“Pueng”: Study of Grammaticalization during Rattanakosin Period

Abstract

The grammaticalization and categorization of “Pueng” (just) in the Rattanakosin period was explored. “Pueng” acts as an auxiliary verb and appears in two forms: occurring before the main verb and accompanying the auxiliary verb, “Ja” (will). The semantics of “Pueng” suggest some changes to the word. When “Pueng” is used to express an event that happened a very short time ago the meaning and semantics differ from use during the Rattanakosin period. Context absorption, which occurs in “Pueng” assimilates the meaning of “Ja”, and hence may be developed into abstract diction. No explicit changes are shown in the grammatical functions of these three words to mirror development in both lexical and grammatical usage. These changes reflect the possible rammaticalization path of “Pueng” in the future.