Thai buffalo Naming: A study of structure and semantic meaning

การตั้งชื่อกระบือไทย: การศึกษาโครงสร้างและความหมายเชิงอรรถศาสตร์

Abstract

        This study aims to analyze the meanings of buffalo names. The research data consist of 487 buffalo names and sire–dam names (excluding duplicates). This qualitative linguistic study employs a semantic analysis approach at the morphemic level to reveal the structural patterns of naming, together with the concept of semantic categorization. The findings are presented through descriptive analysis. The results indicate that buffalo names can be classified into three structural types based on the number of semantic units. Single-semantic-unit names were the most frequent, accounting for 316 names (66.1%), followed by two-semantic-unit names with 157 names (32.2%), while three-semantic-unit names were the least common, with only 14 names (1.7%). The semantic analysis revealed 21 semantic categories of buffalo names: valuables, wealth, food and beverages, humans, plants, animals, power, fame, objects, places, natural conditions, religion, love and happiness, colors, beauty, numbers, time and dates, fortune and auspiciousness, physical appearance, products and commercial establishments, and diseases. The findings further demonstrate that most buffalo names are associated with valuables, plants, and humans, particularly the words “diamond” and “gold,” reflecting the economic value of buffaloes beyond their traditional role in agriculture and rice farming. Buffalo naming practices also reveal the adaptation of buffalo husbandry within the cultural practices of modern farmers who increasingly employ technology in rice cultivation. Moreover, buffalo naming practices closely resemble human naming conventions. These findings highlight the relationship between the meanings of buffalo names and the contemporary social context of Thailand.