Pallegoix, D. J. B.; Dictionarium Linguae Thai: Sive Siamensis Interpretatione Latina, Gallica et Anglica
A dictionary in 4 languages: Thai, Latin, French and English. A phonetic rendering of the Thai is also included.

Brown, J. Marvin; From Ancient Thai to Modern Dialects
Standard comparative studies usually stop with phoneme correspondence lists, which illustrate neither the phonological system of the languages not the systematic nature of the changes. In this book, “transformation charts” of modern phonemes in the ancient arrangement reveal both of the above mentioned at a glance. A comparison of a dialects transformation chart with a chart of ancient Thai shows the systematic changes, while the dialects phonological chart insures the correct interpretation of the phonemic symbols. These charts, together with a map and a family tree (on fold-out sheets for simultaneous inspection), give a complete view of the phonological history of sixty Thai dialects. For the Thai linguist: a unique wealth of information. For the historical linguist: an ingenious methodology. For the phonologist: a powerful phonological theory. And, for the traveler in Thailand: a guide for converting central Thai words into the local pronunciation of nearly every part of the Kingdom. The book also includes other Writings on Historical Thai Linguistics. In addition, this reprint offers five more articles by Dr Brown on historical Thai linguistics that will help the reader understand the main book. A short article on Dr Brown’s “Control Phonology”, which appears here for the first time, is of special significance. This is the key to understanding all of Dr Brown’s work which was too far ahead of its time to be published when it was written in 1965. The gap has now been narrowed.

Luce, G. H.; Phases of Pre-Pagan Burma. Languages and History (SET)
This work presents what is known or can be conjectured about the history and identity of the people inhabiting Burma before the period covered—by the author’s Old Burma-Early Pagan. Luce bases his conclusions on references in written sources such as the Chinese histories and the Burmese chronicles and in inscriptions, and upon his own researches into the unwritten languages of the tribal people of the area, conducted over a period of forty years until his death in 1979. The linguistic material is tabulated in twenty-six comparative word charts. One hundred plates of inscriptions and archaeological items, some destroyed or badly damaged since the photographs were taken, illustrate the cultures and languages described. Luce’s views on the origins and early history of Burma and its peoples, which have been described by a historian and former colleague as “daring” and “revolutionary”, have not always been accepted without reservation by other scholars, but are invariably stimulating and cannot be ignored by anyone interested in the early history of Burma. Less controversial, and indeed in many ways unique, is Luce’s contribution to the comparative linguistic history of the area. The recent upsurge of interest among linguists, especially in the United States, in the Sino-Tibetan languages in general and in Tibeto-Burman languages in particular, has already resulted in demands to consult Luce’s unpublished notes and papers. The publication of such an important collection of his language material will be widely welcomed and is bound to make a major and lasting contribution to this growing field of interest.

Freeland, Christopher; Sanskrit-English Philosophical Wordlist
Intended for students of Indian philosophy and language, this wordlist is a compendium of about three thousand five hundred terms compiled to help in the study of Indian philosophical systems, with a special emphasis on Shankara’s Kevaladvaita system. Logically enough, the lexicon refers to terms employed by most other Hindu and early Buddhist philosophical systems, as well as some inevitable mythological references. There is a definite bias towards non-dualistic thought, both in content and interpretation of the terms. Entries are listed in alphabetical order of the Devanagari script with a romanised transliteration, where possible the Sanskrit root word has been included with the entry to aid further investigation or satisfy curiosity. For etymologists concerned by historical setting, textual reference is often provided in which the expression appears and thus the time of its use can be deduced. The foreword was written by the late Professor J. Gonda of Utrecht University.

Haas, Mary R.; Thai System of Writing, The

Durrer, Hans; Ways of Perception
This book comprises three essays that will give you a good understanding of intercultural communication, of linguistic relativity, and of documentary photography. These texts will help you to communicate effectively across cultures by making you aware of the various verbal and non-verbal forms in which communication takes place, by helping you to conceive of culture as man-made, constantly changing and not necessarily determined by geography but by “common ground”, and by demonstrating that the key for bridging cultural differences lies not so much in “expertise” in foreign cultures but in self-knowledge. This work will also raise your language-awareness for it deals with questions such as: Does the language we speak determine how we see the world? Can we, by working on our language, influence our world-view? Do languages differ more in how they are used than in what they could potentially express? Moreover, this text will enhance your ability to understand pictures by explaining the phenomenon of seeing through a lens, by elaborating on the complexity of reading photographs, and by demonstrating that a picture does not always tell more than a thousand words, yet that more often we need a thousand words to understand a picture.

Tirtha, Swami Pranav & Swami Chidananda Tirtha; Yoga Vasishta Ramayana or the Last Word
The Yoga Vasishta Ramayana (YVR) is an eleventh century (CE) treatise on Vedanta, originally in two versions, Brihat and Laghu, the Great with about 36,000 verses and the Small of approximately 6,000. As is common to the Indian tradition in such matters, it is in dialogue form, between the sage Vasishta and Rama. However, unlike the Gita, which albeit very inspiring and wonderfully enriching as it meanders in a more worldly and human context, or the Upanisads with their esoteric message, the YVR goes directly to the point of Vedantik teaching and repeatedly drives home what is required for man’s salvation—an end to mentation, for everything in any world is just ideation. Not a book for the worldly-minded, so immense it is in its disclosure. As fresh today as it was no doubt when Valmiki wrote it a thousand odd years ago, the message is simple and compelling. This is a free rendering of pertinent selected sections from the original Sanskrit text as translated and edited by Swamis Pranav Tirtha and Chidananda Tirtha (aka Christopher Freeland), as part of the latter’s apprenticeship.