Sir_Sanuk

Regarding bins... there are usually 2 ash tray bins outside the skywalk entrance to MBK. One day I noticed that they were missing and then saw two policemen hiding around the corner waiting for a tourist smoker to drop their butt on the floor. They deliberately removed the bins so that they could fine more people...

No problem.. good luck with your work.

FYI, ขอความสุขคืนกลับมา = Kor kwam suk keun glap maa = May happiness return.

Cheers!

Personally it makes me want to vomit but anyway... here you go:

ขอความสุข คืนกลับมา

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abMuqCqSPn8

Err.. it's written by Thanong. Large pinch of salt required.

yet another inflammatory headline that is completely out of touch.

Still a milseading headline I feel, made me think they had seized it already and I was off out to buy a tin hat and 2nd hand Uzzi

I said the same thing in a comment early on (noting that the 'aims to' was omitted from the 'breaking news' email headline), but my post was deleted!!

Check out Jay Montonn Jira and Samut Prakan Sound. He's worked on too many things to mention, but the group 'Katsue' he's involved in is great.

The SAE (School of Audio Engineering) has lots of interesting artists too (students and teachers). Nannue Tiptier for example..

Here's some links for you:

www.samutprakarnsound.com

www.montonn.com

www.saethailand.com

I can recommend more if you're interested. Cheers

Thanks for the info, will head towards that pier and try to find a spot without getting ripped off.

Last time I drove through there some guys on motorbikes saw my BKK license plate and started asking me if I wanted speed boat, etc etc while I was still driving. Quite annoying to say the least.

Cheers.

Can anyone recommend a safe and convenient place to leave your car in Ban Phe for a few days while visiting Ko Samet?

Thanks for any info.

Try one of the major chains which sell tyres & batteries, such as Autobacs, Cockpit. You will often find them located adjacent to Tesco Lotus hypermarts.

Ah great.. just checked out their websites and these are the kinds of places I was thinking of. Thanks.

Take the car to a Toyota shop then, get one there.

Right, but quite an expensive way of doing it since the Toyota dealers always charge more, no? Was hoping to find a reliable auto hardware store or something..

I need to get a new car battery for my Toyota Vios (05).

I've heard of places that dress up old batteries to make them look like new. Can anyone recommend a reliable auto shop in Bangkok that sells genuine new car batteries at a fair price?

Cheers.

Windows 7 will be launched in Thailand at Siam Paragon on 31st Oct - 1st Nov with special launch discount prices available. There is also a countdown timer outside Siam Paragon

www.windows7thailand.com

www.facebook.com/windows7thaifan

www.twitter.com/windows7thai

A "Countdown Timer" !! My God! Now it's all getting really silly. Do you think there will be a kilometer long queue of Thai/Farang Nerds camped outside under their mosquito nets waiting for the doors to open? If there is .. I'm volunteering for the Mars Mission .. this planet has gone nuts.

It was launched in Singapore today and they had a midnight sale at Funan (one the big malls). People were camping out from 3pm onwards to be the first ones to buy it at midnight. Don't underestimate the nerds!

Windows 7 will be launched in Thailand at Siam Paragon on 31st Oct - 1st Nov with special launch discount prices available. There is also a countdown timer outside Siam Paragon

www.windows7thailand.com

www.facebook.com/windows7thaifan

www.twitter.com/windows7thai

@ Desi,

Yeah I'm not sure exactly when/how it is used.. my workmates told me that when they were learning Thai at a very young age, the teacher would give them a long list of example 5 words (one in each tone) that they would read aloud and as they moved through each word they would keep 'counting' on their fingers. So much so that the finger counting action is now embedded into their minds whenever they force themselves to identify a specific tone.

I'd be interested to hear what your teacher says about it!

Cheers

'they will usually then imagine that they are back in school and count out the five tones on their fingers until they find the right word.'

...can you please clarify?

hmm.. i'm not sure how i can clarify it any more than i have already... take for example the word เก้า GAO (number 9) - Falling tone. If I asked a thai person what tone this word is they might say it out loud in each tone while counting on their fingers as follows:

เกา (Mid tone - Thumb)

เก่า (Low tone - Second finger)

เก้า (Falling tone - Third finger)

เก๊า (High tone - fourth finger)

เก๋า (Rising tone - little finger)

So..... to clarify my memory association idea. Say for example I was learning the word รถ (ROT), which means car. I could think in my head of a car having FOUR wheels. The number four relates to the FOURTH finger and therefore I know that it is pronounced with the high tone.

Obviously this only works with one syllable words and I have no intention of trying to use this for every new word I learn, but I'm thinking it could be a useful trick every now and then when there is a clear story/image associaton.

I guess it depends what kind of learner you are...

The order as in

0. Siang Sa-Maan เสียงสามัญ Mid tone

1. Siang Aek เสียงเอก Low tone

2. Siang Toh เสียงโท Falling tone

3. Siang Drii เสียงตรี High tone

4. Siang Jat-Ta-Waa เสียงจัตวา Rising tone

Thanks a lot.. I just asked a Thai friend and she confirmed this order. To clarify:

0. Siang Sa-Maan เสียงสามัญ Mid tone - THUMB

1. Siang Aek เสียงเอก Low tone - FIRST FINGER

2. Siang Toh เสียงโท Falling tone - MIDDLE FINGER

3. Siang Drii เสียงตรี High tone - FOURTH FINGER

4. Siang Jat-Ta-Waa เสียงจัตวา Rising tone - LITTLE FINGER

She also said that only words beginning with a middle class consonant can be said in all five tones.

Ask any Thai person what tone a word is and the chances are you will be met with a blank look.

However, if you persist they will usually then imagine that they are back in school and count out the five tones on their fingers until they find the right word.

I'm just curious if anyone knows the exact order that Thai children are taught the tones using their fingers?

I've already learnt the tone rules depending on how words are spelt in Thai, but I'm thinking that an easy way to quickly recall the tone of a word would be if I could lock down each tone to a number/finger from 1 - 5.

Then, every time I learn a new word I can make a picture/story association in my head between the word and its corresponding tone number.

Thanks for any info! Cheers.

Does anyone know of a virtual Thai keyboard for Symbian phones that I can install on my Nokia E71?

I recently replaced the pysical keyboard to English only as the letters were too small to read with both Thai and English characters, but now I miss being able to input Thai words into my mobile dictionary.

I am aware of one called 'N-Thai', but when I try to download it, it says it's not compatible with the E71.. are there any others around?

Thanks for any info!

Cheers.

Bobby is probably the most used dog name in Dutch.

Probably because of the ตินติน cartoons of Herge, which also have been translated to Thai.

Tintin dog's name was Milu, I think.

For what it is worth, in the Swedish translation of Tintin, the dog's name was 'Milou' as well.

In Dutch it's Bobby and in Thai it's สโนวี่ or มีลู (strange, why 2 names ...)

(http://th.wikipedia.org/wiki/ตินติน)

So, that's not the reason...my mistake...

In English Tintin's dog is called 'Snowy'. No??

I believe a BA course at Ramkamhaeng is usually 4 years, but since you can keep retaking the exams as many times as you need, some people take longer.

Thanks for the great reply bannork!

Bannork, could you tell use what you did before starting the BA?

- How long had you been living in Thailand?

- Where and how did you study Thai?

- Did you go to high school in Thailand?

- How old were you when you started the BA?

- Does your father or mother speak Thai?

I would like to have an idea about the level of Thai that is necessary to consider entering the course.

Good questions.. I plan to check out the text books to get an idea of the level of Thai required, but I'd also love to know the answers to these questions

Thanks!

Ah yea, I meant Ramkamhaeng, not Rangsit.

Thanks for the info.. what times are the classes normally held? If there is no compulsory attendance it would theoretically be possible to do the degree while still working a full-time job, right?

After several years of teaching myself Thai and joining various Thai language courses designed for foreigners, I’d like to know if it is possible to do a BA Degree in Thai Language at any of the major universities in Bangkok?

I believe Andrew Biggs did something like this at Rangsit but I’m not sure.. If anyone has any experience, recommendations or links for where it would be possible for a foreigner to do this I’d be very grateful.

Cheers!