"FARANG"

[gummigut]

Some chinese hold the naming ceremony 30 days after birth. That stems from the time when maybe babies used to die soon after birth. Think it also made it easier to "place" babies (i.e.: female) on the hill (literally) to see if they survive.

 

 

 

<<burp>>

[BkkShaggy]

"That late huh? "

 

 

 

 

 

Well..maybe I was wrong then.

 

 

 

King Rama VI introduced 'Family Name Act' requiring every Thai citizen a family name. They had to register theirs in a government office. But the use of family name had been around before that. I don't know when the first Thai family names was used or created.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[BkkShaggy]

"My wife told me the other day that the Thais are trying to keep evil spirits away by the use of nicknames. "

 

 

 

 

 

Is she sure of it? My gf's dad doesn't have a nickname. He is from Issan too. But her mom who is from Bkk has one.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Zaad]

"Is she sure of it? My gf's dad doesn't have a nickname. He is from Issan too. But her mom who is from Bkk has one."

 

 

 

My wife comes from BKK and they use nicknames there.

 

Maybe it's only in BKK and the surrounding provinces.

[Pescator]

The prefix "buk" is used in exactly the same way as the prefix "Ai" in central thai.

 

 

 

Regards

 

Hua Nguu

 

 

[jasmine]

Hello,

 

I made a phone call to a lady who lives in Virginia (USA) and she is from Ubonrachathanii. She did confirm that the word ?Buk?it is not impolite amongst friends or, for older people to call younger ones, depending on contexts, and who uses it and to whom it is used.. She also said that males call close friends as ?Buk Siew?

 

 

 

For what I understand, ?Buk? is not equal to ?Ai? in Central Thai, for ?Ai? is impolite in most contexts, I heard my nephew used it to call his friends and he said that is not impolite amongst friends but his father (my brother) does not recommend it. Another word is ?Kuu?, meaning ?I/me?, my nephew said that his teachers in (Technical College) use it, but he knows that his teachers? intent was to make the kids feel more comfortable with the teachers. I cannot understand it!

 

 

 

However, there is an ?Aii? (longer vowel) in Isaan and Northern Thailand, which means ?older brother?. I still use it when calling some males who seem to be older or just to show respect.

 

 

"buk pii porb" is a male ?pii porb? . Ones should not be called that. And, being a person who likes ghost stories, here is what I know.

 

 

 

A ?pii porb? is a ghost who at day time is a normal person, but at night, may come around in a form of floating light to eat ones? internal organs, especially livers, thus, cause death of the victims. This belief was quite prevalent when I was little in the Northern part of Thailand and most kids were scared. In Isaan, and the Northern Thailand, especially people who live far deep up-country still believe in this type of ghost. My father, who was a patrol policeman told me once that he believed those ones who were thought to be the victims of the ?Pii Porb? , actually had bad cases of malaria that affected their brain functions, most victims with this type of malaria die.

 

 

 

There is a great book which won a SEAWRITE award about 20 years ago, it is called ?Luk Issan? and it is still in print. If you can read Thai, this book helped me understand the Isaan people better and I respect them more now than I used to.

 

 

 

cheers!

 

 

[jasmine]

Hi,

 

 

 

Thanks for your advice. I posted some of what I know on the answer to "Bibbles". I don't claim to be fluent on Isaan dialect but I am not bad on Northern Thai dialect.

 

 

 

Cheers!

[bibblies]

Thanks. That's interesting. I've heard a bit about different types of ghosts.

 

 

 

'My father, who was a patrol policeman told me once that he believed those ones who were thought to be the victims of the ?Pii Porb? , actually had bad cases of malaria that affected their brain functions, most victims with this type of malaria die.'

 

 

 

So, when these unkind people call me "buk pii porb", could they actually be referring to me as a victim of such a ghost(implying that my brain's been eaten away) or do they really mean to call me a ghost?

 

 

 

It just sounds such a strange insult to a farang, to be called a ghost!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jasmine]

Dear Bibblies,

 

 

 

I really have never heard anyone being called "Pii Porb", it was a hush, hush in the North where I grew up, who could be one. I really want to see that I can help, so I need more info., such as where, when and who called you that.

 

 

 

Furthermore, the Thais seem to call names a lot such as "the Bald man" (AI Hua Lan"), some of the Thais in Thailand called my husband "Nai Yong" because he is 6'2'' tall. I got on some people's case about calling my husband that and they gave me a blank look, did not mean as an insult.

 

 

 

Another word I heard a lot is "Pii Bha" which can mean a crazy ghost or a crazy person and I heard friends called each other that like we say in English teasingly "Oh, you are crazy, or You are nuts! or You are full of it!".

 

 

 

So, please give more info., and I will try to explain.

 

 

 

Cheers!

 

 

[markle]

"There is a great book which won a SEAWRITE award about 20 years ago, it is called ?Luk Issan? and it is still in print. If you can read Thai, this book helped me understand the Isaan people better and I respect them more now than I used to."

 

 

 

I've got that book! In fact it's autographed by the author, he just happened to be at the stall at the annual Red Cross book fair when my GF picked it up and suggested I read it. He seemed to be impressed that a falang would want to read it. And one day I will finish it.

 

Anyhow last year there was a TV Drama called 'Nai Hoy' that was based on his stories. Really fascinating look at Isan life. Funny to see Bangkok actors putting on Isan accents.