Running Head: COOKING TERMS IN PATANI MALAY: AN ETHNOSEMANTIC STUDY 2 nd International Conference on Language, Innovation, Culture and Education (ICLICE) 27 th & 28 th NOVEMBER, 2015 29 2 ICLICE 2015 30 Nura-aa Sama-ae Cooking Terms in Patani Malay: An Ethnosemantic Study Nura-aa Sama-ae a , Nuntana Wongthai* b a Department of Linguistics, Srinakharinwirot University, Sukhumvit 23, Bangkok, Thailand b Department of Linguistics, Srinakharinwirot University, Sukhumvit 23, Bangkok, Thailand *Corresponding Author: nuntanaw@swu.ac.th ABSTRACT The purpose of this study is to analyze the meanings of Patani Malay cooking terms in three provinces of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat in the southern part of Thailand. The researchers applied the theoretical framework of the componential analysis proposed by Katz and Fodor (1963); Leech (1974); and Nida (1979) to analyze dimensions of contrast and semantic components of the cooking terms used in those three provinces in order to reveal the food culture of Patani Malay people. The data were collected from the Patani Malay dictionaries, cook books of southern Thai food and informant interviews. Nineteen cooking terms were found in Patani Malay. There are five dimensions of contrast which are PURPOSE, HEAT, TIME, EQUIPMENT and MAIN INGREDIENTS. Each of these dimensions entails the significant semantic features which distinguish one cooking term from others. The study reveals ways of cooking and food culture of Patani Malay people; namely, most Patani Malay food are cooked by heat, Patani Malay people prefer dried food and soup to greasy and oily food. In addition, the cooking terms showed that they strictly obey and follow the Islamic laws. Most ingredients, especially spices, reflected that their food culture is influenced by other countries such as India, China, and Indonesia. Keyword:, Componential analysis, Cooking terms, Food culture, Patani Malay Introduction Most people in the five provinces of the Southern region of Thailand, which are Songkhla, Pattani, Yala, and Narathiwat, are muslim. Premsrirat et al. (2004) claimed that 82% of the population in Pattani, Yala, and Narathiwat which are three southern border provinces are islamic. This ethnic group has their own language to communicate in daily life which is called “Patani Malay”. Moreover, the food culture of Patani Malay people reveals that they strictly obey and follow the Islamic laws, which people in general have known as “Halal food”. The objectives of this study are to analyze the dimensions of contrast and the components of meanings in Patani Malay cooking terms in Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat provinces. The researchers believe that the study reveals the relationship between language and culture, especially the cooking and eating culture of Patani Malay people. The importance of the study is to understand the cooking and eating cultures of Patani Malay people which are ways of cooking, Islamic dietary laws (Halal) and food culture from other countries. The study is based within the theoretical framework of componential analysis proposed by Katz and Fodor (1963); Leech (1974); and Nida (1979).