Abstract:
The purpose of this study is to analyze the linguistic forms and meanings of the first names of Thai people that belong to five different age groups in the four regions of Thailand in order to infer Thai belief in auspiciousness and inauspiciousness and its change over time. The study is based on two hypotheses: 1) The belief in auspiciousness and inauspiciousness is expressed in the selection of auspicious letters and favorable meanings as well as the avoidance of inauspicious letters and unfavorable meanings. This pattern of selection varies according to the age of the name owners; namely, those who are over 81 years of age express their belief primarily in the selection of meanings, whereas those under 20 years of age in the selection of letters; 2) Such belief of those over 81 varies according to the regions, but that of those under 20 does not. The result of the analysis shows that Thai names reflect belief in auspiciousness and inauspiciousness through the selection of letters as well as semantic meanings. The selection of letters or spelling is evidenced in avoiding inauspicious letters as suggested by the "Namataksa pakarana" naming textbook; namely, one should avoid "kalakini" or unlucky letters and choose "sirimongkon" or lucky letters for the day of birth (e.g., Monday, Tuesday..). The letters that are most preferred are those that stand for "teja" ('power'), and "sri" ('virtue'). As for the name meanings, it is found that lexical items with auspicious meanings are selected. They are classified into 12 groups of meaning. The most popular groups are virtue, progress, wealth, knowledge, honor, and power. Regarding the change in the belief in auspiciousness and inauspiciousness reflected in Thai names, it is inferred from comparing the names of different age groups, which represent different periods of time. It can be concluded that the lesser the age or the later the time, the stronger the belief in auspiciousness and inauspiciousness. This is reflected in the greater tendency to select auspicious letters among the younger groups than the older groups. Also, the belief reflected in selecting the meanings of lexical items for naming has also changed from the lexical items which signify characteristics of the name owners to those meaning virtue, progress, knowledge and ability. As for the variation of the belief according to the region, it is found that among Thai people who are over 81, the selection of auspicious letters is the same in all the four regions. However, the choice of letters corresponding to their parents and the meanings of lexical items in the names vary according to the region. In contrast, the names of those under 20 reflect regional differentiation in every aspect of linguistic expression.