Naming Durian Varieties in Eastern Thailand

Abstract

This research investigates the origins and linguistic characteristics of naming durian varieties. Data collection of durian variety names was done from Thailand’s eastern region consisting of three provinces namely;  Chanthaburi, Rayong, and Trat provinces which are available in the Plant Varieties Protection Office's website (www.doa.go.th), totaling 37 names. The findings from research studies on durian variety names' origins in this region revealed that researchers used interview methods and Wichien Thongpanshang's framework (2003) for data analysis. They categorized durian variety naming origins into 3 groups: First group (54.05%, 20 names) originated from 2 sources: location and sequence, personal names and inside of durian appearance, personal names and uniqueness, personal names and external of durian appearance, personal names and significant dates, inside of durian appearance and uniqueness, animal names and uniqueness, external of durian appearance and location. Second group (24.32%, 9 names) originated from 1 source: inside of durian appearance, personal names, location and uniqueness. Third group (21.62%, 8 names) originated from 3 sources: personal names, inside of durian appearance, and uniqueness, breeding characteristics, location, and sequence, personal names, external of durian appearance, and nearby trees, location, personal names, and uniqueness. The linguistic characteristics of naming durian varieties were analyzed by using Nawawan Panthumetha's framework (Phanthumetha, 2016), Royal Institute Dictionary 2011 edition, related Thai loanword textbooks, and expert interviews. The names were categorized into two groups: phrase-like or word group structures (97.30%, 36 names), further divided into phrase-like structures (78.38%, 29 names), verb phrase structures (13.51%, 6 names), and single-word structures (2.70%, 1 name) identified as a noun. Regarding linguistic origins, 12 characteristics were identified, with Pali-Sanskrit names (27.03%, 10 names) being the most prevalent, followed by combinations of Thai and Mon languages (13.51%, 5 names), Thai and Pali-Sanskrit languages, Khmer and Pali-Sanskrit languages, Mon and Pali-Sanskrit languages, Thai, Khmer, and Pali-Sanskrit languages (8.11%, 3 names of each), Thai language, combinations of Thai and Khmer languages, Khmer, Mon, and Pali-Sanskrit languages, Chinese language (5.41%, 2 names of each), and combinations of Mon and Khmer languages, Melayu language (2.70%, 1 name of each).