To help some of the non-Thai New Mandala readers who are looking to the Thai-language media for updates on the unfolding political crisis in Thailand I have put together a quick guide to a few of the abbreviations and acronyms that are being most commonly used right now. I hope it is useful for someone out there in the great digital yonder.
Getting inside the cascade of reports coming out of Thailand often requires knowledge of the shorthand deployed to quicken things up. This is knowledge that is not always needed in other contexts. So readers who are looking to dip into the Matichons, Thairaths, and Managers (wearing a striking yellow right now, I might add) and who don’t have time to read Thai newspapers everyday may find this short guide helpful in deciphering what is going on.
I am keen to update this list as required and any suggestions for revision will be very warmly received. If there is interest it could be expanded quite significantly but, at the very least, this is a start.
Political
- ครม. Newspaper shorthand for คณะรัฐมนตรี (the Cabinet of Ministers)
- ครม.ศก. A phrase used to describe คณะรัฐมนตรีเศรษฐกิจ (Economic Ministers)
- รมว. Minister (for example รมว.สธ. Health Minister)
- รมช. Deputy Minister
- ส.ส. Stands for สมาชิกสภาผู้แทนราษฎร (Member of Parliament)
- ส.ว. Abbreviation of สมาชิกวุฒิสภา (Senator)
- กกต. This is the สำนักงานคณะกรรมการการเลือกตั้ง (The Election Commission of Thailand)
- พธม. Common abbreviation for PAD (People’s Alliance for Democracy) taken from พันธมิตรฯ (Pantamit) meaning alliance. The full name of the PAD is พันธมิตรประชาชนเพื่อประชาธิปไตย
- พปช. Standard abbreviation for พรรคพลังประชาชน (People Power Party)
- พ.ร.ก An acronym for พระราชกำหนด (Royal Act; an order from the king)
- พ.ร.ฎ. From พระราชกฤษฎีกา (Royal Decree)
- นสพ. Abbreviation of หนังสือพิมพ์ (newspaper)
Military
- ผบ.สส. Common way of writing ผู้บัญชาการทหารสูงสุด (Supreme Commander)
- พล.อ. General
- พล.ท. Lieutenant General
- พล.ต. Major General
- พ.อ. Colonel
- พ.ท. Lieutenant Colonel
- พ.ต. Major
- ร.อ. Captain
- ร.ท. First Lieutenant
- ร.ต. Second Lieutenant
Police
- ตร. An abbreviation of ตำรวจ (police) and, commonly, สำนักงานตำรวจแห่งชาติ (Royal Thai Police or, more literally, the “National Police Office”)
- ผบ.ตร. An abbreviation of ผู้บัญชาการตำรวจแห่งชาติ (National Police Commissioner-General)
- พล.ต.อ. Police General
- พล.ต.ท. Police Lieutenant General
- พล.ต.ต. Police Major General
- พ.ต.อ. Police Colonel
- พ.ต.ท. Police Lieutenant Colonel
- พ.ต.ต. Police Major
- ร.ต.อ. Police Captain
- ร.ต.ท. Police Lieutenant
- ร.ต.ต. Police Sub-Lieutenant
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