Clinical Linguistics and Relevant Research in Thailand

Abstract

Even though clinical linguistics is an established field in the broader context of the world’s languages, the term is not as widely known and used in Thailand. Research studies on communication disorders in Thailand have largely been conducted within the fields of speech-language pathology and communication sciences and disorders. Despite this fact, many of these studies can also be categorized under the scope of clinical linguistics. This chapter aims to examine the history and the developmental trajectory of the fields of research related to speech, language, and communication disorders in Thailand in the past 45 years. This chapter begins by introducing basic concepts and terminology, including speech, language, and communication disorders, as well as the changing definitions and the development of the discipline of clinical linguistics. This chapter proceeds to provide a brief history of the education and practice in communication disorders in Thailand. Based on an extensive survey of the literature, past trends of clinical linguistics and research on language disorders in Thailand are presented. This chapter concludes with a discussion of the present and future directions of research in the area. This will serve as a guideline for future researchers in the field.