Conditions on the decision to marry a foreigner and cultural exchange within a family of middle-class southern Thai women

Abstract

      The purpose of this study was to examine the conditions on the decision to marry a foreigner and cultural exchange within a family of middleclass southern Thai women.The research methodology is qualitative and The concept of phenomenology in Grounded theory that focuses on the study of the social phenomenon to understand values, beliefs and attitudes, from the perspective of society was applied. Data was collected from middle – class southern thai women by using non-participatory observation approach and indepth interview 1 0 women from middle-class families were selected as informants in Songkhla Province Krabi Surat Thani Province and Phuket Province. The study found that,in terms of cultural exchange, the use of language is important for communication. Even though there is a communication error or a use of slarg, it is not a problem in the marriage (middle-class women) because women can write and speak a primary language. The most common languages found are English and Chinese which are the main languages spoken between the spouse Local language is also used as well.