Language and Communication: Practice of Offering Online Birthday Wishes for HRH Princess Maha Chakra Sirindhorn on the Occasion of Her 64th Birthday Anniversary

Article Sidebar

pdf
Published: Apr 24, 2021
Keywords:
expressive and commissive speech acts online birthday messages for royal family SPEAKING model

Main Article Content

Thinnawat Sroikudrua

Abstract

The objective of this study is to analyze the linguistic features of the well-wishing messages to reveal the attitudes and feelings of Thai people towards HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn on the Occasion of Her 64th Birthday Anniversary. 366 well-wishing massages for the princess posted on MThai.com were analyzed based on Hymes’ SPEAKING model. The situation (S) in this study refers to the princess’s birthday, which is April 2nd, 2019. The participants (P) in this study are the princess and the well-wishers. The ends (E) of the well-wishers in this speech event is to express their loyalty and gratitude towards the princess by offering the birthday wishes to the princess. The act sequence (A) are forms and contents of the messages which come in various themes: longevity, health, happiness, being a moral leader, satisfaction, and making promise to be a good citizen. In terms of speech act, two types of speech act were found: expressive and commissive. Expressive.  Royal words are used as the key (K) in writing a message due to the status of the princess. Instrumentality (I) or the channel of offering the birthday wishes to the princess is the website, MThai.com. The norm of interaction (N) is the expected behavior in Thai society to offer best wishes to the royal family on their birthday anniversary. Genre (G) is the aforementioned forms and contents of the messages used in offering birthday wishes to the princess. The findings reveal the loyalty of Thais towards not only the princess but also towards the King, reflect Buddhist belief in Thai culture, and also help maintain the status quo of the royal family in Thai culture.

Article Details

Issue
Vol. 11 No. 1 (2021): January-April
Section
Research articles

References

Bangkok Post. (2019). Country celebrates King’s birthday. Retrieved from https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/1720031/country-celebrates-kings-birthday
Boonjub, W. (2009). The Study of Thai Traditional Architecture as a Resource for Contemporary Building Design in Thailand. (PhD Dissertation). Silpakorn University, Bangkok.
Bowe, H. Martin, K., & Manns, H. (2014). Communication Across Cultures: Mutual understanding in a global world. Port Melbourne: Cambridge University Press.
Foreign Office, The Government Public Relations Department, Office of the Prime Minister, 2015, Beginning of the Celebrations of HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn’s 60th Birthday Retrieved from https://thailand.prd.go.th/ewt_news.php?nid=130&filename=index)
Hays, J. (2009). Thai Monarchy, King, Customs, Constitution, Symbols and Ceremonies. Facts and Details. Retrieved from http://factsanddetails.com/southeast-asia/Thailand/sub5_8b/entry-3204.html)
Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn’s Personal Affairs Division, 2019, Biography. Retrieved from http://sirindhorn.net/hrh_new/index_0.php)
Hymes, D. (1972). “Models of the interaction of language in social life”. In Gumperz, J. & Hymes, D. (Eds). The Ethnography of Communication. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, pp. 35-71.
Hymes, D. (1974). Foundations of Sociolinguistic: An Ethnographic Approach. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
McCarthy, M., Matthiessen, M. & Slade, D. (2002). Discourse Analysis. In Schmitt, N. (Ed.). An Introduction to Applied Linguistics, 2nd ed., Chapter 4, pp. 55-73. London: Arnold.
Maneekan, S. & Champangoen, S. (2010). Principle of Speaker. 11th ed. Bangkok: Khawfang Press.
Pookphasuk, P. (2004). A Variety of Well-Wishing Messages for Birthday. Journal of Thai Language and Literature (21). December 2004, pp. 86-96.
Saville-Troike, M. (2003). The Ethnography of Communication. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
Sroikudrua, T. (2016), Wishing Messages for His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej: Language and Reflection of Thai Society. Humanities and Social Sciences, Khon Kaen Unversity: 33(2), pp.57-66.
Sroikudrua, T. & Wongpinanwatana, W. (2017) “Construction of “Happiness” in Programmed Birthday Wishes: A Study in Accordance with Critical Discourse Analysis”. The 2017 Seoul International Conference on Social Sciences and Management-SICSSAM. (Oral Presentation). 7-9 February 2017. South Korea.
Streckfuss, D. (2013). The Future of the Monarchy in Thailand. Kyoto Review of Southeast Asia. Issue 13 (March 2013). Monarchies in Southeast Asia. Retrieved from https://kyotoreview.org/issue-13/the-future-of-the-monarchy-in-thailand/
Tanarat, C. (2000). Speaking in Daily Life. 16th ed. Bangkok: Ramkhamhaeng
University Press.