The word wathanatham (culture) was a recent addition to the Thai lexicon, having been coined some time in the early 1930s.It was during this period that the nationalist project launched by Vajiravudh some twenty years earlier encouraging his fellow countrymen to eschew foreign (that is, Western) terms and develop the use of "Thai" equi- valents reached its peak, and large numbers of neologisms based on Pali-Sanskrit roots were formulated.105 While some of these newly created lexical items had an ephemeral existence, wathanatham was more successful and gradually came into wider usage. However, there was a degree of uncertainty as to what the term actually meant.106 In the aforementioned lecture, Wichit sought to overcome the prevailing uncertainty regarding "culture" by assuring his listeners that it was not a difficult concept but one which had to be seen as having two meanings. On the one hand, "culture" referred to material forms, such as architecture, dress and art which "demonstrated the achievements or progress of the nation to other countries 107 "Culture" was also defined in less tangible terms as the underlying basis of morals and behaviour which led to "national progress and stability.