Dr. Nitaya Hails Prince Wan's Linguistic Legacy

Matichon•General•12d ago

Reader Briefing

The Royal Society hosted an academic conference and a memorial event for Prince Wanwaithayakorn, highlighting his contributions to Thai linguistic standards and technology.

•The Royal Society held a conference titled 'The Royal Society Present and Future: Wisdom, Virtue, and Technology' from September 4-6, 2026.
•The event marked the 100th anniversary of the Royal Society and the 50th anniversary of the passing of Prince Wanwaithayakorn.
•Dr. Nitaya Kanjanawan explained how Prince Wanwaithayakorn's work on transliteration and Romanization laid the groundwork for modern digital language systems.

Overview

•The Royal Society organized a large academic conference between September 4-6, 2026, at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center in Bangkok.
•Prince Wanwaithayakorn's linguistic foundations began in 1939, including systems published in the Royal Gazette on March 26, 1939.
•Dr. Nitaya Kanjanawan stated that Prince Wanwaithayakorn's concepts in 'Coining Thai Words' (1970) anticipated the needs of modern technology.
•The Royal Society worked with the French School of the Far East (EFEO) and the Royal Thai Survey Department to standardize geographical name transliteration.
•The Royal Thai Survey Department and the Royal Society presented a Thai Romanization system at a meeting in Geneva in 1967.
•Dr. Nitaya Kanjanawan noted that Unicode currently counts 159,801 characters globally, with the Thai language containing 87 characters.
•The Thai Industrial Standards Institute (TISI) collaborated with the Royal Society in 1998 to propose Thai-to-Roman transliteration criteria to ISO.
•The term 'transliteration' (thap sap) emerged in 1942 under the administration of Field Marshal Plaek Phibunsongkhram.

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Key Quotes

Dr. Nitaya Kanjanawan

"He was ahead of his time."

ท่านมาก่อนกาล

Key Entities

Person

Prince Wanwaithayakorn Krom Muen Narathipphong Praphan(พระเจ้าวรวงศ์เธอ พระองค์เจ้าวรรณไวทยากร กรมหมื่นนราธิปพงศ์ประพันธ์)

The father of terminology coinage and former President of the Royal Institute.

Dr. Nitaya Kanjanawan(ดร.นิตยา กาญจนะวรรณ)

A representative of the Royal Society who lectured on Prince Wanwaithayakorn's linguistic contributions.

Professor Emeritus Dr. Surapol Issarakraisil(ศาสตราจารย์เกียรติคุณ นายแพทย์สุรพล อิสรไกรศีล)

The President of the Royal Society who presided over the welcoming ceremony.

Than Phuying Wiwan Vorawan Setthabut(ท่านผู้หญิงวิวรรณ วรวรรณ เศรษฐบุตร)

An heir of Prince Wanwaithayakorn who presided over the welcoming ceremony.

Professor Emeritus Dr. Kusuma Raksamanee(ศาสตราจารย์เกียรติคุณ ดร.กุสุมา รักษมณี)

An honorary member of the Royal Society who gave a special lecture on Prince Wanwaithayakorn's views on Thai terminology.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nawawan Panthumetha(รศ.ดร.นววรรณ พันธุเมธา)

A representative of the Royal Society who participated in the academic panel discussion.

Asst. Prof. Dr. Prapot Assavavirunhakan(ผศ.ดร.ประพจน์ อัศววิรุฬหการ)

A representative of the Royal Society who participated in the academic panel discussion.

Dr. Anan Laolertworakul(ดร.อนันต์ เหล่าเลิศวรกุล)

An associate member of the Royal Society who moderated the academic panel discussion.

Field Marshal Plaek Phibunsongkhram(จอมพล ป. พิบูลสงคราม)

The Prime Minister during the 1942 announcement regarding the coinage of terms.

Organization

The Royal Society(ราชบัณฑิตยสภา)ℹ️

The organization that hosted the academic conference and manages Thai linguistic standards.

Ecole francaise d'Extrême-Orient (EFEO)(สำนักฝรั่งเศสแห่งปลายบุรพทิศ)

An organization that cooperated with the Royal Society on linguistic work.

Royal Thai Survey Department(กรมแผนที่ทหาร)ℹ️

An agency that worked with the Royal Society to standardize geographical names for world maps.

United Nations(สหประชาชาติ)ℹ️

The organization that held a meeting on standardizing geographical names in 1967.

International Organization for Standardization (ISO)(องค์การระหว่างประเทศว่าด้วยการมาตรฐาน)

The international body that works with Unicode and TISI to create unique codes for characters.

Unicode Consortiumℹ️

The organization that establishes unique codes for characters globally.

Thai Industrial Standards Institute (TISI)(สำนักงานมาตรฐานผลิตภัณฑ์อุตสาหกรรม)

The Thai agency that created computer codes in 1990 and collaborated with the Royal Society on ISO proposals.

Place

Queen Sirikit National Convention Center(ศูนย์การประชุมแห่งชาติสิริกิติ์)ℹ️

The venue in Khlong Toei, Bangkok, where the academic conference was held.