daeng bireley Posted April 14, 2002 Report Share Posted April 14, 2002 After the last post on the word "farang" and after running into some people today that thought the word originated from the word "france". I thought I'd post the origin of this word. I am sure its been posted here before, but it may be of interest to some. The word originates from the persian word "firangi" which means a fair skinned european It is believed that the name of the european tribe "frank" also comes from this word. The Indians borrowed this word and in Hindi, fair skinned europeans are called "faringi". This word came to Thailand through India. Many different languages have a word for europeans that originates from this Persian word. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 14, 2002 Report Share Posted April 14, 2002 Thank you for the etymology. It is Sunday morning here where I live, and I have nothing to do since Stickman did not publish a report this week (taking a well-deserved vacation during Songkran, or perhaps laying low to evade a soaking?). I did a bit of surfing on the Net. I found this site: http://www.emich.edu/~linguist/issues/4/4-492.html It's a very academic discussion of the etymology of 'farang', but the first section is very interesting - is shows how the form of the word changes as you travel from West to East. Ultimately, it leads to outer space (the "Ferenghi" of Star Trek). JG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 15, 2002 Report Share Posted April 15, 2002 I find this kind of thing very interesting. Thanks. I also know that when Thais refer to non-Europeans (ie., non-falangs) they have different words for them as well. For example, Thais have a word for Arab/Middle Eastern people but I can't remember the word for sure, I think it was something like "Keks" or "Kek"? And I would guess there is a word for Africans (other then "Choclate Man" or "Kon Dahm"!). Also what word(s) they might use for other Asians? If you know the answer to one or more of these questions you will be given a chance to be entered into a Grand Prize drawing worth a total of One Million Turkish Lira! Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daeng bireley Posted April 15, 2002 Author Report Share Posted April 15, 2002 ai (f) muet (f) ---- äÃé Ã×´ ---- negro (lit. darkie) gaew ----- á¡Ç ---- Vietnamese ai (f) yun (f) ---- äÃéÂØè¹ ---- Japanese jek (l) ------ à ¨ê¡ ------ Chinese ai (f) lian (f) ------ äÃéà ÅÕè¹ ----- Italian ai (f)yew ------ äÃéÂÔÇ ----- jew khaek (l) -------- ᢡ ----- indian or arab khaek (l) khao ® ---- ᢡ¢ÒÇ ---- some thais call fairer arabs like lebanese this Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 16, 2002 Report Share Posted April 16, 2002 Thanks for the reply.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 16, 2002 Report Share Posted April 16, 2002 Post deleted by DoxyBlue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goodthaigirl Posted April 16, 2002 Report Share Posted April 16, 2002 >Daeng, Japanese also "Khon Ee-poon", yes? Rather, "Khon Yee Poon". It's the polite way to refer to any nationality to just put the word "Khon" then follow by their country's name(Thai way of pronunciation though), eg. Khon Thai, Khon American, Khon Lao, Khon Farangsed ( French person/people). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 16, 2002 Report Share Posted April 16, 2002 Post deleted by DoxyBlue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 16, 2002 Report Share Posted April 16, 2002 GTG, Everytime I read one of your posts I still have to remind myself you are a Thai lady!! Your English is extremely good! (I wish my English was as good.) We are lucky to have you on this board! Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lamock Chokaprret Posted April 16, 2002 Report Share Posted April 16, 2002 And to think I always thought 'farang' was a reference to gnarly, green fruit with the consistency of an apple but a sour taste. I wonder if this is more than coincidence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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