Not 'Thigh-land': Thais amused at Trump's slip

By Patpicha Tanakasempipat

 

FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump wears a protective face mask due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic as he talks with workers while touring a Whirlpool Corporation washing machine factory in Clyde, Ohio, U.S., August 6, 2020. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts

 

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Citizens of Thailand were surprised and bemused on Friday to discover their country’s name had become a social media meme after U.S. President Donald Trump mispronounced it.

 

Though Trump quickly switched to the correct pronunciation, people quickly seized on the slip to mock the U.S. leader online as #Thighland became one of the top-trending Twitter hashtags in Thailand with 32,000 tweets and in the top 25 in the United States with over 156,000, according to the tracking site Twitscoop.

 

The English-language online newspaper Thai Enquirer changed its Twitter name to "Thigh Enquirer" early Friday morning and ran an article on the mistake. TNN Online also reported the news here as did Thailand's Voice TV, and Matichon newspaper.

 

One online joker wrote that Thighland was located on a cartographic leg between “Kneepal” and “Ankola”.

 

The American president made the gaffe during a speech in Ohio while explaining how his trade war with China had forced factories to move production to Southeast Asian countries, Vietnam and, as he pronounced it, “Thi-land”.

 

In the next breath, Trump got it right, saying: “Thailand and Vietnam - two places that I like their leaders very much.”

 

The meme escalated when conservative American pundit and filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza, who was pardoned by Trump after a conviction of violating campaign finance law, argued in a series of tweets that “Thighland” is in fact the correct pronunciation.

 

Rikker Dockum, a professor of linguistics at Swarthmore College, told Reuters that Trump’s second pronunciation - with an aspirated hard “t” instead of a soft “th” sound - is the widely used one in both Thai and English.

 

“Among English speakers around the world, this is not a disputed pronunciation,” he added.

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-08-07

 

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Sometimes it's really tight land . What i have notice , girls are! From down low.

Th-ick ?

Maybe distracted  by thoughts of his  "Press"  Secretary?

Sigh !  Thigh ! Tie ? Thai? Who knew  that?

It is what it is !

 

Slight miss pronunciation , quickly corrected , quite funny really , no doubt the Anti Trumpers will make a big issue out of it 

24 minutes ago, snoop1130 said:

Not 'Thigh-land'

I dunno!  He's not far off with his comment. ????

23 minutes ago, snoop1130 said:

Citizens of Thailand were surprised and bemused on Friday to discover their country’s name had become a social media meme after U.S. President Donald Trump mispronounced it

multiple sides to this: yes he is an idiot, yes he used a mildly sexual descriptor , which is what most of the west thinks of thailand

22 minutes ago, snoop1130 said:

#Thighland

Given what Thighland is famous in particular something that doesn't officially exist then maybe the President isn't too far of the mark .. 

The mask is cutting off oxygen to his brain.

Perhaps he saw the video of Obama meeting Yingluck. 

with all the recent talk and well-wishing of ms. maxwell, perhaps his mind was preoccupied with mr. epstein's wonderland.

38 minutes ago, snoop1130 said:

In the next breath, Trump got it right, saying: “Thailand and Vietnam - two places that I like their leaders very much.”

ah, democracy!

10 minutes ago, JeffersLos said:

Perhaps he saw the video of Obama meeting Yingluck.

https://imgur.com/u6eXbmW.jpg

 

Did not make Michelle happy 

Not nice to poke fun at idiots!

"The meme escalated when conservative American pundit and filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza, who was pardoned by Trump after a conviction of violating campaign finance law, argued in a series of tweets that “Thighland” is in fact the correct pronunciation. "

 

LOL!

Possibly just a Freudian slip, where the mouth comes out with what the brain is really thinking of.

I had it once, ordering a ticket at the train station to Tooting, and the girl had a lovely pair of knockers and I asked for a ticket to Titting.

Told my mate about about it who told me he had had one that morning too. Meant to say to the wife at breakfast, "please can you pass the milk."

Actually came out with, "You miserable <deleted> shrew! You have ruined my entire life!" 

Seems to be becoming Xenophobialand

30 minutes ago, CorpusChristie said:

Slight miss pronunciation , quickly corrected , quite funny really , no doubt the Anti Trumpers will make a big issue out of it 

Quite so. I know some farangs that can't even pronounce the island of Phuket properly. Usually ends up as Fooket or an even saltier version. 

36 minutes ago, CorpusChristie said:

Slight miss pronunciation , quickly corrected , quite funny really , no doubt the Anti Trumpers will make a big issue out of it 

 

Dunno about that.

 

His original mispronunciation "Thigh-land" is probably the first correct thing he's said as president in a long time. And at least, he didn't call this place Taiwan...

 

Apparently, his recent Facebook and Twitter takedown has the "stable genius" rattled...

 

 

 

9 minutes ago, vermin on arrival said:

"The meme escalated when conservative American pundit and filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza, who was pardoned by Trump after a conviction of violating campaign finance law, argued in a series of tweets that “Thighland” is in fact the correct pronunciation. "

 

LOL!

Ever the sycophant!

35 minutes ago, thequietman said:

I dunno!  He's not far off with his comment. ????

 

       Wife  told me she's going too the Village again .

        Mama sick , again ..

       Ps , i bought them boots for her , happy birthday , again..

 

 

 

Trump is doing for the US what Yingluck did for Thailand: Providing almost daily sources of cheap laughs. 

Yesterday's Yo-Semite is today's Thigh-Land ???? 

Regardless of what you you think of Trump this is not a news article and the writer is surely not a real journalist.  This is junk journalism at its finest.  An opinion piece and not a very well written one at that.  The author better stick to writing accolades about Xi and his merry gang lol.

Give this man a rest. He practiced so hard to remember the difference between an elephant and a giraffe, then he had to say Yosemite on top of all that (and almost got it right!) and now this. You can’t seriously expect the president of the United States to get all this right. Don’t forget he has much more pressing concerns to deal with, like playing golf and tweeting like a teenager on 4chan. 

 

12 minutes ago, tlandtday said:

This is junk journalism at its finest.

Because that’s the only thing Donald Dumb produces: junk. 

 

59 minutes ago, CorpusChristie said:

Slight miss pronunciation , quickly corrected , quite funny really , no doubt the Anti Trumpers will make a big issue out of it 

Very common for Trump, who, as we know has the reading and language ability of an 8 year old. I am also certain he has absolutely no idea who the leaders of Vietnam and Thailand are, just as he recently showed that he has no idea that Beirut is in Lebanon. It must be so embarrassing for Americans to listen to a man who clearly is incapable of carrying out the functions of the office he holds.

 

So, nevermind! Now the guy is a dyslectic as well. Good on you Mr. President!

1 hour ago, johnray said:

The mask is cutting off oxygen to his brain.

What brain?

3 hours ago, vermin on arrival said:

"The meme escalated when conservative American pundit and filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza, who was pardoned by Trump after a conviction of violating campaign finance law, argued in a series of tweets that “Thighland” is in fact the correct pronunciation. "

 

LOL!

 

2 hours ago, asiacurious said:

Ever the sycophant!

 

Adding this rather on point tweet to the conversation....

 

 

"One online joker wrote that Thighland was located on a cartographic leg between “Kneepal” and “Ankola”. " ...  5555

 

Back in 1977/78, it was Thighland to me.  Then I got married ... ????

Seriously doubt he could find Thigh-Land on a globe.

Trump is the least internationally traveled President in recent history. Other than golfing, visits to his second homes, and groveling before North Koreans, few want his visit anyway. He cant even pronounce Yosemite, a word any American child of 6 knows. So lets cut him some slack on this one.