Guest Posted March 5, 2002 Report Share Posted March 5, 2002 so if you're within earshot then it's a calculated insult, right? thought so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pescator Posted March 5, 2002 Report Share Posted March 5, 2002 quote: Originally posted by PHIIJAMES: "man" is not respectful but it's not necessarily derogatory. Whether "man" is used is not just a matter of the relationship between the person speaking and the 3rd party referred to, but also a matter of the relationship between the person speaking and the person being spoken to. If two people have a very close relationship they can use "man" to refer to another person of equal/lesser status without any derogatory connotation even though they may not have a close relationship to that 3rd party. That is the most precise definition I`ve heard so far. Among thais both abroad and in Thailand I`ve noticed that farangs are often referred to as "man" even though the speaker has no relations to the person in question. "Ahn nee man fang mai ruu ruang" It seems to be rather common that if you are a foreigner and don`t speak thai you can be referred to as "Ahn" ("Ahn" being the classifier for a thing and not a person) and "Man". My wife also regularly uses it about our children. But I vividly recall that when I used the word Man when referring to my child while talking to a thai in Sakon I was immediately corrected. On the other hand thais get off with saying a lot of shit that we farangs should rather not try out. Hua Nguu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iuytrede Posted March 5, 2002 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2002 quote: . If two people have a very close relationship they can use "man" to refer to another person of equal/lesser status without any derogatory connotation even though they may not have a close relationship to that 3rd party. And if there is no close relationship between speaker and listener (and no close relationship between speaker and the 3rd party either)? Am I correct that in these cases the use of "man" is derogatory? Like 2 BGs - who don't know each other - talking about their customers using "man", or like co-workers talking about a farang acquaintance of one of them: quote: Among thais both abroad and in Thailand I`ve noticed that farangs are often referred to as "man" even though the speaker has no relations to the person in question. [ March 05, 2002: Message edited by: iuytrede ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pescator Posted March 6, 2002 Report Share Posted March 6, 2002 quote: Originally posted by iuytrede: If two people have a very close relationship they can use "man" to refer to another person of equal/lesser status without any derogatory connotation even though they may not have a close relationship to that 3rd party. And if there is no close relationship between speaker and listener (and no close relationship between speaker and the 3rd party either)? Am I correct that in these cases the use of "man" is derogatory? Like 2 BGs - who don't know each other - talking about their customers using "man", or like co-workers talking about a farang acquaintance of one of them: QB][ QB] You should definitely not learn thai from thai BGs in this situation. How do you think that an european or US hooker would refer to her "clients" or "customers"? Would they by any chance be referred to as "punters", "whoremongers" "studs" or whatever. What I mean is this: If you tend to stay in an "abnormal" enviroment be prepared to be referred to in "abnormal" terms. Hua Nguu. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 6, 2002 Report Share Posted March 6, 2002 I would caution everyone who is not very far along in learning the Thai language and culture from inferring too much when they hear their girl (or friend) use the term "man". It would be very easy to take the info from this board the wrong way and make a big deal about something you thought you heard or heard out of context. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 8, 2002 Report Share Posted March 8, 2002 man or mang? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jitagawn Posted March 8, 2002 Report Share Posted March 8, 2002 Well I will throw this into the mix in case some one hears this in yet another context-Mahn also is a Thai slang word which means fun or enjoyable -ching ching!While I am told I speak Thai like a thai-" you stay Thailand 10 years-20 years? How long ? I hear this all the time" it is a never ending process of learning and making mistakes... I am also under the impression man simply can mean "it" in a non-perjorative sense depending upon context- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 8, 2002 Report Share Posted March 8, 2002 quote: man or mang? "Man" is a third person pronoun ("he" or "she" -- rude, or "it"). "Mang" (or "meung") is a rude second person pronoun ("you"). quote: Mahn also is a Thai slang word which means fun They sound the same, but are different words (different spelling in Thai). "Man" = "he, she" (rude), or "it" = มัน "Man" = "fun" or "exciting" = มันส์ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iuytrede Posted March 8, 2002 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2002 I got a long lecture about actual usage of "man" in colloquial middle class Bangkok Thai (so this is not how people "should" speak, but how people actually do speak): "man" cannot be used referring to royalty, monks, the speaker's parents or elder relatives, old people (like some grandma on TV). "man" is commonly used - without any derogatory connotation - referring to everybody else IF the person referred to cannot hear it AND the speaker thinks that the listener does not know the 3rd party personally. For example "man" is commonly used by ordinary people in everyday conversations for Thaksin - he is not going to hear it -, even by people who vote for him and are much younger than he, and for movie-stars. It is used on TV. It is generally used for farangs. It should not be used if the farang can understand Thai and is listening. Usage of "man" is a lot more frequent when speaking to people the speaker feels close to. "man" is rude and insulting when a speaker of lower status makes the 3rd party hear the word "man". It is not as rude as "meung", but an apology is in order. And it can be rude when used emphatically. An unstressed, enclitic "man" as in "Khon nii man..." is not the same as beginning an utterance with a loud and clear "Man..." "man" is not refined speech. Thais may complain about someone using it - because it does not sound nice -, but you may discover that the same person who is complaining will use it automatically when talking about his/her spouse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boo Radley Posted March 9, 2002 Report Share Posted March 9, 2002 This reminds me of Steven Leather's novel, Private Dancer. Here the farang accidently overhears his bar girlfriend refering to him as MAN Ãѹ when talking to her sister about him on the telephone. He concludes that she secretly despises him, because of her use of the pronoun MAN. However, it would appear that MAN is not always derogatory. Maybe she really did love him after all. Perhaps some Thais could comment on this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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