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general information was shown in the overview of the subjects while their attitudes will be presented
in the results. All the analyzed data were interpreted using the integrated framework that combines
Kachru’s (1983; 1985; 2005) World Englishes, and Platt et al.’s (1984) lectal varieties of new Englishes,
along with the results from previous studies to discuss the guides’ mesolectal variety of Thai English.
Results and Discussion
It was found that only four of the 12 guides – Guides A, E, F, and J -- could be considered as the
mesolectal Thai English users. While the rest were basilectal Thai English users, nobody belonged to
the acrolectal Thai English users. These four guides’ English was more acceptable and understandable
according to Standard English but still showed some idiosyncrasies caused by Thai structure. In this
section, linguistic features of the four guides’ English and their attitudes are described and discussed.
1. Linguistic Features of the Mesolectal Thai English Used by the Tour Guides
The four guides’ oral English is presented in terms of phonology, morphology, syntax, and discourse.
A.
Phonological features
The four tour guides could communicate with foreign tourists moderately and understandably.
However, they showed two phonological aspects of the mesolectal Thai English: the segmental and
suprasegmental levels. Such levels are determined using Standard English or Received Pronunciation
(RP) via the Online Oxford Dictionaries (Oxford University, 2016), as a reliable reference.
(1) The segmental level: The tour guides presented their English consonant and vowel sounds with
Thai influence. Each sound is shown in the following tables:
Table 2: Consonant Sounds of the Tour Guides of the Mesolectal Level of Thai English
No.
The English Sound in
its Phonetic Symbol
Thai English Consonant
Sounds in Words and their
Phonetic Description
Excerpts
RP Consonant
Sounds
1
Fricative /
ș
/
Tree
/tri
।
/
- Ok, until tree o’clock. (Guide E)
- Today our company have tree boat, tree boat. (Guide F)
Three
/
ș
ri
ޝ
/
Fricative /s/
Bird nest
/b
।
d n
࠱
st/
That cave it is a place for making reservation from
collecting the bird nests for making the bird nest soup for
Chinese soup, this swallow bird nest. So you go there to
have a look. I will give you for more information about the
bird nest soup. (Guide A)
Bird’s nest
/b
।
dsn
࠱
st/
Becaut
/b
ࡁ
ढ़
k
ࠨ
t/
-Becaut the toilet on the boat you can put number one or
cheng (change) the new one. (Guide F)
Because
/b
ࡁ
ढ़
k
ࠨ
z/
2
Nasal /
ƾ
/
Belongking
/b
ࡁ
ढ़
l
ࠨ
ż
ki
ż
/
- You have to follow your tour guide go to the pier and
please check your belongking and check everything with
you. (Guide E)
- The other belongking like a big bag, like that. (Guide F)
Belonging
/b
ࡁ
ढ़
l
ࠨ
ż
i
ż
/
3
Lateral /l/
Animons
/
ढ़
an
ࡁ
m
ࠨ
ns/
- Please do not feeding for the animons (Guide E)
Animals
/
ढ़
an
ࡁ
m(
)ls/
Wonderfoon
/
ढ़
w
ࡣ
nd
f
ࡡ
n/
- It’s wonderfoon (Guide F)
Wonderful
/
ढ़
w
ࡣ
nd
f
ࡡ
l/
On
/
ࠨ
n/
- If you wanna have, you can have on (all) the time.
(Guide F)
All
/
ࠪ।
l/
4
Affricate
/d
ݤ
/
Cheng
/t
࡚
e
ࡁ
ż
/
Becaut the toilet on the boat you can put number one or
cheng the new one. (Guide F)
Change
/t
࡚
e
ࡁ
n(d)
ࡩ
/
