The Royal Institute of Thailand

The Royal Institute of Thailand (Thai: ราชบัณฑิตยสถาน; RTGS: Ratchabandittayasathan; IPA: râːt-ʧa-ban-dìt-ta-já-sa-tʰăːn; literally: Institute of Royal Pundits) or RIT is a Thai public agency with the status of a department charged with a threefold mission: [ [http://www.royin.go.th/en/profile/index.php General information on the Royal Institute (English)] ]
#To undertake and encourage research in every branch of knowledge beneficial to the nation and the people.
#To maintain relations and to exchange knowledge and information in all branches of knowledge with other learned institutes in Thailand and in other countries.
#To give instructions concerning academic matters to the Council of Ministers as well as to the public agency, state enterprise or any other persons as deemed appropriate.

The Royal Institute comes directly under the authority of the Prime Minister, and is not a part of any other governmental agency.

Location

On August 21, 2006, the Royal Institute relocated to offices at Sanam Suea Pa, near the Royal Plaza in Bangkok. Previously the Royal Institute was located in the Grand Palace complex, Na Phra Lan Road, Bangkok.

History

The Royal Institute was established on March 31, 1933, superseding the existent Royal Council (Thai: ราชบัณฑิตยสภา; RTGS: Ratchabandittayasapha; literally: Council of Royal Pundits).

Administration

For administrative purposes, the Royal Institute has four divisions::The Office of the Secretary:The Moral and Political Sciences Division:The Science Division:The Arts Division

The Royal Institute website states that each division has a staff of civil servants and clerical employees who perform both business and academic functions facilitating the works of Fellows and Associate Fellows as well as conducting and promoting various academic activities.

Fellows

Scholars from the academic community of Thailand can apply for membership in the Royal Institute. Acceptance is based on an applicant's contributions to his field and his published works. The levels of membership in the Royal Institute are::1. Honorary Fellows (Thai ราชบัณฑิตกิตติมศักดิ์):2. Fellows (Thai ราชบัณฑิต):3. Associate Fellows (Thai ภาคีสมาชิก)Of these, only the title of Associate Fellow can be applied for. Fellows are appointed by Royal Decree as senior experts in the Royal Institute within their field, chosen from among the existing Associate Fellows. Honorary Fellows are likewise appointed by Royal Decree, and are chosen from among scholars who are not already fellows of the Royal Institute. These three groups can be collectively referred to as the fellows, or members, of the Royal Institute.

Academies

Fellows of the Royal Institute are divided into three academies. Each academy is subdivided into branches, and each branch comprises several specific fields, in total 65 different academic disciplines.

The Academy of Ethics and Government

Works

The Royal Institute Dictionary

Perhaps the most well-known work of the Royal Institute is the Royal Institute Dictionary (พจนานุกรม ฉบับราชบัณฑิตยสถาน, in English often abbreviated RID). The Royal Institute has published three fully revised editions of the dictionary, and many intermittent reprintings with minor revisions. Each of the major revisions is associated with a significant year in Thai history, although in the case of the 1999 Edition, the actual publication date is a later year.

The methodology of the Dictionary Revision Committee of the Royal Institute has remained virtually unchanged for more than 70 years. The Royal Institute Dictionary is produced by a relatively small committee of experienced Thai scholars, convening at least once per week and working through the previous edition of the dictionary alphabetically, reviewing it entry by entry and sense by sense, suggesting new senses and entries as the work proceeds. Once the end of the alphabet is reached, a new edition of the RID is prepared for publication.

1950 edition

The 1950 edition of the Royal Institute Dictionary was first published in 1950. Although it is the first dictionary published by the Royal Institute, it is a revision of an earlier dictionary published by the Thai government in 1927.

Work commenced on what would become RID 1950 in 1932, when the duty of producing the official governmental dictionary still belonged to the Ministry of Education (then known as Krom Thammakan, Thai กรมธรรมการ). This task was transferred to the Royal Institute in 1934, although the actual committee carried on as before, both in membership and methodology. From start to finish, the first meeting of the Dictionary Revision Committee was held on October 5, 1932, and the committee met for the final time before publication on March 8, 1950, having convened a total of 1,299 meetings over the course of over seventeen years. Meetings were held only once weekly until 1942, after which the committee met two days per week. In 1949, as the dictionary neared completion, the committee met three times per week. The original committee consisted of seven members in 1932, and at publication in 1950 had fifteen members. Two of the original seven committee members, as well as one later member, died before the work of revision was completed.

RID 1950 remained the standard dictionary of Thai for more than 30 years, with 20 printings totalling 187,000 copies.

1982 edition

The 1982 edition of the Royal Institute Dictionary was first published in 1982, in commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the establishment of Bangkok as the capital of Thailand by King Rama I.

In 1976, Prime Minister Tanin Kraivixien ordered a revision of RID 1950, as part of an increased effort to promote knowledge of the standard language among Thai citizens. His charge included the task of updating the dictionary to include new words that had become standard, particularly terms coined by the Royal Institute that had gained widespread use, as well as to include in this revised dictionary those words which were overlooked or otherwise omitted in the previous edition. The motion to have the Royal Institute finally produce an "unabridged dictionary" was presented by Tanin at the cabinet meeting of December 28, 1976 and was accepted. Work was officially ordered the following day, with the charge to complete the new dictionary within one year.

At the end of the first year, the Dictionary Revision Committee requested an extension of another year, citing great interest from both other government bodies as well as the general public, so as to be able to process the many requests and suggestions received. After the second year had passed, a seven-month extension was requested and granted, followed by a three-month request, after which the revision was completed. In total, the committee met 280 times, first on February 22, 1977, and finally on December 27, 1979.

RID 1982 remained the standard dictionary of Thai for more than 20 years, with 6 printings totally 280,000 copies.

In 1996, in collaboration with National Electronics and Computer Technology Center (NECTEC), RID 1982 was also produced in a limited edition CD-ROM version to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the reign of King Bhumibol. Twelve-thousand discs were made, of which 8,000 were distributed to schools throughout the country, and the remainder were given away to interested persons upon request.

The sixth and final printing of 60,000 copies in 1996 was expected to be sufficient until the completion of RID 1999, but as it proved not to be, and with the supply of the CD-ROM edition similarly exhausted, the Royal Institute decided to meet the demand by creating an internet edition of RID 1982. It was online from 1996 until 2007, when it was supplanted by an online version of RID 1999.

1999 edition

The 1999 edition of the Royal Institute Dictionary was first published in 2003. It is called the 1999 Edition to commemorate the sixth cycle (72nd) birthday of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej in that year.

RID 1999 remains the current standard dictionary of Thai, having been printed just once in a massive run of 200,000 copies.

An online version of RID 1999 went live in mid-2007.

Notes

External links

* [http://www.royin.go.th/ The Royal Institute website (Thai and English languages)]
* [http://rirs3.royin.go.th/dictionary.asp The Royal Institute Dictionary online]