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Languages, Identities and Education in Thailand

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Language, Education and Nation-building

Abstract

Wander through Thailand’s ancient monuments and you will be struck by an abundance of ancient inscriptions. Look closer, and you will realize that a diversity of scripts is carved in the stones: Khmer, Mon, Burmese, Chinese, Jawi, Tamil-Brahmi, Javanese, Devanāgarā, as well as several ancient Tai scripts. These artefacts reflect Thailand’s place as a crossroads of diverse languages and cultures, between South and East Asia. Empires have expanded and contracted through the region, bringing together the amalgam of language and culture that is modern Thailand.

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© 2014 Kimmo Kosonen and Kirk R. Person

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Kosonen, K., Person, K.R. (2014). Languages, Identities and Education in Thailand. In: Sercombe, P., Tupas, R. (eds) Language, Education and Nation-building. Palgrave Studies in Minority Languages and Communities. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137455536_11

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