Things That Make You Cringe

[splitlid]

hey begs,

dont people offering you the deal of a lifetime get your goat up?

12% returns and all

[Begs]

hey begs,

dont people offering you the deal of a lifetime get your goat up?

12% returns and all

Hahaha............. ....Yea, a very special mention to Farang conmen/women that try to scam other farangs out of money.............

You also make me Dash to the nearest Toilet.

[Phil Conners]

Farangs speaking pidgin English ("Same same", "You go my room")

[maikee]

Farangs speaking pidgin English ("Same same", "You go my room")

Your grasping a little here I think.

pidgin: A simplified form of speech that is usually a mixture of two or more languages, has a rudimentary grammar and vocabulary, is used for communication between groups speaking different languages, and is not spoken as a first or native language. Also called contact language.

Most cognizant farangs adjust their level of English to the person whom they are speaking with. Sometimes that means speaking very simple english, or using phrases Thais understand. If you don't want to hear farangs saying "Same same" and "You go my room" then don't hang out where there are street vendors, bar girls, and farangs all in the same area.

And really it isn't even that. We've had Thai drivers here when on business and both parties (Thai and farang) will speak pidgin English to make ourselves understood to each other. I will also try my hand at speaking Thai to the drivers and it is not perfect, but I get understood. I'm sure some other members here would roll their eyes or vomit with my halting attempts at speaking Thai. Damned if you do and damned if you don't.

Cheers

[andyinkat]

Have to completely agree with Maikee here. As an English teacher (as in fully qualified, 15 years experience, not some dodgy chancer) I find that outside the classroom environment where I'm teaching formal grammar I do simplify my English in order to facilitate easier communication. I know my Thai will never be more than 'pidgin' and I appreciate it when Thais slow their speech down (not increase the volume!) and shorten their sentences. Nothing cringeworthy here.

[mbkudu]

When I'm speaking English with Thais, especially my wife, I try to use very simple vocabulary and short sentences, but NEVER use pidgin English. It doesn't do them any good at all. This lazy speech is one of the reasons many Thais speak such poor English because they are emulating the 'experts' so they think.

So, I am siding with Madsere on this one.

[andyinkat]

mbkudu,

I think I was saying what you're saying. By 'simplifying my english' I mean limited vocab and shorter sentences. I said my Thai is pidgin, not that I speak English that way.

On to the main topic - what makes me cringe is constantly being regarded as 'a walking ATM'. I'm the farang who really does have no money!

[cobra]

Most cognizant farangs adjust their level of English to the person whom they are speaking with. Sometimes that means speaking very simple english,

aka ..."Thai-glish" , dumbed down Thai and English,

Farangs talking Thai-glish to each other ...

[up2you]

bothers me when some of the these falong go around thinking they can speak thai.

Some of the garbage that come sout of their mouths is enough to make me sick.

Especially when they dont even bother to check if the thai can speak english.

Especially the foreigners who can't even write English!

Nice to take the piss out of holidaymakers?

You've all been there!

UP2U.

[maikee]

mbkude, I can only agree with you when there is time. You don't always have time though and have to resort to simplified sentences or even pidgin. It just all depends on the situation. Not all Thais want to be given an English lesson, maybe they just want you to buy the shirt they are selling and move on. Conversely, not all Farangs want a Thai lesson. Somewhere in the middle we sometimes have to meet.

Cobra, goes both ways, I've heard Thai folks who speak excellent English speaking Thaiglish to each other... Funny, that term Thaiglish. My last wife was Thai. She really had no desire to learn proper English, so she communicated the bet way she knew. We called it Noiglish.

To be on topic, The only thing that makes me really cringe are the a$$holes who treat the vendors and shopowners like shit. Arguing with venom (not bargaining) over the smallest of differences, or even some ridiculously low price. THE biggest offenders are the Navy bubbas that will roll into Pattaya on occasion. They can be forgiven for letting loose after being cooped up on a ship for so long, but cannot be forgiven for treating others like <deleted>. I'm embarassed when I see <deleted> like that.

Cheers

[medicinebox]

What makes me sick is expats/falangs who put any falangs they can down, just because they think that Thailand belongs to them only. With their smug false sense of security, unaware that one fuk up would have them booted out of the country faster than you could drop a hat.

They may have a longer gap between their passport getting stamped, but when it comes down to it they could be kicked out just as easy as a backpacker on a 30 day stamp.

Thailand belongs to the Thais. Self righteous pricks.

I only read 6 out of 9 pages in this thread and i'm annoyed now.

[chonabot]

I didn't bother reading this thread for the same reason , seen it all before , but happy for these chaps to vent their spleens..

[hkthai]

Thailand belongs to the Thais. Self righteous pricks.

I guess I should feel honoured that you think of us in that sense.

I take it you don't really particularly like the Thai's as been stated in some of your posts. Then why come? There's other places for cheap shag....Brazil, Eastern Europe, India, the Old Soviet Block...

[maikee]

Thailand belongs to the Thais. Self righteous pricks.

I guess I should feel honoured that you think of us in that sense.

I take it you don't really particularly like the Thai's as been stated in some of your posts. Then why come? There's other places for cheap shag....Brazil, Eastern Europe, India, the Old Soviet Block...

hkthai, In that particular quote, medicinebox was talking about the farangs he was describing as the "Self righteous pricks". Just an awkwardly placed comment.

[chonabot]

Classic case of jumping to the wrong conclusion!

[hkthai]

Thailand belongs to the Thais. Self righteous pricks.

I guess I should feel honoured that you think of us in that sense.

I take it you don't really particularly like the Thai's as been stated in some of your posts. Then why come? There's other places for cheap shag....Brazil, Eastern Europe, India, the Old Soviet Block...

hkthai, In that particular quote, medicinebox was talking about the farangs he was describing as the "Self righteous pricks". Just an awkwardly placed comment.

Sorry Medicinebox if I jumped to the wrong conclusion.

The way it was worded implied as such.

Again I apologize.

[mbkudu]

mbkude, I can only agree with you when there is time. You don't always have time though and have to resort to simplified sentences or even pidgin. It just all depends on the situation. Not all Thais want to be given an English lesson, maybe they just want you to buy the shirt they are selling and move on. Conversely, not all Farangs want a Thai lesson. Somewhere in the middle we sometimes have to meet.

Cobra, goes both ways, I've heard Thai folks who speak excellent English speaking Thaiglish to each other... Funny, that term Thaiglish. My last wife was Thai. She really had no desire to learn proper English, so she communicated the bet way she knew. We called it Noiglish.

To be on topic, The only thing that makes me really cringe are the a$$holes who treat the vendors and shopowners like shit. Arguing with venom (not bargaining) over the smallest of differences, or even some ridiculously low price. THE biggest offenders are the Navy bubbas that will roll into Pattaya on occasion. They can be forgiven for letting loose after being cooped up on a ship for so long, but cannot be forgiven for treating others like <deleted>. I'm embarassed when I see <deleted> like that.

Cheers

Maikee and Andyinkat, you're both right I'd say. My wife's English can get pretty mixed up especially on the phone; ha-sip hasip. I'll just let her ramble on in her

Thaiglish as you call it because if I corrected her it would slow things down. I will

not answer in the same way though. If I followed her pattern, her English would get progressively worse instead of, I hope, better.

Reading the letters that are sent to Thai women from Farang is a real joy. They usually start off with something like: Dear Noi, I am sorry I not send you money long time. I miss you too much. I hope you not go work bar anymore....blah, blah, blah. That is a cringe.

[RDN]

I'll just let her ramble on in her Thaiglish as you call it because if I corrected her it would slow things down. I will not answer in the same way though. If I followed her pattern, her English would get progressively worse instead of, I hope, better.

Reading the letters that are sent to Thai women from Farang is a real joy. They usually start off with something like: Dear Noi, I am sorry I not send you money long time. I miss you too much. I hope you not go work bar anymore....blah, blah, blah. That is a cringe.

Agree 100% with that. I won't talk Thaiglish unless it's the last resort because the listener knows so little English. I think it demeans them.

My g/f gets quite angry with herself when she can't say in English what she wants to say, and I have to keep her calm and try to find the English word she needs. And we always have a "SE-ED" dictionary handy.

But the other day she asked a hard question: "What does 'just' mean?" she said. Now, that was difficult!

"I'll be just a minute", "It's just here", "I only just made it on time", "I just don't know" - very hard to explain!

[meadish_sweetball]

bothers me when some of the these falong go around thinking they can speak thai.

Some of the garbage that come sout of their mouths is enough to make me sick.

Especially when they dont even bother to check if the thai can speak english.

Well, I've gotta learn somehow I think of it as a sign of respect to try to learn the language of the land. I can't do it without practicing. Also, along the same lines, even if they speak english. If I can speak enough Thai to be communicate, I am going to try it. And, I am, in general, going to use as much Thai as I can, and use english when necessary. I'm in their country.

Please, let me know specifically what annoys you about farang speaking Thai and I will try to avoid such offences in the future (I'm not trying to be sarcastic- I would really like to know)

It's not so much farang speaking Thai, althought it does make me cringe at times, when bad, non-tonal Thai with heavy intonation is combined with a loud voice and a 'big show' which makes people look the way of the speaker... It is the same cringe I get when I hear 'Chardonnay' pronounced in a really twangy North-American accent... because it portrays the speaker as somebody who needs to show off their cultural knowledge, where what they in fact are showing is a lack of the same.

But what is worse is farang persisting with speaking Thai when the communication would be much more efficient in English. Practicing Thai can be reserved for speaking with Thais who do NOT speak much English.

You are right though - everyone has to practice. The Thais want to practice their English too...

I find that speaking proper English slowly in short sentences is just as effective as Thai-glish, except for with Thais with long exposure to tourists.

[chanchao]

> "I'll be just a minute", "It's just here", "I only just made it on time",

> "I just don't know" - very hard to explain!

Then when she finally gets it, hit her with " A just cause " :-)

Anyway:

just [¨Ñ·Ú]

Adverb ÍÂèÒ§á·é¨ÃÔ§, à¾Ôè§, à¡×ͺ¨Ð, à¾Õ§, µÍ¹¹Õé

Adjective ÂصԸÃÃÁ, à·Õ觸ÃÃÁ, ¾Í´Õ, Á¤ÇÃ, ¾ÍàËÁÒÐ, Áà˵ØÁ¼Å, ¶Ù¡µéͧáÁè¹ÂÓ

(The adverb one being the one you meant of course)

Cheers,

Chanchao

Edited August 5, 2004 by chanchao

[medicinebox]

Thailand belongs to the Thais. Self righteous pricks.

I guess I should feel honoured that you think of us in that sense.

I take it you don't really particularly like the Thai's as been stated in some of your posts. Then why come? There's other places for cheap shag....Brazil, Eastern Europe, India, the Old Soviet Block...

hkthai, In that particular quote, medicinebox was talking about the farangs he was describing as the "Self righteous pricks". Just an awkwardly placed comment.

Sorry Medicinebox if I jumped to the wrong conclusion.

The way it was worded implied as such.

Again I apologize.

No worries mate. It was an ambiguous sentence looking back.

I always remember an English lesson in junior school in England, when a teacher gave me a sentence, then asked me to explain it.

"The lady sat playing the piano, with carved wooden legs"

I said "Did she have wooden legs miss?" They all laughed at me, and since then I've been disturbed.

They're all going to laugh at you, They're all going to laugh at you, They're all going to laugh at you......

The Movie : Carrie

P.S. Overall I do like Thai people. Just that living in Pattaya I met the dodgy ones.

P.P.S I have travelled all over Thailand, so it is an informed opinion.

[Sexy Beast]

bad, non-tonal Thai with heavy intonation is combined with a loud voice and a 'big show' which makes people look the way of the speaker

God I hate that.

Recently I was in a burger joint nursing a killer hangover and unfortunately there was some <deleted> who just had to talk in Thai at the top of his voice to advertise that fact that he could speak it. I noticed his tone rise upon the arrival of any foreigner in the place.

He didn’t help my headache so I had to get take out rather than sit there and have listen to him.

[igotworms]

Practicing Thai can be reserved for speaking with Thais who do NOT speak much English.

You are right though - everyone has to practice. The Thais want to practice their English too...

I find that speaking proper English slowly in short sentences is just as effective as Thai-glish, except for with Thais with long exposure to tourists.

You'll get a lot of feedback from those conversations. I practice my Thai with Thai people who can speak English, as they can quickly point out my mistakes.

[Sexy Beast]

Recently I told one of my girlfriends sisters kids to ‘go and wash your hands in the toilet’ ……