Sisaket Local Languages Preservation
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Abstract
As appreciation of cultural diversity is listed as one of the SDGs goals related to quality education, the importance of acknowledging youth to learn about their language and cultural uniqueness is vital. This study, therefore, aimed at exploring how youth perceive the importance of their ethnic languages, so further language maintenance and teaching could be promoted. The youth speakers of Laos, Khmer, Suay and Yer ethnic groups residing in Sisaket, one of the provinces in the lower Northeastern part of Thailand were interviewed to investigate their attitude about their willingness to continue using their ethical languages in different domains in life. Four participants, a representative from each ethnical language, were invited to join the focus group interview. Thematic analysis was taken place to revealed factors according to language usage and maintenance of the participants. The data identified nine codes related to language use among youth in Sisaket, including social context, language purpose, interlocutor evaluation, language ability, positive and negative response, theme selection, public attention, and pride. These codes were categorized into three main themes: social context and language use, purpose of conversation, and attitude towards a particular language. Results from this study can be useful for preparing lessons to include a topic for discussion such as language loss, and revival, so youth can become aware of cultural diversity in their area.
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References
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