Abstract

Thailand is considered a Muslim-minority country; nevertheless, the Thai government has turned its attention to the economic development of the Halal industry because of the expanding global Muslim consumer market. This development is manifested as a textual phenomenon in Bangkok Post, the foremost English-language daily newspaper in Thailand. This research examines how this economic shift is depicted stylistically and persuasively through the use of English. It aims to investigate rhetorical strategies of persuasion related to Thailand’s Halal industry in the newspaper and to discuss the extent to which these strategies indicate and contribute to World Englishes in the Islamic context of the Thai and global economy. The study is grounded in the frameworks of the rhetoric of persuasion and World Englishes and employs rhetorical, textual, and thematic analyses within a mixed-methods design. The findings demonstrate that the journalists employed salient sub-strategies of the classical rhetorical appeals – ethos, logos, and pathos – to portray Thailand’s Halal industry. Moreover, such rhetorical sub-strategies index stylistic innovations of World Englishes, Islamic English, the global economy of World Englishes, and the Thai Muslim identity of English. These findings also substantiate a discourse portraying Thailand as a credible, progressive, and commercially prepared participant in the global Halal market.

Keywords

Thailand’s Halal Industry, Bangkok Post, Rhetoric, Persuasion, World Englishes,

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References

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