Chlp Posted December 24, 2005 Report Share Posted December 24, 2005 We often hear complaints about Thais not understanding farang, e.g. when placing order in a restaurant, and such. At times we order a Coke and get orange juice, etc. However, it has been my experience that Thais have the same problems we do. A few examples just from the past 2-3 days. I went to use a laundrymat that's inside an apartment building. I don't live there and I wanted to make sure the laundrymat doesn't get locked at night before I get a chance to get my laundry. So I sent my GF to ask at the front desk. After watching my GF engaged in an animated conversation with the two girls manning the front desk, I realized I had to go in and find out the answer for myself. As I approached my GF told them I spoke Thai and stepped back. Except I decided to speak English and I asked: "Does the laundry close door at night?" One of the girls replied, "Oh, you want laundry machine?" "Yes." I said. "Oh, not close. Open all night." I still don't have a clue about what my GF was discussing with them for 5 minutes... Here is another one. About 50% of the time, when I order tonic water (naam tonic) I get quizzical looks and requests to confirm my order. Occasionally I get gin-tonic instead. I mentioned this to a girl I know, and she laughed at me and told me that's because I can't speak Thai clearly. And she offered to place the order for me to show me how to do it right. The first waitress just shook her head and told my friend she had no clue what she's trying to order. Waitress No. 2 discussed the issue with my friend at lenght and then left to go get the drinks. A minute later waitress No 3 came, to double check and triple check that indeed what we ordered was naam tonic, and not gin-tonic or beer and orange juice. It is my conclusion that many of the miscommunications that we experience in Thailand are not as much language issues as they are a symptom of general confusion that seems to dictate the rhythm of life in the Kingdom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted December 25, 2005 Report Share Posted December 25, 2005 Thais aften appear to expect certain requests or comments. Thus they aren't really listen to what others say. There are many more Thai speaking foreigners than when I came as a PCV back in 1973 though. Back then when you spoke Thai to a stranger, they would often simply stare at you and smile. If you persisted, they finally paid attention and a little light bulb went on over there head. You could almost see what was going on in their mind: "I'll be damned, the Farang is speaking Thai to me! :: " p.s. I went to the fish & chips shot at Soi Cowboy Friday night. Placed my order in Thai and the waitress dutifully wrote down what I wanted. Then went it came, there were no mushy peas! It seemed like they were trying to clear out the chips before closing time, however, since there was a four inch pile of them on my plate, so I just let it go. Sure enough, when I paid my bill I saw that she hadn't written the peas down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasmine Posted December 27, 2005 Report Share Posted December 27, 2005 [color:"blue"] Thais aften appear to expect certain requests or comments. Thus they aren't really listen to what others say. [/color] Agreed with you 100%, not that I am proud of it. Jasmine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted January 6, 2006 Report Share Posted January 6, 2006 Glad you could figure out my mispellings ... p.s. Went into our neighbourhood Muslim restaurant the other day and got the roti murtaba. I asked a waitress for CHA DAM YEN. She came back with a plate of KHAO NA BPET. My pronunciation can't be that bad! :: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Hippie Posted January 6, 2006 Report Share Posted January 6, 2006 I have found many times, Thais have difficulty understanding eachother...I once asked for Caffe Yen, the girl came back 10 seconds later with a Paa Yen for my friend...he blamed my pronunciation (hisis just as bad...) wife blamed it on his sweaty forehead...took 2 more tries to get the ice coffee, that was with the girls ordering as well...sometimes... Can't tell you how many times I told taxi drivers to take me to "Soi Sip-ET (11)," and been taken to "Soi Sip BpAD (18)" instead...thought it was me, but Mrs. Hippie and SSG have had the same problem... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ckrisg Posted January 8, 2006 Report Share Posted January 8, 2006 My Thai Wife has problems with speaking to and understanding some Thais. Most probably due to regional accents, use of words, different slang. I have the same problem in the UK, try understanding someone with a broad Geordie accent or a Brummie or several others. Also the use of slang differs greatly across the UK. In LOS my girl had problems in Chiang Mai and down in Phuket. :: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asiafun Posted January 9, 2006 Report Share Posted January 9, 2006 My favorite is listening to a Thai make a comment or request on the cell with a friend or family member. They will repeat it three or four times in different ways before the other party seems to figure it out. Thus a 30 second phone call turns into 3 minutes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vintage_Kwai Posted January 11, 2006 Report Share Posted January 11, 2006 Old Hippie said:Snip, snip... Can't tell you how many times I told taxi drivers to take me to "Soi Sip-ET (11)," and been taken to "Soi Sip BpAD (18)" instead...thought it was me, but Mrs. Hippie and SSG have had the same problem... As with any language, Thai has it's own rhythm and song. Next time you hear anyone having a conversation at a distance, you're more likely to figure out what language they're speaking from the 'song rhythm' long before you hear the actual spoken words... As to the soi 11 and Soi 18.. Get it right, "soi Sip-Et" and you'll get to soi 11. Misplace the hyphen "Soi Si-pEt" and you would have a high likelyhood of ending up in Soi 18. If you get the tone wrong (there are five of them) goodness knows where you'll end up. This is referred to by the Thais as 'Lin Kaeng' literally 'hard tongue' meaning you can't get the pronunciation correct. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chilli13 Posted January 20, 2006 Report Share Posted January 20, 2006 Funny that yesterday my resident friend (though) he ordered nam pau(bottled water?) while I heard it as nam manau(lemon juice) & quickly made it 2 (sorng). Guess what arrived: 2 lemon juices & my friend was shocked! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pescator Posted January 21, 2006 Report Share Posted January 21, 2006 Hi Ib13, Your friend should make sure that he pronounces the l in Nam Pblao and he will likely get it right. It means drinking water, bottled water is Nam Khuad. Seem like you are developing a good ear for thai cheers hua nguu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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