Talking to Thais, have you ever had "Pow Wow" moments?

[Andrew Dwyer]

3 hours ago, simon43 said:

Do not expect Google Translate to know everything! Of course Google Translate literally translates 'Red Indian' as 'India Daeng'.  That's a literal translation.  But I just asked several Thai people (in Thai language) if they understood what 'khon India Daeng' means and what people that refers to.  Of course they understood the literal words, but none of them identified that phrase as referring to Native Americans.  So I asked them what they would call the indigenous people of North America, and they said 'the indigenous people of north America!

 

When I go out later, I'll ask more Thai people if they understand what people 'khon India Daeng' refers to, and I'm sure that I'll have the same reply.....

 

As an update, I showed some images from Google of 'Red Indians' to Thai people.  They all said 'Oh, those people!'  "What are they called in Thai?" I asked.  They all replied, "they come from north America, but there is no special name in Thai..."

Some years ago i asked my wife “ what do you call Indian as in Cowboys and Indians “, she replied “ India Daeng “ .

I remember it well as i was surprised that it had translated literally but that is what she said !

[simon43]

1 hour ago, Jingthing said:

American Indian? You mean like Vivek Ramaswamy?

Thanks, but that doesn't seem to work with all the Thais that I asked today and whom I showed a photo of a 'Red Indian'

 

Perhaps I'm not associating with the right kind of Thai 🙂

 

[quote]

India Daeng works. I guarantee it. I have heard it used by Thais many times.

[/quote]

 

I'm happy to hear that.  But I'm intrigued as to what sort of conversations they were having that involved discussing Red Indians 🙂

 

"Hey Somchai, don't go into town today.  It's full of Red Indians"

"Yea I know, these Red Indians are getting everywhere.  I wish they would go back to India.. er .. the prairies of North America"

 

Perhaps they were talking about sunburnt Indians from Bombay?

[Jingthing]

In my case I was talking about how everyone in America is from somewhere else (immigration). But there is that exception if you don't count Siberia. POW WOW.

[tjintx]

20 hours ago, Jingthing said:

I did something surprising (to myself) recently.

I was talking to a Thai who had limited English and wanted to express a thought about native Americans, what others might call American Indians, indigenous people, First Nations, etc.

But my first impulse in order to actually effectively communicate the thought was to first say Indians but realizing that sounds like from India to a Thai so I then put my hand to my mouth moving it back and forth and said POW WOW Indians! OMG -- what had possessed me?

So racist. I don't think I've ever said or gestured POW WOW Indians before in my life. But he understood immediately, smiled and didn't try to cancel me. 

I have no regrets. Sometimes you just want to communicate. But still a bit surprised that I did that.

 

Have you had such POW WOW moments talking to Thais?

 

 

 

You are having a GG moment, maybe he could post a music video of Running Bear or Cherokee people?

[georgegeorgia]

2 hours ago, Yagoda said:

Yeah I despise racists, anti semites, anti americans and socialists. I think they are backwards, barbaric and primitive.

Seems strange , usually the people ( leftists)  who despise racists are ok with people who are Anti American?

 

I guess you are calling the pot kettle black though and are transphobic and homophobic ?

[Dan O]

2 hours ago, Jingthing said:

I wasn’t trying to be accurate.

I know what a pow wow is.

Saying no dot or feathers is ridiculous in the Thai context.

Of course my pow wow gesture was ridiculous too.

Rethinkimg red Indian I think also meaningless in the Thai comrext.

The point of this topic isn't so much what's actually correct but about the types of odd things people might do in the moment  to communicate across language limitations.

Of course there's always Google translate.

 

That is exactly what I was saying. I gave the no dot but feathers example as a friend from India used that in a conversation once which was hilarious that he used it to convey exact point.

 

There are some ideas and concepts that are extremely difficult to convey as Thais may have no reference context to make the connection especially on this particular subject 

[Jingthing]

16 minutes ago, tjintx said:

 

You are having a GG moment, maybe he could post a music video of Running Bear or Cherokee people?

I'm having a whatza moment?