https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4119-7164
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ABSTRACT
Language practices and attitudes among young minority language speakers in Thailand, focusing on the Kui language, are examined. Sociolinguistic data obtained from three months of fieldwork in the northeastern provinces of Surin, Sisaket and Ubon Ratchathani and in Bangkok provide insights into the language competence, language attitudes and linguistic awareness of young Kui speakers. We found that young speakers use language differently in various settings. Males and females use minority and majority languages differently and with varying confidence. Internal and external motivations such as language prestige and identity condition may foretell the future of the Kui language in Thailand. The dynamics of minority language use and the preservation and transmission of threatened and shifting languages are highlighted. This study reveals the current speaking preferences of young Kui speakers and allows for predictions regarding their prospective short- and long-term language use.
Acknowledgements
The author followed the standard procedures in order to guarantee the ethical soundness of the research. My gratitude goes to Saowanee T. Alexander, Rungrot Tatiyawongwiwat, Siriwat Chaiwiset, Rungrat Sawutsuk, Sapphud Mit, Sanong Suksaweang (and his wife Nasa), Chalermchai Wongrak, Suwilai Premsrirat, Yutaka Tomioka, Kraisorn Hardkadii and the many anonymous interviewees.
Geolocation information
14°51′08.2″N 103°59′04.0″E
14°51′49.0″N 103°29′60.0″E
14°41′34.4″N 103°55′08.1″E
14°52′27.3″N 103°49′34.1″E
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.
Notes
1 Alternate names are Kuy, Kuay, Suai, Sui, Soai, Souei, Lao-Sui, Khmer-Sui, Kamen-boran ‘ancient Khmer’ etc. (Bos and Sidwell Citation2014; Schliesinger Citation2017, 5, 37).
2 Thai stands for central/standard Thai in this study.
3 Such sociocultural differences may be represented by different sociolinguistic behaviours, e.g. for expressing hierarchical relationships (Howard Citation2010). In Thai, verbs are used in addition to pronouns to express politeness in accordance with a social situation. Standard Thai is known for politeness and respect, especially in institutional contexts (Howard Citation2010). Kui society is less hierarchically structured and status differences are only made between children and adults or between younger and older children (Woykos Citation1989, 99). The Kui language does not lexically encode a social status; even if some Kui varieties use particles to express politeness (softening a request or command) (Bos Citation2009; Bisang Citation2014, 711; Bos and Sidwell Citation2014, 876), the lexical representation of specialized vocabulary (as used in an academic context) is not comparable with Thai (see Alexander and McCargo Citation2014). Therefore, a shift is expected from Kui to Thai at the lexical level, especially when it is necessary to handle specific social situations such as fulfilling the aforementioned academic vocabulary needs. The Kui are expected to implement and use the additional Thai lexicon in order to fill the existing gaps due to differences in the social structure. Kui speakers have an option to either ignore the differences and use no specific politeness-related vocabulary or to use the specific vocabulary from Thai to handle the differences.
4 More than 80% declared that they could choose a partner on their own, while 75% stated that they were allowed to choose their type of work (75%). All of the speakers in the 19–25 age group considered themselves Buddhists.
5 Interview excerpt: ‘Yes, the period when northeastern Thailand suffered from a big drought is not recorded properly. Most likely, it would be from 1960 to 1967. I still remember waiting for hours for water to come out of the well and collect it for drinking’ (male Kui speaker, April 2019).
6 The results supporting the hypothesis stem from cross-cultural self-efficacy studies showing that Asian students (from collectivistic cultures) reported lower self-efficacy beliefs than their non-Asian peers, even though they were more successful in terms of academic achievement (Stigler, Smith, and Mao Citation1985; Yan and Gaier Citation1994). One possible explanation could be that hard work and effort is more highly valued than ability in collectivistic cultures. Thus, ‘self-efficacy may be rated lower in collectivistic cultures than in individualistic cultures’ (Scholz et al. Citation2002, 249).
7 de-Gaia (Citation2018, 122–123) explained the gender hierarchies within both the Buddhist tradition and the lay society, based on the following example: ‘Nowhere is this more the case than in Thailand, where novice nuns (…) can never achieve full ordination, at least not in the Thai lineage, and they are used as spiritually and materially inferior handmaidens by monks’ (de-Gaia Citation2018, 122).
8 Among the questionnaires, more male speakers chose ‘no answer’ than the females. Possible reasons for this include the stronger feeling of responsibility for completing the questionnaires or the higher self-confidence levels of the females. However, both presumptions require further investigation.
9 phasa isan = Lao NET.
10 He also stated the following: ‘I spoke Kui with my parents and others from childhood through high school’.
11 ‘Lao’ is a common slang term among Thai teenagers that not only suggests intellectual backwardness, but also physical unattractiveness (Alexander and McCargo Citation2014, 62).