A study in Functions of the word /khoj/ in Thai

Abstract

This paper aims to study in Functions of the word /khOìj/ in Thai. The study of functions and meanings reveal that the word /khOìj/ has 2 functions and 3 meanings: (1) /khOìj/ as lexical words which contains a grammatical meaning ‘lighten’ and ‘lightly, gradually’, (2) the word /khOìj/ as function words which contains a grammatical meaning ‘next order, not now’. The grammaticalized /khOìj/ would have 3 characteristics: (1) generalization (2) decatagorialization and (3) metaphorical extension. The analysis of grammaticalization /khOìj/ reveals that the word /khOìj/ has 2 grammaticalization pathways: (1) from the verb /khOìj/ to adverb /khOìj/ and (2) from the verb /khOìj/ to Irrealis modality verb.