Thai authors

[pharaoh]

Dear Jon,
in Thailand, where I work and live is normal to quote authors by name instead of surname as the normal Western usage.
So example Kasetsiri, Charnvit (1976), The Raise of Ayutthaya, Oxford: Oxford University Press should be cited as Charnvit (1976), e.g. employing APA.
Thus, I would like to know if selecting cases with Thai authors will be allowed, so the name instead of the surname will be employed.

Rob

[Jon]

There is no option for outputting only the first name (in Western terms). One solution is to enter the name you want output in a user-defined field (e.g. user1) and in the format tell Bookends to output that (u1) were the name should be.

Jon
Sonny Software

[Philologist]

I have this problem too.

One solution is to enter the name you want output in a user-defined field (e.g. user1) and in the format tell Bookends to output that (u1) were the name should be.

That may not be a viable solution for everyone, especially for those who work in the humanities, because all user-defined fields are then most likely already taken. The greatest problem with Bookends is that there are only 34 fields available.

Rob, sawadee kha! I think I may have found another and perhaps a better solution for you. If you use Nisus Writer Pro, then here is how you can do this very easily:

1. For Thai authors, enter first name and surname followed by a comma into the Authors field.
2. Insert directly in front of the surname. This is a little blue Emoji icon, and the tiny image reminds me of swapping (names). You can, of course, use any other Emoji icon you like.
3. When you are finished writing your document in Nisus, scan the document (Tools > Bibliography > Scan Document).
4. Then select the *body text* and run the "Thai macro". This macro will delete the swap-Emojis and the surnames in the body text, leave the surnames in the bibliography untouched but delete the icons, thus giving you a nice "mixed" bibliography, that is: The kind of bibliography you see in Thai related publications, where English names appear as Shakespeare, William and Thai names as Pasuk Phongpaichit (first name + surname). By the way, Nisus will only delete the icon you have in Bookends, all other Emoji icons in your document, if you have any, remain untouched

Here is the advantage of this approach:
a. Due to the tiny blue icon being a real eye catcher, you can always identify your Thai references in Bookends list view at a glance.
b. During the whole writing process your Thai authors will stand out in your document, easily distinguishable from other authors
c. Based on the icon, you can easily create a smart group of all Thai authors in your library
d. Personally I find this little blue icon looks really cool in Bookends

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Whether you have "Pasuk Phongpaichit" or "Phongpaichit, Pasuk" in your *bibliography* is in Thailand, if I'm correctly informed, a matter of individual choice. Both is acceptable and considered correct. If you rather prefer "Phongpaichit, Pasuk" (surname, first name), then I can write a macro for you that swaps the names.

Let me know what you think…

[pharaoh]

Dear Philologist,
I thank you for the explanation. Will I be too much inopportune to ask you for both Macros, so using their normal Thai and Western style as well?
I am using NIsus, but I have never dealt enough into the Macro language. It is also true that I have seen Thai authors being quoted in the normal Western way, and I am doing the same quote often as well.

[Philologist]

I am using NIsus, but I have never dealt enough into the Macro language.

Hi pharaoh/Rob,

"Mixed" bibliographies are by no means restricted to Thailand, or the East for that matter. They are the norm in Western countries where patronymics are used instead of family names. Bibliographies which contain medieval authors also require "mixed" entries.

Here are the macros you asked for, plus one extra. They are annotated, and it is assumed that the user has little or no experience with Nisus macros. I also added a pdf file with detailed instructions. The files are too large for this forum, so you have to download them using the following links. When you are on the page, click on Download in the upper right corner.

Instructions
https://copy.com/Vh0muJMxxXcoEeae

Remove surnames
https://copy.com/xoSyvb3pdWcBNYDs

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All 3 macros are not language specific. They should work with any language.
If something is unclear or you have any problems, then please ask in the Forum.