Relative Clauses in Thai English

Abstract

This study explores characteristics and usage of relative clauses in Thai English in comparison with those in American English. Data are taken from articles published in English newspapers in Thailand and America. Relative clauses are identified and classified into types based on the features: finiteness, restrictiveness and simple/complex. The Z-test is used to evaluate the proportions of types of relative clauses between the two varieties. The findings show that relative clauses in Thai English do not have any forms distinctive from those in American English, but quantitative analysis shows that the types of relative clauses are used in distinctive proportions in the two varieties. Thai English has a significantly higher proportion of non-finite and restrictive relative clauses than American English does. It also shows a higher use of shared head-noun and three-layer complex relative clauses. This characteristic of relative clauses in Thai English reflects the process of nativization, where a variety of English is adjusted to its ecology. Since Thailand is a collectivist culture with a high-context type of communication, the types of relative clauses that correspond well with this condition are used at a higher frequency than in the native variety. This suggests a subtle kind of nativization, where distinctions from the native variety do not emerge in terms of overt forms of relative clause constructions but rather in terms of the proportions of certain types of relative clauses.