languages. All of the pre-Tai-migration kingdoms of maritime Southeast Asia were heavily influenced by Indian Hindu and later Buddhist culture. If you read any book on Southeast Asian history you will see Ceodes' "Indianized States of Southeast Asia" cited repeatedly. That did not stop when the Tai people rolled in.
So there very well may be serious influences of outside languages. The tradition of wandering Buddhist monk-scholars probably facilitated this beyond trade networks.
What I want to know is why did everyone start moving around at that time. From like the 500's to the end of the millennium so many people moved to new places (Germans, Avars, Magyars, Bulgars in Europe, Arabs in the Middle East, Tai and Viet in East Asia,...). The only tools we have are linguistics and genetics.