Nathan Herr
Mrs. Redlinger
World Affairs
February 18 2015
Death of Indigenous Languages - Thailand
The struggle to preserve the significance of indigenous languages in Thailand is a
conflict that has spurred multiple individual nations, including Thailand itself, to take action
and restore judicial and cultural rights towards minorities within the mainly Thai society. The
government in Thailand strongly reinforces the protection of indigenous languages, hoping
to preserve the culture and traditions of many indigenous cultures. Having an indigenous
population of about 14% out of 65.5 million, minorities have a difficult time becoming
citizens due to some discrimination and stereotyping that suppress their rights as humans,
thus not allowing them to “access public services” (Indigenous People). Education is also a
barricade for indigenous people, deprioritizing them from living culturally and constraining
them to learn “Bangkok-Thai”, which forces them to discard their own cultural languages.
Indigenous minorities suffer through misconceptions and prejudices from high
government officials that believe that they are a threat to the environment and participate in
the illegal production of drugs. These false accusations affect the Indigenous people by
invalidating their rights to access certain buildings and referring their ethnicity “non-thai”
(Cultural Survival). The government of Thailand has been cultivating tools for antidiscrimination such as the International Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Racial
Discrimination, the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights, the International
Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural rights and participation in the adoption of the
United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous peoples (Indigenous People). These
laws were constructed in order to protect the citizenship of the Indigenous people, but also
reduce the discrimination from high-positioned officers within the Thai government.
Education stands as a major contributor towards the disappearance of indigenous
culture and language. As indigenous children attend educational opportunities, the thai
educational system pressurizes them to learn bangkok-thai, which vastly decreases the
likelihood of learning their own traditions and languages (Cultural Survival). In 2005, the thai
cabinet constructed a declaration that allowed all children, including non-thai, the right to
receive education (Education). Today, the Thai government is refining laws such as the
Citizenship Act of 1965, which gives rights to Indigenous minorities and provides their
citizenship to the Thai community. The government is also attempting to develop more
regulations that allow indigenous children to comprehend their own culture while learning
Bangkok-thai as well.
Cited Sources
"Are There Indigenous Peoples in Asia?" Cultural Survival. N.p., 02 Apr. 2010. Web. 23
Feb. 2015.
"Education." UNICEF Thailand. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Feb. 2015.
"Indigenous Peoples of Thailand | ヒューライツ大阪." Indigenous Peoples of
Thailand | ヒューライツ大阪. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Feb. 2015.