How Thai businesses utilize English in their product names

Abstract

     This paper investigated the names given to Thai local community products and provides a description of the use of the English language in naming products in Thailand. The business names of Thai local products under the program One Tambon One Product (OTOP) were selected for analysis, focusing on language characteristics and semantic appropriateness by using onomastics to some extent. The data consisted of 1,304 names from five product categories-food, drinks, clothing and accessories, handicrafts and ornaments, and inedible herbs, as provided in the database of tambons and OTOP products. Thai product names in English, some of which only Thais can understand, show language creativity, reflecting Thai identity within English usage in the local setting. One problematic area concerns the lack of semantic appropriateness of some English names, as the names are sometimes not relevant to the product type. Thai entrepreneurs need support in naming their products to achieve international intelligibility if their products are to be marketed to international customers.