Pridiyathorn Devakula

[Tod Daniels]

I have been reading the series of articles Pridiyathorn Devakula has been writing for the Nation Newspaper each Monday. They are about his perceptions of the alleged "corruption" in the thai language, and the evidently urgent need to preserve it's "purity".

In Googling his name I wonder if this is the same guy who is the Governor of the Bank of Thailand and was the Minister of Finance in late 2006-2007?

Does anyone know what his language qualifications are other than being a native thai speaker (which in his eyes at least makes him a language expert).

Some of the things he says are downright draconian,. I believe his failure to acknowledge EVERY language is continually evolving and more a "work in progress" rather than a static entity, is a somewhat myopic view.

His dissertations can be found at the Nation site by searching the archives.

[DavidHouston]

Tod,

Is this the article to which you refer? http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2008/08/04...on_30079651.php

It appears that Mom Rachawong Pridiyathorn Devakula does have a weekly column in The Nation but not necessarily regarding language. He says, inter alia, "IN THE PAST two weeks, this column was used for very serious articles on the inscription of the Preah Vihear Temple. Today, I would like to switch to something light and keep the Preah Vihear story pending until further progress is made by our authorities."

He also avers that he might be seen as a curmudgeon with respect to the language, "You may now think that I am an old grouch who still does not know how to fix all these problems."

He reveals a very interesting conservative perspective when he states:

"When sports announcers refer to athletes stretching and exercising to warm up before the game starts, they refer to this as "oon krueng". This phrase has been used since I was born and has been well understood to be the correct translation of "warm up" and this phrase "oon krueng" is also grammatically correct."

The implication is that the language was fine when I was I child and all changes which have occurred since then have been corruptions. Conservatives are wont to freeze in place their knowledge and experiences, wanting neither to progress or retreat.

Perhaps languages, as well as other cultural artifacts, operate best within the push and pull framework of both conservatives and liberals, i.e., those who decry change and wish to retain historical purity and those who keep moving forward pressing for changes to reflect the latest technology and ability to communicate with a large audience. The operation of these dynamics have the advantage of keeping language as a medium of communications which addresses the widest audience.

Thank you, Tod, for bringing this article to our attention.

Edited August 15, 2008 by DavidHouston

[Florin]

Does Thailand have something resembling an Academy? Basically, a national institution that sets standards and keeps the official language as clean as possible?

Definitely something that would be needed would be an official transliteration guide that at least all state institutions should adhere to, it's so silly to see all those different Latin alphabet spellings of road names and such...

[DavidHouston]

Does Thailand have something resembling an Academy? Basically, a national institution that sets standards and keeps the official language as clean as possible?

Definitely something that would be needed would be an official transliteration guide that at least all state institutions should adhere to, it's so silly to see all those different Latin alphabet spellings of road names and such...

Yes, Thailand does have an academy. It is The Royal Institute: http://www.royin.go.th/th/home/index2.php?...ystemMenuIDS=60 and in English http://www.royin.go.th/en/home/index.php?S...on_Language=Eng.

You can see its Thai to English transliteration guidelines, translated into English, at http://www.thai-language.com/ref/TranscribingEnglish

Edited August 15, 2008 by DavidHouston

[mangkorn]

The Royal Institute is the official arbiter of Thai language, and has official transcription rules for using the Roman alphabet.

But, as you say, most people don't follow the latter (nor even know about it).

EDIT: sorry, David, I didn't see your post...

Edited August 15, 2008 by mangkorn

[Florin]

Ah, I see, thanks for the info...then I guess what they need is someone to enforce the respective rules.

It's funny how they manage to strictly enforce something as complex as countrywide liquor sale bans between certain hours but have no one to check street sign printing, which must surely come from only one authority in each town.

[mangkorn]

Sometimes, you can see a street name transcribed two different ways just a block or two apart.

All the more reason to learn to read Thai.