THE CURRENT STATE OF LANGUAGE PROTECTION IN CHINA AND THAILAND FROM THE VIEWPOINT OF THE TRANSLATION OF LOAN WORDS

Abstract

            This study examined the current state of the protection of the Chinese and Thai languages from three angles: the process of loanword translation, the use of loanwords in modern usage (using the COVID-19 pandemic period as an example), and the protection policy of words. This study revealed that literal translation is the major way of translation in Thai while free translation was the preferred method in Chinese due to the distinct writing systems. To promote uniformity in the use of spoken and written languages and to safeguard their healthy growth, the Chinese government has enacted a number of policies at the national level. Although the Thai government has published a few pertinent policies, there is no unifying standard for the usage of language and terminology. Many recently invented words are solely used in official, professional, and academic communication. When people use these words, they primarily utilize transliteration.