Intercultural communication: A case study on the film Sabaidee Luang Prabang 1

INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION: A CASE STUDY
ON THE FILM SABAIDEE LUANG PRABANG 1
Ratchaneechay Choeirod

Faculty of Liberal Arts, Prince of Songkla University, Songkhla, Thailand
Abstract
This article aims to analyze intercultural communication in the film Sabaidee Luang
Prabang 1 (Good Morning Luang Prabang 1). As a joint venture film between both Thai and
Lao funders, one can see that the film effectively presents differences between the two cultures.
The article analyzes 2 aspects of the film, including: 1) the stereotypes held by the characters
and 2) the characters’ language use across cultures. Findings from the analysis of both of
these aspects reflect the crucial need for study and understanding about cross-cultural
differences prior to traveling to a new place in order to live there normally and happily.
Keywords: Stereotypes, Intercultural Communication, Good Morning Luang Prabang 1
1. Introduction
Kaewseenual (2005) states that cultural differences and human varieties including
the differences in administration, race, religion and language can bring about
misunderstandings in communication, therefore it is necessary to learn and exchange
cultural differences in order to reduce the gap which might arise from communications
amongst different groups of people.
It can be seen that the knowledge relating to intercultural communication is
absolutely essential for the senders to have a well preparation in order to be able to
understand and learn the model and guidelines when indulging in other cultures or when
outsiders coming into our culture. If we do not understand the cultural differences in the first
place, it may cause bad attitudes towards those who are we talking to. This is true with what
Euamornvanich (2017) who says that today's society is influenced by intercultural
communication. While we are communicating with other people, it is obvious that each
person has already had his/her own culture which has been accumulated from an
environment he/she lives in. Therefore, communication with individuals from diverse
cultures needs to be ready for learning the differences as a way to succeed in communication.
However, both senders and receivers‘ intercultural communication which is

consistent with the theory of stereotype viewpoint is an issue found frequently in the
communication process between cultures. As what Kimprakone (2008) states that
stereotype viewpoint consists of two aspects. They are 1. a structured stereotype: an
indirect perception of information through education, mass media, and documents or
historical events; and 2. an unstructured stereotype: a direct perception of information
through experiences by having an interaction with others so that thought and attitude have

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been completely established. Boon-arch (2009) also adds that stereotype viewpoint is often
viewed as a negative thought such as the determination that Negros are not educated, or
Italians like taking other people‘s belongings without permission.
In addition to stereotype viewpoint, obstacles resulting from the use of language
can also take place. Boon-arch (2009) emphasizes that communication problems found
from the senders‘ language are different in each case. The meaning and understanding of
language in each culture are different in details from one another. This can be apparently
found from how Thai people communicate with foreign colleagues that often causes
misunderstanding in the use of some lexical meanings, thus nonverbal language or body
language are replaced to make the conveyance of messages clearer.
Thus, we can see that the analysis of intercultural communication from the film:
Sabaidee Luang Prabang 1, can well reflect many aspects of the cultural differences
through the characters in the story. Two points are raised in the analysis: the stereotype
viewpoint and the use of intercultural language.
2. Objectives
2.1 To analyze the thinking process or stereotype viewpoint from the characters in
the film Sabaidee Luang Prabang 1
2.2 To analyze the use of intercultural language of the characters in the film
Sabaidee Luang Prabang 1
3. Method

3.1 Documents and research on intercultural communication are collected.
3.2 The data are analyzed with the concept of stereotype viewpoint and the use of
intercultural language from Sabaidee Luang Prabang 1
4. Results
The results based on the concept of cross-cultural communication from Sabaidee
Luang Prabang 1 can be categorized into two points: 4.1 Stereotype viewpoint and 4.2 The
use of intercultural language.
4.1 Stereotype Viewpoint
―Sorn‖, a protagonist in the story, was half Laotian and Australian, but he did not
grow up in Laos or Australia. He was raised in Thailand all his life since learning in high
school until working. Because of this, he had learned and absorbed some Thai cultures
since he was young. He was a photographer of one company and was sent to take the
pictures in Laos. It was his first journey to Laos. Although he had Laotian blood, he did not
know anything about Laos and had never visited Laos before. So he hired a tour guide
named ―Noi‖ on his trip. It was the turning point of his life to learn more about Laos‘
cultures as well as being impressed that this country was like one of his home. It could be
said that this journey brought him not only the portfolio of photos but also a new opened
vision and view towards Laos.
However, the continuity of this story presented many obstacles on cultural
communication such as the situation in which is Noi and Sorn traveled to southern Laos.

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But during the way to the port, they got lost and took more time to find the boat. Once they
found the port, they did not see any boats there. Sorn suddenly said, ―Why‘s the boat not
coming?‖ Noi answered Sorn, ―We have paid him already, so he must come. Paying means
to reserve the seats. If we don‘t pay, he will not come.‖ But Sorn thought that if they paid
first, the sailor might not come because he could cheat. So it would be fairer to pay after
the sailor arrived. Shortly after their conversation ended, the ship came to the port.

Scenario 1
Sorn: Where is the boat, Noi?
Noi: I told him to pick us up and booked the seat an hour ago.
Sorn: It is understandable. If we didn‘t walk or hang around too much, we wound
have made it in time. So do you think he will come soon?
Noi: Yes, he must come because we paid him. He should come soon.
Sorn: So we have already paid him? What if we didn‘t pay him, would he come to
pick us up?
Noi: He should come because we have already paid him. Paying means to book the seats.
Sorn : If we pay him first, will he really come? I think we should wait until he
arrives and pay him later.
Noi: We did the right thing so that it means we want to book the seats. If we don‘t
pay, he will definitely not come.
According to scenario 1, the reason why Sorn thought like this is because of his
past experience of the first day he arrived Laos. While he was sitting at the hotel‘s lobby,
there was a boy coming to him trying to sell his goods such as watches and pens, but he did
not want to buy them. So the boy deceived him to eat some badtasted snacks. He then choked and asked for a bottle of water. The boy gave him a
bottle of water and charged him for the snack and bottle of water.
Scenario 2
Sorn: I don‘t want to buy these stuffs. If they all are foods, then I will buy some.
A boy: Yes, I have. (Handed him a package of snack)
Sorn: (took the snack and ate but suddenly choked)
A boy: Here‘s water. Take this.
Sorn: (took a bottle of water from the boy) Um… thanks.
A boy: A package of snack and a bottle of water. Where is the money?
Sorn: Do you even want to charge this snack that almost causes me to death?
A boy: Yes.
Sorn: (handed the boy money and said) Cheating!
According to scenario 2, at first he thought that the boy would have given him a
free bottle of water, but after this incident happened, he had bad attitudes towards Laotians.

From this experience, he thought that Lao people had the cunning habit. But then "Noi",

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his tour guide, said that if they gave the money to the sailor, it would be considered as
booking. This event illustrates the matter of cultural differences. This incident
demonstrates that the ethnic bias with stereotype views especially from what the
protagonist judge Lao people as deceivers can be regarded as the judgment from the direct
experience which can cause a paranoid view of generalization that others may be the same,
which in fact people from different cultures may not have similar habits.
In the following days, both Sorn and Noi came to the port and met the sailor they
had been hired. The sailor said that he had been waiting for them for a long time in the
previous day, but no one came before he left. According to this, it led Sorn to make up her
mind that Lao people were not always tricky. And if money has been paid before, the sailor
would come as promised. Therefore, stereotyping is the result of cultural learning, and
prejudices that we often have towards strangers. This in fact does not mean that every Lao
people are dishonest. From what Noi has said that if they wanted to hire the sailor, they
would need to reserve the seat with money. If not, he would not come. This is the
perception of Lao people; in other words, it can be Laotian‘s culture. However, Sorn
looked the other way that if he paid first, he might be cheated. This reflects the perception
of Thai people because it is common for Thais to receive the items before paying.
4.2 The use of intercultural language
The use of intercultural language is divided into 3 points: 4.2.1 the use of verbal and
nonverbal language, 4.2.2 communication style, and 4.2.3 language and cultural learning.
4.2.1 The use of verbal and nonverbal language includes 3 scenarios:
4.2.1.1 Sorn visited his relatives at Pakxan and found that his relatives greeted him
with a warm welcome. Traditionally, when relatives who were away from their homeland
for a long time, once they returned back home, the family would normally arrange the
blessing ceremony to bring back their spiritual morale.

Scenario 3
Sorn: (Greeted everyone with Wai) Hello.
A cousin: Hello, my nephew. Hello. This morning, father, mother, and
grandparents all arrange the welcome-back ceremony for you.
Sorn: (Touched the blessing tray and observed his relatives)
A cousin: (gradually tied the blessing thread to each person‘s arm)
As from scenario 3, at the beginning, he was exposed to this ritual and was feeling
a bit suspicious. But as time passed, he felt more comfortable with no reasons because he
could feel the atmosphere through a nonverbal language with the joyful and welcoming
supports from his relatives. When the ritual finished, he walked around the house. His
grandfather introduced him to the pictures of his relatives. When it came to the picture of
one woman who used to be the former girlfriend of his father, his grandfather explained
that she had also joined in today‘s hand-fasting ritual as well. While he was explaining the
ritual, he also acted accordingly to make it more understandable. Therefore, cross-cultural
communication can be explained with the used of nonverbal communications which in

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most countries share some similarities. However, some explanations with verbal
communications may not be able to convey the complete meaning of the messages.
Image 1: The blessing ceremony

Source: />4.2.1.2 Sorn and Noi were traveling to Pakxan, but there was no bus because the busbooking clerk had already sold all the tickets to other customers. Noi told Sorn that there was
another way to go to Pakzan which was to soar into the air. Sorn was then a bit confused.
Scenario 4
Noi: I know the way to Vientiane which is near Pakxan, but you need to lend me
some money.
Sorn: Sure! You can take my money. Anyway, can we really go there?
Noi: Of course. We will soar into the air (fly) there.

Sorn: (bewildered face)
Later, they both took the flight to Pakxan.
According to scenario 4, the word ―soaring into the air‖ means to travel in the sky
without using any vehicles in Thai meaning, but it means to fly by an airplane in Lao meaning.
4.2.1.3 Noi took Sorn to her friend‘s wedding ceremony and introduced him to her
friends. Noi‘s friends said that Sorn looked like a rakish person.
Scenario 5
Noi: (swept her hand to Sorn) This is my friend, Sorn.
Noi‘s friend: It‘s Sorn, isn‘t it? You look so rakish. You guys can go inside first.
We will follow you later.
Noi: Hey, some of my friends said you look so arrogant. They smiled at you, but
you didn‘t smile them back.
Sorn: I‘m worried that if I smile at them, your friends might think I‘m rakish.
Noi: Being rakish here means being handsome.
Sorn: Oh, why didn‘t you tell me? So I‘m handsome?
In scenario 5, when Sorn was thought of being rakish, he did not smile to anyone.
Noi then told Sorn that others thought he was arrogant. Sorn then replied Noi that it was

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because her friends thought he was rakish, so he did not want to smile back; otherwise,
people would misunderstand him. Noi laughed and said that the word rakish in Lao
language refers to ―handsome‖. Therefore, in terms of the comprehension of the verbal
language, some words can only be understood to specific groups of people. If we do not
understand the terminology profoundly, it may cause the cultural differences and can
perhaps lead to ethnic bias as well.
4.2.1.4 When Sorn first arrived Laos, his conversation with Lao people was mixed
with Thai vocabularies. A few days later, he learned to adapt the use of language similarly
to Laotians as being presented in table 1

Table 1: Lao lexical substitution in Thai vocabularies
Ordinal

Thai vocabulary

Lao vocabulary

1.

[khun]

[caw]

2.

[phom]

[khɔj]

3.

[khɔ:p-caj]

[khɔ:p-caj-la:j]

4.

[sa-wat-di:]

[sa-ba:j-di:]

5.

[nam-plaw]

[nam-la:]

6.

[du:]

[bəŋ]

From table 1, it can be seen that Sorn chooses to use some of Lao words instead of
Thai words such as changing from [khun] to [caw] and [phom] to [khɔj].
Besides, Laotians often pronounce [r] as [h], so Sorn has to adapt his pronunciation
accordingly as well. For example, he needs to change the pronunciation of the word [raprɔ:ŋ] to [hap-hɔ:ŋ] and [tha:j-ru:p] to [tha:j-hu:p].
This also includes when Sorn first arrived Laos, and he used the word [khrap] as the
ending word. Later, he started using the word [bɔɁ], and [caŋ-si:] at the ending of the sentences.
Thus, Sorn has adapted his own way of learning the language by noticing and
practicing by himself, causing him become more competent with some Lao words.
Nevertheless, he still had the influence of his mother tongue which was an accent, so he
had to mix both languages when he spoke. For instance, he spoke with Thai accent but
called himself as [khɔj] and called the others as [caw].
4.2.2 Communication style
Sorn and Noi use an informal language to communicate. Sorn speaks to Noi in Thai,
and Noi speaks to Sorn in Loa. However, both of them can understand each other. Even if
there are only some vocabularies with different meanings, Sorn usually uses the nonverbal
language to solve the misinterpretation in meaning of the language.
4.2.3 Language and cultural learning which includes 2 scenarios

4.2.3.1 Noi took Sorn to her friend‘s wedding ceremony and taught him how to do a
Paslop dancing which was very popular in carnivals, and night clubs especially in the

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wedding ceremonies. He said that when he was young, his father used to teach him how to
dance, but he was not good at it. So Noi had to be his teacher at this time.
Scenario 6
Sorn: Noi, What kind of dancing are they doing now?
Noi: It‘s called Paslop dancing. We usually dance like this every time we arrange
some carnivals.
Sorn: My father used to teach me how to dance when I was young.
Noi: If you have danced before, it would be easy for you.
Sorn: But I think it would be better to have someone teach me.
In scenario 6, Paslop cultural dancing is what Sorn learned when he was young.
Even if it was a long time ago, his memories still remained. Therefore, when Noi taught
him again, it turned out that he did it quite well because he had experienced it before.
4.2.3.2 When Sorn and Noi stayed at one villager‘s homestay, they received warm
welcome from the host, and they were arranged to have dinner together.
Scenario 7
Sorn: I don‘t have money in kip, but dollars. Can you take it in dollars?
Noi: (immediately took money from Sorn‘s hand in order not to make the host felt discomfort)
Sorn: I don‘t understand what‘s wrong with it? I just wanted to repay their gratitude.
Noi: If we give them the money, it is considered rude because we are like one of
their guests. We only need to help them with some house chores to pay them in returns.
In scenario 7, Sorn picked out a dollar and told the host, ―I don‘t have it in kip. I
only have it in dollars‖. While he was about to give the host his money, Noi suddenly held
his hand back and told him to wait until dinner finished so that they could wash the dishes
in returns. Sorn asked Noi back that he did not understand what his fault was. He only

wanted to repay the host‘s kindness. Noi replied that if they gave the money to the host, it
would be considered as an insult because they were like one of their guests, and what they
could do was to help them with the house chores.
Because he lived in the city, he did not understand the generosity. When guests visited
his home, he thought that he only needed to give money in returns of the items received.
Therefore, he has learned Laotian‘s cultures in the way that if we stay at someone‘s
house, the best way to compensate the person‘s kindness is to help with the house chores
which is considered as being respectful.
5. Discussion and Conclusion
As from the analysis of intercultural communication, it reflects that the main
character, Sorn, understood well about the differences between cultures despite he had a
bad experience with the Laotian boy who deceived him to buy the snack, leading him to
assume that all Laotians were cunning. This is consistent with Kimprakone (2008) who
states that stereotype viewpoints consists of two aspects. They are 1. a structured
stereotype: an indirect perception of information through education, mass media, and

472


documents or historical events; and 2. an unstructured stereotype: a direct perception of
information through experiences by having an interaction with others so that thought and
attitude have been completely established.
Therefore, Sorn‘s incident is considered to be the perception of the direct
experience by herself. However, what he thinks cannot indicate or judge that Laotians are
fraud because if we notice the whole story, it is apparent that Lao people are generous and
considerate to others. For instance, When Sorn was having dinner at the homestay and was
going to give money to the house owner for a compensation, he found that it was not
appropriate to do that. This is because it is regarded that the best way to show someone
gratitude is to help with the house chores.
Moreover, the use of intercultural language can be divided into 3 points which

include 5.1 the use of verbal and nonverbal language, 5.2 communication style, and 5.3
language and cultural learning.
5.1 The use of verbal language: It is considered as the best tool used for
communication. But if the verbal language cannot be used, nonverbal language or body
language can be put in placement. However, nonverbal communication in some countries
can impart different meanings.
5.2 Communication style: Even though Sorn is in an employer position, and Noi is
his employee, it can explicitly be seen that they both use an informal language to make the
conversation go smoothly, which does not cause both the sender and receiver's discomfort.
5.3 Language and cultural learning: It can be seen that Sorn used to have
experiences such as a Paslop dancing in Laos when he was young. In despite of the time
passing by, he still remembered that his father had taught him this dance before. It is a sign
which interconnects to the fact that although he was grown up in Thailand, yet he never
forgot their ancestors‘ cultures.
6. References
1. Boon-arch, S. (2009). COMMUNICATION AND CULTURAL ADAPTATION
OF THAI PARTICIPANTS IN WORK AND HOLIDAY VISAS THAI-AUSTRALIA. Master
of Arts (Speech Communication), Department of Speech Communication and Performing
Arts, Chulalongkorn University. (In Thai)
2. Euamornvanich, P. (2017). Communication through Multi-Cultural Dimensions
of Geert Hofstede. Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, Burapha University, 25
(47), 223-240. (In Thai)
3. Kaewseenual, L. (2005). Cross-Cultural Communication. Wichacha Journal
Nakhon Si Thammarat Rajabhat University, 24 (1), 71-79. (In Thai)
4. Kimprakone, P. (2008). INTERRACIAL COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THAIS
AND INDIAN-THAIS. Master of Arts (Speech Communication), Department of Speech
Communication and Performing Arts, Chulalongkorn University. (In Thai)
5. Launmongkol, P. (2013). Sabaidee
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Luang

Prabang

1.

Source,

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