แอ๊บแบ๊ว

[wasabi]

Any clue what แอ๊บแบ๊ว means? I saw this word used when talking about Teenage slang taking over and ruining Thai language

[JamieP]

Any clue what แอ๊บแบ๊ว means? I saw this word used when talking about Teenage slang taking over and ruining Thai language

I believe it means something like to act like a big kid. Not sure if it's good or bad.

[DavidHouston]

Any clue what แอ๊บแบ๊ว means? I saw this word used when talking about Teenage slang taking over and ruining Thai language

See http://bkkmindscape.blogspot.com/search?q=Aeb+Baew towards the second half of the article.

[nicholasday]

Ha Ha Ab-baew (แอ๊บแบ๊ว) is a new Thai word. I think it was put into the latest official dictionary or something. Basically it is the act of trying to look really cute and innocent. Especially when combined with the whole V sign with your fingers. Basically the way lots of Thai people try to look when taking pictures of themselves. Just go to google images and search for แอ๊บแบ๊ว and you will soon understand. I don't think it is used in a negative way. I believe แอ๊บ (ab) is meant to come from the english abnormal but i dont know about where แบ๊ว (baew) comes from. I had a t-shirt with big words saying แอ๊บแบ๊ว on it. Lots of people found it very funny.

[nicholasday]

Yeah that blog pretty much sums it up.

"Ladda Tangsuphachai, director of cultural monitoring for the Ministry of Culture, says aeb baew is both an affectation and a fashion, a trend which has taken hold among today's young.

She says a distinctive feature of today's youth is that they no longer know what's right or wrong. They just copy things, she says. It's a trend in the wrong direction, in a perverse society which likes to take right for wrong, wrong for right. Parents, she says, need to take more interest in their children, to teach them right from wrong, and how to behave."

I seriously hate this woman so much. Anything that is not in her idea of "traditional Thai culture" is just evil and wrong and should be got rid of. Can someone tell her that cultures change and that things move on. She is like the Thai national kill-joy who gets to decide if something is proper Thai culture or not.

[Scrubber]

I seriously hate this woman so much. Anything that is not in her idea of "traditional Thai culture" is just evil and wrong and should be got rid of. Can someone tell her that cultures change and that things move on. She is like the Thai national kill-joy who gets to decide if something is proper Thai culture or not.

Spot on. She probably just isn't getting enough sex.

[wasabi]

I seriously hate this woman so much. Anything that is not in her idea of "traditional Thai culture" is just evil and wrong and should be got rid of. Can someone tell her that cultures change and that things move on. She is like the Thai national kill-joy who gets to decide if something is proper Thai culture or not.

Spot on. She probably just isn't getting enough sex.

Actually I think Thailand does have a legitimate problem with their language. If you visit a Thai chatroom with teenagers to young 20s nearly all the words are misspelled or made to look cute. I guess made to look Aeb Bow. I know Teenagers will always have their own language but this is beyond that. I am talking about almost every word and when pressed to spell words correctly they cannot. Overall I think the internet and SMS's has had a huge dumbing down effect on Thai youth.

However I don't think this is a matter of good and evil, polite and rude. It's simply being able to read and write correctly if needed.

Edited April 27, 2009 by wasabi

[DavidHouston]

Wasabi,

Why is this phenomenon any different than what is happening with the English language? Have you every tried to read SMS's or chats of English speakers in their teens? Chaucer and Shakespeare would be turning over in their graves.

On the other hand, maybe artifacts like spelling, punctuation, subject-verb agreement, very conjugations, and capitalization are no longer relevant in today's communications.

Edited April 27, 2009 by DavidHouston

[CSS]

Wasabi,

Why is this phenomenon any different than what is happening with the English language? Have you every tried to read SMS's or chats of English speakers in their teens? Chaucer and Shakespeare would be turning over in their graves.

On the other hand, maybe artifacts like spelling, punctuation, subject-verb agreement, very conjugations, and capitalization are no longer relevant in today's communications.

I also think these spelling deviations are a very intelligent way of communicating large amounts of emotion, personality, and context with the bare minimum of time. Most spelling deviations are done to reflect the way the word would be said in person, thus bringing the speaker into the written word and making the impersonal electronic medium more personal. When I receive messages written in this way I can hear how the sender would have said it and that carries a lot more meaning than what would have been transferred had they written it formally correct.

In English, I actually have been resistant to using any sms type modifications and write more formally. However, many e-mail correspondences can take on an impersonal nature. There is a detachment from myself and the recipient, which forces me to constantly remind myself of the audience. The Thai spelling deviations go a long way to easily remind the correspondents of who each other is, and thus better approximating a face to face conversation. I really enjoy receiving such messages, particularly now that I no longer live in Thailand and am restricted to conducting most Thai conversations through e-mail or instant-messengers. It's a much more real feeling communication in my mind. Simply put, it's fun. I have a good time figuring out what was written and hearing how it would have been said.

[Groongthep]

So the comic book / forum speak question word มั้ย is แอ๊บแบ๊ว for the correct question word (with the irregular tone spelling) ไหม ?

[patri]

So the comic book / forum speak question word มั้ย is แอ๊บแบ๊ว for the correct question word (with the irregular tone spelling) ไหม ?

No, มั้ย is just a way to represent an actual sound pronouced by most people in real life. This came way before the แอ๊บแบ๊ว era.

[Maya64]

Actually, Thai value cute and adorable than sexy or hot. Ab Beaw (แอ๊บแบ๊ว) means "pretending" to be cute, innocent, naive and young. Many girls think that this will make them look good too. You may see that on teen girl's photos in Hi5, the posture and concept mostly are influenced by Korean and Japanese culture.

[oldsparrow]

The word has been around for 3-4 years only. The "supposed to be" cute behavior in Japanese or Korean teen styly.

[agent69]

Ha Ha Ab-baew (แอ๊บแบ๊ว) is a new Thai word. I think it was put into the latest official dictionary or something. Basically it is the act of trying to look really cute and innocent. Especially when combined with the whole V sign with your fingers. Basically the way lots of Thai people try to look when taking pictures of themselves. Just go to google images and search for แอ๊บแบ๊ว and you will soon understand. I don't think it is used in a negative way. I believe แอ๊บ (ab) is meant to come from the english abnormal but i dont know about where แบ๊ว (baew) comes from. I had a t-shirt with big words saying แอ๊บแบ๊ว on it. Lots of people found it very funny.

I vote for your definition, mate.

and แบ๊ว came from the word บ้องแบ๊ว (baawng baew) which means innocent or, in the official meaning, strange looking.

[agent69]

Actually, Thai value cute and adorable than sexy or hot. Ab Beaw (แอ๊บแบ๊ว) means "pretending" to be cute, innocent, naive and young. Many girls think that this will make them look good too. You may see that on teen girl's photos in Hi5, the posture and concept mostly are influenced by Korean and Japanese culture.

I vote for yours too.

[oldsparrow]

บ้องแบ๊ว has been here since I first studied Thai, almost 40 years ago

[oldsparrow]

Sometimes บ้องแบ๊ว can be used to state that the person pretend to appear innocent on certain light mis conduct.

ie. Don't try to looks บ้องแบ๊ว, I know you broke the glass.

Edited May 26, 2009 by oldsparrow