Be Polite

[Carib]

http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/b...s.php?id=129546

So now we will not hear hello 10 times anymore???

[Boater]

will never happen

[12DrinkMore]

So now we will not hear hello 10 times anymore???

I have never heard "hello", is is always "harrooooow".

It will be a fine day when we are greeted on the hallowed sois by, "Sawatdee, Ka, Pu Chai lore" with a cute wai as well.

[Boater]

reminds me of a joke

why do all the Chinese live in Harrow?

as when they arrive at Heathrow airport and get into a Taxi, the first thing they say is "harrooooow"

[girlx]

thai phone calls:

"hello? hello? hello? hello? unh. uh unh. unh.... uh. kap."

Edited August 18, 2008 by girlx

[onnut]

http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/b...s.php?id=129546

So now we will not hear hello 10 times anymore???

dont you hate it when they say hello and you say hello and they say hello and you say hello and they say hello and you say hello and they say hello and you say hello and they say hello and you say hello and they say hello and you say hello and they say hello and yo say hello and they say hello and you say hello and they say hello?

[Scott]

This is a great idea. Be sure and wrap it in the flag and we've got a deal. Maybe all airline pilots can start speaking Thai when they get in Thai airspace.

God, can't they leave their paws off anything?!

[G54]

Why do they say Hello ?? Hello is English

Sawasdee kah (khap) should be better for a Thai, surely?

[greenmember]

They say "Harnlow" and the "low" sound goes up. Many English words sound so funny when they are pronounced by Thais (technology, shock, promotion..... :-) )

Edited August 18, 2008 by greenmember

[Carib]

http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/b...s.php?id=129546

So now we will not hear hello 10 times anymore???

dont you hate it when they say hello and you say hello and they say hello and you say hello and they say hello and you say hello and they say hello and you say hello and they say hello and you say hello and they say hello and you say hello and they say hello and yo say hello and they say hello and you say hello and they say hello?

I didn't quite get that, could you please repeat ??

[12DrinkMore]

Why do they say Hello ?? Hello is English

Sawasdee kah (khap) should be better for a Thai, surely?

Bit slow on the draw today, are we?

Hint: try followng the link in the OP.

[Moonrakers]

Typical conversation:

Me: Hello

Caller: Harroooow

Me: Hello

Caller: Harroooww

Me: YES, Hello

Caller: Harrrroowww

Me: YES, Hello AGAIN. Can I help you? Who is calling?

Caller: Harrrooowww

Me: If you say hello one more time then I will hang up:

Caller: (After a short silence) Harrrroooowww

I hang up.

Has anybody also noticed how Thai's who have the wrong number just keep on calling it? Should I dial a wrong then I might call it again incase I pressed a wrong digit, and should it be the same wrong number the second time then I will call it no more. Our hosts however tend to continue calling that same wrong # numerous times and can even get pissy with you for it.

Sorry for the Thai bashing, but it is an observation of something that can become incredibly irritating at times.

[Livinginexile]

Typical conversation:

Me: Hello

Caller: Harroooow

Me: Hello

Caller: Harroooww

Me: YES, Hello

Caller: Harrrroowww

Me: YES, Hello AGAIN. Can I help you? Who is calling?

Caller: Harrrooowww

Me: If you say hello one more time then I will hang up:

Caller: (After a short silence) Harrrroooowww

I hang up.

Has anybody also noticed how Thai's who have the wrong number just keep on calling it? Should I dial a wrong then I might call it again incase I pressed a wrong digit, and should it be the same wrong number the second time then I will call it no more. Our hosts however tend to continue calling that same wrong # numerous times and can even get pissy with you for it.

Sorry for the Thai bashing, but it is an observation of something that can become incredibly irritating at times.

Yes yes...

I get that all the time!! wrong number and they will try it several times and everytime you juz get that "hallooow, hallooow... on the other end of the line.

What the heck is that???

[bkkjames]

What I find strange is when I answer the phone it's with a Sawadee / wadee krup? My wife (Thai) answers the phone Hello Ka.

[dingdongrb]

When I answer the phone and the caller speaks Thai I immediately ask them in Thai if they speak English. This usually forces them to hang up without uttering another word.

[p_brownstone]

Has anybody also noticed how Thai's who have the wrong number just keep on calling it? Should I dial a wrong then I might call it again incase I pressed a wrong digit, and should it be the same wrong number the second time then I will call it no more. Our hosts however tend to continue calling that same wrong # numerous times and can even get pissy with you for it.

Sorry for the Thai bashing, but it is an observation of something that can become incredibly irritating at times.

I believe they just hit "re-dial" without really thinking. For some reason they believe the 'phone will not make the same mistake this time.

I get this a lot - especially late at night, because my home number is 1 digit different to the local shop which sells ice - my number is 02 XYY 1234, the ice shop is 02 XXY 1234, very frustrating when some Thai, obviously at a party somewhere, keeps hitting re-dial in the hope that I will somehow morph into a supplier of ice if he dials often enough.

Patrick

[Payboy]

"Sawasdee" instead of "Hello"

actually it would be an improvement if they said anything but "teenai" after calling....

[Lancelot]

I'm always a bit taken back by the "Haaaaaaaaaaaaaa???" When they do not hear or understand....

Comes across as a bit rude

[mgjackson69]

"Sawasdee" instead of "Hello"

actually it would be an improvement if they said anything but "teenai" after calling....

Certainly...but the rule is, when a Thai calls another, then they have to go through the saga of where are they, what are they doing, did they eat, what will they eat...before they can get down to what the call is about

When my wife gets one of these calls, I just shake my head and comment, "Nosy"

[greenmember]

I answered the home phone. The caller asked "Krai wa?" (Who?)

I said "Jan eang" (It's me)

[RY12]

thai phone calls:

"hello? hello? hello? hello? unh. uh unh. unh.... uh. kap."

Best post on thaivisa for the month. you forgot the whining, shrill "eah?" that punctuates the speech periodically. cambodia's even worse- "elo?, eh, ug , ug, buh, ELO!, eh..."

Man it's irritating when they interupt me mid-sentance with a loud 'hello?!', you can at least repeat the part of the sentance you heard or say sorry. don't give me this cultural relativism $hit, it's universally unacceptable. There are few things that make me hang up on my girlfriend, but when she does that, especially in the middle of a complex thing I'm saying, I lose it and hang up...

[missismiggins]

They say "Harnlow" and the "low" sound goes up. Many English words sound so funny when they are pronounced by Thais (technology, shock, promotion..... :-) )

Like on Thai PBS TV Channel, where "Hot Short Film" becomes "hotshot feem"

[donna]

must be a slow news day in the land of smiles to actually make an article of that drivel.

[greenmember]

Man it's irritating when they interupt me mid-sentance with a loud 'hello?!', you can at least repeat the part of the sentance you heard or say sorry.

Many Vietnamese are also the same. When I make a phone call and I don't "Alo" first but go straight to the subject, they often "ALO" very loudly to interrupt me. Feel that they force me to Alo before I can say anything.

[Mosha]

Any calls I have received or made The opening line has always been Hello Sawasdee ......... What do other countries do/say?

[Nongwahyay]

That reminds me of the old policeman´s joke......

"Hello, hello, hello, what´s going on ´ere then????"

................. now how did it continue????????

[phaethon]

Why do they say Hello ?? Hello is English

Actually the word 'hello' is interesting because its origins seem to be specific to the telephone communications. It is said it originated with Thomas Edison who was either misheard or mispronounced during a telephone call a common expression of surprise encounter in the 19th century - 'hullo' ("Hullo, what do we have here then?").

Alexander Graham Bell wanted a short, recognisable standard greeting to be used on his telephone system to open conversations. He even suggested that 'hello' was so characteristic that telephones wouldn't need a bell as 'hello' could "be heard 10 to 20 feet away". Early telephone exchange operators were known as 'hello girls' because of their greeting and the word quickly passed into use for face to face encounters too. Fowler lists it as an 'Americanism' in 1926 contrasting it with the traditional British 'hullo'.

So, it's a sound that goes with the telephone system. By that logic if Thais want to be truely traditional they should abandon their phones and radios and televisions and return to traditional bellowing from hilltops.