Do You Speak Pidgin English To The Wife / Gf?

[think_too_mut]

Hi folks:The wife has a degree in English from Ramhamkaeng BKK, and her English is pretty good. However, when she asks me to correct her, generally I do it about half the time. Why? (thai/english speak: I don't sure.) I do know Thais talk English the same way they speak Thai, without all the extra stuff like tense. WHY do farang talk pigeon English to their gf/wives? For example: you want go here eat?..you want make love?..we go movie now..you want buy land?..when I hear other farang talk to their wife/gf in pigeon english I sometimes snicker and think they are being lazy or something else, yet I do it too sometimes. It serves no purpose except to give subtle or tacit approval to the speaker that she is speaking properly, or enabling her to continue in this vein. I am "guilty" of speaking pigeon english to my wife at times,perhaps 25 to 50 % of the time although I don't track it closely. If someone asked me why I do it, I would say partially because lovely Thai women sound so cute when they mildly chastise you and say something like "don't do like that!"

That is not pidgin. That's poor standard of the school she had graduated from.

Pidgin is something else. I spent 1 year in Papua New Gunea where pidgin is an official language. They speak it in their parliament.

It has only 1200 words.

This is pidgin:

How many kristmas belong you? = how old are you

Gabamen catchin fella = policeman

Mix-max belong Jesus = helicopter

Time belong masta = colonial days

Black man, white teeth, you fight him, he cries = piano

That is impressive, i must look for more of these phrases..

- 'Mix-max belong jesus'

Excellent.

Do you have any more?

Mix-max was about what they saw somewhere - a blender or eggs beater/mixer. It had the propellers, as they understand it.

I have a dictionary somewhere (size of pack of cigarettes).

With my (local) staff there, it was regular:

You did not come to work yesterday?

Stron kuss (=cough).

You were sick, were not you?

No.

But you did not report to work?

Stron kuss.

[Geekfreaklover]

Just found a dictionary online, searched for pidgin Paupa New,

Found the following gems

businessman - man bisnis

buttock - as

dead - i dai pinis

farmer - man bilong wokim gaden

fast - kwik

or - no

Edited May 29, 2009 by Geekfreaklover

[cognos]

Pidgin english,....tinglish or like kind

Sometimes it sounds cute, but most times it sounds retarded to me.... esp spoken by a farang who I know his native language is the english.

Whats wrong with….using real words and sentences when talking?

I appreciate your perspective,and agree with it. I have realized the value (better late than never) of speaking proper English all the time, especially to someone who wants to improve their english ; prior I was speaking properly most of the time. When I hear the droves of farang speaking pidgin english, I will just smile and take it as humour, rather than be judgemental about it. Instead,we can just set a good example.

[think_too_mut]

Just found a dictionary online, searched for pidgin Paupa New,

Found the following gems

businessman - man bisnis

buttock - as

dead - i dai pinis

farmer - man bilong wokim gaden

fast - kwik

or - no

Yes. like that.

PNG has 730 languages,all the villages in wars, they have never mixed. No written history, nothing.

That's why they call their relatives "wantalk"= (one talk) = speaking the same language.

Funny to look their wars today: men in skimpy dress and motorcycle helmets fighting while their women watch and spectate from the hills. No casualties, a bruise or two, but no more than that.

Anyway, it's not pidgin the OP implied his wife and him are talking.

[Jimjim]

People wrongly assume, even unconsciously, that since their partner may speak a low level of English with many incorrect habits means they can't understand you if you speak English correctly. That's absolutely wrong, for the most part they can. They can always understand correct grammar, just not perhaps some vocabulary. If they don't understand your vocabulary, you simply say it a different way, yet using correct grammar (well, we all use slang or common verbal usage that is incorrect grammatically, but you get the drift), they'll be sure to understand. You can always understand more than you can speak yourself, when speaking a non-native language. There's nothing more annoying then hearing some old fart speak like a retarded 3 year-old to a Thai girl as he sounds like a complete idiot. Don't do it people, it's unnecessary and you sound <deleted> stupid.

[cognos]

No, I don't speak pidgin (pigeon is a bird) English with my spouse, and because I have never done so, neither does he. His English, while accented, is fluent and he uses correct tenses.

I have never understood this need to speak this way, all it does is teach your partner to speak English in an ignorant sounding manner.

You are right. I have been lazy and will start correcting her alot more..thanks

I just got off the phone with the wife, as I am in Vancouver and she is in Phuket..I will be going there in a few weeks. She said to me " Tin Tin she have 2 teacher ", and I reminded her that singular is has and plural is have...Tin Tin has 2 teachers..she repeated it properly and said khap koon ka..then I told her I would correct her all the time instead of some of the time.She said " ok I like " . We'll keep working on it. Thanks for convincing me to be consistant when speaking or correcting someone who wants that.

[Geekfreaklover]

No, I don't speak pidgin (pigeon is a bird) English with my spouse, and because I have never done so, neither does he. His English, while accented, is fluent and he uses correct tenses.

I have never understood this need to speak this way, all it does is teach your partner to speak English in an ignorant sounding manner.

You are right. I have been lazy and will start correcting her alot more..thanks

I just got off the phone with the wife, as I am in Vancouver and she is in Phuket..I will be going there in a few weeks. She said to me " Tin Tin she have 2 teacher ", and I reminded her that singular is has and plural is have...Tin Tin has 2 teachers..she repeated it properly and said khap koon ka..then I told her I would correct her all the time instead of some of the time.She said " ok I like " . We'll keep working on it. Thanks for convincing me to be consistant when speaking or correcting someone who wants that.

The only part I don't understand is what Herge's Belgium boy wonder news reporter is doing in Phuket? And where's snowy?

[tw25rw]

That is not pidgin. That's poor standard of the school she had graduated from.

Pidgin is something else. I spent 1 year in Papua New Gunea where pidgin is an official language. They speak it in their parliament.

It has only 1200 words.

This is pidgin:

How many kristmas belong you? = how old are you

Gabamen catchin fella = policeman

Mix-max belong Jesus = helicopter

Time belong masta = colonial days

Black man, white teeth, you fight him, he cries = piano

That's Tok Pisin. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tok_Pisin

I like bagarap..

[Jimjim]

I just don't understand it when I speak in Afrikaans and Thai girls don't understand it. Should I speak dumbed-down Afrikaans or what? This is starting to really get on my nerves.

[paulh1978]

my g/f speaks good english so when my mates come i have to speak cockney slang

[sbk]

(Does nobody listen to SBK?)

Mr SBK does (if he knows what's good for him )

Nah, he doesn't either. We've been married 20 years. He's got the husband hearing down pat

[Pierrot]

Actually, I'm lucky my wife speaks proper English to me . I'm French, living in Asia for more than 15 years and I've no problem speaking English with Chinese, Thai, Indians ....But English and Americans ... they understand my wife better than they understand me

Edited May 29, 2009 by Pierrot

[syd barrett]

Hi folks:The wife has a degree in English from Ramhamkaeng BKK, and her English is pretty good. However, when she asks me to correct her, generally I do it about half the time. Why? (thai/english speak: I don't sure.) I do know Thais talk English the same way they speak Thai, without all the extra stuff like tense. WHY do farang talk pigeon English to their gf/wives? For example: you want go here eat?..you want make love?..we go movie now..you want buy land?..when I hear other farang talk to their wife/gf in pigeon english I sometimes snicker and think they are being lazy or something else, yet I do it too sometimes. It serves no purpose except to give subtle or tacit approval to the speaker that she is speaking properly, or enabling her to continue in this vein. I am "guilty" of speaking pigeon english to my wife at times,perhaps 25 to 50 % of the time although I don't track it closely. If someone asked me why I do it, I would say partially because lovely Thai women sound so cute when they mildly chastise you and say something like "don't do like that!"

Mostly they speak Pidgin because they are looking at a short term relation. Mostly they get it too. Bloody ridiculous seeing a couple married a few years and him speaking pidgin and usually not Thai.

My wife was educated in England and there have been occasions where some idiots have come up to her and said – you from where? Etc. There’s too many farang here married to bar women and low class ones. I often wonder what they think after 5 years. I bet they regret what they thought was a good decision 5 years before.

How DARE you make such racsist asumptions like that!

Low class one you say?

Mate, the way you talk you can't get a lower class than you.

Actually low life is closer to the mark.

Well said, I bet this guy sneaks into the Thai Business lounge at BKK airport!

[F1fanatic]

Hi folks:The wife has a degree in English from Ramhamkaeng BKK, and her English is pretty good. However, when she asks me to correct her, generally I do it about half the time. Why? (thai/english speak: I don't sure.) I do know Thais talk English the same way they speak Thai, without all the extra stuff like tense. WHY do farang talk pigeon English to their gf/wives? For example: you want go here eat?..you want make love?..we go movie now..you want buy land?..when I hear other farang talk to their wife/gf in pigeon english I sometimes snicker and think they are being lazy or something else, yet I do it too sometimes. It serves no purpose except to give subtle or tacit approval to the speaker that she is speaking properly, or enabling her to continue in this vein. I am "guilty" of speaking pigeon english to my wife at times,perhaps 25 to 50 % of the time although I don't track it closely. If someone asked me why I do it, I would say partially because lovely Thai women sound so cute when they mildly chastise you and say something like "don't do like that!"

Mostly they speak Pidgin because they are looking at a short term relation. Mostly they get it too. Bloody ridiculous seeing a couple married a few years and him speaking pidgin and usually not Thai.

My wife was educated in England and there have been occasions where some idiots have come up to her and said – you from where? Etc. There's too many farang here married to bar women and low class ones. I often wonder what they think after 5 years. I bet they regret what they thought was a good decision 5 years before.

How DARE you make such racsist asumptions like that!

Low class one you say?

Mate, the way you talk you can't get a lower class than you.

Actually low life is closer to the mark.

Well said, I bet this guy sneaks into the Thai Business lounge at BKK airport!

Quite right. All of the men here are married to highly intelligent women, certainly not from Issan farming stock.

[eek]

No, I don't speak pidgin (pigeon is a bird) English with my spouse, and because I have never done so, neither does he. His English, while accented, is fluent and he uses correct tenses.

I have never understood this need to speak this way, all it does is teach your partner to speak English in an ignorant sounding manner.

You are right. I have been lazy and will start correcting her alot more..thanks

I just got off the phone with the wife, as I am in Vancouver and she is in Phuket..I will be going there in a few weeks. She said to me " Tin Tin she have 2 teacher ", and I reminded her that singular is has and plural is have...Tin Tin has 2 teachers..she repeated it properly and said khap koon ka..then I told her I would correct her all the time instead of some of the time.She said " ok I like " . We'll keep working on it. Thanks for convincing me to be consistant when speaking or correcting someone who wants that.

Cognos, just a quick note.. It may not be a good idea to correct her all the time. If, for example, she is upset or has something important to say, I personally would recommend just letting her say it her own way. I would stick with correcting general conversations then gauge when you should back off a bit and let her be (when she is tired, for example). The most important thing, in my opinion, is to not talk dumb downed English to her. That, plus the gentle correction, should make it a more comfortable way for her to improve her English.

Edited May 29, 2009 by eek

[sanook2me]

My Mrs says very similar

"You original English, cannot understand me only when angry"

Oh so thats why you get angry so often so i'll understand..got ya!

But she can pidgin all day with other pidgins but me she says "original English cannot understand talk from throat not mouth!"

Oh Pidgin is such a laugh with the mistakes and the temper tantrums when you/them cannot understand each other..I wouldn't have it any other way.. it adds a great fun challenge to each day.

Only just on telephone "home 1 oclock"

me <deleted> its 3 pm now...oh yeah Yoda Thai 1 being 7pm....

I've had fluent English speaking g/fs and its no fun at all and makes you lazy to study Thai.

This explains so much.

Who are you my doctor? Do one George!

Care to let us know your level of English with Thai Mrs?

[Pierrot]

My wife's written English is nearly perfect.

But she has the problem that is so common to Thais, the habit of dropping or changing certain letters.

This all too often changes the sentance completely.

Like: R L T TH V W S...

She learned her English at Uni and before she met me did not get practice with native English speakers.

It is OK for me as I usually know what she is saying but it becomes a problem when she talks to other people that are not used to conversing with Thais.

Does anyone know of a teaching method to correct this?

She needs to speak more with "native" speakers to learn the correct pronunciation. I've the same problem. I'm a non-native speaker and I speak mostly with non-native (mostly chinese). If we ever meet, we will have hard time to understand each other at the beginning (but your Thai friends will tell you my English is fluent )

[syd barrett]

No, I don't speak pidgin (pigeon is a bird) English with my spouse, and because I have never done so, neither does he. His English, while accented, is fluent and he uses correct tenses.

I have never understood this need to speak this way, all it does is teach your partner to speak English in an ignorant sounding manner.

I don't mean to ruffle any feathers, but what is this "pigeon" English people are going on about anyway? Is it related to the coop? Or is it just a fancier way of spelling "pidgin"? Either way, I think some of these posters tok pisin rubbish.

(Does nobody listen to SBK?)

It always makes me chuckle when uneducated pedants (who are unaware that they are uneducated pedants) immediately pounce on what they perceive as trivial spelling errors, in this case not so.

The spelling of 'pidgin English' can legitimately be spelled 'pigeon English' on any worldwide forum or upon any academic manuscript.

[Petesear]

Surely we are talking about bastardised English here, not Pidgin, and for some couples this may the only way the will communicate for the duration of their relationship. This may be because they are too lazy or even too stupid to learn a new language.

If this is the case then it is very sad as they will never really communicate. And that maybe perfect for some, but it wouldn't do for me.

[Heng]

Have seen the flip side of the coin where some folks won't speak either pidgin, slowly pronounced, etc. non-Thai language and the local seems to have no clue what the foreigner is saying. Not a huge deal for near strangers, but sometimes it seems like the couple has been together for quite awhile telling from their age + general wear and tear. I'd wager that these folks spend a lot of time searching for one another in local shopping centers and supermarkets because of communication issues.

It's a lower (but not impossible of course) % of folks who will ever be able to readily comprehend your natural speed of non-Thai speech if you are their only source of said language.

[JohnGotti]

Its very easy to spot newbies based on how they communicate with Thais and what vocabulary words they use. Oh yeah, and when the Thai person does not understand them the first time and they just keep repeating themselves over and over again using the same words... "Do you have any chilled glasses" "A glass that is chilled" A glass that has been chilled" "Chilled. The glass is chilled"....

[473geo]

Good God you guys really like to go on.......just speak Thai; the language is far more condensed....and makes life so much easier......no pidgin English to worry about......no past and present tense.....of course your Thai may stand to get corrected by the wife.........can you take it?????......

Oh and when I've had a few beers...my English is pretty incomprehensible any way....

Edit: spelling never was gonna make incomprehensible in one go!!! also put no verbs and proper nouns...but of course there are!!!!!

Edited May 29, 2009 by 473geo

[thesunset75]

Why my bf doesnt speak any pegeon, parrot pengiun or Thai to me ?

Let me speaking broken English and Dutch ?

As long as you understand each other, doesnt matter what language you speaking right ?

And to speak broken language is easier..or am i wrong..?

[cognos]

No, I don't speak pidgin (pigeon is a bird) English with my spouse, and because I have never done so, neither does he. His English, while accented, is fluent and he uses correct tenses.

I have never understood this need to speak this way, all it does is teach your partner to speak English in an ignorant sounding manner.

You are right. I have been lazy and will start correcting her alot more..thanks

I just got off the phone with the wife, as I am in Vancouver and she is in Phuket..I will be going there in a few weeks. She said to me " Tin Tin she have 2 teacher ", and I reminded her that singular is has and plural is have...Tin Tin has 2 teachers..she repeated it properly and said khap koon ka..then I told her I would correct her all the time instead of some of the time.She said " ok I like " . We'll keep working on it. Thanks for convincing me to be consistant when speaking or correcting someone who wants that.

Cognos, just a quick note.. It may not be a good idea to correct her all the time. If, for example, she is upset or has something important to say, I personally would recommend just letting her say it her own way. I would stick with correcting general conversations then gauge when you should back off a bit and let her be (when she is tired, for example). The most important thing, in my opinion, is to not talk dumb downed English to her. That, plus the gentle correction, should make it a more comfortable way for her to improve her English.

Yes,of course. It goes without saying if( I mean when) I screw up and she says.."don't do like dat!"..I would not correct her on the spot. Once I nicked her sister's car and she said.."you mao"..I just said my mao,oo but he head.

[Livinginexile]

No, I don't speak pidgin (pigeon is a bird) English with my spouse, and because I have never done so, neither does he. His English, while accented, is fluent and he uses correct tenses.

I have never understood this need to speak this way, all it does is teach your partner to speak English in an ignorant sounding manner.

You are right. I have been lazy and will start correcting her alot more..thanks

I just got off the phone with the wife, as I am in Vancouver and she is in Phuket..I will be going there in a few weeks. She said to me " Tin Tin she have 2 teacher ", and I reminded her that singular is has and plural is have...Tin Tin has 2 teachers..she repeated it properly and said khap koon ka..then I told her I would correct her all the time instead of some of the time.She said " ok I like " . We'll keep working on it. Thanks for convincing me to be consistant when speaking or correcting someone who wants that.

Cognos, just a quick note.. It may not be a good idea to correct her all the time. If, for example, she is upset or has something important to say, I personally would recommend just letting her say it her own way. I would stick with correcting general conversations then gauge when you should back off a bit and let her be (when she is tired, for example). The most important thing, in my opinion, is to not talk dumb downed English to her. That, plus the gentle correction, should make it a more comfortable way for her to improve her English.

Yes I agree,

I correct my wife from time to time and her pronunciation is improving every week.

Her confidence in talking in public is slowly improving. My family don't look at me for interpretation nearly as often these days.

Baby steps, we need to be patient and understanding

[khundon]

No, I don't speak pidgin (pigeon is a bird) English with my spouse, and because I have never done so, neither does he. His English, while accented, is fluent and he uses correct tenses.

I have never understood this need to speak this way, all it does is teach your partner to speak English in an ignorant sounding manner.

But if pidgin English is the only way to communicate it becomes necessary. If I talk to my wife using proper grammar and tense, she doesn't understand. I think I also speak pidgin Thai with a rural accent!

Gary9999

She will never learn as long as you talk to her using pidgin English. How about you learning Thai, as well as teaching her the correct use of English.

[Jungian]

I think my wife would be insulted and offended as would my friends, students and the people I work with if I dumbed down the English for them. I speak slower than I normally would and a lot more clearly but then again I'm from Philadelphia I speak slower when I talk to someone from Minnesota or Ohio.

I think you may have hit on something though, this may be a reason Thais struggle with English because a lot of people talk to them like they are 3 years old. When people speak Thai to me I get full sentences not "pigeon" Thai. I teach (not English) but in English and I speak just as I would to a class of native English speakers, if a student doesn't understand a word or the point in general they are quick to ask during or after class, that may sound unbelievable to some of you who teach that Thai students actually speak and ask questions but it is not at all actually for me it is unusual when they don't ask, I think this is due to the level of respect I show them and one way of showing it is to speak properly.

[Brigante7]

Well bully for everybody with their high and mighty attitude. I had to speak to my wife in pigeon english for the first year we were together because when I didn't 2 things happened.

1) She couldn't understand my Scottish accent

2) She would tell me she felt stupid and upset when she couldn't understand me.

Now she understands me perfectly when I talk the way I've always talked and she talks the same way as somebody who is learning to speak english properly (Because she goes to college to learn it).

Brigante7.

[sanook2me]

Well bully for everybody with their high and mighty attitude. I had to speak to my wife in pigeon english for the first year we were together because when I didn't 2 things happened.

1) She couldn't understand my Scottish accent

2) She would tell me she felt stupid and upset when she couldn't understand me.

Now she understands me perfectly when I talk the way I've always talked and she talks the same way as somebody who is learning to speak english properly (Because she goes to college to learn it).

Brigante7.

It appears that people revel in the apparent kudos of their other half been fluent in English as it implies they are educated and not farmers daughters/sons. Balls, example my mrs is an accountant with a degree and didn't take English classes and never had a reason to speak English until she met me, no interaction with farangs for work or in her leisure time. There are lots and lots of girls like this educated without English as a language.

My situation as with Brigante7 means you can only effectively communicate using the words from each others language that you both already know and if this means pidgin so be it.

[phutoie2]

Ok enough is enough

Pigeon = Wild and domesticated bird having a heavy body and short legs.

Pidgin = An artificial language used for trade between speakers of a different languages.

SBK sort this lot out!