S ∙ E ∙ A ∙ L ∙ A ∙ N ∙ G
N  O  S  S    T  H  A  I     G  R  A  M  M  A  R
C O N T E N T S
   Contents
   Introduction
   I Phonology
   II Morphology / Syntax
   III Free Lexemes
   IV Bound Lexemes
   Index of Topics
   Index of Forms
Richard Noss
Richard B. Noss set the standard for formal depiction of Southeast Asian languages. His Thai Reference Grammar (Noss 64) weaves four distinct lines of research into a coherent picture of Thai as a whole:
- a phonemic analysis of the sounds, rhythm, stress, and intonation of spoken Thai;
- a morphological analysis of Thai word formation, compounding, and derivational processes;
- a syntactic analysis of Thai phrase and sentence structure;
- a detailed lexicon that covers a considerable subset of the Thai vocabulary, including more than 500 items that play important grammatical and functional roles.

Noss's Thai Reference Grammar is a greatly revised and expanded version of his dissertation, An Outline of Siamese Grammar (Yale University, 1954). Originally published by the Foreign Service Institute, this work was supported by the U.S. Office of Education (predecessor of today's U.S. Deparment of Education), which also funded the Mary Haas Thai Dictionary Project. Additional research for the Reference Grammar was done in Thailand in 1961, when Noss served as the Foreign Service Institute's regional language supervisor.