Editing Thai language (section)

===Early spread===
According to a Chinese source, during the [[Ming dynasty]], [[Yingya Shenglan]] (1405–1433), [[Ma Huan]] reported on the language of the [[Ayutthaya kingdom|Xiānluó]] (暹羅) or Ayutthaya Kingdom,{{efn|Xiānluó was the Chinese name for Ayutthaya, a kingdom created by the merger of [[Lavo Kingdom|Lavo]] and [[Sukhothai Kingdom|Sukhothai]] or Suvarnabhumi.}} saying that it somewhat resembled the local patois as pronounced in [[Guangdong]]<ref>{{Citation|title=Ying-yai Sheng-lan: The Overall Survey of the Ocean's Shores (1433)|date=1970|publisher=Hakluyt Society at the University Press|isbn=0-521-01032-2}}</ref>{{rp|107}} [[Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya (city)|Ayutthaya]], the old capital of Thailand from 1351 - 1767 A.D., was from the beginning a bilingual society, speaking Thai and [[Khmer language|Khmer]]. Bilingualism must have been strengthened and maintained for some time by the great number of Khmer-speaking captives the Thais took from Angkor Thom after their victories in 1369, 1388 and 1431.<ref>Kasetsiri 1999: 25</ref> Gradually toward the end of the period, a language shift took place. Khmer fell out of use. Both Thai and Khmer descendants whose great-grand parents or earlier ancestors were bilingual came to use only Thai. In the process of language shift, an abundance of Khmer elements were transferred into Thai and permeated all aspects of the language. Consequently, the Thai of the late Ayutthaya Period which later became Ratanakosin or Bangkok Thai, was a thorough mixture of Thai and Khmer. There were more Khmer words in use than Tai cognates. Khmer grammatical rules were used actively to coin new disyllabic and polysyllabic words and phrases. Khmer expressions, sayings, and proverbs were expressed in Thai through transference.

Thais borrowed both the Royal vocabulary and rules to enlarge the vocabulary from Khmer.<ref>Varasarin 1984: 91</ref> The Thais later developed the royal vocabulary according to their immediate environment. Thai and Pali, the latter from Theravada Buddhism, were added to the vocabulary. An investigation of the Ayutthaya Rajasap reveals that three languages, Thai, Khmer and Khmero-Indic were at work closely both in formulaic expressions and in normal discourse. In fact, Khmero-Indic may be classified in the same category as Khmer because Indic had been adapted to the Khmer system first before the Thai borrowed.