Manutsat Paritat: Journal of Humanities

Multifaceted Meanings of THANG CHAKRA Contemporary Poetry Literary Masterpiece by Siwakarn Patoommasoot

Naprapaporn Rootjanawet — 2023-12-19

This study focused on the multifaceted meanings in Thang Chakra, a contemporary poetry literary masterpiece written by Siwagarn Patoommasoot. Through the lens of in-text implication, beyond-implication, and the concept of literary criticism, the findings revealed three multifaceted meanings related to life, society, and the supernatural. These meanings were reflected through the use of figurative, conceit, and simile highlighting the author’s tones and purposes implied in this masterpiece text.

Chinese Female Subjectivity in Divorce Narratives: A Case Study of the Reality Show “See You Again”

Huiling Liu — 2023-12-19

The divorce rate in contemporary Chinese society has been steadily rising, with cases initiated by women accounting for over 70% of all divorce cases. Behind this trend lies the awakening and continuous development of modern female subjectivity. This paper takes the reality show " See You Again," the first TV program in China focusing on "divorce," as a case study. Employing a case study method and textual analysis, the research explores the portrayal of female subjectivity in divorce narratives presented in the show. Analyzing the program's narrative themes, character development, conflicts, and resolutions sheds light on the evolving female subjectivity of modern Chinese women. The study reveals that Chinese women's subjectivity continues to evolve as their knowledge and economic capabilities grow. Women are increasingly willing to break free from the constraints of marriage and family, striving to achieve their social worth. Simultaneously, the development of female subjectivity also propels gender relations towards greater possibilities, challenging the idea that marital relationships should be the sole destination for both men and women.

A Comparative Study of User-Generated Written Compliments in English: Analyzing a Compliment Object ‘Tom Yum Goong’ with Two Semantic References

Chinanoot Suntonbripun — 2023-12-19

Numerous studies investigated spoken compliments on characteristics of an entity or a person based on Holmes’ (1988) definition (Charoenroop, 2021; Ebadi & Pourzandi, 2015; Lin, 2020; Lin et al., 2012, Yuan, 2002). A handful of studies, however, explored written compliments on characteristics. With the rise of Web 2.0 technology, user-generated content (UGC) has become an increasingly popular form of content among users of various backgrounds to encode their messages using English to bridge intercultural interaction. This study compared user-generated compliments for the characteristics of ‘Tom Yum Goong’ (TYG)—a compliment object with at least two semantic references: (i) ‘food’ and (ii) a ‘movie’. The data were collected from 100 non-Thai users who made compliments in English on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and some personal blogs between 2015 and 2021. There were 114 compliments for TYG as food, 108 compliments for TYG as a movie. Results showed that strategies for spoken compliments are present in written compliments. Regardless of the semantic references, the use of positive adjectives and evaluation occurred the most frequently with a wide range of syntactic units. Most of the user-generated compliments were short and straightforward. The explicitness allows readers of various backgrounds to quickly identify the UGCs as compliments.

A Study of Native English Speakers’ Usage of the English Present Tense and Their Metalinguistic Knowledge on Locations in Time and Aspects

Anshakan Eiamtong-in — 2023-12-19

This study aims to analyze the usage of the English Present Tense among native English speakers and their metalinguistic knowledge governing the selection of the tense forms. There were 3 research instruments employed in the study: 1) a background questionnaire; 2) a gap-filling test of the English Present Tense; and 3) an open-ended metalinguistic elicitation questionnaire. There were 10 well-educated native English speakers with a bachelor’s degree or higher, participating in the study. Their nationalities are British, American, and Australian. The results of the study revealed that the participants mostly used the Present Simple in accordance with the expected theories, followed by the Present Progressive, the Present Perfect, and the Present Perfect Progressive, respectively. The participants’ metalinguistic knowledge demonstrated diverse perceptions of the situations presented in the test instrument. The study provides evidence for the existence of L1 metalinguistic knowledge and offers a deeper understanding of how each tense form expressed the locations in time and aspects, influencing the language users’ perceptions of the situations. Furthermore, the study proposes a novel approach to teaching English tenses, suggesting that English teachers should emphasize factors that impact the selection of tense forms beyond grammatical markers like temporal adverbials and conjunctions. These factors include aspectual perceptions, text genres, and situational contexts.

Kollokationskompetenz bei fortgeschrittenen thailändischen DaF-Lernenden: Eine empirische Untersuchung und Vorschläge zur Förderung des Kollokationsbewusstseins

Rasmus Teroerde — 2023-12-19

Die Relevanz von Kollokationen im Prozess des Fremdsprachenlernens gerade im Bereich Deutsch als Fremdsprache ist in der Forschung weitgehend unumstritten. Dennoch wird insbesondere im DaF-Anfänger*innenunterricht, aber auch auf höherem Niveau immer noch weder ausreichend Wert auf die Vermittlung eines Kollokationsbewusstseins noch auf die Entwicklung der Kollokationskompetenz der Lernenden gelegt. Im vorliegenden Beitrag wird gezeigt, dass fortgeschrittene thailändische DaF-Lernende (auf dem Niveau B2-C1) Kollokationsfehler in verschiedenen Kategorien machen (semantische und syntaktische Restriktionsfehler, Interferenzfehler, „erfundene“ Kollokationen, sprachliche Vereinfachungsfehler sowie „überkomplexe“ und „unterkomplexe“ Kollokationen), die jeweils auf unterschiedliche Art und Weise behoben werden können und müssen. Da Lernende auf höherem Niveau dabei aufgrund des vermehrten Auftretens von Kollokationen mehr Fehler machen, wird auch demonstriert, dass diese Fehler hätten vermieden werden können, wenn man die Kollokationen bereits auf einem niedrigeren Sprachniveau (A1-A2) gelernt und memoriert hätte. Zudem werden verschiedene Vorschläge für den DaF-Unterricht gemacht, die helfen sollen, das Kollokationsbewusstsein der Studierenden zu fördern. Diese Vorschläge umfassen das Erstellen von Kollokationswörterlisten durch die Studierenden zur bewussten Lenkung ihrer Aufmerksamkeit auf Kollokationen, den Vergleich von Kollokationen in verschiedenen Sprachen sowie die Verwendung von zweisprachigen Wörterbüchern und Kollokationswörterbüchern, um neben dem Kollokationsbewusstsein auch die Fähigkeit der Lernenden zum autonomen Lernen zu stärken. Abschließend wird das langfristige Desiderat eines zweisprachigen Kollokationswörterbuchs für die Sprachen Deutsch und Thailändisch geäußert.

A Comparison of Grammatical Errors Made by Thai EFL Undergraduate Students in Different Types of Essays

Pipittaporn Inpanich — 2023-12-19

This study aimed to enhance the writing proficiency of Thai EFL students by investigating the types and causes of grammatical errors made by Thai EFL undergraduate students across various essay types. This research examined four types of essays: a balanced opinion essay, an explanatory essay, a point-counterpoint essay, and an analysis essay. Fifteen students participated in this study, and a total of 60 essays were collected for analysis. The findings revealed that sentence fragment errors were most prevalent in explanatory essays. The misuse of nouns was most frequent in balanced opinion essays while subject-verb agreement mistakes had the highest occurrences in point-counterpoint essays. Spelling errors were the most common mistake in analysis essays. In terms of the causes, these grammatical errors may have stemmed from a combination of interlingual and intralingual interference. This study emphasizes the importance of Thai EFL instructors thoroughly understanding the distinctive features of each essay genre, and equipping students with a solid grasp of grammatical rules. Specific attention should be given to recurring grammatical errors including sentence fragments, the use of nouns, subject-verb agreement, and spelling when teaching essay writing to Thai EFL undergraduate students.

Trust Towards Society’s Newcomers

Karn Wasinsombut — 2023-12-19

Game theorists argue that trust is the solution to the prisoner’s dilemma. According to many game theorists, trust only arises and results in interactions in condition of reciprocal benefits. If both sides are strangers to each other, it will be harder for trust to arise than if they are acquainted, but this is still possible. If one party is a newcomer and the other is one of the locals, condition of reciprocal benefits may be difficult to achieve. It is because locals generally need not interact with newcomers and have no evidence of trust whether or not the newcomers will harm or betray them, while newcomers need to form relationship with locals to increase their chance of survival and settling down. Thus, the newcomers are more open to trust. When epistemic rationality for one party and practical rationality for the other are in tension, a question arises as to which form of trust can be a basis for cooperative interactions between the two parties. To answer this question, this article examines accounts of trust from game theory, cognitivist theories by Russell Hardin and Berislav Marušić, and non-cognitivist theories of trust by Annette Baier and Karen Jones, respectively. It reaches a conclusion that Jones’ account can be of an answer. Trust seekers have to display their commitments and abilities in response to trust offered, which in turn give trustors the basis for building up their optimism towards the former’s goodwill to an even greater level. This would strike a good balance between epistemic and practical rationality regarding trust for both parties.

A Review of Studies in Heart or Jai Metaphor in Thai Language

Wichaya Bovonwiwat — 2023-12-19

This paper primarily aims to gather and review the conceptual metaphor studies of the term “heart” or “jai” (ใจ) in Thai. Also, some other semantic studies of the word “heart” or “jai” in Thai are included in this review article. Although the metaphor research of “jai” or “ใจ” in Thai is not much found, the results of those heart metaphor studies yield significant results of how Thai natives view and understand the word “heart” or “jai.” The metaphors of the word “jai” can be categorized into four major groups: (1) HEART AS PERSON/HUMAN; (2) HEART AS OBJECT; (3) HEART AS SPACE; (4) HEART AS CONTAINER. To conclude, this organ term “jai” attached to an abundant number of phrases spoken daily plays an important role in communication in Thai, which reflects the native speakers’ perspectives on the heart.