David A. Smyth (; born 5 January 1954) is a British scholar notable for his expertise in the field of
Thai studies Thai studies, a branch of Asian studies, is the multidisciplinary study of Thailand and the Thai peoples. It calls upon the academic disciplines of history, anthropology, religious studies, political science, Thai language, Thai literature, musicolo ...
.
Life
Smyth first studied
Thai at the
School of Oriental and African Studies
The School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS University of London; ) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury area ...
, as part of an undergraduate degree in
South East Asian Studies. One of his tutors there was
E. H. S. Simmonds.
He lived in
Thailand
Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
from the mid 1970s until the early 1980s, teaching English first at
Thammasat University
Thammasat University (TU; ; , ) is a public university, public research university in Thailand with campuses in the Tha Phra Chan area of Bangkok, Rangsit, Pattaya and Lampang Province. , Thammasat University has over 39,000 students enrolled in ...
and then at
Srinakharinwirot University.
He received his doctorate from SOAS in 1988. His dissertation was a study of the literary works of
Kulap Saipradit.
For a number of years, he was a lecturer in Thai and Cambodian at SOAS.
Publications
Books
*Smyth, David A., and Manas Chitakasem (1984). ''Linguaphone Thai Course''. London: Linguaphone Institute. .
*Smyth, David A. (1995). ''Teach Yourself Thai''. London: Hodder Headline. .
*Smyth, David A. (1995). ''Colloquial Cambodian''. Abingdon, Oxfordshire: Routledge. .
*Smyth, David A., and Tran Kien (1995). ''Tuttle Practical Cambodian Dictionary''. Rutland, Vermont: Charles E. Tuttle Publishing. .
*Smyth, David A. (2002)
''Thai: An Essential Grammar'' London: Routledge. . (Second edition published in 2014. .)
*Smyth, David A. (2019). ''Kulap Saipradit ('Sriburapha'): Journalist and Writer in Early 20th Century Siam''. Bangkok: White Lotus Press. .
Papers
*Smyth, David A. (1984)
"Sībūraphā and Some Ups and Downs in a Literary Career" Paper presented to the International Conference on Thai Studies, Bangkok, 22–24 August.
*Smyth, David A. (1987)
"The Later Short Stories of Sībūraphā" In Jeremy H. C. S. Davidson (ed.), ''Laī Sū’ Thai: Essays in Honour of E. H. S. Simmonds'', . London: School of Oriental and African Studies.
*Smyth, David A. (2001)
"Farangs and Siamese: A Brief History of Learning Thai" In M. R. Kalaya Tingsabadh and
Arthur S. Abramson (eds.), ''Essays in Tai Linguistics'', . Bangkok: Chulalongkorn University Press.
Translations
*
Saipradit, Kulap (1990). ''
Behind the Painting and Other Stories''. Translated by David A. Smyth. Singapore: Oxford University Press. .
*
Surangkhanang, K. (1994). ''
The Prostitute''. Translated by David A. Smyth. Kuala Lumpur: Oxford University Press. .
*
Saipradit, Kulap, et al. (1998). ''The Sergeant's Garland and Other Stories''. Translated by David A. Smyth and Manas Chitakasem. Kuala Lumpur: Oxford University Press. .
*
Korbjitti, Chart (2003). ''No Way Out''. Translated by David A. Smyth. Nakhon Rachasima: Howling Books. .
*
Navarat, M. R. Nimitmongkol (2009). ''The Dreams of an Idealist''. Translated by David A. Smyth. Chiang Mai: Silkworm Books. .
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smyth, David A.
1954 births
Academics of SOAS University of London
Alumni of SOAS University of London
British orientalists
British translators
Literary translators
Living people
Thai studies scholars