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On professional writing: Thai writers' views on their English
Author(s) -
Buripakdi Adcharawan
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
international journal of applied linguistics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.712
H-Index - 39
eISSN - 1473-4192
pISSN - 0802-6106
DOI - 10.1111/j.1473-4192.2012.00311.x
Subject(s) - rhetorical question , conceptualization , english studies , situated , ideology , variety (cybernetics) , hierarchy , linguistics , english language , sociology , macro , politics , psychology , political science , computer science , philosophy , artificial intelligence , law , programming language
The paper describes Thai professional writers' perspectives towards Thai English. Data were drawn from in‐depth interviews of twenty Thai fiction and non‐fiction writers. A grounded theory and rhetorical move analysis were employed to examine the underlying assumptions of the participants' English positioning. The findings reveal that although the participants had different positions toward English, the majority conformed to Standard English and did not consider Thai English as a world English variety. This study not only demonstrated the ideological and political status of particularized English in Thailand but also addressed macro aspects of English usage outside school. The participants' conceptualization of their English illustrated that English use in Thailand was situated in a hierarchy of language and was deeply embedded in internal colonization.