Requests and translation in Thai

Abstract

This article explores the request speech acts in Thai and also examines the translation of requests from English into Thai. The data from everyday conversations in Thai are analyzed in terms of linguistic structure and strategies of usage. The Thai ways of making a request can be either direct or indirect. In analyzing the translation of requests from English into Thai, the data from five novels are used. The study shows that to translate the request speech acts from the English source language into the Thai target language, the translator can very easily render the English imperatives into the Thai direct requests of imperatives. However, the final particles si, sii, na, and na, which help soften the commanding effect of the English imperatives are added. English interrogative forms of polite requests are translated into Thai by using the conventional indirect forms of yes-no questions with the question markers day may or day may. And the polite final particles kha for females or khrap for males are sometimes added to match up with the varying degree of politeness of English interrogative form of request. As for the translation of the non-conventional requests in the declarative forms of hints or question-tags and in the questions forms of pre-requests, the translator tasks lie first in an attempt to recognize the pragmatic vagueness of the forms and the importance of contextual and cultural variables need in the interpretation of the source language, and the proper linguistic forms are then chosen.