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Did You Ever Want To Change Her Nickname ?


gobbledonk

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I know - we are stuck with our birth names, but I was under the impression that Thai girls chose their own nickname, hence the common 'Nit', 'Noy', 'Porn' etc. I know its their country/culture, but some of the nicknames they chose just dont translate well for introductions - I can live with 'Porn', but anything resembling 'Yu' or 'Me' is a no-no unless you plan on acting out Python skits for the rest of eternity. Perhaps its a way of standing out from the Nit-Noy-Nan pack ;)

 

Am I over-generalising here ? Is it only the gals from Isaan who are guilty of choosing poorly when it comes to nicknames, or have I got the cart before the horse ? Perhaps I should refer to myself as 'Big' or 'Pee-Pee' to see if it gets a reaction henceforth ....

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Hi,

 

It is actually the parents that chose the nicknames I think. As for the 'Yu' it is pronounced clearly different to 'you' (same for 'Mii' (= bear, assume you meant that one) and 'me'), although I guess for your average native English speaker it might not be that easy to pick up on the difference.

 

In bars it is not uncommon for girls to use a different nickname. Sometimes this is done for privacy reasons, but just as often it is because there are already a couple of different girls with the same nickname in the bar and it becomes confusing.

 

Sanuk!

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Thanks KS - I was convinced that some of them actually *wanted* to cause confusion - I have gone back to a bar looking for 'Noy', only to be told 'she not wok bar any more'. When I push for details, it would seem that there were several 'Noy' staff members and they all came from Buriram - wow ....

 

I get that they feel the need to cover for one another, but I wasnt holding a knife in one hand and foaming at the freaking mouth. Honest. ;)

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Traditionally, a new born child is given a nickname immediately, while the real name will wait pending the advice from some revered monk. The monk will choose an auspicious name going by the day of the week, lucky letters for that day etc. The nickname tends to stick, though my Mrs tells me I am almost the only one who still calls her by her nickname, besides her older sisters.

 

The only time I've ever met TGs with a western nickname they've been the students of a former colleague who had them all adopt a Farang name. They also had to build a persona to go with it - home time, university, car, job. His idea was that the students could be more relaxed about speaking, since they weren't really "themselves". The students seemed to like it, but it seemed to me to be a helluva lot of work for not much gain ... he had to remember their "new" name and that is what the onlyone they use it class. :dunno:

 

Still, I have seen some stupid names given Thais by their parents. e.g. One very dark little gal from Sukhothai was actually named Snoh Wai (Snow White) by her father. :p

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Flash, her dad's sense of humour isn't too far off a lot of Australians - quite a few aboriginals here get lumbered with 'Snowy'.

 

'Snow White' carries the connotation of virginity, despite the best efforts of the ever-present dwarves. Shifty little buggers, but then who would entrust their safety to people called Sleepy, Dopey and Horny.

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I've only spent a couple of days (and bitterly cold nights) in our snow country, and I have no desire to revisit that experience. Still, cold days are one thing, but the wind chill and continually picking yourself up off the ice are another - might be very different sitting in front of a log fire drinking whiskey-enhanced egg nog with the 'right' person tho ! ;)

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