Like virtually every other language in the world, phasa thai is taking a battering from youngsters who prefer their own creations.

Charged with abuse of the mother tongue are the frisky innovators who use the Thai invention gig when they mean a platonic main squeeze, or the American "chill" when they want you to cool off or maybe just hang out with them. 

Such terms didn't go over well at "How Thai Writers Adapt in This Changing Age", a seminar that drew several top authors and linguists to the recent Thailand International Book Fair.

Language teachers and grammarians fumed over the modern concoctions, saying the predominantly teenage users are maltreating their native tongue.

The writers in attendance begged to differ, though, pointing out that grammatical strictness slows the language's evolution.

Binlah Sonkalagiri won this year's SEAWrite Award amid controversy of just this sort. Language, he noted, naturally metamorphoses over time.

Instead, Binlah said, Thai is today suffering from youth's inattention: Because they read little, they simply don't know enough Thai words to express their feelings, so they invent their own or borrow from elsewhere.

"Most teenagers misusing words lack a fundamental knowledge of the language," he said. "Few of them know the real meaning of the popular word 'chill', so they're making up uses. There are odd words and slang too.

"But if we overemphasise the correct use rather than allowing creativity, our language might not develop."

Srifa Mahawan, who's written some of the Kingdom's most popular novels, such as "Kao Nok Na" and "Tang Khong", predicted that "inappropriate" words will fade away - unless they have some creative usefulness.

Not surprisingly, the consensus on the issue among young people at the seminar seemed to be: "Chill."

Ekarat Tengchiew, who's studying communication arts at Chulalongkorn University, said language is always changing, and it's no danger of collapsing if a few words are led into the dark valley corruption.

"By applying some original words in our own way, we can express our feelings better," Ekkarat said. "I can create my own way of speaking, and it helps me feel different from other people. Most of the simple words are boring. Using new, colourful words makes for some really funny conversation."

Kessuda Juttamat from Kasetsart University's education faculty agreed.   

"We don't care too much about the real meaning of the words because we're just trying to make our conversations more enjoyable. I'm quite sure no students will be using these words in their academic writing."

Patiphat Phetthong

The Nation