After a lot of thought, I’ve decided to stop alternating entries on this blog between English and Thai, and just concentrate on Thai articles. This is primarily because a) I have been invited to write a regular column for a free on-line magazine (I think the first of its kind in Thailand), and b) I have started writing a Thai book. This means that I should be practicing my Thai writing skills a lot more, since I still don’t feel as confident writing in Thai as I do in English (perhaps a ‘natural’ result of having spent the last 10 years of my education – when I did a lot of essay/narrative/critical writings – in the U.S.).
I won’t stop writing English entries entirely, because there is a lot of things – particularly about Thai culture, politics, and Buddhism – that I want to talk about or discuss with non-Thai visitors. But I will do that on a less regular basis; perhaps once every 5-6 weeks. I will try to make sure that whenever I do write in English, to compensate for the infrequency, my article will present a coherent set of thoughts instead of merely translating some articles without giving them a proper context; in other words, no more cop-outs or laziness if I can help it 🙂
So hopefully I can finally finish writing an article on Thai culture/politics and post it here by the end of next month. In the meantime, you might be interested in an article called The Construction of Mainstream Thought on “Thainess” and the “Truth” Constructed by “Thainess” [PDF, 36 pages] by prof. Saichol Sattayanurak which I translated a few months ago. It is another “pillar of thought” that I am using to frame my article. Basically these pillars span four key themes that I think characterize the modern Thai society, and which I plan to expand in the article:
- Increasingly different cultures between “the rich” and “the poor”
- Preference for “authority figure” over “collective reasoning” in Thai politics
- Dual dangers: indifference of the middle class and disempowerment of the poor
- How the mainstream construction of “Thainess” contributes to Thailand’s emergence as an illiberal democracy
After a lot of thought, I’ve decided to stop alternating entries on this blog between English and Thai, and just concentrate on Thai articles. This is primarily because a) I have been invited to write a regular column for a free on-line magazine (I think the first of its kind in Thailand), and b) I have started writing a Thai book. This means that I should be practicing my Thai writing skills a lot more, since I still don’t feel as confident writing in Thai as I do in English (perhaps a ‘natural’ result of having spent the last 10 years of my education – when I did a lot of essay/narrative/critical writings – in the U.S.).
I won’t stop writing English entries entirely, because there is a lot of things – particularly about Thai culture, politics, and Buddhism – that I want to talk about or discuss with non-Thai visitors. But I will do that on a less regular basis; perhaps once every 5-6 weeks. I will try to make sure that whenever I do write in English, to compensate for the infrequency, my article will present a coherent set of thoughts instead of merely translating some articles without giving them a proper context; in other words, no more cop-outs or laziness if I can help it 🙂
So hopefully I can finally finish writing an article on Thai culture/politics and post it here by the end of next month. In the meantime, you might be interested in an article called The Construction of Mainstream Thought on “Thainess” and the “Truth” Constructed by “Thainess” [PDF, 36 pages] by prof. Saichol Sattayanurak which I translated a few months ago. It is another “pillar of thought” that I am using to frame my article. Basically these pillars span four key themes that I think characterize the modern Thai society, and which I plan to expand in the article:
- Increasingly different cultures between “the rich” and “the poor”
- Preference for “authority figure” over “collective reasoning” in Thai politics
- Dual dangers: indifference of the middle class and disempowerment of the poor
- How the mainstream construction of “Thainess” contributes to Thailand’s emergence as an illiberal democracy
In the past 5 months when I tried switching between two languages on this blog, I’ve discovered an interesting fact (for me at least): it is almost impossible to write in different languages without switching between two different “modes of thoughts” as well. It is hard not to think from a “Thai/Eastern” perspective when writing in Thai, and from an “American/Western” perspective when writing in English. I think that is because there are far too many concepts that are too “local” to translate: I would first have to write lengthy articles to explain what they mean in another language, before I can use them in my articles. I suppose that is part of the fun of languages, but it makes it far more difficult regardless for a novice writer like me who can’t claim to write “well” in either language. 🙂
Last but not least: happy new year to all visitors to this blog. Here are two of the coolest things I’ve found on the Web that should brighten up your holidays, if you haven’t found them yet:
First, here’s the coolest Christmas lights display ever (and yes, it’s real according to Urban Legends).
Second, take a look at the very cool London poster created by eBoy. See how many landmarks you can recognize!
See you all in 2006 🙂