Over the past twenty years the Research Institute for Language and Culture of Asia (RILCA) has been the main academic institution in Thailand to act as an advocate for and to promote public consciousness of the need to empower and give dignity to local ethnic minority cultures. Thus, the local people are being given the ability to maintain their unique identities, cultures and languages within the larger Thai World. To this end, the RILCA has undertaken timely studies of the language, culture, and lifestyles of various ethnic groups.

Data has been collected, analyzed and recorded in accordance with strict academic standards and has been compiled in reference books and documents, such as theses, research papers, and dictionaries, in order to give the majority Thai society the chance to learn about and gain an understanding of the special features of ethnicities.

Researching the languages and Cultures of ethnic groups is a continuous process. In order to shape the direction of research precisely, in 2007 the RILCA set up a research group of languages and cultures of ethnic groups. The major role of the research group is to conduct researches on the languages and cultures of ethnic groups residing in the Southeast Asian region. Linguistically, these ethnic groups are divided into 4 subgroups, namely, Austroasiatic, Malayo-Polynesian, Sino-Tibetan, and Tai-Kadai including Thai. The major initiative is the drafting of research proposals on the languages and cultures of ethnic groups residing both within and outside Thailand aimed at securing research funding and conducting subsequent researches as grants provide.

In addition to research, the research group conducts other activities related to the research theme such as special lectures and resource development of the team's research publications.

The research group on languages and cultures of ethnic groups consists of thirteen members as follows:

Member

		Dr. Amon Sangmanee, Associate Professor
		Dr. Somsonge Burusphat, Professor somsonge.bur@mahidol.ac.th [ Curriculum vitae ]
		Dr. Sujaritlak Deepadung, Associate Professor sujaritlak.dee@mahidol.ac.th [ Curriculum vitae ]
		Dr. Khwanchit Sasiwongsaroj, Assistant Professor quanjit.sas@mahidol.ac.th, kwan7chit@yahoo.com [ Curriculum vitae ] [ Short Bio ]
		Dr. Pattama Patpong, Assistant Professor pattama.pat@mahidol.ac.th [ Curriculum vitae ]
		Dr. Renu Muenjanchoey, Assistant Professor renu.mue@mahidol.ac.th, renu_ao@yahoo.com [ Curriculum vitae ]
		Dr. Narong Ardsmiti narong.ard@mahidol.ac.th [ Curriculum vitae ]
		Dr. Mayuree Thawornpat mayuree.tha@mahidol.ac.th, mthawornpat@yahoo.com [ Curriculum vitae ]
		Dr. Sumittra Suraratdecha sumittra.sur@mahidol.ac.th [ Curriculum vitae ]
		Dr. Weeranan Damrongsakul weeranan.dar@mahidol.ac.th [ Curriculum vitae ]
		Pichet Setapong pichet.set@mahidol.ac.th [ Curriculum vitae ]
		Werapong Mesathan werapong.mes@mahidol.ac.th [ Curriculum vitae ]