Letter from Bangkok office
FUJITA, Koichi, Professor, CSEAS
Since the end of September 2009, I took over the Bangkok Office for a period
of 3 months. Two years have passed since we lost Chip-san in a traffic
accident and now with a new management system in place we have three local
staff to support the office. Recently, an increasing number of researchers
not doing area studies in Thailand came to be stationed in the office,
and language problem emerged as an issue. As the pronunciation of Thai
language is very difficult, even if we try to talk simply by using Japanese
'Katakana' like expression it does not work in most cases. Where possible,
we have to communicate using Thai language by any means, through which
we realize the difference in customs and culture between the two countries
and try to respect them. This made me understand anew that this is the
origin of area studies.
▲Top of This Page
