Do You Speak Pidgin English To The Wife / Gf?

[Jungian]

I wasn't implying anything about education. However; since it was brought up (in a way) my wife asked me many years ago "what would have happened if I didn't speak English when we met?" I simply told her we never would have met, I am unwilling to have a relationship with someone I can not communicate with, I speak 3 languages fluently (I'm not bragging I'm just saying) and Thai is not one of them. Communication is the most important thing in a relationship and if you doubt that hang around Lotus and wait for a couple that speaks 2 different languages and see it first hand, the man starts talking like a caveman thinking somehow the woman will understand better, then he starts with the hand gestures and the woman is quite clearly getting frustrated... after both turn red they walk in different directions or the woman puts her head down and walks behind the man. I sincerely feel bad for these people and it breaks my heart when I see someone feeling that way.

[garro]

At the end of the day, if your only goal is communication then say it whatever way that works. If, though, your partner wants to speak English to an acceptable level then speaking to him/her in broken English, while it might be more effective in the short-term, will be counterproductive in the long-term - in my view. It is harder to unlearn something than it is to learn something. When done in public it does make the native speaker come across as a bit of a moron - but hey, who cares what others think.

The only time that I really object to the use of pidgin English is in front of children as they are like sponges. I want my son to be completely bilingual and so avoid pidgin English and indeed broken Thai like the plague.

[garro]

I wasn't implying anything about education. However; since it was brought up (in a way) my wife asked me many years ago "what would have happened if I didn't speak English when we met?" I simply told her we never would have met, I am unwilling to have a relationship with someone I can not communicate with, I speak 3 languages fluently (I'm not bragging I'm just saying) and Thai is not one of them. Communication is the most important thing in a relationship and if you doubt that hang around Lotus and wait for a couple that speaks 2 different languages and see it first hand, the man starts talking like a caveman thinking somehow the woman will understand better, then he starts with the hand gestures and the woman is quite clearly getting frustrated... after both turn red they walk in different directions or the woman puts her head down and walks behind the man. I sincerely feel bad for these people and it breaks my heart when I see someone feeling that way.

It is sad to say, but I think that for some men having a wife who they can't really communicate with is the attraction. That way they can treat her like a doll and project onto her whatever thoughts and feelings they choose. Then they get upset when she begins to break out of the image they have projected onto her.

[canuckamuck]

Shhh! Garro, you're gonna ruin the fantasy life of half the members here.

Edited May 30, 2009 by canuckamuck

[cognos]

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.

I understand,because I'm Scottish on my Dad's side . You are intuitive to do it your way, as long as she learns..

[cognos]

I wasn't implying anything about education. However; since it was brought up (in a way) my wife asked me many years ago "what would have happened if I didn't speak English when we met?" I simply told her we never would have met, I am unwilling to have a relationship with someone I can not communicate with, I speak 3 languages fluently (I'm not bragging I'm just saying) and Thai is not one of them. Communication is the most important thing in a relationship and if you doubt that hang around Lotus and wait for a couple that speaks 2 different languages and see it first hand, the man starts talking like a caveman thinking somehow the woman will understand better, then he starts with the hand gestures and the woman is quite clearly getting frustrated... after both turn red they walk in different directions or the woman puts her head down and walks behind the man. I sincerely feel bad for these people and it breaks my heart when I see someone feeling that way.

It is sad to say, but I think that for some men having a wife who they can't really communicate with is the attraction. That way they can treat her like a doll and project onto her whatever thoughts and feelings they choose. Then they get upset when she begins to break out of the image they have projected onto her.

Communication is the bottom line in any relationship. I agree that some farang are as you state in their relationship with their significant other. My purpose is to learn,and I have through you people in a way. I will not speak Tinglish any more..except a slip up after some beer maybe..

[hanno]

So you speak Vietnamese?!?

I get by. More importantly my wife speaks fluent English; I cannot see myself marrying someone I cannot communicate with.

[Birdman]

It is sad to say, but I think that for some men having a wife who they can't really communicate with is the attraction. That way they can treat her like a doll and project onto her whatever thoughts and feelings they choose. Then they get upset when she begins to break out of the image they have projected onto her.

Haven't met one of them, but maybe there are such lunatics out there. The main reason, why many Westerners want a Thai female, who can't hardly speak English is the assumption, that she ain't an expert farang squeezer yet.

[473geo]

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..?

Correct Sunset...there is a whole new language evolving - text speak......using only essential words to make the receiver understand.....in use by millions every day already......I guess many here are simply behind the times.......

Thai language by the way is almost as good as text speak because of the uncomplicated construction......

The world should learn to speak Thai and abandon all forms of pigdeon,pigeon,piggin,pidkin......ah whatever....

[wolfmanjack]

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.

I don't believe it. Every thai for the last ###? years takes english classes through the government schools. Most of them do not speak English even after getting a bachelors in English but every thai that goes to college has had at least 12 years of English classes and probably a few in university as well.

[teacup]

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.

I don't believe it. Every thai for the last ###? years takes english classes through the government schools. Most of them do not speak English even after getting a bachelors in English but every thai that goes to college has had at least 12 years of English classes and probably a few in university as well.

It's 100% correct what Woflmanjack is saying here, I can confirm it.

Wolfmanjack.....we had it back since the kindergarden years in fact.

[tartempion]

I am French, so I speak Frenglish with my wife

[Geekfreaklover]

I never use pidgin. I speak slow concise English. If that is not understood then slow laboured Thai. If that is not undersood then well, they must be stupid and not worth talking to.

However, I reserve the right to use the phrase 'Same Same' at any given time- One of my favourite expressions 'Same Same.'

[polecat]

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.

I would be delighted to see these rules you are talking about. Do they also have rules for when to use, commas? We didn't cover, that in the silage dump where I hid, out when I should have been at, school. Looks, like we may have used the same curr,iculum.

The whole point of my post was to squeeze four (count 'em) Olympic standard puns into my post.

As I said, some posters tok pisin rubbish

[Briggsy]

For all you ignoramuses

Pigeon is a grey bird commonly found in urban settings.

Pidgin is a simplified form of a language often employing simplistic grammatical rules.

[cognos]

I am French, so I speak Frenglish with my wife

Je parle "Thaifranglais" un petite peu to tirak.A friend's cousin married a German fellow, and he would not learn a word of Thai, insisting she learn German.

[mahtin]

For all you ignoramuses

Pigeon is a grey bird commonly found in urban settings.

Pidgin is a simplified form of a language often employing simplistic grammatical rules.

Etymology

The origin of the word pidgin is uncertain. The first time pidgin appeared in print was in 1850, while there are many sources from which the word may be derived. For example:

• A Chinese mispronunciation of the English word business.
  
• The Portuguese word ocupação (business).
  
• A Yayo word pidians, which means people.
  
• English pigeon, a bird sometimes used for carrying brief written messages, especially in times prior to modern telecommunications.^[5]
  

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pidgin

[teachermark]

Sometimes i speak nid noi pidgeon englsih to thais who havent got good command of English,but not with my my thai gf of 4 years.She speaks good english,khmer and some chinese.

Sometimes I speak a little pidgeon English to Thais who haven't got good command of English,but not with my (my) Thai gf of 4 years.She speaks good English,Khmer and some Chinese.

I can see why !! ..

[PeaceBlondie]

Sometimes native speakers of English speak short hand

"Mornin'"

"Goin t'work?"

"Sattiday"

"o"

[cognos]

Sometimes native speakers of English speak short hand

"Mornin'"

"Goin t'work?"

"Sattiday"

"o"

I "aint" going to teach her the slang yet,but she knows some swear words from before we met,as she knew what I said the few times I have slipped and said the f or s word..

[teachermark]

Basically .. if you couldn't care less about your spouse/gf or whoever improving their English .. then go ahead and speak "pidgin" and sound like a goose. It's not that important. For myself I just speak normally, clearly and depending on the Thai .. a little more slowly.

English is my native language .. why on Earth would I want to speak it as if I was retarded? .. but as I said above .. it's no big deal really .. it won't stop the Earth from revolving.

EXCEPT !! .. For the female South African English teacher in the last school I was working for in Korat .. who constantly spoke Tinglish to her Prathom 2 students. E.g .. "What your name nah?", "Why you no listen me nah?" etc etc .. SHE should be shot!

[teacup]

Sometimes i speak nid noi pidgeon englsih to thais who havent got good command of English,but not with my my thai gf of 4 years.She speaks good english,khmer and some chinese.

Sometimes I speak a little pidgeon English to Thais who haven't got good command of English,but not with my (my) Thai gf of 4 years.She speaks good English,Khmer and some Chinese.

I can see why !! ..

You forgot a comma after the word Khmer and one blank space before the word, Teachermark.

haha

Edited May 31, 2009 by teacup

[AsiaCheese]

Well, comes from the habit -- some "selected" individuals may understand "proper" English; most don't. It's the "most" that counts: speaking Tenglish in order to be understood just takes over...

[Padrino]

guilty sometimes but i try not to do it in public as it makes her look silly. My GF has a degree in Thai and she doesnt dumb down for me so i really should not do it to her.....i hear my mate doing it with his gf and it sounds so patronising yet i am guilty at times...i will make a concerted effort to stop !

[Neeranam]

Sometimes i speak nid noi pidgeon englsih to thais who havent got good command of English,but not with my my thai gf of 4 years.She speaks good english,khmer and some chinese.

Sometimes I speak a little pidgeon English to Thais who haven't got good command of English,but not with my (my) Thai gf of 4 years.She speaks good English,Khmer and some Chinese.

I can see why !! ..

You forgot a comma after the word Khmer and one blank space before the word, Teachermark.

haha

That just shows the quality of the Thailand English Teacher - his correction is corrected by a Thai

I worked here as an English teacher for over a decade and believe me, any Tom, Dick, or Harry can call themselves an English teacher.

Basically .. if you couldn't care less about your spouse/gf or whoever improving their English .. then go ahead and speak "pidgin" and sound like a goose. It's not that important. For myself I just speak normally, clearly and depending on the Thai .. a little more slowly.

English is my native language .. why on Earth would I want to speak it as if I was retarded? .. but as I said above .. it's no big deal really .. it won't stop the Earth from revolving.

Agreed. Even Thai women who can't speak a word of English hook up with a "whitey", will, after a couple of years start talking like their husband. If you want them to speak like you, talk normally and carry a dictionary around with you or learn Thai. If you want them to end up speaking like a Pattaya bar whore, talk pidgin and encourage her to say things like , "same same", "pump pump".

Terrible, any teacher using Thai, unless they're proficient. That "nah" at the end of an English sentence is bloody annoying.

Many that speak Pidgin English don't want their gfs to become equal to them. Maybe correctly so? If your Thai gf comes from a poor background, never let her take control of the relationship as it doesn't work and NEVER EVER build her a house before at least 5 years of marriage.

[IanForbes]

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?)

I was wondering the same thing. I thought people were referring to a lot of clucking and cooing... which I do of course when we are making love.

I don't speak pidgin English if I can help it, but I WILL try to use simpler terms and words. Thais who can speak a bit of English will have no trouble understanding proper English and there's no need to use pidgin English. It is a travesty to speak pidgin English to a child because they will never learn the proper way. Just because a Thai might only speak pidgin English does not mean they can't understand proper English.

[Moonrakers]

I usually speak fluently, but then slow down and simplify if needed. The downside to that is the Thai's inability to say "mai kaow jai", instead they'll often just say "yes yes" whilst really not understanding me.

One of the tricks is to start using open ended questions of course. If you ask "where do you live?" and they answer "yes", then you know that you have a language barrier.

[IanForbes]

If you ask "where do you live?" and they answer "yes", then you know that you have a language barrier.

It's even worse when they actually TAKE you to where they live... and it's a 10 hour bus ride that stops at about 50 villages along the way.

I am a relatively good artist and I can usually convey what I want by drawing it for them in my note book that I always carry. I do well at the game "Pictographs"

[473geo]

I think there may well be a group who appreciate the fact that the thai make the effort to speak English

"Pai nai" literal translation as we all know "go where"

Now if the other half asks "go where darling?" and your quick response would be "Go market darling"

are you really going to pull her up and request she applies precise English

" where are you going darling"

"I am going to the market darling"

Although I agree correct...does seem a bit pedantic.....considering the Thai are using a second language......

[Geekfreaklover]

If you ask "where do you live?" and they answer "yes", then you know that you have a language barrier.

It's even worse when they actually TAKE you to where they live... and it's a 10 hour bus ride that stops at about 50 villages along the way.

I am a relatively good artist and I can usually convey what I want by drawing it for them in my note book that I always carry. I do well at the game "Pictographs"

Thats a really good idea actually. After they can write the Thai word next to the picture and you can write the Thai English transliteration. A fun way to learn.