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Published on July 4, 2007

A ministry survey found 45.9 per cent of children in the province have English nicknames. Ball is the most popular. Of Thai nicknames, Lek is most common. There were 2,828 respondents.

"Now, more and more parents give English nicknames to their children," Culture Ministry permanent secretary Vira Rojpojchanarat said.

He will ask provincial offices to conduct similar surveys and forward findings to the Royal Institute.

"We will have a discussion with the Royal Institute so we can encourage parents to nickname their children in Thai," Vira said.

He also called on authorities to preserve local dialects.

Many scholars worry the Lanna dialect will be extinct within 20 years because the "new generation" barely speaks it at all.

Basic Education Commission secretary-general Khunying Kasama Varavarn na Ayuthaya said schools were permitted to teach 30 per cent of the curriculum in local dialects.