What's new in Thai?

KEEPING UP WITH the Thai language’s ever-changing usage amid rapid globalisation, the Office of the Royal Society has unveiled two new volumes as extensions of its official Thai dictionary, now in the fourth edition. 

“The Dictionary of New Thai Words” and “The Dictionary of Commonly Used English Words in Thai” should together ensure that every speaker of the mother tongue is properly up to date and precise.

Established in 1933, the Office of the Royal Society has the official role of regulating the Thai language through its “Royal Institute Dictionary” and another thorough reference book, “The Royal Thai General System of Transcription”. It watches out for “abuses” of the language and now, with global communication melding tongues, is bringing into the fold new words and variations of foreign influence.

“We have a committee that’s been observing and collecting new Thai words since 2002,” a representative of the office, Dr Chonthicha Sudmookm said at the unveiling last week, hosted by Nanmeebooks, which published the works. 

“Thai is a living language and naturally it evolves over time,” she said. “In this era of extensive technology use, people are being encouraged to coin new words to add to the existing vocabulary artillery. So we felt it was important to compile these reference books before some of the uses are forgotten or disappear.”

It was stressed that the entries in the Royal Institute Dictionary are considered official and permanent, as endorsed by the Prime Minister’s Office, whereas the words in the new dictionaries are not. “These compilations are meant to be used for educational and reference purposes only.”

The dictionary of English words commonly used by Thais is intended to settle any confusion arising from incorrect transcriptions, Chonthicha said. “We provide a suggested spelling in Thai, along with the meanings and Thai alternatives.”

The Thai language is just as expressive as any other, given to rhyming and poetical constructions, puns and similar forms of wordplay, and often terms and phrases that are concocted extemporaneously in conversation gain common use. 

And, with Thai ears becoming more accustomed to English over the past 15 years or so, hybrids have been conceived as a matter of fun or convenience. Young Thais in particular might say “lerd ler perfect”, augmenting the Thai term for “awesome”, or “see kriad”, adding an abbreviation for “serious” to kriad, meaning “stress”. Thai celebrities extending their fame overseas are said to “go inter”, as in “international”.

Other chopped-up derivatives include “ser”, taken from the word “surrealism” to refer to a scruffy look, and “dern”, clipped from “modern” to describe something flashy. What’s plain and mundane can be called “be be”, doubling up the first letter of “basic”. The new dictionary on borrowed English also admires “pretty” as a noun, in referring to a young woman who presents commercial products at public events.

It can all be quite amusing, but of course it’s not actually “Thai”.

“Most of these words are created by people in the news business – reporters, TV hosts and newspaper and magazine columnists – who want to grab people’s attention,” Pojaman Pongpaiboon, a former adviser to the Office of the Basic Education Commission, said at a seminar following the book launch. “And then the use of these colourful words becomes a symbol of urban sophistication and modernism.

“It’s not wrong at all to use them in conversation, but you have to be very careful not to get them mixed up with official, proper words, especially when drafting a formal write-up. Improper word choices can immensely decrease your credibility when you’re applying for a job or a scholarship, for example, or when you’re giving a speech. 

“So tread carefully and pick the right words,” she suggested. “That’s why a dictionary comes in handy. Besides the words’ meanings and spellings, it shows how to use them appropriately. Teachers must also point this out to their students rather than just asking them to memorise the spelling without knowing how or when to use particular words.”

Thai-language tutor Jakkrit “Tom” Yompayom sees the compilation of new Thai words as more than just a work of reference but also as a tool for bridging the generation gap.

“Kids create new words to be exclusive for their group, like gang talk that only they can understand,” he said, “but this can cause misunderstanding if they talk to adults using these words. This dictionary could give the older generation an insight into what’s going on the world of contemporary Thai language, so they can better understand their younger friends and family members.”

Dr Vipas Pothipath, director of the Thai Language and Literature Research Centre at Chulalongkorn University, raised another issue in the frequency with which Thais use common English words – like software, bikini, condo, blog (and the Italian “paparazzi”) – purely out of habit, and hence speak less Thai, while at the same time passing on the habit to younger listeners. Often there are perfectly good Thai equivalents for such terms. 

“The problem is mostly about misunderstanding,” Vipas said. “Only a minority of Thais know English extensively enough to understand the words in every context. So, when you throw in some English words, your listeners might only comprehend 70 or 80 per cent or what you’re saying, and in the worse cases they’ll misunderstood your message completely. But, if you replace these words with Thai words, the misunderstanding is almost zero.”

And even fewer Thais can spell English words correctly, Vipas noted, “and they might be projecting a totally different meaning. So the dictionary of commonly used English offers a good solution when you’re transcribing English into Thai, along with the correct pronunciation. This should lessen some of the misunderstanding. 

“But I would say that, if there are Thai words, use them. You’re only using a lot of English words because you’re used to it. Break the habit and soon you’ll be familiar with using Thai words.”

It’s not a matter of “blind nationalism”, Pojaman pointed out. “It’s about keeping our identity. 

“Some might argue that we have to move forward, become more international and embrace global trends, but do we have to throw away our identity to survive? How would we distinguish ourselves from other nations if the whole world wore the same clothes, lived in the same kind of house and drove the same car? When the Asean Economic Community is inaugurated later this year it will be even more difficult because we all ‘look Asian’. So the only thing left to tell the world that we’re Thai is the Thai language.”

 

On the Web:www.royin.go.th