Guest Posted February 13, 2003 Report Share Posted February 13, 2003 And to clarify here, we don't even have to be friends to say 'man', you just have to have a good feeling about the person : Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khunsanuk Posted February 13, 2003 Report Share Posted February 13, 2003 Hi, "I can understand why you would feel 'man' as an insult but it is a completely common , respected, colloquialism in Canada and the States amongst friends." Amongst friends, yes. But how would you feel if a waiter used this when refering to you? I, too, would not be upset if a close friend used it, but I would be highly offended if somebody I did not know used it. Sanuk! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 13, 2003 Report Share Posted February 13, 2003 May be something cultural here. We Canadians certainly don't take any offense to it and it's very seldom heard outside of the hippie ish tone of "hey man, what's happening?" or Hey man, let's catch a show. Even the warning tone of "quit that, man" is not offensive. and saying "man, look at those tits" is commonplace. :dunno: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khunsanuk Posted February 13, 2003 Report Share Posted February 13, 2003 Hi, I assume you are taking the piss, right? Sanuk! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tone Posted February 13, 2003 Report Share Posted February 13, 2003 I usually find Farang an offensive word. I know it's the official word for foreigner but the way it is used often seems quite derogatory and it feels like they're saying "fucking foreigner". But it also depends on how it is said and who says it. It's definitely offensive if your girlfriend's relatives refer to you as Farang right in front of you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 13, 2003 Report Share Posted February 13, 2003 I'm also puzzled as to why "man" would sound so insulting. At first I thought the offense was due to being referred to being a "man", as in "that man over there". Okaaay, but here in America, we say "hey man", oh, man!, "yo, man", or "man, did you hear/see", etc all the time. The examples are endless and the usage is common with Americans. Obviously, you wouldn't say, "Hey man, wassup?!" after being introduced to President Bush, but I gather the reason English folks bristle at the word parallels their aversion to using one's christian (given) name so easily as we Americans do. Even in business we refer to someone by his/her first name immediately after being introduced, which I believe just isn't done in Europe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 13, 2003 Report Share Posted February 13, 2003 I assume you are taking the piss, right? Not this time KS ...maybe we're just too laid back here, but certainly would never think twice about it here. Maybe some of the Yanks could comment. Hey, man, where you at OH. :dunno: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 13, 2003 Report Share Posted February 13, 2003 Says Tone: At least they don't call us "dickhead". Ummm...how about "birdshit"? Thai peeps attach that to farang all the time around here, and you can save your energy getting p o'd, 'cause political correctness doesn't register at all in our community. Of course, when Thais themselves call each other "bird", "crab", "frog", "pig", "shrimp", etc., you might as well forget about being so sensitive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 13, 2003 Report Share Posted February 13, 2003 Thanks man. Thought I was losing it here. Now on the other hand calling someone "boy" here would get you in serious kaka. So in Thailand refering to waiters or waitresses as "nong" or 'little one' wouldn't be acceptable at all. I often feel I'm demeaning someone in LOS by this term although most of them find it perfectly OK (I hope). At least it's better than 'hey you'. I go out of my way to get the waitpersons name if possible. Same for bartenders, clerks etc. May just be that polite Canadian thing, eh? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 13, 2003 Report Share Posted February 13, 2003 Hey man (oops) hold up on that "boy" thing. In my motorbike crew, we sometimes say, "yeah, my boy Joey did this or that..." Not a putdown at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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