Publication: The generic structure of the Thai Prime Minister’s weekly address
Issued Date
2021-05-01
Resource Type
ISSN
25026747
23019468
23019468
Other identifier(s)
2-s2.0-85108645441
Rights
Mahidol University
Rights Holder(s)
SCOPUS
Bibliographic Citation
Indonesian Journal of Applied Linguistics. Vol.11, No.1 (2021), 114-123
Suggested Citation
Narongdej Phanthaphoommee The generic structure of the Thai Prime Minister’s weekly address. Indonesian Journal of Applied Linguistics. Vol.11, No.1 (2021), 114-123. doi:10.17509/ijal.v11i1.34662 Retrieved from: https://repository.li.mahidol.ac.th/handle/20.500.14594/75844
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Authors
Journal Issue
Thesis
Title
The generic structure of the Thai Prime Minister’s weekly address
Author(s)
Other Contributor(s)
Abstract
This study examines how the weekly Thai prime ministerial address constitutes as a genre and explains its implications against the Thai socio-political backdrop. Drawing on data derived from Thaksin Shinawatra’s, Abhisit Vejjajiva’s, Yingluck Shinawatra’s and Prayut Chan-ocha’s weekly addresses, the study applies an integrated framework of genre analysis based on Systemic Functional Linguistic and Critical Discourse Analysis perspectives. The findings reveal that although the format of the Thai weekly address is emulated that of the US president’s, this unidirectional, weekly televised communication differs from other world leader’s addresses. Following an interpretation of the findings, the paper argues that the weekly address has become ritualised in Thai politics since almost all post-Thaksin prime ministers have employed this political marketing strategy to justify their rule and promote their administration’s performance in such a way as to embody the ‘senior-cum-leader’ trait that has become a major Thai tenet. The generic structure of the show is loosely organised around a long-running time slot and imbued with a strong sense of positivity and glorification of the century-long concept of Thai nationalism.