English in Thailand has long been construed as a foreign language because it does not have an official status and because it is mainly learned as a school subject. This is changing.
As more and more Thais communicate in English with other non-native speakers of English for professional and personal reasons, English in the Land of a Thousand Smiles is more appropriately dubbed English as a Lingua Franca (Elf).
Elf has been variously defined but basically it refers to a situation in which English is spoken for real-world purposes and those who speak it comprise mainly non-native speakers. It is analogous to a linguistic carnival where differences in accents and styles are to be celebrated rather than shunned. Unlike Indian English or Nigerian English, Elf is not a variety in itself simply because there are no native speakers of Elf. This is one of the reasons why, rather than Thai English, what we have in Thailand is Thai Elf or Elf with Thai characteristics.
While Elf has its own patterns of use, it does not always conform to the standard English ideology, which often refers to either British or American English. Given this linguistic condition, one of the challenges as far as Elf is concerned is the ability to use appropriate communication strategies, notably accommodation strategies. That is, correctness is contingent upon the level of accommodation conveyed rather than grammatical accuracy in conformity with British or American English.
The Elf phenomenon which is gaining currency now in the sociolinguistic world has several implications, not least of which is how English should be taught in Thailand. Certainly, many questions linger or remain unanswered. For example, will Elf succeed where EFL (English as a Foreign Language) has already failed?
A Teacher
Prayut's hollow claims
The Prayut government has been claiming that it has done tremendous work in the country for the past four and a half years. Some die-hard fans of the military may believe it, but most of the people would not because they know that the claims are just that -- claims.
Just look around the countryside. Most of the roads are in a pitiable condition. Even during the 1997 crisis and the regime of Chuan Leekpai, the roads were comparable to those in the west.
Just drive on Rot Fai Sai Kao road that connects Bang Na-Trat road to the port of Klong Toey.
One gets the feeling of being in a poor African country.
To say it's terrible is an understatement. Much of the exports, driven by trucks loaded with containers, to Japan and Western countries go on this road. Imagine the damage it causes to the trucks and losses to the cargo owners.
If a government cannot do the simple work of laying good roads, can one expect them to solve complicated issues. This government has been a great disappointment and wasted four years of Thailand's future. The country would take years to recover.
When the new government takes the reins, the first thing it must do is to investigate all the deals this military-backed government has done with China. I am sure many skeletons will tumble out of the cupboard.
Kaito Yamamoto
Smog not going away
Re: "Diesel must die", (PostBag, Jan 26).
After reading David R's attack on vehicle pollution I found myself laughing. While pollution is a serious matter the last sentence of his letter encapsulated why it won't happen in Thailand: It simply requires regulation and the enforcement of these regulations.
Fireman Sam
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