| This dissertation studied riddling in contemporary Central Thai society in which complex and interrelated socio-cultural elements coexist. To achieve a thorough investigation, this dissertation documented and analyzed riddling, specifically ?aray?èey and phàmiˇi or cóok, in different realms of interaction including local communities, urban settings, mass media, and cyberspace.;The theoretical discussion of the variety and complexity of riddle and riddling resulted in a proposal of a new analytical framework and a new conceptualization. A holistic analysis of the text, contextualization, and meta-pragmatics was developed. The closer look at the surface form, logical semantic, enactment, and meta-communication led to the reconceptualization of riddle as a rhetorical challenge based on the use of unconventional logical link.;The major finding of this dissertation is that dynamics and interconnectivity are the two key features of riddles and riddling in Central Thai social life. The layout of this dissertation is geared toward exhibiting these two key features of this expressive genre in the different analytical levels mentioned above. The first half, i.e., chapters one to three, focus on the textual analysis while the second half, i.e., chapters four to seven, draw attention to the enactment and meta-pragmatic levels.;As an interpersonal communicative process focusing on the creation of playful confusion and the reestablishment of cognitive order, riddling is dynamic in itself. Further, the ethnographic data demonstrates the adaptability and emergent features as the genre interacts with new socio-cultural elements.;Interconnectivity is apparent in all the analytical levels. On the surface, a riddle interconnects a riddle image and its solution(s). The core of each riddle is an unconventional logical connection of two (or more) seemingly unrelated concepts. The enactment of riddling requires social interaction of at least two participants, a riddler and a riddlee. Through the riddling process, both participants are cognitively linked. Often, the interlocking between riddling and its context can be found. Further, the accounts of Central Thai riddling demonstrate a wide scope of interconnectivity ranging from social relationships in face-to-face interactions to the connection of riddling in different communicative contexts and to the larger scale of global-local interconnection in riddling sessions. |
