Just to add - Thai has a tonal system and distinguishes rising, low, medium, high and falling tones. This requires a bit more time to say so that there is time for the tone to change (or not change).

Some languages have fewer vowel sounds while others have an insane number (in Europe that would be Danish).

Thai has a lot, so speakers need to speak more slowly so the listener has time to distinguish words. But it also means that you can have more words per syllable.

It’s not about efficiency per se - it’s data and error correction

A bit earlier still

The Egyptians defeated the Sea Peoples and forced a subgroup, the Peleset, to southern Canaan to act as a buffer state to the Hittites to the north. This displaced the locals who would go on to become the Israelites.

The Peleset became the biblical Philistines.