sikh and hindu indian thai naming by … · furthermore thai indians do not intermarry because of...

Dialectologia19(2017),41-66.ISSN:2013-2247

41

Received11March2015.

Accepted10June2015.

SIKHANDHINDUINDIANTHAINAMINGBYSEMANTICDOMAINS

WarintornBENJASRI

MahidolUniversity(Thailand)*∗

[email protected]

Abstract

This article will explore the traits of Sikh and Hindu Indian Thai naming by semantic domains.

According to Nida (1975: 174), groups of meanings, such as names, which share a similar semantic

componentareknownassemanticdomains.Ottenheimer(2006:19)sawasemanticdomainas“aspecific

areaofculturalemphasis”.TheresultsofthisstudywillshedlightonthedifferentworldviewsofHindus

andSikhs.TheresultsshowthesemanticdomainofHinduIndianThais’namingisdividedinto3types;1)

entities,2)abstractand3)events in sequence.ThesemanticdomainsofSikh IndianThaisnaming is1)

abstract,2)entitiesand3)eventsinsequence.

Keywords

naming,semanticdomains,ethnolinguistics,IndianThai

SIJYTAILANDÉSHINDÚYLADESIGNACIÓNDECAMPOSSEMÁNTICOS

Resumen

EsteartículoexplorarálosrasgosdeSijytailandéshindúenladesignacióndecampossemánticos.

SegúnNida (1975:174), losgruposdesignificados,como losnombres,quecompartenuncomponente

semántico similar, se denominan campos semánticos. Ottenheimer (2006: 19) consideró un campo

semántico como “una área específica de énfasis cultural”. Los resultadosde este estudio arrojarán luz

sobrelasdiferentesvisionesdemundodehindúesysijsydemuestraránqueelcamposemánticodela

∗*999Phuttamonthon4Road,Salaya,NakhonPathom73170,Thailand.

©Universitat de Barcelona

WarintornBENJASRI

42

denominacióndelostailandeseshindúessedivideen3tipos;1)entidades,2)abstraccionesy3)eventos

en secuencia. Los campos semánticos de la denominación tailandesa india sij son: 1) abstracciones, 2)

entidadesy3)eventosensecuencia.

Palabrasclave

denominación,campossemánticos,etnolingüística,tailandéshindú

1.Introduction

One of themost prominent and unique features of any and all societies is the

nameswhichitspeoplebear. Forit is inthenamesofthepeoplethatalloftheroots

and influences on that society and its culture are reflected. In Mphande’s (2006)

opinion, these special linguistic phenomena are not only self-significant but are also

indicative of cultural and societal influences such as social status, legendary histories,

andphonologicalprocesses.Forallofthesereasons,namesareanimportantsubjectfor

linguistic study. According to James (1975), the study of these influences takes place

withinthefieldofEthnosemantics,whichbydefinitionfocusesonthebehaviorofethnic

groups and attempts to understand the semantic domains (categories) used by each.

Ethnosemanticsespecially focusesonstudying thevocabularyofaparticular language

giventhatthevocabularywillgenerallysomewhatreflecttheentirerangeofsemantic

ideaswithinthatlanguage’sspeakers.

ThenationofIndiahasbeenanimportantinfluenceonThailand,particularlywith

regard to the court system. Dhiravegin (2008) stated that, generally speaking, the

Brahminism of the Indian subcontinent and its peoples has been one of the most

powerful influencers on Thai beliefs and values. The Office of the Defence Attache,

Royal Thai Embassy (2011) reports that currently there are approximately 150,000

IndianpeoplelivinginThailand;inadditiontothese,manyhavemigratedtothenearby

countriesofBrunei,Indonesia,Singapore,andMalaysia.Withregardtobeliefsystems,

thetwomaingroupsofIndiansthathavesettledinThailandcanbedifferentiatedinto

HindusandSikhs.ThemajorityoftheseareHindus.



43

ArchaeologistshavediscoveredthatitwasduringtheeraofAshokatheGreatthat

muchofIndianculturewasbroughtintoThailandbymigrants;evidenceforthisincludes

theerectionofseveralstatuesatthesiteofPhraPathominNakhonPathomandthesite

ofPhingTuk. Thestatues therehavestoodsince the3rdor4thcenturyA.D. (Cœdès

196817-18). Great conflictwithin Indiaafter the reignofKingRamaV resulted inmass

migrationtoThailand.

Justoveracenturyago,theSikhmigrationbegan.In1885,twogroupsofSikhs—the

Khalsa and the Namdhari—migrated to Sukhumvit Road and Ban Khaek, Lampang, and

Phitsanulok.Pongsapit (1991)stated that91SikhsmovedtoThailandat this time. Now,

therearebetween30,000and40,000SikhIndianThaisinthecityofBangkok,mostofthem

havingsettledinPahurat,Thaphra,BanKhaek,SukhumvitandKlongton.

FromtheperspectiveoftheThaipeople,mostHindusandSikhsareseenasforeigners

eventhoughtheyhavebeengrantedlegalcitizenshipasThais.Thisisduetothefactthat

thesepeoplesstilladheretotheirownnativecustomsandtraditionsandstillspeaktheir

native languages. Furthermore Thai Indians do not intermarry because of the great

differencesbetweenthetwocultures.Onewayforthemtomaintaintheirethnicidentityis

byadheringtotheirtraditionalnamingconventions,usuallyabstainingfromtheuseofThai

names,exceptincertaincircumstances.

Traditionally in India, names were based on location, religion, caste, and

profession and were composed of a phrase, single unit-word, or word-division.

According to Kaushik (2000), the probability of occurrence of the last namedoes not

impactthereliabledistributioninallterminologyplaces.Inmanycases,thefirstpartof

anamewillrefertotheplaceofone’shome,andthe lastpartofanamewillreferto

casteorsomeotherreference.

PreviouslytherehavebeenfewstudiesaboutIndianThaigroups,andtheresearch

thathasbeendonehastendedtobeaboutdescriptiveandhistoricalfeaturesofthese

groups.ThisresearchfocusesonHinduandSikhIndianThaisduetothefactthatthey

arethe largestandoldestgroups inThailand.This is thefirststudyto inquire intothe

conventions for assigning names and surnames to Indian Thais in terms of

ethnolinguisticsandtheculturalperspectivesreflectedinthenames


WarintornBENJASRI

44

2.Objective

Themain intent of this research is to examine the linguistic structure of Indian

Thainamingconventions.Various linguisticcomponentsofthenameswillbeanalyzed

semanticdomains.

3.MaterialsandMethods

This research will follow a standardized procedure involving the following four

categories: (1)Data Limitation, (2)DataPreparation, (3)Data collection and (4)Data

analyses.

3.1DataLimitation

Thedata limitation for this research isData for this research approximately 1000

IndianThaisinBangkok,gatheredforanalysisofconventionsandmeanings.

3.2DataPreparation

Importanttothisstudywillbetheuseof journals,articles,textbooksandtheses

that are pertinent to Indian Thai naming conventions. The theoretical frameworks

thereinwillbeimportantforthisstudy.Foundationaltothisstudywillbethecollection

of data (Indian Thai names) from 1000 informants around Thailand (Bangkok,

Pathumthani, Nakhon Pathom, Chonburi, Chiang Mai, Lampun, Lampang, Nakhon

Ratchasrima,Phuket,YalaandTrang).

3.3Datacollection

Fordataaboutnamingconventions,sourcessuchastextbooks,dissertations,and

journalswillbeconsulted.Thiswillallowtheresearchertoinvestigatethestructuresof



45

thenamingconventionsand thewordcomponents themselves, leading toa coherent

semanticanalysisofsocialandculturalfactorsinfluencingnamingconventions.

Asamplebaseofapproximately1000IndianThais(500beingSikhand500being

Hindu)andtheirrelativeswillbeinterviewedforthisresearch.Thesamplewillconsistof

Indian Thais whose ancestors migrated to Thailand from India. This data will include

focusgroupswithinthreetofourgenerationspersample.

3.4Dataanalyses

BecausemostThainamesareSanskritized,therootsofthewords/namesmustbe

determined. To do this, linguistic features will be analyzed from the data from an

ethnolinguistic and semantic perspective. This will be followed by semantic analysis

whichwill involve the categorizationof thewordsbasedonmeaninganda varietyof

socio-culturalfactors.Finally,therewillbeadiscussionofthefindings.

Foundationaltothisstudywillbethecollectionofdata(IndianThainames)from

1000 informants around Thailand (Bangkok, Pathumthani, Nakhon Pathom, Chonburi,

ChiangMai,Lampun,Lampang,NakhonRatchasrima,Phuket,YalaandTrang).

BecausemostThainamesareSanskritized,therootsofthewords/namesmustbe

determined. To do this, linguistic features will be analyzed from the data from an

ethnolinguistic and semantic perspective. This will be followed by semantic analysis

whichwillinvolvethecategorizationofthewordsbasedonmeaningand.Finally,there

willbeadiscussionofthefindings.

4.HinduIndianThainaming

HinduIndianThainamesareinfluencedbyavarietyofsocialconstructs,including

the four castes: the brahmanas, or priests, representing purity; the kshatriyas, or

warriors,representingcourage;theVaishyas,orbusinessmen,representingprosperity;

andtheShudras,orlaborers,representinghardwork.TheShudrasareoftenseenasthe


WarintornBENJASRI

46

lowest caste in Indian society. Shudras include servants (Kaushik 2000: 13-42).

Nowadays,moreweightisputinpersonalpreferencethanincaste.

4.1Firstnames

4.1.1Entitiessemanticdomain

Entitiesareusedfor62%ofHinduThainames,asfollows:

4.1.1.1 Inanimateentities

a) Natural inanimate entities: Natural phenomena account for 26.8% of Hindu

IndianThainames(15%ofmalenames;11.8%offemalenames),asfollows:

Celestial-atmosphericentitiesincludethefollowingexamples(15.2%ofnamesare

celestial-atmosphericentities;8.68%ofmalenames;6.51%offemalenames):

(1)Raveena (Female,Urdu) /ɾavina/ ‘beautyoftheSun’

(2)Nabh (Male,Sanskrit) /nab/ ‘thesky’

(3)Arundhati (Female,Hindi) /ʔaɾunthati?/ ‘thestar’

(4)Sabrang (Male,Hindi) /sapɾaŋ/ ‘rainbow’

Entities related to earth, geography, and names of cities include the following

examples (3% of names are earth, geography (1.5% of male names; 1.5% of female

names):

(5)Pavan (Male,Hindi) /pawan/ ‘wind,air,breeze’

(6)Hemadri (Male,Hindi) /himatɾi/ ‘Himalayamountain’

(7)Swarg (Male,Hindi) /sawak/ ‘nameofcity’

Gemsmakeupfor3.2%ofnames,includethefollowingexamples(1.92%ofmale

names;1.28%offemalenames):

(8)Himank (Male,Hindi) /himaŋ/ ‘diamond’

(9)Neelar (Male,Sanskrit) /nila/ ‘emerald’

(10)Panna (Female,Hindi) /panna/ ‘gem’

Names reflecting fire and flame include the following examples [1.2% of names

arefireandflame(0.8%ofmalenames;0.4%offemalenames)]:



47

(11)Patag (Male,Hindi) /patak/ ‘fire’

(12)Prajuala (Female,Sanskrit) /pɾattɕhuala/ ‘fire’

Namesreflectingwaterincludethefollowing[1.4%ofnamesarevariousformsof

water(0.7%ofmalenames;0.7%offemalenames)]:

(13)Karana (Male,Hindi) /kaɾana/ ‘tide’

(14)Kavana (Female,Sanskrit) /kawana/ ‘tide’

Floraandplantproductsincludethefollowing[2.8%ofnamesarefloraandplants

(1.4%ofmalenames;1.4%offemalenamesasinthefollowingexamples)]:

(15)Kalakar (Male,Hindi) /kalakan/ ‘tree’

(16)Kusumakar (Male,Sanskrit) /kusumakan/ ‘thebundleofflower’

(17)Laksha (Female,Sanskrit) /laktɕha/ ‘flower,whiterose’

(18)Kamal (Female,Hindi,Punjabi)/kaman/ ‘lotus’

b) Manufactured or constructed inanimate entities: Only 2.8% (2.45% of male

names; 0.35% of female names) of Hindu Indian Thais’ naming are based on these

entitiesasinthefollowingexamples:

Decoration:

(19)Kirit (Male,Sanskrit) /ki?ɾit/ ‘crown’

(20)Mudrika (Female,Sanskrit) /matthaɾika/ ‘ring’

(21)Trishar (Male,Hindi) /tɾitɕha/ ‘necklace’

Lightingandlamps:

(22)Pradeep (Male,Sanskrit,Hindi) /pɾathip/ ‘lamp’

(23)Deepak (Male,Hindi) /dipak/ ‘lamp,kindle’

Musicalinstruments:

(24)Bansi (Male,Hindi,Punjabi) /bansi/ ‘flute’

Processedsubstances:

(25)Ikshu (Male,Sanskrit) /Ɂiktɕhu/ ‘sugarcane’

(26)Madhur (Male,Hindi) /mathuɾa/ ‘sweet’


WarintornBENJASRI

48

4.1.1.2Animateentities

Thesenamesmakeup32.4% (27.7%ofmalenames;4.7%of femalenames)of

HinduIndianThainamesasinthefollowingexamples:

a)Animals:3.14%ofnamesarerelatedtoanimals:

1.57%ofnamesrefertopoultry:

(27)Vihang (Male,Sanskrit,Hindi) /wihaŋ/ ‘bird’

1.05%ofnamesrefertoquadrupeds:

(28)Kamboj (Male,Sanskrit) /kambot/ ‘elephant’

(29)Neshu (Male,Sanskrit) /net/ ‘lion’

0.52%ofnamesrefertobodypartsofanimal:

(30)Muktā (Female,Sanskrit) /mukta/ ‘pearl’

b)Humanbeings

13.6% of names are human beings (male 12.54%, female 1.05%) consist of the

followingsub-domains:

Genericanddistinguishedbyageandsex:

(31)Bhupen (Male,Bangala) /phupen/ ‘king’

(32)Kanvar (Male,Punjabi) /khanwara/ ‘youngPrince’

(33)Riya (Female,Arabic) /ɾiya/ ‘singer’

Males:

(34)Manish (Male,Sanskrit,Hindi)/manit/ ‘manwhocancontrolthought’

(35)Hadrik (Male,Urdu) /hatthaɾika/ ‘boy’

Offspring:

(36)HareshKumar (Male,Hindi) /haɾetkuman/ ‘ThesonofLordSiva’

(37)JitendraKumar (Male,Hindi) /tɕithendɾakuman/‘Sonofvirtuousfather’

(38)MaheshKumar (Male,Hindi) /mahetkuman/ ‘thesonofGod’

(40)Anusha (Male,Sanskrit) /?anutɕha/ ‘youngerbrother’

(41)FalakKumar (Male,Urdu) /falakkuman/ ‘sonofthesky’



49

Affinals:

(42)Ira (Female,Hindi) /?iɾa/ ‘thewifeofManu’

(43)Harini (Female,Urdu) /harini/ ‘deer,darling’

Brothersandsisters:

(44)Pehlaj (Male,Persian) /pelat/ ‘elderbrother’

(45)Anusha (Male,Sanskrit) /ʔanutɕha/ ‘youngersister’

Groupconsistsofsocio-politics:

(46)Pandey (Male,Hindi)/pande/ ‘aBrahminsub-caste’

Body,bodyparts,andbodyexpressions:

(47)Citrākṣa (Male,Hindi) /tɕitɾaksa/ ‘expressiveeyes’

(48)Nayan (Male,Sanskrit,Hindi)/najan/ ‘eyes’

c)Supernaturalpowersorbeings

15.26% of supernatural powers or beings are divided into powers or

personificationsandpersonalbeings:

4.73%ofnames refertopowersorpersonifications:

(49)Kripa (Female,Sanskrit) /kɾipha/ ‘merciful’

(50)Rujul (Male,Sanskrit) /rutɕhun/ ‘honest,faithful’

(51)Riddhi (Female,Sanskrit) /ɾitthi?/ ‘power’

10.53%ofnamesrefertopersonalbeings:

(52)Adhi (Male,Sanskrit) /?athi?/ ‘NameofLordGanesha’

(53)Biharikunj (Male,Sanskrit) /phihanrikun/ ‘NameofLordKrishna’

(54)Gajadhar (Male,Hindi) /katɕhathan/ ‘NameofLordVishnu’

(55)Jogishwar (Male,Sanskrit) /jokhitɕhawa/ ‘TheGodofyoga’

(56)KumarNandana (Male,Sanskrit) /kumannandana/‘sonofGod’

(57)Abhayā (Female,Hindi) /?apheja/ ‘Goddess’

(58)MaheshKumar (Male,Hindi) /mahetkuman/‘NameofLordGan@esa’


WarintornBENJASRI

50

4.1.2Abstractsemanticdomain

22.8%ofabstractdomain isusedfornamingwhichreferstothefollowingname

groups:

8.2%ofnamesrefertocapacity:

(59)Ashvath (Male,Hindi) /ʔattɕhawat/ ‘Stronglikebanyantree’

(60)Dak◌ฺsi (Female,Sanskrit) /thaksi) ‘expert’

(61)Aiswarya (Female,Hindi) /ʔaytɕhawa:raya:/‘prosperous’

5.6%ofnamesrefertonumber:

(62)Anit (Male,Hindi) /ʔanit/ ‘small,alittle’

(63)Balraj (Male,Hindi) /banrat/ ‘great,big’

4.8%ofnamesrefertotime:

(64)Arun (Male,Punjabi) /ʔarun/ ‘dawn’

(65)Rajni (Female,Hindi)/ ratɕhani/ ‘night’

3.4%ofnamesrefertogood-bad:

(66)Uttam (Male,Hindi) /ʔattam/ ‘good’

(67)Suchir (Male,Hindi) /sutþhə/ ‘Goodforlongtime’

2.6%ofnamesrefertoattractiveness:

(68)Sanjula (Female,Hindi) /sanjula/ ‘beautiful’

(69)Jahi (Male,Persian,Hindi) /jahi/ ‘chic,stylish,handsome’

(70)Kashish (Female,Persian,Hindi)/katɕhit/ ‘charming’

2.2%ofnamesrefertostatus:

(71)Aiswarya (Female,Hindi) /ʔaytɕhawaraya/‘prosperous’

(72)Udbal (Male,Hindi) /ʔatbaw/ ‘famous’

2%ofnamesrefertocolor:

(73)Shweta (Female,Hindi) /tɕhaweta/ ‘white’

(74)Neela (Female,Hindi,Urdu) /nila/ ‘blue’

1.2%ofnamesrefertovolumewhicharemales:

(75)Suran (Male,Hindi) /suran/ ‘melodious’

0.2%ofnamesrefertovelocity:

(76)Ranam (Male,Urdu) /ranam/ ‘fast/quick’

0.2%ofnamesrefertotruth-falsehood:

(77)Tatbir (Male,Persian) /thatbə/ ‘truth’



51

4.1.3Eventssemanticdomain

Thissemanticdomainrelatestoemotions,intellect,andcontrol.HinduIndianThai

namesarebasedon15.2%ofthissub-domain.

16.4%ofnamesrefertoemotions:

(78)Khushi (Female,Punjabi,Urdu)/khutɕhi/ ‘happiness’

(79)Akanksha (Female,Hindi) /?akaŋtɕha/ ‘desire’

(80)Himal (Urdu,Punjabi) /himan/ ‘calm’

1.64%ofnamesrefertointellect:

(81)Jignasa (Female,Sanskrit,Hindi)/tɕhiknasa/‘curiosity’

3.28%ofnamesrefertocontrol:

(82)Amarjeet (Male,Punjabi) /?amaratɕhit/‘victory’

(83)Shamak (Male,Persian,Sanskrit)/tɕhamak/ ‘peace’

4.2Surnames

The Hindu Indian Thai surnames can be analyzed into 3 semantic domains and

severalsubdomainsasfollows:


Thissemanticdomainaccountsfor48.6%ofHinduIndianThaiSurnames,withthe

followingexamples:

4.2.1.1Inanimateentities

The inanimate (sub-)domain refers to nature, the supernatural, substances,

flora/plantentitiesandmanufacturedorconstructedentities,asfollows:

a) Natural inanimate entities: Natural phenomena account for 22.4% of Hindu

IndianThaisurnames,asfollows:

12.92%ofsurnamesrefertocelestial-atmosphericentities:

(84)Lalitaditya (Sanskrit) /lalita:thittaya/ ‘thebeautifulsun’


WarintornBENJASRI

52

(85)Kshitij (Hindi) /kasidit/ ‘horizon’

3.3%ofsurnamesrefertogeography:

(86)Jaldhar (Hindi) /tɕhanthara/ ‘stream,waterway’

(87)Sagardutt(Hindi) /sakaradut/ ‘giftofocean’

3.2%ofsurnamesrefertogems:

(88)Kanchan (Hindi) /kantɕhan/ ‘gold’

(89)Neelam (Hindi) /nilam/ ‘bluesapphire’

0.9%ofsurnamesrefertovariousformsofwater:

(90)Mehul (Persian,Hindi)/mehun/ ‘rain’

(91)Jaldhar (Hindi) /jathan/ ‘stream,waterway’

2.08%ofsurnamesrefertoflowers:

(92)Kusum (Hindi) /kusum/ ‘flower’

b) Manufactured or constructed inanimate entities: Only 2.2% of Hindu Indian

surnamesarebasedontheseentitiesasinthefollowingexamples:

Decoration:

(93)Suvarnamālā (Sanskrit) /suwanmala/ ‘goldnecklace’

4.2.1.2Animatesubdomain

24%oftheanimatesub-domainisusedforHinduIndianThaisurnamesaccording

tothefollowingnamegroups:

a)Humanbeings:7%ofnamesrelatedtohumanbeings.Theseconsistof0.4%of

kinshipterms:

(94)Nandini (Hindi) /nandini/ ‘Daughter’

(95)Hridyanshu (Hindi) /haɾitjantɕhu/ ‘Lightofheart’

b)Supernaturalpowersorbeings:Supernaturalpowersorbeings(17%)consistof

thefollowingnamegroups:

2.2%ofsurnamesrefertopowersorpersonifications:

(96)Dhaval (Sanskrit,Hindi) /thawan/ ‘fair’

(97)Palin (Hindi) /palin/ ‘safeguard’



53

14.8%ofsurnamesrefertopersonalbeings:

(98)Khagesh (Hindi) /khaket/ ‘Godofbirds’

(99)Manju (Hindi) /mantɕhu/ ‘LordSiva’


42.4%ofabstractdomainisusedforsurnameswhichrefertothefollowingname

groups:

10.8%ofsurnamesrefertotime:

(100)Nishita (Hindi) /nitɕhita/ ‘night ’

(101)Prathysha (Hindi) /pratya/ ‘morning’

0.2%ofsurnamesrefertovelocity:

(102)Chapal (Hindi) /tɕha:pan/ ‘fast’

2.8%ofsurnamesrefertonumber:

(103)Yakta (Hindi) /yakta/ ‘unique’

(104)Nikhil(Sanskrit) /nikhiw/ ‘infinite,limitless’

3.45%ofsurnamesrefertostatus:

(105)Darlat (Persian,Hindi) /dalat/ ‘stability’

(106)Dhureen (Punjabi,Hindi) /thuɾi:n/ ‘achievement’

8.2%ofsurnamesrefertoreligiouscharacter:

(107)Ashish (Hindi) /?atɕhit/ ‘blessing’

(108)Oni (Hindi) /?oni/ 'borninaholyplace'

8.6%ofsurnamesrefertoattractiveness:

(109)Manjulas (Hindi) /mantɕhulat/ ‘loveable’

(110)Mohit (Hindi) /mohit/ ‘charming’

(111)Nikhil (Sanskrit) /nikhiw/ ‘perfection’

0.2%ofsurnamesrefertotruth-falsehood:

(112)Tatbir (Persian) /tatbə/ ‘truth’

0.2%ofsurnamesrefertoGood-bad:

(113)Sheil (Hindi) /tɕhiw/ ‘goodconduct’

7.4%ofsurnamesrefertocapacity:

(114)Sonya (Punjabi,Hindi) /sonya/ ‘wisdom,clever’


WarintornBENJASRI

54

(115)Yukta (Hindi) /yukta/ ‘attentive,skillful’


8.8% of events are used as surnames relate to physiological entities; emotions;

intellect,controlandmovementasinthefollowingexamples:

0.4%ofsurnamesrefertophysiologicalentities:

(116)Janam (Hindi) /tɕanam/ ‘birth’

5.75%ofsurnamesrefertoemotions:

(117)Kanth (Hindi) /kan/ ‘beloved’

(118)Parmanand (Hindi) /paɾamanan/ ‘superlativejoy’

2.46%ofsurnamesrefertointellectual:

(119)Tatva (Hindi) /tatwa/ 'Fundamentalidea’

2.46%ofsurnamesrefertocontrol:

(120)Baljit(Punjabi) /bantɕit/ ‘winningpower’

(121)Jishnu (Hindi) /tɕhitsanu/ ‘victorious’

0.4%ofsurnamesrefertomovement:

(122)Pretvan (Hindi) /pɾetwan/ ‘movingalong’

5.SikhIndianThainaming

Cole&Sambhi(1978:43-97)explainedthatintheNamingCeremonyofSikhism,a

hymnfromtheGranth(Sikhism’scentraltext)ischosenatrandom.Thefirstletterofthe

hymn,anyletterofthealphabet,ischosenastheinitialofthechild'sname.Afterthis,

thecongregationisaskedtosuggestasuitablenamebeginningwiththatletter.TheSikh

IndianThais'namingcanbedividedintofirstnamesandsurnames:

5.1Firstnames

Sikh Indian Thai first names can be analyzed into three semantic domains

(Abstract,Entities,andEvents).



55


52.68% of abstract domain is used for the Sikh nameswhich refers to religious

character, time,attractiveness,capacity,number, status,good-bad,velocity,andcolor

asinthefollowingdetail.SikhismworshipstheGuruGranthSahibandbelievesinpeace.

39.86%ofnamesrefertoreligiouscharacter(30.97%ofmale;8.89%offemale):

(123)Darvesh (Male,Hindi) /daɾawet/ ‘religious,gentleman’

(124)Diksha (Female,Punjabi) /thitɕha/ ‘initiation,consecration’

3.21%ofnamesrefertotime(2.5%ofmale;0.71%offemale):

(125)Basant (Female,Punjabi) /phasan/ ‘springseason’

(126)Chiranjiv (Male,Sanskir,Hindi) /tɕhiɾantɕhip/ ‘immortal’

2.81%ofnamesrefertoattractiveness(1.405%ofmale;1.405%offemale):

(127)Komal (Female,Punjabi) /koman/ ‘tender,soft,delicate’

(128)Mohanbir (Male,Punjabi) /mo:hanbə:/ ‘beauteous,brave’

2.2%ofnamesrefertocapacity(1.65%ofmale;0.99%offemale):

(129)Chathuv (Female,Punjabi) /tɕatthuwa/ ‘clever’

1.4%ofnamesrefertonumber(0.33%ofmale;0.33%offemale):

(130)Asankh (Male,Punjabi) /ʔasan/ ‘countless’

(131)Ekam (Female,Punjabi)/ʔekam/ ‘one,united’

1%ofnamesrefertostatus:(0.75%ofmale;0.25%offemale)

(132)Anokh (Male,Punjabi) /ʔanok/ ‘extraordinary’

(133)Darvesh (Male,Hindi) /daɾawet/ ‘humble’

1%ofnamesrefertogood-bad(0.75%ofmale;0.25%offemale):

(134)Adarsh (Male,Hindi) /ʔadat/ ‘ideal’

(135)Nirmai (Female,Hindi) /niramay/ ‘withoutflaw’

0.4%ofnamesrefertovelocity(0.4%ofmale):

(136)Teja (Male,Punjabi) /tetɕha/ ‘fast,speedy,sharp’

0.2%ofnamesrefertocolor(0.2%offemale):

(137)Basant (Female,Punjabi) /phasan/ ‘yellow’

0.6%ofnamesrefertoage:(0.2%ofonlyfemale):

(138)Yuvleen (Male,Punjabi) /yuwalin/ ‘absorbedinyouthfulness’


WarintornBENJASRI

56


42.32% of entities domain are used for Sikh names, including animate entities

(animal, human beings and supernatural powers or beings) and inanimate entities

(naturalandmanufacturedorconstructedentities).


Animateentitiessub-domainconsistsofanimals,humanbeingsandsupernatural

asfollows:

a)Animals:1%ofnamesareAnimals,asfollows:

(139)Arjun (Male,Hindi) /?aɾajun/ ‘peacock’

(140)Variam (Male,Punjabi) /waɾi?am/ ‘lion’

b) Human beings: 2.6% of names are human beings (2.2% of male; 0.4% of

female),asfollows:

Genericanddistinctionsbyageandsex:

(141)Hamin (Female,Urdu) /hamin/ ‘woman’

(142)Nina (Female,European) /nina/ ‘littlegirl’

Groupconsistsofsociopolitical:

(143)Fauja (Male,Punjabi) /faoja/ ‘army,general’

(144)Meeta (Male,Punjabi) /mita/ ‘friend’

Body,bodyparts,andbodyproducts:

(145)Mukhlapa (Female,Punjabi) /mukkhalapha/‘face’

(146)Netter (Male,Punjabi) /net/ ‘eyes’

c) Supernatural powers or beings: 20.3% of names are related to supernatural

powersorbeings,asfollows:

Powersorpersonifications:

(147)Taan (Male,Punjabi) /ta?an/ ‘power’

(148)Wafa (Male,Urdu) /wafa/ ‘faithful’



57

Personalbeings:

(149)Aditya (Male,Sanskrit,Hindi)/ʔathittaya/ ‘sun,lordSurya’

(150)Arvindera (Male,Punjabi)/ʔaɾawindəra/ ‘lordofHorses,lord’


a) Natural inanimate entities: Natural phenomena account for 11.42% of Sikh

IndianThaisnames,asfollows:

6%ofnamesrefertocelestial-atmosphericentities:

(151)Dhoop (Male,Punjabi) /thup/ ‘attheedgeofsunshine’

(152)Divjot (Female,Punjabi) /thipjot/ ‘divinelight’

2.1%ofnamesrefertoentitiesrelatedtoearth,geography:

(153)Deenaagal (Male,Punjabi) /dinakan/ ‘valley’

(154)Gulzar (Male,Urdu) /kunsa/ ‘garden’

0.52%ofnamesrefertogems:

(155)Kanchan (Female,Hindi) /kantɕhan/ ‘gold’

2%ofnamesrefertofireandflame:

(156)Jyoti (Male,Sanskrit,Hindi) /tɕhayoti?/ ‘flame’

(157)Jujhar (Male,Punjabi) /tɕhuthan/ ‘flame’

0.8%ofnamesrefertofloraandplantproducts:

(158)Harzadan(Male,Punjabi) /hasadan/ ‘flower’

(159)Kinshuk (Male,Punjabi) /kintɕhuk/ ‘flower’

b)Manufacturedorconstructedinanimateentities:Only2.2%ofSikhIndianThais’

namingarebasedontheseentitiesasinthefollowingexamples:

1.8%ofnamesrefertooffenseweapons:

(160)Talwar (Male,Urdu) /tanwan/ ‘swordordagger’

0.4%ofnamesrefertodecoration:

(161)Deenaagal (Male,Punjabi) /dinakan/ ‘decoration’

1.96%ofnamesrefertolightingandlampstands:

(162)Deepak (Male,Male,Hindi) /dipak/ ‘lamp’


WarintornBENJASRI

58


Events(5%)arerelatedtophysiology,emotion,intellect,control,andtransfer.The

meaningofeventsisindicatedbytheSikhIndianThaipeople’sidealcharacter.

1%ofnamesrefertophysiology:

(163)Ankur (Male,Hindi) /ʔaŋkun/ ‘sprout,glow’

(164)Deepak (Male,Sanskrit,Hindi)/dipak/ ‘kindle’

3.2%ofnamesrefertoemotion(2%ofmales;0.2%offemales):

(165)Akalsukh (Male,Punjabi) /ʔakansuk/ ‘delight’

(166)Premdeep (Female,Hindi) /premthip/ ‘Thelampoflove’

1.8%ofnamesrefertointellect:

(167)Gianparkash (Male,Punjabi) /ki?anpakat/‘Lightofdivineknowledge’(168)Gianpreet (Male/Female,Punjabi)/ki?anprit/‘Loverofdivineknowledge’

5.2Surnames

The Sikh Indian Thai surnames can be analyzed into 3 semantic domains and

severalsubdomainsasfollows:


Abstract domain is used for the Sikhs’ surnames (52.57%) as in the following

examples:

35.11%ofsurnamesrefertoreligiouscharacter:

(169)Adish (Punjabi) /ʔadit/ ‘exalted’

(170)Sharan (Punjabi) /tɕharan/‘takingshelteroftheGuru’

10.04%ofsurnamesrefertostatus:

(171)Yash (Sanskrit,Hindi) /yat/ ‘glory’

(172)Yashas (Sanskrit,Hindi) /yatɕhat/ ‘famous’

4.41%ofsurnamesrefertoattractiveness:

(173)Mehar (Punjabi,Hindi) /mehan/ ‘kindness,grace’

(174)Mohit (Punjabi) /mohit/ ‘beauty,charming’



59

2.81%ofsurnamesrefertonumber:

(175)Pehila (Punjabi) /pehila/ ‘first’

0.2%ofsurnamesrefertotime:

(176)Prabhat (Hindi) /pɾaphat/ ‘dawn’


41.34%of Sikh surnamesare from theentitiesdomain,which refers to animate

entities (animal, human beings and supernatural powers or beings) and inanimate

entities(naturalandmanufacturedorconstructedentities).


Theanimate(sub-)domainreferstoanimals,humanbeings,andthesupernatural,

asfollows:

a) Supernatural powers or beings: Supernatural powers or beings include the

followingexamples:

0.2%ofsurnamesrelatetopowersorpersonifications:

(177)Kalyan (Hindi) /kala:yan/ ‘auspicious’

19.87%ofsurnamesrelatetosupernaturalbeings

(178)Akaal (Punjabi) /ʔakan/ ‘God/GoddessSaraswati’

(179)Mahadev (Hindi) /mahathep/ ‘LordofSiva’

(180)Surina (Punjabi) /suɾina/ ‘Goddess

b)HumanBeings:Humanbeings (18.47%) are representedby social caste,as in

thefollowingexamples:

(181)Singh (Punjabi) /siŋ/ ‘derivefromKshatriyacaste’

(182)Sirinetkul (Sanskrit) /siɾinetkun/ ‘derivedfromKshatriyacasteofHindu

VarnasystemfromRajputsofRajasthan’


WarintornBENJASRI

60


The inanimate (sub-)domain refers to nature, the supernatural, substances,

flora/plantentitiesandmanufacturedorconstructedentities,asfollows:

a)Naturalinanimateentities:Naturalphenomenaaccountfor2.4%ofSikhIndian

Thaisurnames:

1.6%ofsurnamesrelatetocelestial-atmosphericentities:

(183)Mehal (Urdu) /mehan/ ‘cloud’

(184)Sudipti (Punjabi) /suthipti?/ ‘brightness’

0.2%ofsurnamesrelatetogems:

(185)Hira (Punjabi) /hira/ ‘diamond’

0.4%ofsurnamesrelatetofloraandplantproducts:

(186)Vigsai (Punjabi) /vigsay/ ‘blossom’

b)Manufacturedorconstructedinanimateentities:Manufacturedorconstructed

entities refer to artifacts which can be divided into generic items and offensive

weapons.Only 0.6%of Sikh Indian Thais names are basedon these entities as in the

followingexamples:

0.2%ofsurnamesaregeneric:

(187)Nidhi (Hindi) /ni?thi?/ ‘treasure,wealth’

0.4%ofsurnamesrelatetooffensiveweapons:

(188)Tulwa (Punjabi) /tunwa/ ‘sword’


EventsareusedfortheSikhs’surnamesat6.09%.Themeaningofevents,intermof

semanticdomains,conveystheSikhIndianThaipeople’sidealcharacter.

3.02%ofsurnamesrelatetoemotion:

(189)Kaan (Punjabi) /ka/an/ ‘wish,desire’

(190)Preet (Hindi) /prit/ ‘love’



61

1.78%ofsurnamesrelatetointellect:

(191)Sochai (Punjabi) /sotɕhay/ ‘bythinking’

1.29%ofsurnamesrelatetomovement:

(192)Rijak (Sanskrit) /ritɕhak/ ‘sustenance’

(193)Vigsai (Punjabi) /vigsay/ ‘tocomeintobloom’

6.Summary

HinduandSikhnamesaremostcommoninregardstothosenameswhichreflect

‘emotions.’Regardingfemalenames,thoseHinduandSikhfemalenameswhichreferto

‘emotions’ are most similar, and those referring to ‘religious characters’ are second-

mostsimilar.

Hindu males and females are named similarly as regards entities; of these,

‘natural’and‘animals’sub-domainsarehighest.The‘emotion’sub-domainthesecond-

highest.

Sikhmalesandfemalesarenamedmostlyas‘religiouscharacters’.

Fromthisstudy,theprincipalsemanticdomainis‘religiouscharacters.’ForHindu

Indian Thais, values about holy God, spirit and cosmos are important. Most Hindus

believe in a few foundational ideas, such as inherent sacredness in nature. Hindus

believethataneducatedexpert,orsatguru,isrequiredforanaveragepersontoknow

transcendence. They believe that all life forms are holy, to be loved; therefore they

exerciseahimsa,ornon-injury.

Sikhismisamonotheisticfaith.SikhismidentifiesGodasbeingonlyone.ToSikhs,

God istheDesigneroftheGalaxy,omniscient,timelessandomnipotent. Sikhsdonot

recognizeanyothergods.

The results of the data analysis are consistent with the concept of Nida (1975:

174).Theresultexposedthatasemanticsectoriscomprisedofanumberofmeanings

whichsharesemanticelements.


WarintornBENJASRI

62

7.PopularIndianThaiNaming

Ferguson (1864) said: “...theetymologyofpropernames is theonlybranch thenof the

subjectwhichcaninanysensebecalledpopular,forwhatmen,evenofthosewhocarenotto

enquire theoriginof the language they speak, feel some interestor curiosity inknowing the

meaningofthenamestheybear...”(FergusonapudRosenthal2005:3).

7.1MaleHinduIndianThainames

Name PercentageArsok‘Withoutsorrow,happiness,nameofemperor’ 18%Suchir‘Goodforalongtime’ 12%Aruna ‘Dawn,agodoftheHindus’ 9%Others 61%Table1.PopularMaleHinduIndianThainames

Threesuchnameswereidentified.ArsokisaformoftheIndianAshoka,denoting

theimportanceofhappiness.Ashoka,anancientIndianruler,urgedhiskintopractice

Buddhistvalues,heencouragedanairofappreciationforallreligions.Ashokaservedas

anillustrationoftoleranceforhissubjects(Thapar1973:51).Suchir(thesecondname)

istherepresentativeofHinduismwhichisthe“Everlastingway”.EverlastinginHinduism

impliesthoselivingcreatureswhowillstayaliveonEarthuntiltheendofthismodern

age. The third name,Aruna, is an exemplification of the ruddy gleamof the climbing

Sun,whichisconsideredtohaveotherworldlypowers.InHinduTradition,Arunaisthe

charioteer of Surya (the Sun God) and he is additionally the red sky of first light or

throughout dawn. The story of his heavenly conception is said in the Astika Parva of

Mahabharata(Klostermaier2007).

7.2FemaleHinduIndianThainames

Name PercentageRidhhi‘Power,HinduGod’ 20%Neela‘AcharacterinHindumythology,beautiful’ 11%



63

Mukta‘Liberated,pearl’ 7%Others 62%Table2.PopularFemaleHinduIndianThainames

ThenameRidhhiranksthehighest inpopularity.SiddhiandRiddhiarethewives

ofthegodGanesha.Thus,anyonewhohonorsGaneshaarelikewisehonoredbyRiddhi

and Siddhi and can accomplish everything in their life (Brown 1991: 115-140). The

secondname,Neela/Nala,isthegoddessofNishadhaKingdom,childofVeerasenaand

possessed by the GodShani (Doniger 1999). This name is associated with the Hindu

female ideal. The thirdname,Mukta, represents freedom.This is reflected in the fact

thatmanyinformantsmigratedfromIndiatostartalifeinThailand.

7.3MaleSikhIndianThainames

Name PercentageHarsharan‘OnewhotakesshelterintheLord’ 40%Deepak‘Lamp,kindle 15%Hukam‘GodswhoCommand,authority,direction’ 9%Others 36%Table3.PopularMaleSikhIndianThainames

HarsharanisthemostpopularofMaleSikhIndiannames.Sikhismrecognizesthat

thespiritualandphysicalworldareentwined(Cole&Sambhi1995)andthusseeksto

securetheprivilegesofallindividuals.Thesecondname,Deepak,meansanoillight.The

oilintheDeepakrepresentsthedarkpartofahumanspiritthatpeoplehaveatendency

tosustain,andburningthewickistypicaloftheatman(self).Toaccomplishillumination

andunitewiththepreeminentforce,onemustdisposeofmaterialism(Cole&Sambhi

1995).

Thethirdname,Hukam,isalsoassociatedwithSikhism.IntheSikhScripture,Guru

Nanak,theauthorofthereligion,says:“ONanak,bytheHukamofGod'sCommand,we

travel every which way in resurrection. The entirety of the Universe is liable to the

Hukam of the Creator God. Nothing ever happens without the Will of Him.” This is

acknowledgedasoneoftheessentialideasofSikhism.


WarintornBENJASRI

64

7.4FemaleSikhIndianThainames

Name PercentageLivsharan‘AbsorbedintheLotusFeetofGod’ 35%Ishwari ‘SupremeGoddess’ 18%Jasdeep‘ThelampradiatingGod’sGlories’ 8%Others 39%Table4.PopularFemaleSikhIndianThainames

Livsharan is themostpopular femaleSikh IndianThainame, followedby Ishwari

andJasdeep.ThesethreenamesrefertotheSikhOnenessofGod.

Accordingtothedata,themostpopularofmaleandfemaleSikhIndiannamesare

associatedwithSikhism.ThenamesofSikhsareconsistentinbothsexes.

7.5Thelanguageusedinnaming

Language Hindu'sNaming Sikh'sNamingHindi 73.13% 24.39%Sanskrit 13.53% 2.38%Punjabi 1.38% 65.36%Others 11.95% 7.87%Total 100% 100%Table5.Languagesusedinnaming

ForHindu Indian Thai names,Hindi is themost popular for names, followed by

PunjabiandthenSanskrit.ForSikhs,Punjabiisthemostpopularfornames,followedby

Hindi and then Sanskrit. A different language is sometimes used because of Sikh

migrationfromUttarPradesh.

The semantic domains in Indian Thais Naming are composed of 3 domains: the

semanticdomainofHindu’snamesisuptoentities,abstractandevents.Thesemantic

domainofHindu’ssurnamesisuptoentities,abstractandevents.Thesemanticdomain

ofSikh’snamesisuptoabstract,entitiesandevent.AndthesemanticdomainofSikh’s

surnames is up to abstract, entities and event. There is not relational because the



65

relationalisthegrammaticalwords.Thiswordisnotidentifyinganindividualascontent

words.

8.Conclusion

The results of the data analysis are consistent with the concept of Nida (1975:

174). The result exposed that a semantic sector comprises basically of a number of

meanings which share certain semantic elements of each group. The salient of the

semantic domains are religious characters. Hindu Indian Thais people named entities

(naturalandanimals)thatrelatedtothemainconceptsofHinduism.Valuesaboutholy

God, spirit and cosmos are important to a person’s lifestyle. Sikhism respects a

monotheistic faith.Sikhism identifiesGodas theonlyOne.God is theDesignerof the

Galaxy, courageous, not topic to time or area, and does not take beginning or die. It

reflectsthatbothofgroupsstillbelievefirmlyownphilosophyofregion.

Acknowledgements

Theresearchpresentedherewas financiallysupportedbyThailandResearchFund(TRF)

through the Royal Golden Jubilee Ph.D. Program (Grant No. PHD/0341/2550). I would like to

expressmygratitude toAssoc.Prof.SophanaSrichampa,mydissertationadvisor, forherkind

supportinmyresearch.Inaddition,itgivesmegreatpleasureinacknowledgingthesupportand

help of Assoc. Prof. Amarjiva Lochan, an expertise in Indian studies, Prof. Suwilai Premsrirat,

whoseenthusiasmforlinguisticsconventionshadlastingeffect.Mydeepgratitudeisalsodueto

the generosity of Assoc. Professor Amon Sangmanee, and Assoc. Prof. Samniang Leurmsai,

whoseguidanceisthekeytomysuccess.AveryspecialgratitudeneedstobegiventomyIndian

Thai informants who dedicated their valuable time and patience during the data collection.

Many thanks must be given to Thailand Research Fund who granted me the Royal Golden

Jubilee Scholarship throughout the research process and provided me several noteworthy

opportunities.


WarintornBENJASRI

66

References

BROWN,Robert(1991)Ganesh:StudiesofanAsianGod.Albany:StateUniversityofNewYork.

COLE,O.&SAMBHI,A.K.(1995)TheSikhs:TheirReligiousBeliefsandPractices.Sussex(England):

SussexAcademicPress.

CŒDÈS, G. (1968) The Indianized State of Southeast Asia, Kuala Lampur: University ofMalaya

Press.

DHIRAVEGIN, Likhit (2008) Coalition Politics, Political Reform and Democratic Development in

Thailand.Bangkok:ThammasatUniversity.

DONIGER,W.(1999)SplittingtheDifference:GenderandMyth inAncientGreeceandIndia.The

1996JordanLectures.ChicagoandLondon:UniversityofLondonPressandUniversityof

ChicagoPress.

FERGUSON, R. (1864) Teutonic Name-System: The Teutonic name system applied to the family

namesofFrance,England&Germany.Carlisle:R.&J.Steel.

JAMES,L.(1975)Notesonethnosemantics,Honolulu:UniversityofHawaii.

KAUSHIK,D.K.(2000)CataloguingofIndicnamesInAACR-2.NewDelhi:LowPricePublications.

KLOSTERMAIER,K.(2007)AsurveyofHinduism.NewYork,NewYork:StateUniversityofNewYork

Press.

MPHANDE, L. (2006) Naming and linguistic Africanisms in African American culture. Selected

Proceedingsofthe35thAnnualConferenceonAfricanLinguistics:AfricanLanguagesand

LinguisticsinBroadPerspectives.Somerville,Mass:CascadillaProceedingsProject.

NIDA,E.A.(1975)Componentialanalysisofmeaning:anintroductiontosemanticstructure.New

York:MoutonPublishers.

OFFICE OF THE DEFENCE ATTACHE, ROYAL THAI EMBASSY (2011) Indian Migrants. New Delhi:

GovernmentPrintingOffice.

ROSENTHAL,D.(2005)ConsciousandMind,England:ClarendonPress.

THAPAR, R. (1973)Asoka and the Decline of theMauryas,Oxford (England): OxfordUniversity

Press.


sikh and hindu indian thai naming by … · furthermore thai indians do not intermarry because of...

Documents