Mrs. Chau (Northern Thai)
Birth place:
Chiang Mai
Native language (L1):
Northern Thai
Status of L1:
Low in Thailand (Thais prefer using Standard Thai)
Language(s) spoken other than L1:
Standard Thai (Central Thai) (L2)
Cantonese (L3)
Duration of residence in Hong Kong:
22 years
Time spent learning Cantonese:
1 year to achieve the proficiency for daily communication
Occasions of using the languages:
Northern Thai (with son, relatives, and Northern Thais)
Standard Thai (with Central, Northeastern, and Southern Thais)
Cantonese (with husband and Hongkongers)
Number of children:
1 son (20 years old)
Child fluent in Northern Thai
Using Standard Thai very often with other Thai people in Hong Kong, Mrs. Chau is not considered strange by Hongkongers. She started to speak Northern Thai to her son when he was small. As he was brought back to Chiang Mai frequently every year, he had adequate opportunity to practise it when getting into contact with the relatives. However, he did refuse to speak the language when he was small because he felt in the presence of his Cantonese-speaking paternal relatives. But now, he uses it as a secret code to talk to his mother. He loves Northern Thai and his mother’s hometown in Thailand and has achieved a near-native proficiency, according to Mrs. Chau. Although Mrs. Chau speaks Northern Thai to her son most of the time when they are alone, she communicates with him in Cantonese in front of his father and other Cantonese-speaking relatives. Despite this, his father does not oppose his son’s learning of Northern Thai and actually there is little discussion between the parents on the child’s language education.
Preserving Northern Thai
Comparing with Standard Thai, Mrs. Chau thinks that, Northern Thai is less frequently used even in the hometown and is gradually taken over by Standard Thai. Nevertheless, Northern Thai should be preserved as it represents the unique Lanna culture of Northern Thailand. Northern Thai has its own writing system (i.e. Lanna script), but it is only limited to religious purposes. To maintain this language, although a few associations have already been established to advocate the use of Northern Thai in the family, Mrs. Chau thinks that schools in Northern Thailand should set up a subject to teach Northern Thai language and culture, so that the children will have a deeper understanding of their own identity, language and culture.
Mrs. Chau (Northern Thai)
Birth place:
Chiang Mai
Native language (L1):
Northern Thai
Status of L1:
Low in Thailand (Thais prefer using Standard Thai)
Language(s) spoken other than L1:
Standard Thai (Central Thai) (L2)
Cantonese (L3)
Duration of residence in Hong Kong:
22 years
Time spent learning Cantonese:
1 year to achieve the proficiency for daily communication
Occasions of using the languages:
Northern Thai (with son, relatives, and Northern Thais)
Standard Thai (with Central, Northeastern, and Southern Thais)
Cantonese (with husband and Hongkongers)
Number of children:
1 son (20 years old)
Child fluent in Northern Thai
Using Standard Thai very often with other Thai people in Hong Kong, Mrs. Chau is not considered strange by Hongkongers. She started to speak Northern Thai to her son when he was small. As he was brought back to Chiang Mai frequently every year, he had adequate opportunity to practise it when getting into contact with the relatives. However, he did refuse to speak the language when he was small because he felt in the presence of his Cantonese-speaking paternal relatives. But now, he uses it as a secret code to talk to his mother. He loves Northern Thai and his mother’s hometown in Thailand and has achieved a near-native proficiency, according to Mrs. Chau. Although Mrs. Chau speaks Northern Thai to her son most of the time when they are alone, she communicates with him in Cantonese in front of his father and other Cantonese-speaking relatives. Despite this, his father does not oppose his son’s learning of Northern Thai and actually there is little discussion between the parents on the child’s language education.
Preserving Northern Thai
Comparing with Standard Thai, Mrs. Chau thinks that, Northern Thai is less frequently used even in the hometown and is gradually taken over by Standard Thai. Nevertheless, Northern Thai should be preserved as it represents the unique Lanna culture of Northern Thailand. Northern Thai has its own writing system (i.e. Lanna script), but it is only limited to religious purposes. To maintain this language, although a few associations have already been established to advocate the use of Northern Thai in the family, Mrs. Chau thinks that schools in Northern Thailand should set up a subject to teach Northern Thai language and culture, so that the children will have a deeper understanding of their own identity, language and culture.
