The Language and Thainess of Thai Food Products on an E-Commerce Platform
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17507/tpls.1312.09Keywords:
brand naming labels, E-commerce, language patterns, Thainess, Thai food productsAbstract
The term ‘food products from Thailand’ was searched on the biggest e-commerce platform, Amazon. 140 Thai food products from Thailand were presented and fell into four categories: rice products (2), canned and instant food (19), snacks and candies (35), and food ingredients and seasonings (84); and 29 Thai food products from other countries were also found in three categories: rice products (6), canned and instant food (6), and food ingredients and seasonings (17). Thai brand names were the most found (53.52%) followed by English brand names (29.58%). In terms of language patterns, English dominance showed in the use of Thai-English (50.01%) together with the use of English only (23.26%) and English-Chinese (1.16%). Thainess was mostly presented with pictures of Thai food dish along with fresh vegetables, herbs, and spices (86.73%). Notably, certain food products with clear and transparent plastic packaging were presented without any pictures, but the products themselves. Although rice is one of the major food exports from Thailand, only 2 brand names of rice products from Thailand were found compared to 6 brands of rice products from other countries. Notably, a name of Thai place was found in a food product exported from other country.
References
Abdulrahman, H.S. (2015). Translating canned and packed food products’ labels from Arabic into English: Problems and strategies (Unpublished master’s thesis). Al-Najah National University, Nablus, Palestine.
Alshmrani, E.H.M. (2021). An analytical view of Amazon success in the worldwide. Life Science Journal, 18(6), 71-90.
Boonpaisarnsatit, N. (2011). Name and Naming: Semiotic, Linguistic and Anthropological Perspectives. FEU Academic Review, 5(1), 5-20.
Boonpaisarnsatit, N. & Srioutai, J. (2012). Thailand’s Exported Food Product Brand Naming: A Focus on Semantics and Pragmatics. FEU Academic Review, 6(1),63-78.
Jocuns, A. (2020). Aroi Mai? The multimodality of Thainess in Thai tourism videos. Multimodal. Communication, 9(1). https://doi.org/10.1515/mc-2019-0011.
Kongpolphrom, W. (2018). Thainess realisation in selected travel websites. Journal of Thai Interdisciplinary Research, 13(4), 63-67.
Mat, A.C. (2014). Translation of Brand and Food Label Products into Arabic: a Preliminary Linguistically Analysis. International Journal of Languages and Literatures, 2(2), 121-135.
Najpinij, N. (2012). Constructing “Thainess” in Thai Gastronomy in Five-Star Hotels in Bangkok: Case Studies of Nahm and Sala Rim Naam. Rian Thai: International Journal of Thai Studies, 5, 153-177.
Nakasiri, S. and Ratchatakorntrakoon, R. (2019). The Communication and Perception of Thainess in Thai Food Product: A Case Study of Phad Thai Kit. Panyapiwat Journal, 11(2), 135-146.
Noosud, J. (2019). The Utilization of English in the Franchise and SME’s Business Names in Thailand. EAU Heritage Journal Social Science and Humanities, 9(2), 293-304.
Sirikeratikul, S. (2022). Thailand: Food Processing Ingredients. USDA Foreign Agricultural Service. Retrieved February 15, 2023 from https://www.fas.usda.gov/data/thailand-food-processing-ingredients-4#:~:text=Major%20food%20exports%20include%20rice,cassava%20products%2C%20and%20canned%20pineapple.
Snodin, N.S., Higgins, J. & Yoowathaworn, S. (2017). How Thai business utilize English in their product names. Kasetsart Journal of Social Sciences, 38(2), 123-128.
Thailand Country Profile. (n.d.). Retrieved February 15, 2023 from https://www.foodexport.org/export-insights/market-and-country-profiles/thailand-country-profile
Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT). (2015). Amazing Thailand. TAT Review, 1(1), 67-73.
Trading Economics. (n.d.). Thailand Exports - January 2023 Data - 1991-2022 Historical - February Forecast. https://tradingeconomics.com/thailand/exports
Watanasin, R. (2012). Thai Food: A Gateway to Cultural Understanding. The Journal of the Royal Institute of Thailand, 4, 145-164.