khunsanuk Posted August 14, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 14, 2007 Hi, Right, and not just teenagers either. Stood slightly behind a girl waiting for the subway last Friday who picked up her phone and said: Hello Uh.. Koo haek hii maa laew The last line is very, very crude. My wife wouldn't even repeat it when I asked her to confirm what I heard. She was shocked that someone would say this in public. And this was a decently dressed office girl, mid 20's or so. Sanuk! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted August 14, 2007 Report Share Posted August 14, 2007 Hi, They still speak like that upcountry Sanuk! I know. I tried it on a BG once. She smacked me and told me to speak proper Thai. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
preahko Posted August 14, 2007 Report Share Posted August 14, 2007 Hi' date=' They still speak like that upcountry Sanuk! [/quote'] I know. I tried it on a BG once. She smacked me and told me to speak proper Thai. Speaking like that to a Thai is a sure-fire way of enraging them, confirming their suspicions that farangs are uncooth goons, and about on the same level of general offensiveness as wearing your shoes into someone's house, touching a monk on the head, etc. If these are your goals, go for it. preahko Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khunsanuk Posted August 14, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 14, 2007 Hi, I never understood why Thais get so all worked up about a farang speaking like this, even in jest. After all, none of them bat an eye if another Thai does it. Sanuk! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
preahko Posted August 14, 2007 Report Share Posted August 14, 2007 Well, I think that native speakers of all languages, consciously or otherwise, hold non-native speakers to a different standard when they hear them speaking their language...it seems to be human nature. Think about the things you might correct a non-native speaker of your language for saying versus your reaction to a native speaker saying exactly the same thing. But because of the specific historical/social situation of Thai--as I said earlier, several generations of Thais have now been systematically brainwashed by the government into this "polite ideal Thai" that's considered "proper" today--I think Thais are even more sensitive to "infractions" coming from an outside group...and remember, Thais also by and large believe themselves to be the superior beings on this planet. So they're not going to tolerate inferior creatures (farangs) speaking their language "incorrectly". preahko Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted August 14, 2007 Report Share Posted August 14, 2007 Reason I did it was because I heard the BGs speaking to each other that way. So I joined in. But that's a no-no (which I knew it was). << and remember, Thais also by and large believe themselves to be the superior beings on this planet. >> You've got that right. But I found pretty much the same feeling in Laos. And the Chinese Thais seem to think they are superior to both the Thais and the Chinese! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fiery Jack Posted August 15, 2007 Report Share Posted August 15, 2007 Hi, Right, and not just teenagers either. Stood slightly behind a girl waiting for the subway last Friday who picked up her phone and said: Hello Uh.. Koo haek hii maa laew The last line is very, very crude. My wife wouldn't even repeat it when I asked her to confirm what I heard. She was shocked that someone would say this in public. And this was a decently dressed office girl, mid 20's or so. Sanuk! KS, What does "Koo haek hii maa laew..." mean, then? Please tell! I'm enjoying this thread. Re. the non-natives speaking gutter slang, same same in Japan. Things a Jap would say and would go wholly unnoticed can stop a conversation dead if uttered by a gaijin. Some foreigners think it's cool to talk slang or local dialect, but (I know for a fact that) the Japs just think foreigners who try to speak in that way are idiots. As a poster above said, it just confirms their preconceptions that foreigners are thick uncouth yobs. (That's why I don't do it.* ) jack * it's okay sometimes, in comapny you're comfortable with, used very sparingly, for a joke. But using vulgar J-slang in public marks a gaijin out as a dickhead. Presumably same same in Thailand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted August 15, 2007 Report Share Posted August 15, 2007 We learned early in our Peace Corps language training to be very careful about using words in the classroom that we had picked up elsewhere (e.g. bars, MPs or from market women). The shocked expressions on our female teachers told us we had said a no-no. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khunsanuk Posted August 15, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 15, 2007 Hi, "What does "Koo haek hii maa laew..." mean, then?" Roughly, 'I brought my cunt over here already.' using a vulgar way of saying 'I'. Sanuk! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
preahko Posted August 15, 2007 Report Share Posted August 15, 2007 Hi, "What does "Koo haek hii maa laew..." mean, then?" Roughly, 'I brought my cunt over here already.' using a vulgar way of saying 'I'. Sanuk! ...not to mention a vulgar way of saying "vagina" ("cunt" is indeed the corresponding English term). preahko Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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