'Panya on': Dictionary editors to reconsider its use

Has the Thai term "panya on" (ปัญญาอ่อน, mentally retarded) become too offensive for the Ratchabandit Thai dictionary? Should a more acceptable expression be promoted?

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Dictionary editors mull ‘panya on’

The Royal Institute, which edits the Ratchabandit Thai dictionary, says it will listen to proposals by a rights group to remove the word panya on, or mentally-retarded, if it is considered offensive.

The institute made the comment yesterday following Rainbow Room Foundation president Rosalina Alexander McKay’s campaign against the term, which some view as an insult.

The foundation and other non-government organisations can write to the Royal Institute to ask it to reconsider the status of the word, said Udom Warotsikkhadit, chairman of a committee responsible for the Ratchabandit dictionary’s word databases.

A team of linguists would be pleased to listen to the opinions of concerned parties, he said.

Originally panya on was used when referring to people with intellectual disabilities. It is used as a blanket term to describe brain disorders which restrict or delay individuals’ ability to think and affects their daily lives.

However, the Rainbow Room Foundation, which describes itself as “a special needs awareness centre”, believes panya on does not necessarily serve its original meaning and can be used inappropriately. Some use it as a general term of abuse.

The group is working with its allies including an advocacy group for autistic people and Museum Siam, run by the National Discovery Museum Institute, to campaign for the use of a new Thai word to describe people who suffer from learning disabilities.

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