The Status of Research on Cohesion in the Thai Language

Abstract

This research article aims to analyze the overall status and trends of research on cohesion in the Thai language. Data were collected from three major sources: Thai Digital Collection (TDC), Thai Journals Online (ThaiJo), and higher education thesis repositories, totaling 40 studies. The findings reveal that the overall status of cohesion research can be divided into seven categories: literary works, legal texts, narratives, dialects, news, essays, abstracts, and miscellaneous. The research trends concerning cohesion in Thai can be summarized in three aspects. 1) The number of studies has trended upward, increasing from an average of one study per year in the initial period to three per year between 2018 and 2025. This indicates growing academic interest and suggests continued expansion in this research area. 2) The sources used in the studies were diverse in the early years. From 2000 to 2009, Thai literary texts were the most popular, though their use has since declined due to the growth of other data sources. However, they have continued to appear in every period and are expected to remain in use. At the same time, foreign literary texts show a trend of increasing popularity. 3) The theoretical frameworks most frequently employed in cohesion research are those of Halliday and Hasan, Cholthicha Bamrungrak, and Chanawangsa, which have been applied consistently across all periods.