Language Identity in a Tourist Town Context: The Naming of Accommodations on Chiang Khan Walking Street, Loei Province, Thailand

This study investigates the relationship between language and identity as manifested in the naming of tourist accommodations along Walking Street in Chiang Khan District, Loei Province, a prominent riverside tourist destination in Northeastern Thailand (Isan). Framed within the sociocultural-linguistic construct of language identity, and drawing specifically on Bucholtz and Hall's (2004) relational and semiotic approach to identity, the study analyzes a corpus of sixty-two accommodation names collected through systematic field observation between March and June 2026. Names were examined along three linguistic dimensions: language choice (Thai, English, or bilingual), name structure, and word choice and meaning. The results show that bilingual names combining Thai and English were the most frequent pattern, accounting for thirty-four of sixty-two names (54.8 percent), followed by Thai-only names (sixteen names, 25.8 percent) and English-only names (twelve names, 19.4 percent), indicating that linguistic hybridity pervades the naming practice even within nominally monolingual categories. Structurally, two dominant patterns emerged: a kinship-oriented, family-based structure realized as [dwelling term] + [kin term/personal name] + (place name), which indexes intimacy and community belonging, and an internationalized commercial structure realized as [proper name] + [accommodation type] + [Chiangkhan], which mirrors global hotel-naming conventions. At the lexical level, eight recurrent identity markers were identified: Isan dialect words, kinship terms, positive emotive expressions, geographic nouns (most notably "Khong," referring to the Mekong River, present in 17.7 percent of all names), abstract or nostalgic phrases, prestige and luxury loanwords, personal names and nicknames, and the toponym "Chiangkhan" itself. The study argues that accommodation naming in Chiang Khan constitutes a deliberate, dual-oriented identity project in which local and regional distinctiveness is preserved through Isan lexis and kinship idiom, while international legibility and commercial standardization are pursued through English loanwords, digital-era orthographic conventions such as the symbol "@," and internationalized hotel-naming syntax. These findings extend the literature on commercial linguistic landscapes and language identity in Southeast Asia and offer a transferable linguistic model for place-branding in Thailand's secondary tourist cities.

language identity; onomastics; place branding; linguistic landscape; cultural tourism; Isan; Chiang Khan

1. Asawariyathipat, S. (2022). Developing accommodation potential in Chiang Khan District to enhance sustainable Mekong riverside civilization for ASEAN community entry. Journal of Graduate Studies, Valaya Alongkorn Rajabhat University, 16(1), 193–208. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

2. Buarapha, A., Meenakanit, A, & Meesommai, A. (2012). Vernacular landscape of Chiang Khan District, Loei Province. Journal of the Faculty of Architecture, Silpakorn University, 27, 127–144. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

3. Bucholtz, M., & Hall, K. (2004). Language and identity. In A. Duranti (Ed.), A companion to linguistic anthropology (pp. 369–394). Blackwell.https://www.researchgate.net/publication/227992133_Language_and_Identity [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

4. Chaowalitkitkun, P. & Chanthao, R. (2025). Isan local textile pattern names: A semantic field analysis. Journal of Language and Linguistics, 43(2), 139–175. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

5. Choeirod, R., & Chanthao, R. (2023). Linguistic landscape at Patong, Phuket. NeuroQuantology, 21(1), 250–261. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

6. Edward, J. (2009). Language and identity. Cambridge University Press. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

7. Helleland, B. (2012). Place names and identity. Oslo Studies in Language, 4(2), 95–116. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

8. Jordan, P. (2012). Place names as ingredients of space-related identity. Oslo Studies in Language, 4(2),https://www.researchgate.net/publication/277050015_Place_Names_As_Ingredients_of_Space-Related_Identity [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

9. Kenkum, B., Sopa, P., Suetae, P., Junthapaeng, P., & Jainoi, W. (2023). Guidelines for the Development of Food Tourism of Local Fisheries Groups Chiang Khan District, Loei Province. Journal of Research and Development, 19(67), 89-99. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

10. Kingkham, W. (2007). Dialect and ethnic identity: A study of the relationship between dialect use and identity maintenance. Kasetsart University Press. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

11. Khophonklang, N. & Kaeosa-nga, K. (2021). Local development guidelines to promote creative tourism in Chiang Khan District, Loei Province. Thai Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Services, 16(1), 12–25. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

12. Lengwiriyakul, K. & Charoensiriphonkul, S. (2017). Guidelines for developing the Mekong riverside tourism cluster, Chiang Khan District, Loei Province. Journal of the Graduate School of Commerce, Burapha Review, 10(1), 220–246. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

13. Nanthajantoon, S. (2010). Language and cultural identity of Lao Song: Continuity and change in the globalization era [Research report]. Kasetsart University. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

14. Norton, B. (1995). Social identity, investment, and language learning. TESOL Quarterly, 29(1), 9–31. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

15. Norton, B. (2013). Language and identity. In N. Hornberger & S. McKay (Eds.), Sociolinguistics and language education (2nd ed.). Multilingual Matters. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

16. Phakdeephasook, S. (2018). The relationship between language and identity and approaches to Thai language study. Chulalongkorn University Press. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

17. Panchote, N., & Chanthao, R. (2025). Code-switching of Isan women in transnational families. TPM Journal, 32(s9), 561–569. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

18. Peng, P. & Angkapanichkit, C. (2025). A comparative study of tourism language on Thai and Chinese tourism websites. Journal of Liberal Arts, Thammasat University, 25(2), 320–354. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

19. Prasithrathsint, A. (2005). Language in Thai society: Diversity, change, and development. Chulalongkorn University Press. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

20. Premsrirat, S. (2006). Language situation in Thai society and ethnic diversity. Language and Culture, 25(2), 5–17. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

21. Ronakiat, R. (2012). Phonetics: Voice system analysis for speaker identity. Thammasat University Press. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

22. Salhi, A. (2025). Language and identity. In Sociolinguistics. https://elearning.univ-biskra.dz/ [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

23. Sampos, H. (2023). Language and ethnic identity of Tai Koh Kong in Cambodia [Unpublished doctoral’ thesis] Mahasarakham University. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

24. Zenker, O. (2018). Language and identity. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/327455845_Language_and_Identity [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

• Evaluating the Impacts of Mind Mapping Strategy on Developing EFL Students’ Critical Reading Skills
• Significance of Reading Instructions for Language Improvement in Children with Down Syndrome
• Prenasalised Consonants in Liangmai
• Metadiscourse Matters: Definitions, Models, and Advantages for ESL/ EFL Writing
• Blank Minds and Stuck Voices: Understanding and Addressing Cognitive Anxiety in High-Stakes ESL Speaking Tests