Thailand

Thailand (formerly Siam), is a country situated within the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia. The capital and largest city is Bangkok, and the official language is Thai.

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Thai Population in the U.S.

According to the 2000 U.S. Census, there are 150,093 people of Thai descent living in the United States. They represent 1.1% of Asians in the United States and 0.05% of the U.S. population. 82.2% of Thai people in the U.S. are between the ages of 18 and 64. 15.3% are under 18 years of age. 77.8% of all Thai people living in the U.S. were born in Thailand and immigrated to the United States, of this total 45% are not citizens of the United States. Of those Thai persons born in Thailand, 60.9% entered the U.S. between 1980 and 2000.

While 19% of Thai-Americans speak only English at home, 46.9% report English is not spoken at home and that they are able to speak English “less than very well”. 33.9% of Thai-Americans report English is not spoken at home, but they are able to speak English “very well”.

According to the 1999 U.S. Census, the median family income for Thai-Americans is $49,635. 14.4% of Thai-Americans are considered to be living in poverty. 8) Contrasted with the poverty percentages of other Asian-American groups, such as Filipinos (6.3%) and Hmong (37.8%), Thai-Americans are ranked 6th highest of the 11 groups represented.

Thai Population in Oregon

No statistics were found on the Thai Population living in Oregon. This may be due to the grouping of all Asian Americans into the umbrella term “Asian”.

In a recent census conducted by Portland Public Schools, however, it was found that Thai was the first language of 38 students.

Thai Culture

Value Dimensions

Hofstede's Model of Value Dimensions are represented through five categories: Individualism vs. Collectivism, Uncertainty Avoidance, Power Distance, Masculinity-Femininity, and Long- and Short-term Orientation. The development of these value dimensions was created by Geert Hofstede through analysis of extensive surveys conducted globally. These value dimensions help to make comparisons cross-culturally and may help to define a culture's value system.

The following sections place a number value upon each of Hofstede's Value Dimensions in relation to the Thai culture. This scale ranges from 1 to 120; 1 being the lowest and 120 being the highest. The scales were established through an analysis by Geert Hofstede in which IBM employees of 64 countries were surveyed. The scale has been adjusted by subsequent studies of students in 23 countries, consumers in 15 countries, airline pilots in 23 countries, elites in 19 countries, and civil-service managers in 14 countries.

Individualism vs. Collectivism

Thailand scores relatively low in terms of the value dimension of Individualism. While the U.S. scores 91 in the Individualism scale, Thailand scores 20. This suggests a collective society in which the needs of the group is valued more over the needs of the individual. Emphasis in a collectivist society is paid to collaboration, maintaining face, community, and tradition. This is exemplified in the Thai culture through the way in which some Thai people share their food. Whether it be giving food to monks or dining with friends, food is usually shared. Another part of Thai society highly indicative of its collectivist nature is the importance of saving face. The Kreng jai attitude, roughly translates to “feeling considerate for another person, not want(ing) to impose or cause (an)other person trouble, or hurt his/her feeling(s)” is part of the key values of most Thai people. There is such a tremendous emphasis placed on face-saving that preserving another's ego transcends societal class.

Uncertainty Avoidance

In the cultural dimension of Uncertainty Avoidance, U.S. scores 46 while Thailand scores 64. Having a higher Uncertainty Avoidance score than the U.S. indicates that stability and structure is valued more in the Thai culture than in American culture. The influence of Orthodox Buddhism is apparent in the everyday life of Thai people. This is seen in the schools, morning prayer, and lunchtime meditation. The need for structure and control is also apparent in the mandatory school uniforms that most Thai students must wear, often with their name, and school institution embroidered on. The national anthem is also played on a daily basis at 8am and 6pm on all media outlets in Thailand to remind its citizens of its duty to country.

Power Distance

On the cultural scale of Hofstede's analysis, the Hofstede's Power Distance scale indicates a high degree of power distance within the Thai culture. Thailand scores 64 while the U.S. scores 40. This is illustrated in Thailand's respect for their King and religious figures. For instance, in movie theaters in Thailand, before the movie starts, all persons are asked to rise in respect for the King. Also indicative of the high power distance is the use of the Thai greeting called the Wai, which is a raising of both hands joined together as in prayer with all fingers touching and placed at either one's head or chest. This greeting is given out of respect and the height to which the hands are raised indicates the social status of the person being addressed. The person of lower social status initiates the Wai with a higher raising of the hands before the initiation of the Wai by the person of higher social status, whom may or may not raise his/her hands at a lower height. For instance, if a junior were to greet a senior (as seniors tend to have higher social status), the junior would initiate the Wai and raise his hands to his head. The senior may or may not return the Wai to the junior and may or may not raise his or her hands to the head.

Thailand has a hierarchical society in which relationships are based upon social superiority. How one is treated is based upon where the individual fits within the hierarchy. In general, age connotes level of superiority, however, social status may be determined by general appearance, job, education, family name, and social connections. Within most Thai family systems, parents are at the top of the hierarchy and are to be given the utmost respect.

Masculinity/Femininity

The value dimension of Masculinity/Femininity refers to the extent to which gender the society is dominantly oriented. A high score on this scale indicates a more masculine versus feminine society. In this value dimension, Thailand scores 34 while the U.S. scores 62. Cultures that place a high value on femininity value androgynous behavior, interdependence, nurturing traits, and equality between sexes is more apparent than in masculine societies. In Thailand, this is apparent in society's acceptance of the kathoey. The kathoey are males who choose to physically take on the role of females in society. It is believed that Thailand has the highest prevalence of transsexualism in the world. The culture's readiness to normalize this behavior is indicative of it's high feminine value in society.

Long and Short-term Orientation

This cultural dimension was the last dimension added to the original four Value Dimensions. To balance out Western biases present in Hofstede's work, this dimension was added which is based on the Eastern teachings of Confucius. In the cultural dimension of Long- and Short-term Orientation, a high score indicates a more long-term goal oriented society. Within this domain, U.S. scores 29 while Thailand scores 56. Having a higher score in this dimension suggests the Thai culture values social-order, have a strong work-ethic, and show great respect for employers.

Daily Life

Festivals

There are many festivals and holidays celebrated in Thailand. One of the most celebrated festivals is Loi Krathong. This festival usually takes place on the full moon in November. Roughly translated, “Loi Krathong” means “to float a raft”. According to Thai writing, the festival was created to honor the original Buddha. On this holiday, people make krathong boats out of banana leaves or khoms, small sky lanterns. These lanterns are released into the night sky and function like hot air balloons. It is believed that floating the krathong will create good luck. Fingernails and hair are sometimes added to the krathong in a symbol of releasing the “one's bad parts”.

Visual displays of Loi Krathong.

There are three different new year celebrations in Thailand. The Western New Year (January 1st), the Chinese New Year, and the Thai New Year, Songkran. Songkran takes place in Thailand April 13t - 15th. This is the hottest time of the year and this New Year marks the end of the dry season. Songkran is celebrated by most Thais with the pouring of water on others. At this time, some Thais also visit temples and offer food to the monks. Modern celebrations of Songkran has developed more into a nation-wide water fight.

Visual displays of the celebration of Songkran in Chiang Mai.

Food

Thai foods are eaten with a fork and a spoon, usually with the fork in the left hand, and a spoon in the right. The fork is used to push food into the spoon and the spoon is raised to the mouth for eating. Chopsticks are also used for noodle dishes. Thai cuisine is known for its spiciness, supplied by the kii noo chilies (roughly translated, kii noo means “rat poo”). Another common ingredient in Thai cuisine is fish sauce. Most foods are eaten with Jasmine rice, an indigenous long-grain rice grown primarily in the rice paddies of the central plain. Food is usually shared and rarely eaten alone.

Recreation

The national sport in Thailand is Muay Thai, or Thai kickboxing. The sport has had blockbuster movies made about it and its popularity has caught on in U.S. cities. Muay Thai is called “The Art of the 8 Limbs” in Thailand.

Another popular sport in Thailand is Takraw. This game resembles volleyball except the ball is made of rattan (as seen below) and only the feet, knee, chest, and head are used to touch the ball

The institution of Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts is firmly entrenched in Thailand. One day a week, most teachers and students wear military-like uniforms and practice boy and girl scout festivities. In 2003, Thailand hosted the World Boy Scout Conference.

Education

The chart below gives a general overview of the Educational system in Thailand. The emblem displayed is the Logo of the Ministry of Education in Thailand.

Education of Thai-Americans

While there are no statistics found on where Thai-Americans received their education, the U.S. Census Bureau reports that 38.6% of Thai-Americans have a Bachelor's degree or more. However, 20.9% of Thai-Americans, aged 25 or older, have less than a high-school degree.

Disability

In Thailand, disability is defined by the Disabled Persons Rehabilitation Act of 1991. This act states, “Disabled Person means a person who has an irregularity or physical, mental, or psychological deficiency according to classifications or ministerial regulations”. The Ministry of Public Health classifies disability in five categories: visual disability, auditory disability, physical or movement disability, psychological or behavioral disability, and intellectual & learning disability.

80% of people with disabilities live in rural areas. Although education in Thailand is guaranteed for all 12 years of basic schooling, the government of Thailand is unable to meet the demands of special education services especially in rural areas. Of the 1,068,178 students with disabilities in Thailand, only 3.6% graduate from high school. The Thai Health Promotion Foundation cites there are also “inherent problems in the attitudes of teachers and classmates that cause disabled students not to feel comfortable attending ordinary schools.”

There seems to be designated schools for students with varying disabilities. It is unknown if these students attend special schools or if they are given the opportunity to be integrated into the mainstream.

Religion

94.7% of the population in Thailand are Theravada Buddhists. Theravada Buddhism is one of the older forms of Buddhism based upon a movement led by Siddhartha in the 6th century B.C.. Buddhism reached Thailand in the 6th century A.D. via Sri Lanka. Even today, Buddhist meditation takes place in the Thai government schools at 8 in the morning and after lunch.

4.6% of the population in Thailand are Muslim. Most of the Muslims in Thailand are primary grouped in the southern-most provinces. Recently, Muslim activists have been labeled as terrorists or separatists by the Thai government. This ethnic bias on the part of Thai officials has resulted in large groups of Thai Muslims rallying against government prejudice.

Implications for the SLP

Linguistic

The following link provides audio samples of different Thai speakers reading an English excerpt. This may be helpful to the SLP to distinguish common speech patterns that may occur in the English of some Thai speakers due to phonological differences.

It has been noted that the Thai /r/ is a voiced alveolar trill or tap. This pronunciation sounds much like an English /l/. Thus, auditory discrimination between /r/ and /l/ may be difficult to distinguish between by some Thai speakers. For more regarding accent modification treatment of /r/ and /l/ please see Schmidt, A.M. & Beamer, J. (1998).

Because the /sh/ is not a phoneme in the Thai language, but the /ch/ is, auditory discrimination between these sounds may also pose difficulty for some Thai-English speakers.

Given that the Thai language has no inflection for nouns and no conjugation for verbs, it may be difficult for the Thai-English speaker to adopt these English rules. With this in mind, the lack of morphemic markers, plurality, and tense, may not necessarily indicate disorder in a native Thai speaker.

Cultural

Please see Thai Culture for an in-depth comparison of the cultural value system of Thailand to that of the United States.

Some simple considerations to be made by the SLP working with most Thai persons include:

• The head is the highest spiritual part of the body, thus head touching is discouraged.

• Pointing with the feet or stepping over someone is also discouraged.

• Thai society tends to adhere to a stricter social hierarchy than the U.S.

**For more information please see the Karen Language Page