Journal of Arts and Thai Studies

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2026-03-31T10:52:36+07:00

Before Becoming the “Lottery Capital”: Agricultural Transformation and the Emergence of “Lottery Entrepreneurs” in Wang Saphung District, Loei Province, 1980s–1990s

2026-04-30T09:26:51+07:00

Background and Objectives: The state lottery is a legalized form of gambling permitted by many governments as it serves as a significant source of national revenue. In Thailand, the lottery generates no less than 50 billion baht annually. Despite the availability of more efficient technologies, human-based distribution remains the primary mechanism through which lottery tickets reach consumers. This is particularly true in Wang Saphung district of Loei province, a rural area located in the northern part of Northeast Thailand, where lottery vending has become a widespread occupation—so much so that the area has been dubbed the “Lottery Capital.” This article aims to explain the emergence of “lottery entrepreneurs” in Wang Saphung and to analyze how this development is connected to the district’s agricultural transformation during the 1980s–1990s.

Methods: This research employs a qualitative methodology, drawing on in-depth interviews with “lottery entrepreneurs” whose households are based in Wang Saphung district, Loei province. Primary documentary sources—including statistical datasets and agricultural transformation survey reports—were also examined. All data were analyzed using historical critique and synthesized in a descriptive-analytical format.

Results: Findings reveal that, from the 1980s onward, Thailand’s capitalist-oriented development policies incorporated Wang Saphung and Loei province into the national economic system by heavily promoting commercial agriculture. This restructuring compelled local residents to adapt to new economic conditions in various dimensions, particularly as shifting crop systems reduced the amount of time they spent in agricultural work. Such changes became a driving force behind increased movement out of agriculture and into non-farm employment. At the same time, the evolving agricultural practices of Wang Saphung residents coincided with the state’s modifications to the lottery distribution system during the 1990s. This created opportunities for certain individuals—those with leadership qualities, risk-taking ability, and capacity to bear uncertainty—to reposition themselves as “lottery entrepreneurs.” These individuals organized groups of vendors, supported them financially, facilitated transportation and accommodation, and trained them in sales strategies. Their role significantly contributed to the growing popularity of lottery vending among Wang Saphung residents.

Application of this study: The findings provide insights into the complex and multifaceted nature of economic transformation in Thai rural society. This issue is of significant importance for formulating targeted rural development policies that are responsive to actual conditions.

Conclusions: This article examines the formation of “lottery entrepreneurs” in Wang Saphung district, Loei province, in relation to changes in Thailand’s agricultural economic structure during the 1980s–1990s. The emergence of lottery entrepreneurs reflects the broader agricultural transformation that integrated rural populations into the capitalist economy. While this phenomenon demonstrates the adaptive capacity of rural people, who continually seek pathways to economic survival, it also underscores the need for support systems that ensure stable livelihoods—so they do not have to rely solely on individual resilience.

Revolution Through the Airwaves: Radio Broadcasting and Thai Politics, 1932–1938

2026-04-30T09:26:59+07:00

Background and Objectives: This study explores the 1932 Siamese Revolution through the perspective of the history of technology, with particular emphasis on the role of radio broadcasting in the early post-Revolutionary period from 1932 to 1938. It examines how the People’s Party employed radio as a vital medium of political communication, enabling the dissemination of political ideologies to a broad public and fostering the emergence of a new civic consciousness.

Methods: This study employs a qualitative historical methodology, utilizing analytical description. The research is based on primary sources, such as official government documents, archival records, newspapers, speeches, and memoirs. These are analyzed in conjunction with secondary sources, including books, research articles, and relevant theses.

Results: The study reveals that radio broadcasting played a pivotal role as a communicative medium linking the state and society in the aftermath of the 1932 Siamese Revolution. The People’s Party government strategically employed the radio to legitimize political authority, disseminate new ideological frameworks, and foster civic consciousness rooted in nationhood and constitutionalism. Broadcasting encompassed entertainment, news, and education, reflecting the state’s efforts to utilize media to enhance public knowledge and foster national unity.

Application of this study: This research enhances understanding of the relationship between media, technology, and political power in Thailand after the 1932 Siamese Revolution and is useful for comparative studies of political communication, and Thai political history.

Conclusions: Radio broadcasting was a vital tool of the People’s Party after the 1932 Siamese Revolution, serving both to legitimize political authority and to promote public education and civic participation, contributing to nation-building and the development of the new regime. The early operations of radio broadcasting after the revolution also laid the foundation for the development of radio broadcasting as a powerful medium under the government of Field Marshal P. Pibulsongkram during 1938–1944.

A Mahasammata State: Relations between the King and Aristocrats in Traditional Siamese Ideal State in legal Aspect, a Case Study of Pra-thammasat in Three Seals Code

2026-04-30T09:26:53+07:00

Background and Objectives: Originally, Pra-thammasat in Three Seals Code was described as a principle that controls power executing by rule of law. This aspect had visibly influenced the study on Thai customary law, focusing on textual analysis or an adjustment of legal texts as social values which that exist or change relating to forces and factors in society. However, this approach has limitations in that it has not yet examined the interconnections between Pra-Thammasat and the concept of the Siamese traditional state through kingship, as expressed in the notion of royal incarnation as the Mahasammata Bodhisattva, and the Mahasammata state as articulated in Pra-Thammasat. In this framework, part of the merit accumulated by the Mahasammata is understood to depend upon the support of officials and ministers, a concept illustrated through the Manosarjan story in the Three Seals Code, compiled during the reign of King Rama I. Therefore, this research article aims to analyze and interpret Pra-thammasat as a traditional Siamese ideal state that posits the importance of law both to the Siamese leader and to its bureaucracy that largely depends on the aristocrats in its governance.

Methods: This research article is qualitative research that employs a historical method and textual analysis through the Pra-thammasat document. It focuses particularly on sections concerning the creation of earth, the notion of the Mahasammata kingship, and the story of manosajarn. The study also examines other historical evidence, including the royal legislations from the reign of King Rama I of Rattanakosin and the royal chronicle that was written in his reign, such as the British Museum version. Some sections of this version illustrate legal procedures that was differ from other versions refined in the same era, such as the Phanchanthanumat (Choem) version. Furthermore, the only differences in both versions are “the war with Burma during King Naresuan’s reign and history of Ban Phuluang Dynasty” (Aeusrivongse, 2000 : 26). Therefore, within the scope of examining royal administrative offices related to law, the two versions do not differ; either version may be used interchangeably.

Results: Pra-thammasat in Three Seals Code proposes a concept of the legal ruler through the Mahasammata ideal as part of the Bodhisattva and a concept of leadership that would come altogether with a decadence that accompanies a creation of the world and the human being. A ruler such as Mahasammata needs, thus, to rule a human world, because serenity of the human world is a merit that upholds the king to achieve his destiny as a future Buddha. However, that achievement requires aid from the state’s aristocrats, which reflected on Manosarjan’s wish that Mahasammata could be the perfect leader. Pra-thammasat from the universe wall, is therefore, a guide to help the Bodhisattva king rule the Siamese kingdom with aristocrats’s harmonious cooperation. Therefore, Pra-thammasat had given the king the opportunity to determine legal precedent to be consistent with his officials and social context. The governing pattern had arguably been reflected in the “royal tradition” which dictated a sequence of the royal conduct at particular times of the day. Under the determination of royal preference toward legal-administrative conventions—such as revisiting legal traditions of the past and defining the hierarchical ranking of officials in state service—Pra-Thammasat functioned to support the monarch’s governance of society through law, within a legal bureaucratic framework shaped by royal discretion.

Application of this study: This research article could be useful for those who are interested in customary law to develop a historical study about Pra-thammasat that appeared in various regions of Thailand.

Conclusions: Pra-thammasat was not a principle that prohibited the king from changing law, but it proposed traditional ideals about a Mahasammata-State. Contendingly, this type of state can be interpreted as the Mahasammata’ accumulation of perfection by the use of law in ruling human community. Royal discretion is thus indispensable to bring the human community to peace and prosperity by legal precedents, such as the revision of laws inherited from the past and the recognition of aristocrats as key agents in the enforcement of law.

Listening to Folk Music from Ta Pho Sub-District: Conservation, Silenced Voices, and Negotiating Thai Identity in Secondary Urban Contexts

2026-04-30T09:26:47+07:00

Background and Objectives: Secondary cities in Thailand occupy a liminal space—peripheral to national cultural hierarchies yet subject to centralized state control. This study examines Ta Pho folk music in Uthai Thani province, investigating how local communities negotiate their identity amidst state-sponsored “cultural preservation” projects. The objective was to analyze the power dynamics that determine which songs are amplified and which are silenced in the public sphere.

Methods: Employing a longitudinal ethnographic approach, fieldwork was conducted from January 2024 to September 2025. Data collection involved 6 site visits (comprising both overnight stays and short visits), utilizing high-fidelity soundscape recording and in-depth interviews. Uniquely, this research adopts a “native ethnographer” perspective, leveraging the researcher’s insider status to access private musical practices often withheld from outsiders.

Results: The study reveals a bifurcation of Ta Pho folk music into two distinct categories: 1) sanitized heritage, performed at state festivals, characterized by rigid adherence to moral narratives and praise for authority; and 2) silenced voices, preserved only in private circles, containing sexual innuendo (song-ngae song-ngam) and subtle political resistance. Musical analysis indicates that while the traditional strophic form and heterophonic texture remain resilient, the lyrical content in public spaces has been systematically cleansed of its original “folk” vitality (jouissance) to align with bureaucratic definitions of Thainess. However, musicians employ these structures for strategic adaptation, satisfying state mandates while preserving authentic repertoires in private.

Application of this study: The findings are relevant to both students and scholars of music, highlighting that music is not merely an art form but also a site of power involving selection, audibility, and preservation. The study also offers policy implications, suggesting that musical preservation should shift from maintaining fixed forms toward supporting creative freedom for communities and artists, thereby critically reflecting the role of the state in cultural governance.

Conclusions: Cultural preservation in secondary cities functions not merely as protection but as a mechanism of control. However, the persistence of “silenced songs” in private spheres demonstrates the community’s agency in maintaining their authentic history. This supports the policy shift from “form preservation” to “supporting living cultural processes,” allowing the complexity of local voices to exist without being domesticated.

Developing a Community-Based Participatory Model for Managing Tai Yai Cultural Capital to Reviving Traditions in Mueang Mae Hong Son

2026-04-30T09:27:12+07:00

Background and Objectives: The decline and the gradual disappearance of Tai Yai traditions, including the Poi Loen Sip Song festival, the Tang Som Tor Luang ritual, and the pilgrimage to Phra That Doi Kong Mu, reflect the significant vulnerability of the processes through which local cultural heritage is transmitted. This situation highlights the urgent need for systematic study and revitalization in order to preserve and sustain these important traditions for the future. This research aimed to study the history of Mueang Mae Hong Son and Phra That Doi Kong Mu, develop a community participation model for managing Tai Yai cultural capital, revitalize local traditions, and assess socio-economic impacts.

Methods: This study employed a mixed-methods research design. The qualitative component involved data collection through documentary research and field research conducted in Chong Kham Subdistrict and at Wat Phra That Doi Kong Mu in Mae Hong Son province. In addition, the research design integrated a research and development (R&D) process to develop prototypes and related activities. The data were collected from 20 selected Tai Yai villagers through in-depth interviews, observations, and focus group discussions. The data were analyzed using descriptive analysis. To ensure the credibility and validity of the data, data triangulation was employed. Subsequently, the research findings were utilized to develop local knowledge, learning media, exhibitions, cultural databases, and festival revitalization initiatives in order to promote the sustainable and participatory management of Tai Yai cultural heritage. The stakeholders were interviewed to assess the economic impact on the academic service project. In addition, for the quantitative component, two questionnaires were used to evaluate the satisfaction of local people who participated in the revival of the “Tang Som Tor Luang” (rice cooking and stirring ceremony) in 2023 (n=300) and 2024 (n=250), as well as their opinions on the “Poi Loen Sib Song: Walking Up Phra That Doi Kong Mu” event (n=250). The quantitative data were analyzed using mean, percentage, and standard deviation.

Results: The study found that the historical development can be categorized into four distinct periods: pre-1874, 1874–1910, 1910–1957, and post-1957. Moreover, local people lacked knowledge and understanding of their local history and traditional rituals, such as the nearly forgotten “Tang Som Tor Luang” ceremony. The annual festival at Phra That Doi Kong Mu, once spiritually meaningful, had gradually become just an annual event. From that situation, the research team developed a participatory cultural revitalization model comprising three phases (Pre-festival, Festival, and Post-festival activities). Phra That Doi Kong Mu Temple served as the central site for learning and practice. The revival of Tai Yai traditions, including the Poi Loen Sip Song festival, the Tang Som Tor Luang ritual, and the pilgrimage to the temple, helped developed an awareness of the value of cultural capital, a sense of ownership, and a readiness to transmit it to younger generations, which contributed to fostering pride in Tai Yai identity. These activities also generated economic and social returns at a rate of 3.76 times, and the outcomes were extended to eight communities.

Applications of this Study: Mae Hong Son Municipality has adopted the research outcomes to further develop and plan city-level activities for the fiscal year 2025. Meanwhile, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), Mae Hong Son Office, has promoted and publicized these activities at both local and national levels. This reflects the strength of community and network collaboration in driving sustainable cultural development.

Conclusion: This study developed a community participation model for managing Tai Yai cultural capital to revitalizing the traditions in Mae Hong Son. It successfully revived key traditions, fostered cultural pride, and generated economic benefits at the local level. At present, the Mae Hong Son Municipality has adopted this model and expanded it to the city level in order to promote the sustainable management of cultural heritage.

Integrating Art and Local Cultural Heritage into Art Toy Design: A Case Study of the Thamamasasinghathen Busabok, Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand

2026-04-30T09:27:01+07:00

Background and Objectives: Thailand is a centre of culture and civilization that supports local wisdom and cultural heritage in its various forms of art, as well as Buddhist art and indigenous art. Ubon Ratchathani province is renowned for its outstanding works of Buddhist craftsmanship, including the Thamamasasinghathen Busabok (Lion Supported Tiered Pulpit) located in the village of Ban Cheethuan, in Khueang Nai district, and it was built during the period from 1925–1927. It blends local artistic traditions with Vietnamese craftsmanship, ultimately becoming an important cultural heritage. With the application of the concept of art toys to the Buddhist artisanal works of the Thamamasasinghathen Busabok, a creative approach can be applied to bridge the gap between the traditional art and cultural symbols of today’s society, to enable the transmission of history, culture and community identity to future generations. The purposes of this research are as follows: 1) to study methods of integrating the artistic, cultural, and symbolic elements of the Thamamasasinghathen Busabok into art toy development through systematic analysis of form, meaning, and contemporary design requirements; 2) to develop the prototype of art toys based on the Thamamasasinghathen Busabok; and 3) to assess the level of satisfaction of users with the Thamamasasinghathen Busabok art toys.

Methods: This study employed a research and development approach to create art toys by integrating local art and cultural heritage derived from the Sing Thern Busabok Dhammasana in Khueang Nai district, Ubon Ratchathani province. The study applied the SASMES model within a systems theory framework. The design and development process consisted of data synthesis, selection of key artistic elements, creation of three-dimensional digital prototypes, and refinement based on expert feedback. Research instruments included document and photographic analysis forms, quality evaluation forms completed by 8 experts, and user satisfaction questionnaires administered to 20 participants during a simulated context of the Candle Festival in 2024. Quantitative data were analyzed using mean and standard deviation.

Results: This study found 4 fundamental principles for incorporating cultural heritage into a work of art; selecting key artistic elements, simplifying the design, relating to the current time period, and communicating the cultural relevance of the work of art. Mean ratings from expert evaluations (n = 8) of design quality averaged 4.34, and average ratings from user evaluations (n = 20) of satisfaction with the product averaged 4.28.

Application of this study: Cultural capital serves as a source of inspiration for the design and development of valuable art toys that are capable of conveying the history and culture of the community in a profound manner. These art toys also possess the potential to function as creative media that promote community identity and local wisdom, while offering an effective approach to preserving and disseminating cultural heritage to younger generations. Furthermore, they can be further developed into creative products for commercial distribution or utilized in cultural activities and creative tourism initiatives.

Conclusions: This study developed art toys to reflect contemporary artistic and cultural symbolism by examining the artistic characteristics, historical background, and symbolic meanings of the Thamamasasinghathen Busabok. These elements were then synthesized into a contemporary design. The findings indicate that the developed art toys are capable of profoundly expressing the cultural and artistic values and identity of the community. Moreover, they demonstrate strong potential as creative media that bridge traditional art with younger generations and can be further developed into community-based products that generate both economic benefits and intangible cultural value.

Tai Dam Cultural Capital: Souvenirs, Creative Tourism, and Long-Term Tourist Loyalty

2026-04-30T09:26:50+07:00

Background and Objectives: In an increasingly competitive tourism landscape, cultivating sustainable tourist loyalty is a critical asset for the long-term sustainability of destinations. Modern travelers, driven by the “experience economy,” are shifting from passive sightseeing towards seeking authentic, immersive encounters that foster deep emotional connections. Creative tourism, which emphasizes hands-on participation, has emerged as a key framework for this, elevating cultural souvenirs from mere keepsakes to catalysts for deeper engagement. However, a comprehensive understanding of the structural relationships between cultural capital, souvenir value, creative tourism, and long-term loyalty remains limited, with research often neglecting the host community’s voice and the longitudinal evolution of loyalty. This research addresses this gap by developing and testing a holistic model of the loyalty value chain. There are four objectives: 1) to quantitatively establish the causal links between souvenir value, creative tourism, and loyalty; 2) to qualitatively explore the tourist experiences behind these links; 3) to integrate the host community’s perspective for a balanced understanding; and 4) to assess the durability of loyalty in the long term. The research is situated within the Tai Dam ethnic community in Thailand, renowned for its textile weaving heritage.

Methods: This study employed a multi-phase, longitudinal mixed-methods design to build a comprehensive understanding. Phase 1 employed a quantitative survey of 400 tourists using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to test the hypothesized structural model. Phase 2 qualitatively explored these findings through in-depth interviews with 18 tourists, focusing on the narratives connecting souvenir value to creative engagement. Phase 3 incorporated the host perspective via semi-structured interviews and focus groups with 20 Tai Dam artisans, leaders, and elders. Phase 4, the final phase, introduced a temporal dimension by re-surveying 185 tourists from the original cohort one year later to assess the evolution and durability of their loyalty, comparing creative tourism participants with non-participants.

Results: The multi-phase research validated the proposed theoretical framework. Quantitative analysis confirmed that the perceived value and authenticity of souvenirs (PVAS) was a significant predictor of engagement in creative tourism (CRT) (β = 0.58), which in turn was a primary driver of continuing tourist loyalty (CTTL) (β = 0.65). Qualitative findings explained this link through three themes from the tourist perspective: “the narrative imperative,” the pursuit of authentic connection,” and the high value placed on “the embodied souvenir.” At the same time, a critical counter-narrative emerged from the host community, reflecting “the burden of authenticity” and a strong preference for “students” over “customers.” The long-term findings also indicate that loyalty generated through creative participation is significantly more enduring. The CRT group demonstrated a markedly higher repeat visitation rate (28% compared with 6%) and word-of-mouth recommendations about the destination (82% compared with 45%) after one year.

Applications of this Study: The findings provide an evidence-based blueprint for stakeholders. Destination managers should shift from promoting sites to curating holistic experiences that support artisans as cultural facilitators. Cultural entrepreneurs can enhance value by reframing their offerings from products to experiences, such as workshops, to attract a more engaged tourist segment. Policymakers should invest in “soft infrastructure,” such as community capacity-building and legal support for intellectual property, while implementing policies to mitigate the “burden of authenticity,” for instance, by supporting community-defined “backstage” cultural spaces.

Conclusion: This research confirms that sustainable tourist loyalty is co-created through the fusion of meaningful cultural products and participatory experiences. This process is grounded in mutual respect, community empowerment, and fair economic exchange. Sustainable loyalty is not a commodity sold to tourists but a relationship built through a dynamic dialogue between a guest and a host. To achieve both economic prosperity and cultural preservation, tourism development must prioritize authentic engagement, community well-being, and fostering long-term, mutually beneficial relationships.

An Ethnosemantic Study of Village Place Names in the Songkhla Lake Basin

2026-04-30T09:27:17+07:00

Background and Objectives: Place names might be considered as linguistic evidence that contains the area’s historical origin. An analysis of place names, hence, may result in further understanding local history. When combining such analysis with local interpretations of place names through their storytelling, this ethnosemantic study might reveal the historical depth and richness of the area that may be otherwise hidden in the explicit meaning of the place names.

Methods: This study is qualitative research that aims to explore and study the place names of the villages along the Songkhla Lake Basin, Songkhla province, across 4 districts, 56 communities, and 150 villages with the linguistic concept of ethnosemantics. The study was carried out through interviews with local community leaders.

Results: The research findings revealed the structures of village names in both single and compound structures. The most prevalent was a two-semantic composition, which included both the head words and the modifiers, particularly the key word in words such as Bo, Phang, and Tha. The most prevalent way of naming was to refer to natural phenomena, places, or important people. Finally, the reflection obtained from the naming indicated that the majority of people practice Buddhism and other religions that coexisted in the area, specifically Islam. In addition, the Chinese population emerged as the most prominent in the area. Furthermore, ways of life and occupations can be discerned from naming, which illustrates the diversity of people’s lives, including rice farming, orchard keeping, fishing, and so forth. This reflects the demographical richness in the area and may be linked to the prosperity of the Suvarnabhumi region as inferred from an analysis of place names.

Applications of this Study: The research findings could be synthesized into knowledge for the local people, enabling them to appreciate the significance of their regional resources and to eventually foster the conservation of these resources in the future.

Conclusion: The research on village names in the coastal districts of Songkhla province (Mueang Songkhla, Ranot, Sathing Phra, and Singhanakorn) reveals that naming practices reflect the region’s geography, history, culture, and natural environment. Most villages are named after natural features, such as water-related terms like Bo, Phang, and Tha, indicating the area’s strong connection to water. Naming after natural phenomena is the most common strategy, followed by names rooted in historical events, important individuals, or nearby landmarks like temples. The influence of Buddhism is particularly notable as many village names reflect Buddhist stories and practices, even in religiously diverse areas. Ethnic diversity, especially the presence of Chinese communities, also plays a role in naming traditions, reflecting Songkhla’s historical origins. Additionally, village names often reflect the agricultural lifestyle of locals, referencing occupations like farming and fishing, as well as local flora. Thus, these naming patterns can indicate the cultural and environmental identity of the population in the Songkhla Lake Basin.

Multilingual Signs in a Multicultural and Economic Space, Kim Yong Market, Hat Yai District, Songkhla Province

2026-04-30T09:26:32+07:00

Background and Objectives: Kim Yong Market, located in Hat Yai, Songkhla, is a major economic hub in southern Thailand and is well known to both Thai and Malaysian visitors. The traditional community in the Kim Yong Market area continues to coexist with commercial urban development, transforming this economic space into a linguistically complex, multilingual community. This research aims to analyze multilingual signs in the economic space of Kim Yong Market and its cultural diversity in order to reveal the relationship between multilingual signs and the economic spatial context as well as cultural diversity.

Methods: This research employs a qualitative linguistic landscape research approach. The data consist of multilingual signs found in the market area, and collected through non-participant observation. In addition, in-depth interviews were conducted with 10 key informants who work as traders or service providers in the market, selected through purposive sampling.

Results: The results show that multilingual signs can be categorized into four types: bilingual, trilingual, quadrilingual, and pentalingual signs. A total of nine languages appear on the signs: Thai, English, Chinese, Malay, Arabic, Iban, French, Japanese, and Hindi. These findings highlight Kim Yong Market as a multilingual community within the context of a large economic area engaged in international trade. The multilingual signs are found across all types of businesses and corresponds to the diverse linguistic backgrounds of people in the market area, particularly Malaysians, Chinese, and Indians. This reflects a strong relationship between the economic space and multilingualism, multiculturalism, and tourism as expressed through multilingual signs.

Application of this study: The findings demonstrate how the multilingual signs in Kim Yong Market reflect its multilingual community and provide a basis for extending research on multilingual signs to other multilingual communities associated with urban economic spaces. This contributes to a deeper understanding of the relationship between language, society, and the economy. Moreover, the results can help tourism policy development for international economic tourism cities, especially those connected to neighboring countries, by promoting awareness of multilingualism among visitors to Hat Yai.

Conclusions: Kim Yong Market is a multilingual space, as evidenced by the presence of the multilingual signs. The languages displayed on the signs reflect the people who trade, travel, and reside in and around the market area. As a result, Kim Yong Market stands out as a nationally important economic area characterized by rich linguistic diversity, clearly reflecting the economic, social, and cultural features of the Kim Yong market area.

Text and Paratexts in the Samut Thai of Inao No.441 of Thai National Library: A Unique Version of Inao Play in the Transitional Period of Thai Dance-Drama

2026-04-30T09:27:15+07:00

Background and Objectives: The Samut Thai of Inao play number 441 was written down in a Samut Thai, or folding-book manuscript, which is now kept in the National Library of Thailand, and no record of authorship exists. The Samut Thai of Inao play No.441 is a different version of the Inao of King Rama II, the main version of Inao, and contains various elements relating to the performance. This research aims to examine text and paratexts in the Samut Thai of Inao play No.441 as well as to analyse the relationship between the manuscript and performance management.

Methods: This documentary research consists of examining text and paratexts in the Samut Thai of the performance manuscript Inao play No.441 based on literary and manuscript study approaches, along with connecting the text and paratexts to the dance-drama. This research also compares the text with another related version of the Inao play: the Inao of King Rama II.

Results: The Samut Thai of Inao play No.441 is a unique performance manuscript. The text, which is an Inao play in Klon verse form, was recomposed to represent a new characteristic of Inao, the hero, through the emphasis on thought and reasoning of that character, which does not exist in the same episode of the Inao play of King Rama II. Regarding the paratexts, there are various types of paratexts relating to the performance, for example, Phleng Rong and Phleng Na Phat’ s names, a remark of significant dance, and a list of the dancers’ names.
The text and its paratexts demonstrate that the Samut Thai of Inao play No.441 was used to perform an Inao dance-drama representing the elegant and refined dance of Lakhon Nai, the court dance-drama, as well as portraying a new characteristic of the character distinct from that of the original story. It could also be presumed that the play might have been composed during the reigns of King Rama IV and King Rama V, which are considered as the transitional period of Thai dance-drama. The Samut Thai of Inao play No.441 also reveals the functions of the written manuscript towards the dance-drama, in which the manuscript not only carries on the play text but also gives guidelines for organizing the performance and helps develop the show.

Application of this study: The findings of this study highlight both the approaches and the significance of studying performance manuscripts from the perspectives of literary studies and performing arts studies. The study also provides an example of approaches to adapting dance drama scripts in which character attributes are modified from the original narrative. Furthermore, the findings may stimulate interest in adapting this version of the Inao play for future performances.

Conclusions: The Samut Thai of Inao play No.441 is a unique version of the Inao play that contains values of Thai literature and performance: the value as a new version of an Inao play that becomes an example of a play created in the transitional period of Thai dance-drama and people’s worldview, as well as its value as evidence of a performance manuscript containing various functions in the context of performances from the past that not only help preserve the play-text but also help the performance run smoothly.

Provincial Hero Worship Incantations: A Study of Folk Beliefs and Cultural Functions of Thais

2026-04-30T09:27:03+07:00

Background and Objectives: The provincial hero worship incantation is a newly emergent literary form that has developed within the past three decades. Characterized by the use of literary language imbued with sacred connotations, it is composed either in Pali, employing formal grammatical structures, or culturally adapted forms within the Thai tradition, including refined Thai verse. The study of such incantations illuminates prevailing belief systems and the cultural roles of Thais. This research aims to analyze provincial hero worship incantations in relation to belief systems and to analyze the roles and functions of provincial hero worship incantations.

Methods: This study employs folkloristic fieldwork methods, including photographic documentation of provincial hero worship plaques and interviews with ritual practitioners responsible for the annual commemoration ceremonies. Data were collected during the period 2023–2025.

Results: The texts display three main structures: 1) invocation of the Triple Gem or other sacred entities, 2) summoning of the heroes’ spirits and praise of heroic deeds, and 3) the offering of ritual items and the seeking of blessings. In the analysis of the relationship between language and ritual as manifested in provincial hero worship incantations, three types of relationships were identified: 1) the connection between Thai national history and provincial heroes, 2) the interaction between supernatural power and humans, and 3) the functional of sacred elements in binding communities. Functionally, the incantations serve both psychological and social purposes. The continued existence of provincial hero worship incantations is attributed to the cultivation of local identity and the cultural value of symbolic kinship affiliation in Thai culture.

Application of this study: This research supports efforts to inscribe provincial hero worship practices as intangible cultural heritage under the domains of social practices, rituals, customs, and festivals. The analysis of provincial hero worship incantations and the ritual functions associated with belief systems may help to reflect shifts in worship practices, revealing a transition from community-based traditions to contexts in which governmental agencies play an increasingly significant role.

Conclusions: The analysis of provincial hero worship incantations enhances understanding of Thai belief systems and their cultural functions, as well as the factors underpinning their continuity. This study serves as a reflection of the forms and characteristics of beliefs concerning supernatural power, which constitute a deeply rooted belief culture in Thai society, with Buddhism functioning as an outer framework that envelops and shapes these beliefs.

A Cross-Industry Mixed-Methods Study of High-Stakes Email Genres in Thai Workplaces: Needs, Moves, and Lexical Bundles

2026-04-30T09:27:07+07:00

Background and Objectives: Email writing competence is a critical 21st-century skill in today’s interconnected business environment. In the context of Thailand, professionals frequently use English emails for routine workplace communication, yet many employees continue to struggle to compose effective messages. Drawing on an English for Specific Purposes (ESP) orientation, this study aimed to identify cross-industry workplace email needs and to analyse the genre features of high-priority business emails, which are treated here as high-stakes workplace email genres in the Thai context. The primary objectives were to determine which types of business emails are most critical for job performance and to analyse their rhetorical move sequences and frequently occurring lexical bundles found in such email genres.

Methods: An exploratory sequential mixed-methods design was employed. First, a survey of Thai employees (N = 400) across eight industries was conducted using proportional stratified sampling to rank the importance of 17 common workplace email genres. On the basis of these rankings, three high-stakes genres—sales promotion emails, statement of account emails, and sales report emails—were selected for detailed corpus-based genre analysis. Next, a corpus of authentic emails was compiled, drawn primarily from the Enron dataset and supplemented with a small baseline set of anonymised Thai workplace emails. These emails were then analysed using genre analysis techniques to identify their move structures, and a corpus-based lexical bundle analysis was conducted for each move.

Results: The needs analysis showed that sales promotion emails and statement of account emails emerged as the top-ranked genres across sectors, followed by sales report emails and internal office announcements. Accordingly, these three genres were conceptualised as high-stakes workplace email genres, representing the email types most critical for job performance and directly associated with revenue generation, cash flow, and managerial oversight. Genre analysis of the three focal genres indicated relatively stable but distinct move structures: sales promotion emails were organised around persuasive attention–interest–action sequences, statements of account emails combined information-giving with payment-related moves, and sales report emails foregrounded concise reporting with further interpretation in some cases. Lexical bundle analysis further demonstrated that each move was realised through high-frequency functional bundles, reflecting a reliance on formulaic language in professional email writing.

Application of this study: The findings underscore the pedagogical value of combining needs analysis with genre-based corpus analysis. ESP instructors and corporate trainers can tailor business writing curricula to focus on the email genres that are most salient in the workplace, using the identified move structures and lexical bundles as teaching templates. In particular, integrating practice with high-stakes email genres and their characteristic functional bundles into course materials and training workshops can enhance learners’ email writing proficiency, work readiness, and awareness of the polite, clear, and professional email style.

Conclusions: This research demonstrated an approach to designing an ESP curriculum that integrates needs analysis with genre-based analysis. By first pinpointing critical email genres through a large-scale survey and then analysing those genres’ discourse patterns, a multi-dimensional understanding of Thai workplace email communication was obtained. The results can directly be used in curriculum and materials development by highlighting the importance of training learners to write the kinds of emails that employers value most, using authentic organisational patterns and phraseology. This genre-focused approach offers a model for designing ESP courses aligned with real-world professional needs. It is recommended that future research extend this approach to other communication channels and assess the effectiveness of genre-focused instruction on learners’ performance in those contexts.

Avidya under Visibility: Winston Smith’s Buddhist Ignorance through Sexual Misconduct in Orwell’s 1984

2026-04-30T09:27:08+07:00

Background and Objectives: This study examines the spiritual ignorance of Winston Smith in George Orwell’s 1984 through his sexual relationship or sexual assault against Julia, an Outer Party member whose surname is never revealed. The research has two objectives: 1) to analyze how Winston’s sexual relationship reflects spiritual ignorance, and 2) to identify the consequences of that ignorance. While Orwell was not influenced by Buddhist philosophy, the concept of Avidya, a Buddhist term for spiritual ignorance, is applied as a complementary interpretive framework. In terms of philosophical analysis, Avidya adds an ethical dimension that supplements the widely discussed political analyses of the novel and enriches its moral implications.

Methods: The study draws on nineteen excerpts from the primary text, Orwell’s 1984, chosen for their relevance to Winston’s sexual misconduct (actions related to illicit desire), moral reasoning (judgments on right or wrong that deviate from the Party’s mandates), and psychological conflict (internal struggle between self-assertion and fear), along with secondary philosophical sources that frame the analysis. These excerpts are examined through descriptive qualitative analysis using the framework of Avidya (spiritual ignorance of self and reality causes suffering) to explore how misunderstanding and unawareness lead to Winston’s actions and decisions, affecting both his private desires and broader sense of right and wrong.

Results: The findings show that Winston initially perceives the affair as a private act of rebellion, secure from Party surveillance. His spiritual ignorance deepens as Julia becomes a necessity and right; their rented room, imagined as a “paradise,” is marked by decay and covert monitoring, eventually becoming a crime scene upon discovery. This process reveals how unexamined desire overrides discernment, fostering craving, attachment, and self-deception. Winston’s sexual misconduct functions as both personal defiance and self-sabotage, shaped by the Party’s manipulation of desire, morality, and secrecy.

His unhesitating acceptance of Julia’s secret message develops into obsession and ultimately culminates in betrayal under torture and spiritual submission to Big Brother. Interpreted through Avidya, this downfall is not only political but spiritual, as he fails to recognize the impermanence of pleasure, the illusion of control, and the deceptive nature of self in attachment.

Application of this study: Integrating Avidya into the analysis, this research expands critical perspectives on 1984, showing how totalitarian regimes invade and control intimate human bonds to enforce submission. This study reflects the value of cross-cultural interpretation in literary analysis and provides a framework that addresses both public mechanisms of control and private areas of ethicality, intimacy, vulnerability, and attachment.

Conclusions: Winston’s spiritual ignorance—manifested through sexual misconduct, possessive entitlement, and moral confusion—illustrates how a totalitarian regime exerts domination by intruding into the most personal aspects of human life. Situating Orwell’s narrative within political and ethical-philosophical contexts, the research concludes that Winston’s Avidya ultimately leads to the total disintegration of his autonomous self and moral agency, emphasizing that true resistance requires spiritual detachment—an insight the Party is powerless to destroy.

“Some Days I’m Myself, and Some Days My Head Really Isn’t Right, and My Balance Is Really Disgusting.”: 4000 Miles, the Conditions of Ageing and Generation Gap

2026-04-30T09:26:57+07:00

Background and Objectives: As ageing becomes an urgent issue in contemporary society, authors and playwrights explore its complexities through literary representations, which reflect social transformations and cultural values. This article aims to explore Amy Herzog’s play 4000 Miles (2011) which engages with the concept of growing old by questioning stereotypes and biases through the portrayal of an old, frail, yet defiant female protagonist, with a binary opposition of the depiction of the young grandson, who cycles from Seattle across the US to visit his grandmother in New York. In this regard, the author examines the redefinition of cultural constructions while also revealing the complexity of old age, elderly care within society, and the nuanced differences of ageing, particularly as expressed through language and performance.

Methods: As qualitative research, this paper, with literary gerontology—the study of literature and ageing—analyses how 4,000 Miles represents ageing in, as Gullette (2004) noted, a “decline narrative,” including dementia, hearing impairment, and other signs of physical decay, which constitutes generation divides, communication problems, differences in political beliefs and social values.

Results: The dramatization of old age can critically draw on its cultural meanings related to gender, politics, personal and social memory, death, and attitudes toward the technologically oriented world. First, the play reveals the stereotype of ageing by highlighting the physical declines and vividly represents old age and its troubling conditions via the character ‘Vera’. Moreover, with the focus on the old character’s past, the playwright draws on the power of personal and social memory in the recount of her active political activities for socialism. By depicting an elderly female character living alone in an urban context, 4,000 Miles significantly comments on the ethics of care for the elderly and the significant role of society or the community in supporting the welfare of this group. Ultimately, the generational gap has become a key issue in family relationships, offering insights into ageing as a condition that poses challenges in many societies, in which older adults must confront, overcome, or negotiate such circumstances.

Application of this study: This critical discussion may shed light on how age studies and literature can deepen our understanding of old age, foster empathy, and promote an ethic of care for older adults across society as a whole.

Conclusions: The study of 4,000 Miles has provided a critical discussion of ageing conditions which unravels the meanings of old age and how our culture has reshaped and questioned its complexity. By combining age studies and literary studies, this article highlights how dramatization of old age can unsettle our stereotypes and the playwright’s imagination of the old woman adjusting herself to the changing contexts culminates in reconciliation between different generations. This play also emphasizes an ethic of care, through which the author invites the audience to reflect on social and cultural values that require deeper understanding and further studies.

Morphological Creativity and Identity Expression in the Slang of LGBTQIA+ Thais in the Hiwwhee Gang

2026-04-30T09:27:14+07:00

Background and Objectives: The Thai LGBTQIA+ community has fostered a vibrant lexicon of slang that reflects its morphological creativity, identity expression, and popularity. A particularly influential force in this linguistic movement is the Hiwwhee Gang—a popular group of queer YouTubers with over five million followers—which plays a significant role in the creation, dissemination, and circulation of queer language in digital media. This study aims to identify and categorize the specific types of LGBTQIA+ slang used by the Hiwwhee Gang by analyzing how these expressions reflect the group’s morphological creativity, construct group identity and signal in-group membership. It also examines how their use of slang facilitates audience engagement, and circulates and fosters a sense of inclusion within their online community.

Methods: The study adopts a qualitative linguistic approach, analyzing 34 slang items used in the Hiwwhee Gang’s YouTube content. These were categorized according to word formation processes, including blending, compounding, clipping, borrowing, onomatopoeia, and semantic shift, together with an analysis of frequency, the motivations underlying word formation, and the sociocultural contexts of slang use among LGBTQIA+ communities, using the Hiwwhee Gang as a case study.

Results: Thai LGBTQIA+ slang is notable for its creative use of lexical blending, sound imitation, and phonological play to produce humorous effects. While blending and compounding are common in the Gang’s slang, ideophones and performative speech acts, suggesting the group members’ behavior, actions, or values via slang, such as สะดุ้ง (sa dung or startled) or เซะตุ้มเล้ง (se tum leng or chaotic), pointing to the discourse-stylistic nature of queer conversation. Likewise, semantic shifts are notable, as terms like ขมวด (khamuat or to wrap) and ฉ่ำ (cham or juicy) take on entirely new meanings in different context. These linguistic innovations not only offer humor and identity performance but also resist mainstream discourse and play an important role in resisting heteronormative ideology by generating linguistic forms that challenge conventional word structures and traditional meaning-making processes.

Application of this study: The findings are valuable for scholars in linguistics, gender studies, and digital media. Educators and language policy designers may also apply these insights to better accommodate linguistic diversity in designing curriculums which respect linguistic diversity. Moreover, the research also promotes the preservation and elevation of queer vernaculars as culturally significant linguistic forms.

Conclusions: The use of slang among the Thai LGBTQIA+ community functions as a tool for identity construction, community boundary formation, and the creation of spaces for social participation through language. When queer speakers reinterpret existing lexical items and move beyond conventional linguistic and semantic frameworks of the dominant language, a culturally specific language emerges that enables presence, visibility, and solidarity. The findings further indicate that creativity in word formation plays a crucial role both as a cultural tool and as a strategy for resisting mainstream social structures in contemporary Thai society.

Repair Strategies in the Conversations of Korean Travel YouTubers Using Thai

2026-04-30T09:26:44+07:00

Background and Objectives: In the digital era, online platforms like YouTube have become significant spaces for cross-cultural communication and language learning. This research focuses on the phenomenon of “repair” a conversational mechanism used to address errors or impediments in communication within the context of learning Thai as a foreign language. While repair strategies have been extensively studied in English and other major languages under the frameworks of conversation analysis (CA) and interlanguage pragmatics (ILP), research regarding Thai as a second language (TSL) in real-world and informal contexts remains limited. The primary objective of this study was to investigate the types and strategies of repair employed by Korean travel YouTubers who use Thai to communicate with locals. The study aimed to understand how these learners manage linguistic limitations and negotiate meaning to achieve mutual understanding in authentic situations.

Methods: This is qualitative research and the data were collected from the popular YouTube travel channel “Cullen HateBerry,” featuring Korean content creators (Cullen, Jung, and Dan) traveling in Thailand. The dataset consists of 44 episodes broadcast between April 14, 2023, and April 7, 2024, totaling approximately 2,223 minutes of footage. Data selection focused on segments where Korean speakers communicated primarily in Thai and repair sequences occurred. The conversations were transcribed using Jefferson’s (1979) phonetic notation. The analysis integrated Sacks, Schegloff, & Jefferson’s (1974) turn-taking rules, Schegloff, Jefferson, & Sacks’s (1977) concepts of repair and correction, and Kasper & Blum-Kulka’s (1993) framework of interlanguage pragmatics to categorize repair types and strategies.

Results: The study identified 641 instances of repair, categorized into four types based on initiation and execution. The most frequent type was 1) other-initiated other-repair (48.2%), where the interlocutor (often a Thai native) identified and corrected the error. This was followed by 2) self-initiated self-repair (23.0%), 3) self-initiated other-repair (20.4%), and 4) other-initiated self-repair (8.4%). Furthermore, the analysis revealed seven distinct repair strategies used to manage linguistic challenges: 1) repair through the use of Korean, English, and communication aids (34.7% - most common), 2) incorrect repair that the speaker assumes to be correct, 3) unsuccessful repair that is eventually abandoned, 4) repairing from Korean or English back into Thai, 5) repairing a correct form into an incorrect one, 6) correct repair that the speaker fails to understand and 7) correction from misunderstanding to correctness, respectively.

Application of this study: The findings of this study can be applied to the design of Thai language instruction for foreign learners, with an emphasis on the development of pragmatic competence and communication in real-life situations. The results indicate that instructors should encourage learners to understand the processes of seeking assistance and responding to corrections from native speakers, which are essential components of interaction-based learning. Furthermore, an understanding of learners’strategies enables instructors to design learning activities that align with the developmental stages of interlanguage. This approach can help learners move beyond grammatical limitations toward effective social communicative competence.

Conclusions: Repair in the conversations of Korean YouTubers is a collaborative process essential for maintaining the flow of communication. The dominance of “other-initiated other-repair” reflects a supportive communicative environment where Thai interlocutors and Koreans themselves play an active role in facilitating understanding. In addition, the diverse strategies employed demonstrate the learners’ efforts to overcome linguistic deficits using all available resources, including code-switching and non-verbal cues. Ultimately, this study illustrates that repair is not merely about error correction but is an important social mechanism that reflects a commitment to language learning and the development of cross-cultural relationships.

Translation Strategies in Thai Language Versions of Japanese Travel Guidebooks

2026-04-30T09:27:05+07:00

Background and Objectives: According to the purpose of the target text, translators may adapt, add or omit certain information when translating Japanese tourism guide content into Thai language. However, relatively few studies have examined this issue. Therefore, this article aims to examine translation strategies used in translating Japanese tourism guide content into Thai language, with particular attention to the purpose of the translated texts and relationship to text types.

Methods: Data were collected from ten Thai-language travel books translated from Japanese, comprising 812 translation instances. They were analyzed for translation strategies by adapting, adding or omitting information, following Andrew Chesterman’s information change concept. Additionally, translation strategies and their correlation with text types were examined.

Results: Six primary translation strategies were identified: 1) transliteration with meaning translation or additional explanation; 2) alternative word or expression use; 3) sentence-level adaptation; 4) transcreation; 5) omission; and 6) addition. The most common observed strategies were 1) sentence-level adaptation and 2) alternative word or expression use. In addition, strategy choice correlated with text type involved. Changing sentence structure was used most frequently in translating headline information, merging or splitting sentences predominated in body text information, and transliteration with meaning translation or additional explanation was most common in specific information.

Application of this study: These findings may serve as guidelines for translating tourism-related materials and could also be applied to other types of translation with similar characteristics.

Conclusions: Most Japanese–Thai translation studies focus on equivalence between source and target texts. However, in certain fields, translators must select strategies by considering the target text’s purpose. This study analyzed translation of tourism guide content and revealed distinctive characteristics of translation strategies differing from those commonly observed in other types of written translation. The results highlight alternative word or expression use, sentence-level adaptation, transcreation, omission, addition, as well as strategy selection tendencies across different text types. These findings offer practical applications for translators working in related fields and contribute to research on purpose-oriented translation practices.

Confusing Words: Contextual Usage of Chinese Verbs Through Cognitive Linguistics

2026-04-30T09:26:55+07:00

Background and Objectives: In the process of second language (L2) acquisition, word pairs that L2 learners often feel confused about are called “confusing words (A word easily confused with another because of similar meaning, alphabet, pronunciation, or translation)”. Among Thais studying Chinese as a foreign language (CFL), confusion usually emerges in the use of the five Chinese verbs: ‘Gei (给)’, ‘Jiao (叫)’, ‘Qing(请)’, ‘Rang (让)’, and ‘Shi (使)’. This research aims to examine the contextual usage of these five verbs, especially in cases of semantic overlap, with the research question, “How do Chinese verbs with shared meanings differ in their contextual usage?”

Methods: This research article employed a qualitative research approach. Data were collected from books, dictionaries, and Chinese proficiency test (HSK) materials. The analysis was grounded in cognitive linguistics framework, including image schema theory and idealized cognitive models (ICMs).

Results: The findings reveal that from the five semantically related verbs, verbs expressing “causing someone do something” commonly occur in general and service-related contexts, while those denoting “permission” are primarily found in workplace and medical settings. The meanings of “causation” and “invitation” are more broadly applicable in general contexts. Moreover, the ICMs-based analysis identified four schematic sentence structures that reflect underlying conceptual representations.

Application of this study: This research contributes to a better understanding and accurate use of easily confusable Chinese vocabulary among learners and teachers of Chinese as a foreign language. Teachers can apply the findings as instructional strategies, while learners can use them to further develop their communicative competence. Emphasizing appropriate contextual usage, the application of image-schema–based concepts helps learners better comprehend and acquire the contextual meanings and uses of vocabulary.

Conclusions: The result indicate that the Chinese verbs have a shared meaning and are grouped under the same semantic category, but some of those words have different schematic usage structures. This study found that some words can be used in the same contexts and situations, but they might emphasize different orientations. The theoretical significance of this research article is that using schema theory and ICMs to analyze contextual usage of words, can be helpful to clearly visualize sentence structures by highlighting the prominence and focal points.

Thai Cultural Reflection in the Translation of Address Terms from Chinese TV Series

2026-04-30T09:26:29+07:00

Background and Objectives: This study investigates the Thai cultural reflection embedded in the translation of Chinese address terms appearing in Thai subtitles of contemporary Chinese TV dramas. As address terms play a crucial role in expressing interpersonal relationships, hierarchy, and social values, the transfer of forms of address from Chinese into Thai therefore reflects the process of cultural negotiation and the translator’s adaptive strategies in achieving a balance between linguistic accuracy and cultural appropriateness. This study aimed to investigate how Thai subtitles convey and adapt the meanings of Chinese forms of address, and to analyze how these translation patterns reflect the cultural perspectives and communicative conventions of Thai society.

Methods: This study adopts a qualitative, descriptive design. The data were drawn from five Chinese TV series with Thai subtitles. Each address term was examined in terms of its linguistic form and its pragmatic function in the Thai subtitles. The analysis was guided by four theoretical frameworks: Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory (1978), which emphasizes the social context of language use; Goffman’s theory of face (1967); Brown & Levinson’s politeness theory (1987), which explains face concerns and strategic politeness; and Scollon & Scollon’s intercultural communication theory (1995), which accounts for cross-cultural adaptation strategies.

Results: The findings indicate that the translation of Chinese address terms into Thai subtitles reflects a process of cultural negotiation manifested in three major characteristics: 1) the Thai-oriented cultural transformation of address terms, whereby translators reduce the complexity of kinship distinctions, gender markers, and social status embedded in Chinese, to align with Thai communicative norms; 2) the preservation of Chinese cultural elements, in which original forms and hierarchical nuances are retained to maintain source-cultural identity and sociocultural meaning; and 3) the adjustment of politeness levels and face maintenance in the Thai context, achieved through the addition of prefixes and suffixes to conform to Thai norms of etiquette and social harmony. Overall, these three patterns demonstrate that translating address terms is not merely a lexical transfer but a process of cultural mediation that balances the hierarchical precision of Chinese with the flexibility and politeness conventions of Thai society.

Application of this study: The findings of this study can be applied to the development of culturally informed translation approaches, particularly in the translation of film and series subtitles, as well as in the teaching of Chinese and Thai languages from a cultural perspective. They can also contribute to intercultural communication training. Moreover, the study enhances understanding of the role of translators as “cultural mediators,” who must maintain a balance between linguistic accuracy and cultural appropriateness.

Conclusions: The translation of forms of address from Chinese television series into Thai subtitles is not merely a process of lexical substitution; rather, it involves cultural interpretation and adaptation that enables Thai audiences to understand and access the social values embedded in Chinese culture in ways that are compatible with the Thai context. Translators therefore play a crucial role in bridging the linguistic and cultural worlds of the two societies, facilitating mutual understanding. The findings indicate that the translation of forms of address constitutes a socio-cultural process that reflects the subtle coordination and mediation of identities between Chinese and Thai cultures.

One Song, Seven Languages: An Analysis of the Process of Creating Singable Translations of “Dao Aksorn” (Star of Arts) Using Peter Low’s Pentathlon Approach

2026-04-30T09:27:21+07:00

Background and Objectives: Peter Low’s Pentathlon has been widely used for singable song translation. However, no comparison among using this approach for more than one target language at the same time has been studied. The objectives of this research are twofold: 1) to describe and analyze the process of creating singable translations of the Thai song “Dao Aksorn” (Star of Arts) adhering to Peter Low’s Pentathlon Approach (singability, sense, naturalness, rhythm, rhyme) while also considering the unique features of each target language; and 2) to compare these seven translations examining similarities and differences within the framework of the aforementioned translation approach.

Methods: The data for this research consist of the Thai original lyrics and the song’s translations in seven languages: English, French, German, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese. The research methodology involves an analysis of the translation process and the explanatory commentary for each target language, using word-for-word semantic transfer and back-translation as guidelines for comparison.

Results: The findings demonstrate the effectiveness of the Pentathlon Approach. Each translation addressed this principle to varying degrees. Notably, all translations maintained the song’s meaning and singability as the two most important aspects. During the translation process, synonyms were utilized along with the omission and addition of some words. This reflects an academic approach that prioritizes linguistic accuracy over considerations of rhythm, which may hold greater significance in a performance-oriented musical context.

Application of this study: The body of knowledge derived from this research has practical implications for teaching song translation in these target languages and can be further developed to promote Thai songs by translating them into foreign languages.

Conclusions: This study examines the application of Peter Low’s five principles of song translation—singability, sense, naturalness, rhythm, and rhyme—in translating the song “Dao Aksorn” into seven target languages: English, French, German, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese. The research aimed to analyze the translation process and compare the translated versions within a shared theoretical framework. The findings demonstrate the effectiveness of the Pentathlon Approach in producing singable translations across typologically diverse target languages.

Book Review “Transfroming Isan into Thai: Nation-State Ideology and the Political Consciousness of the Plateau People”

2026-03-31T11:07:28+07:00

The Development and Solutions of Welfare Management Approaches in Thailand

2026-04-30T09:27:19+07:00

Background and Objectives: At present, the issue of welfare management approaches in Thailand has once again garnered public attention, as people have become increasingly aware of the critical role of welfare systems in mitigating risks and providing social protection during times of crisis, such as economic downturns, pandemics, and natural disasters. However, Thailand’s existing approaches to welfare management remain insufficiently responsive to emerging risks and structural changes. This highlights the need for a systematic review of past developments and approaches to welfare management in the Thai context. Such a review is essential for understanding the models Thailand has adopted, identifying their structural weaknesses, and exploring appropriate alternatives for the future. In summary, this academic article aims to utilize historical insights into Thailand’s welfare development as a foundational concept for seeking practical and context-appropriate solutions for the welfare management of Thailand in the future.

Methods: This study is based on documentary research, gathering information from relevant sources such as textbooks, annual reports, academic articles, and theses. The researcher analyzed and categorized the data obtained from the literature review. The analysis begins with an examination of the development of welfare management in Thailand, focusing on its dynamics and transformation under various social structures, class relations, and organizational patterns throughout different historical periods. The results of this analysis were then used to critically assess existing problems and propose appropriate solutions suited to the Thai context.

Results: The findings reveal that a root problem in Thailand’s welfare management lies in the lack of clarity and consistency between state-led welfare systems and alternative welfare models. This parallel structure continues to present challenges and is expected to remain a topic of national academic debate. Therefore, the researcher therefore considers that strengthening alternative welfare approaches in Thailand to the extent that they can be developed into mainstream welfare policies alongside state-provided welfare constitutes a compelling issue for future research. In particular, further study is warranted to examine how the establishment of a clear position or role—together with the promotion and support of effective participation from all sectors in alternative welfare provision—can be realized in practice, and how such efforts may concretely contribute to improving citizens’ quality of life and overall well-being.

Application of this study: The researcher hopes that this academic article contributes to clarifying and systematizing alternative welfare management approaches in Thailand. It also aims to raise awareness and encourage critical inquiry into the formulation of welfare policies that are appropriate and responsive to the current Thai context.

Conclusions: Based on the review of the development and practical approaches to welfare management in Thailand, the author was able to synthesize relevant secondary data and academic knowledge to identify three main directions for addressing the challenges of welfare management in the Thai context. These are 1) promoting and advancing alternative welfare approaches through social media and digital platforms, which refers to creating public spaces for the exchange of ideas and for mobilizing support for alternative welfare models; 2) clarifying and systematizing alternative welfare approaches, which means developing both conceptual and operational frameworks to enhance the clarity of alternative welfare practices; and 3) advancing the welfare policy in Thailand, which means ensuring that alternative welfare models gain recognition at the policy level, on par with state-led welfare systems, so that they can serve as an important mechanism for improving the quality of life of the population.