One Thai: The Politics of Singularity in the Thai Landscape of Translation

Abstract

In the Thai field of translation, the use of proper central/Standard Thai has been so prevalent that many translation curriculums and textbooks paid too much attention to the discourse of “naturally fluent translation .” This translation practice can be traced back to a series of old-fashioned nationalist acts that come to underpin the notions of “standardness” and “appropriateness” in the discourse of Thainess, as well as the unified sense of the “One Thai” language. The hyper-centralized Thai, or Bangkok Thai, contributes to the linguistic singularity of Standard Thai and the concept of One Thai, which in turn lessened the degree of visibility and viability of the regional languages and dialects. In this chapter, we illustrate how the singularity of the Standard Thai in Thailand’s linguistic geo-body has transpired. The positions of the Bangkok Thai and the regional dialects are discussed as the tension of alterity in the singular plural. The chapter goes on to illustrate the singularity of the Standard Thai in its materialized form, as an instrument of “machine-like repeatability” of the state-endorsed cultural mandates and policies. It then demonstrates how this sense of linguistic singularity drives, if not manipulates, the translation practices in Thailand.