พยาบาล

[tgeezer]

พยาบาล as a verb means to look after sick people. พยาบาล is also a noun;  a person who looks after sick people. 
When I arrived at my SHA+ hotel last evening I was anxious to be tested in order to minimise my stay. Other posts had talked of being taken to a hospital so when the procedure was being explained,   I thought that I heard โรงพยาบาล when told that tests were being done between 0800 and 1800. Next morning when I enquired, reception could manage only “Over there” pointing towards the entrance so I exited the hotel!  Finding no transport, I returned and asked for an explanation of “Over there” and found that off to the side there were reception desks where, had I arrived between the appointed times, I would have been tested.

So to the language aspect of this post. I thought that had heard โรงพยาบาล rather than นางพยาบาล but now think it more likely that only พยาบาล was said. Thais tell me that I speak ชัด, well, if I do, it is because I need to be understood. When speaking English to Thais I also try to adapt my speech to fit their ability to understand me I wish that Thais could slow down snd include more details in order that I might understand them. 
การตรวจไม่ใช่ตอนนี้ครับ พรุ่งนี้เช้าจะมีพยาบาลนั่งอยู่ที่โต๊นี้ทำ 

That is perhaps not what they might say but I will learn nothing if they don’t speak slowly and add more in Thai or I will know nothing if they don’t speak more slowly and say more in English.  I am doing my “bit” here. 

[Badger18]

The whole "which language are we speaking" thing can be a bit trippy IME. People working in hospitality seem to have it deeply ingrained that you're supposed to speak English to anyone who doesn't look Thai (or maybe that should be "who doesn't look Thai or Chinese"). As a white guy I find that people in other lines of work might default to English, but once they realize there's no need they'll happily switch to Thai, and then you get the full treatment with all the details... but the hospitality people seem to get stuck half way between English mode and Thai mode. If you've had a longish or detailed conversation in Thai they seem to sense that it would be weird to go back to English, but on the other hand they're not comfortable initiating / volunteering anything in Thai, because deep down they feel they're supposed to be speaking English. I think that's why you tend to get very terse answers.

 

Congrats on arriving just in the nick of time...

[retiree]

If you can track down a copy, you may find Adrian S Palmer's Getting Help With Your Thai  (Dialog Book B, AUA Language Center, 1977) to be helpful.   As I recall it is full of small examples of how to say things like "can you repeat the word after X more slowly" and such.  There is a long sample posted here:

https://www.solvethai.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=11344

 

เดี๋ยว เมื่อกี๊นี้ว่าอะไรนะ A: Wait a minute. What was that you just said?
ไม่ได้ยิน A: I didn’t catch it.
ตอนไหนล่ะ B: What?
ตอนที่เสียงคล้าย ๆ กับ เดี๊ยน น่ะ A: The part that sounded something like ‘dian’.
อ๋อ ดิฉัน ใช่ไหม B: Oh. Do you mean ‘dichan’?
ใช่ ๆ นั่นแหละ A: Yes. Yes. That’s it.
พูดอีกที ช้า ๆ นะ A: Can you say it again? Slowly?

Sentence patterns:
Replace word(s) between the [ _ ] with samples found below each sentence.
ตอนที่เสียงคล้าย ๆ กับ เดี๊ยน น่ะ The part that [sounded something like] ‘dian’.
ต่อจาก came after
อยู่หน้า came before
ติดกับ was next to
คล้าย ๆ กับ was something like
ฟังคล้าย ๆ กับ sounded something like

พูดอีกที ช้า ๆ นะ Can you say it [again]? Slowly?
ทีละคำ word by word
ซ้ำอีกที one more time
ชัด ๆ clearly
ดังหน่อย a bit louder
ใหม่อีกที once more

Vocabulary (in order of appearance):
เดี๋ยว in just a minute:
เมื่อกี๊ just, just now, moment ago
นี้ this
ว่า say, tell, blame, criticise
อะไร what?
นะ question particle
อะไรนะ pardon?, sorry?, what?
ไม่ no
ได้ยิน to hear
ตอนไหน when (spoken)
ล่ะ particle used in questions or to show a change of state
ตอนที่ when, while, as
เสียง sound, noise, voice
คล้าย to be like, resemble, be similar to
คล้ายๆ กับ to be like something else
ๆ character used to indicate the previous word is repeated
กับ with, together with
เดี๊ยน dian (no meaning)
น่ะ particle used to after a noun to highlight it as the subject of the sentence, or to make a sentence seem softer, more persuasive or less abrupt
อ๋อ oh
ดิฉัน I, me (usually but not always female)
ใช่ไหม right?, is that right?, is that true?
ใช่ yes
นั่นแหละ that's it, that's exactly it, that's right
พูด to speak, say
อีกที once more, one more time
ใช่ ๆ slowly, unhurriedly, leisurely
ต่อจาก continuing on from or after
อยู่ located
หน้า in front of
ติด to be attached to
ติดกับ next to
คล้าย ๆ resemble, look like, like
ฟัง listen, hear
ทีละ at a time
คำ word
ซ้ำ repeat
อีกที again
ชัด ๆ clearly, vividly, obviously
ดัง loud
หน่อย a little bit
ใหม่ again, once more, [to be] new, recent, the latest

 

-- Retiree