สำนักราชบัณฑิตยสภา

34 The Journal of the Royal Institute of Thailand Volume III - 2011 34 Development of the National Language Policy (2006-2010) Committee to Draft the National Language Policy The Royal Institute of Thailand Eliminating unnecessary pronunciation variants in many lexical entries, would result in a slimmer dictionary that would give Thai language teachers focus in choosing words for pronunciation practice and examinations. d) Thai students and Thai nationals are doubtful of why the origin of certain related words do not appear in the Dictionary of the Royal Institute of Thailand.S Examples include ·æ√° , ·æ√à ß , and many other words. e) Most Thai linguists and Thai language scholars are unaware of phonetic research done by linguists and phoneticians at the University of California at Los Angeles on consonantal strength, which sheds much light on Thai pronunciation. f) Some Thais complain that many foreign companies and buildings show their signs in English only without Thai characters. Thailand should reserve the right to require foreign companies to write their names in Thai as well. g) Names of some television stations and television programs use English instead of Thai. 3.2 Subcommittee on the Regional Languages 3.2.1 Scope This subcommitteeûs area of interest included what are commonly considered the four çregional dialectsé of Thaifi Isan (Northeastern Thai), Kammuang (Northern Thai), Klang (Central Thai, the basis of Standard Thai), and Tay (Southern Thai). In addition, it was responsible for ethnic minority languages. 3.2.2 Findings The meaning and the origin of many words in modern Standard Thai can be found in regional variants of the Thai language in Thailand or in Tai languages outside Thailand. Literature from different regions retains words that disappears in other regions and they are very useful in studying different shades of meaning. Students and scholars seeking to understand the richness and beauty of the Thai language must recognize the importance of these çregional dialects.é Thailand is home to 70 languages, as can be seen from the Ethnologue (Lewis 2009), as well as the Ethnolinguistic Maps of Thailand (Mahidol University, 2547). Some of these languages are small and endangered, including Chong, Bisu, Malbri, Samre, Mokena, and Mani. There are also much larger groups: Malayu (Pattani Malay) and Thai Khmer each have more than 1 million speakers, while there are 500,000 Sgaw Karen speakers (equivalent to the population of Wales, UK) and tens of thousands people speak Lisu, Khmu, Akha, Lahu, and other hilltribe