Changes in Thai cultural and social values as reflected in the use of the royal language in Thai newspapers from 1932 to the present time

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate changes in Thai social and cultural values as reflected in the use of the Thai Royal Language (henceforth TRL) in Thai newspapers from the 1930s to the present. The values in focus are those that relate to the role of the monarchy in Thai society. The research method used is content analysis. Approximately 30,000 TRL words used in numerous newspapers in four periods, 1930-35, 1950-56, 1983-86 and 1977-99, were analyzed in order to identify changes of both form and content. The analysis was divided into two sections; namely, TRL verbs and TRL nouns and pronominals (pronouns, titles, kinship terms and names). Each verb, noun or pronominal was categorized and counted. The goal was to find the "hidden messages" that were embedded in the language used. The findings were the following: In the area of TRL verbs we found strong evidence of a process of regularization and simplification taking place, as evidenced by the sharp rise in the use of the prefix ทรง/son/ which seems to become a "general marker" of TRL verbs. Another interesting finding was the emergence of a new vocabulary of royal actions, which describes the King as "trying", "working hard", "explaining", "demonstrating", "being discouraged", "worrying" and many more. In the area of pronominals there was mostly a growing tendency to use elaborate titles and pronouns. For example, there is a rise in the use of พระบาทสมเด็จพระเจ้าอยู่หัว/phrabaadsomdedphracaawjuuhua/ versus a decline in the use of ในหลวง/najluan/. In the area of nouns, there was an increase in the usage of nouns that refer to the ceremonial and ritual aspects of kingship, coming at the expense of nouns referring to locations and means of transportation, which were most prominent in the past. One can conclude that the findings point to two contradictory views of the monarchy. On the one hand, we find a new image of kingship that emphasizes the "modern values" of hard work, simplicity, persistence and human sensitivity. The regularization process points to reduced emphasis on intricate social hierarchies. On the other hand, we find increased emphasis on ceremonies, rituals, and elaborate honorific forms of address. These findings point toward a more "traditional" view of the monarchy, a view which also incorporates a perception of a divine element in the person of the king