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Diglossia and identity in Northeast Thailand: Linguistic, social, and political hierarchy[Note 1. We would like to express our sincere appreciation to ...]
Author(s) -
Alexander Saowanee T.,
McCargo Duncan
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
journal of sociolinguistics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1
H-Index - 51
eISSN - 1467-9841
pISSN - 1360-6441
DOI - 10.1111/josl.12064
Subject(s) - diglossia , variety (cybernetics) , hierarchy , population , politics , identity (music) , language shift , sociology , linguistics , field (mathematics) , sociolinguistics , geography , gender studies , political science , neuroscience of multilingualism , demography , physics , philosophy , mathematics , artificial intelligence , pure mathematics , computer science , acoustics , law
The paper explores diglossic relations between Central Thai and phasa isan , a variety officially known as a dialect of Thai, but linguistically close to Lao. Phasa isan is spoken by almost one‐third of Thailand's population but its speakers in the Northeast are often stigmatized as uneducated and backward. We conducted field research mainly among university students in Ubon Ratchathani, a northeastern border province, by drawing upon data from survey questionnaires, reflective essays, interviews, and field observations. The findings suggest a transitional diglossic relationship in which Central Thai is the High and phasa isan the Low variety. These relationships are discussed in terms of nationalism, social hierarchy, and language maintenance and shift.