How active is Thai vs. Khmer in Pali/Sanskrit word coinage?

[Doug Cooper]

Dear Sealangers:

  Does anybody have an opinion on the relative rates of new word
formation, based on Pali/Sanskrit roots, in Thai and Khmer over
the last century or so?

  My impression is that in Thailand there was a productive period
during the late '30's (at the instigation of Luang Wichit and Phibul
Songkram) but that more recently, there has actually be a
semi-active resistance toward such (eg. Sulak's criticism of the
Ratchabandit, Anand's public mocking mock of the constructed
word for software, and what appears to be a general trend toward
using simple Thai words for computer terms).  But perhaps this
is not the case in the social sciences (eg. the dueling
'globalizations').

  I have almost no clue about modern formation in Khmer.

  Anybody have any thoughts on this?

  Doug Cooper

__________________________________________________
          1425 VP Tower, 21/45 Soi Chawakun
        Rangnam Road, Rajthevi, Bangkok, 10400
    doug at th.net (662) 246-8946  fax (662) 246-8789

  Southeast Asian Software Research Center, Bangkok
  http://seasrc.th.net         -->  SEASRC Web site
  http://seasrc.th.net/sealang --> SEALANG Web site