The path to earning a PhD in Linguistics from the University of Social Sciences and Humanities for a man born in the 1980s in Thailand.

Phatcharaphong Phubetpeerawat (also known as Tom), born in 1987, comes from Nakhon Phanom, a small province in northeastern Thailand, about 145 km from the Cha Lo border gate in Quang Binh province.

Tom's great-grandfather was Vietnamese, born in Vietnam, and later moved to Thailand. Therefore, when the first Vietnamese language class opened in Nakhon Phanom province in 2002, 15-year-old Tom enthusiastically joined. With his parents' support, Tom later decided to study Vietnamese at Mahasarakham University and graduated in March 2010. That same year, he flew to Vietnam to work at the Thai Embassy in Hanoi.

Phatcharaphong during his trip to Sa Pa, November 2019.Photo: Provided by the subject

But when Tom came to Vietnam, he almost had to start learning from scratch. He struggled to distinguish between G/Gh and D/Gi because these sounds don't exist in Thai. Pronouncing Tr, S, or words with question marks or tildes correctly was also a challenge.

"Learning Vietnamese in Thailand is just learning the language from textbooks," he said, giving an example: when asking someone's name, the textbook teaches: "Excuse me, what is your name?", but when he went to Vietnam, he didn't see anyone saying "excuse me."

In August 2012, Tom decided to pursue a Master's degree in Linguistics at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities (Vietnam National University, Hanoi).

According to the Thai man, one of the secrets to his fluency in Vietnamese is traveling and the support of his Vietnamese friends. On special occasions like April 30th, May 1st, National Day on September 2nd, or Lunar New Year, Tom is often invited to his Vietnamese hometown by his friends. Thanks to this, he has the opportunity to learn more about the culture of different regions in Vietnam.

After receiving his degree, Tom resigned from his job at the Embassy to return to his home country. Since the beginning of 2015, he has been a lecturer at the Institute of Linguistics, Nakhon Phanom University.

"My hometown has the largest Vietnamese community in Thailand, and the Vietnamese language is more widely spoken there than elsewhere. As the eldest son, I also want to return home to take care of my parents," he shared.

In 2017, Tom received a scholarship from the Vietnamese government for Vietnamese language teachers in Thailand to pursue a PhD in Comparative Linguistics at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities.

After five years, in June 2022, he defended his doctoral thesis on the topic "The Vietnamese Phonetic System of Vietnamese Overseas Residents in Mukdahan Province, Thailand".

In conclusion, the National University Council assessed the dissertation as timely, scientifically significant, and especially practical. The dissertation topic had never been specifically researched and did not overlap with any previously published works in Vietnam or abroad. The professors highly appreciated the linguistic skills and knowledge of the Thai doctoral candidate.

Phatcharaphong defended his doctoral thesis at Hanoi National University in June 2022. Photo: Provided by the subject.

Tom said that Vietnamese phonetics is interesting because people in different regions pronounce words differently and retain those intonations even when they go abroad. In his research, Tom discovered that Vietnamese people in Nakhon Phanom province still maintain the aspirated /ph/ pronunciation of people in some provinces such as Nghe An, Ha Tinh, and Quang Binh. The Thai lecturer then created a phonetic map to determine the origins of the Vietnamese people there and explain why their pronunciation characteristics have changed.

Associate Professor Trinh Cam Lan, Head of the Department of Linguistics, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, highly praised the Thai young man's proficiency in Vietnamese and his ability to study and research linguistics. She stated that Phatcharaphong always maintains a positive and proactive attitude towards learning and research.

"Phatcharaphong has a solid foundation in linguistics and a particular passion for research. Especially, he has a great love for the Vietnamese language and a burning desire to protect and preserve the Vietnamese linguistic heritage for the community," said Dr. Lan.
 

Tom said that Nakhon Phanom University teaches Vietnamese and Chinese, but previously couldn't establish a specialization due to a shortage of faculty. After earning his PhD, he was assigned by the university, along with three other colleagues, to develop a Bachelor's degree program in Vietnamese and is currently actively writing the curriculum.

"I hope that when the Bachelor of Vietnamese Studies program opens, it will be of high quality and attract and train a large number of students who love the Vietnamese language, especially Thai students from Nakhon Phanom province, my hometown," he said.

Author: Le Thu (vnexpress.net)
Link to the article: https://vnexpress.net/duong-tot-nghiep-tien-si-tai-viet-nam-cua-8x-thai-lan-4509416.html