Unity in diversity: exploring central Thai speaker’s attitudes towards Thai dialects through a linguistic approach

Abstract

At least 60.9% of people in Thailand speak a minority language natively. Despite a history of political nationalism suppressing dialects and minority languages, Thais seem to accept this linguistic diversity. This study explored attitudes of Central Thai speakers towards the main dialects, generally and by comparing two age groups: 18-30 and 45+. A Verbal-Guise technique-based survey gaining 145 respondents was conducted, with 76 of the younger age group and 69 of the older age group. The survey asked Central Thai people to evaluate recordings of three Thai dialects: Northern, North-eastern and Southern. Using Symbolic Domination, a theory analysing power relations impacting the status quo, results were analysed by comparing the past and present language situation in Thailand. Results suggested positive attitudes for each dialect with some variation. Specifically, the Northern dialect received the most positive scores, the North-eastern dialect also being positive, contrasting with previous studies. The Southern dialect, while overall positively scored, exhibited more negative scores. The age-related analysis identified limited differences, showing both more positive and negative responses in the older group. If Symbolic Domination Theory is correct, it would suggest a heightened ability of dialects and their speakers to improve their Cultural/Linguistic Capital through an increased awareness/promotion of their cultures.