A speech by Prof. Suwilai Premsrirat to accept the award on July 25 at the 18th International Congress of Linguists, at Korea University, Seoul, Korea
CIPL President, CIPL Secretary- General and colleagues,
Thank you very much for this great honor and wonderful award. I am extremely proud to be here to accept this award on behalf of all our research team, both academics and local scholars from various ethnolinguistic communities.
The concept of endangered languages has captured the imagination of many scholars, as well as the general public. The realization that a great treasure of language, culture, and wisdom is in danger of disappearing is prompting action to at least document, and, where possible, preserve and revive these languages.
However, this is not just about the languages in the abstract sense, but also the people who speak them. From my experience working on ethnic minority languages in the field and teaching linguistic field work to our students in the communities, I have witnessed the decline of the ethnic minority languages over the last two decades. I have also seen the desire and determination of community members to document or to teach their language to other people in their own way. When I had a chance to go back to work with them on their language revitalization program I found that they were very enthusiastic to work on their own language development such as orthography development so that they have a tool to write stories and record local wisdom or to produce reading materials and teaching materials in their ethnic language so that their language can be officially taught in school.
I would like to mention what speakers said about their language.
"An elderly Mon lady described the Mon language situation as a fruit which is breaking off from the stem and the language revitalization program as the last breath of the speakers. A Nyah Kur village headman said that being able to develop a writing system for Nyah Kur children makes him feel the proudest thing he has ever had in his life. This is repeated by a local Malay speaker in Southern Thailand who recite a poem saying that the mother tongue-based-bilingual education program helps to bring back their Malay identity and dignity."
So for the people from the many ethnic groups in Thailand who are striving to rebuild their pride, confidence and honor by tapping back into their wealth of heritage, the efforts of all those concerned has come just in time and I can say confidently that the successes are growing.
That is a prize in itself, but this very special award that you confer on me will always remind me that our allies and well-wishers are to be found everywhere especially among linguists.
So I am humbled and honored to receive this award today, not only on my own behalf, but also on the behalf of the speakers of the endangered languages of Thailand with whom I have been privileged to work. I am grateful for the wisdom and insight that they have shared with me. I also want to express my appreciation to my colleagues and students at the Center for Documentation and Revitalization of Endangered Language, Institute of Language and Culture for Rural Development of Mahidol University, who have been valuable partners in this work. I am also grateful to Thailand Research Fund for it's visionary support for my work--unique in a country that thinks of itself as being essentially monolingual.
Finally, I want to thank the General Assembly of CIPL for this award. It is my hope that the honor you have given me will help more Thais and people in SEA see the value of endangered languages and linguistic diversity.
Thank you.
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