Thai Spelling Is Very Important

[mikenyork]

I was doing some reading today and had an epiphany. The reason there is so much corruption inThailand is a simple matter of spelling!!!! (Don’t stop reading yet. Hang infor just a minute more. I willexplain.) คนไทยที่เป็นข้าราชการเข้าใจผิดเขานึกว่าเขามีหน้าที่ค้าราชการเพราะว่าเขาได้เสียค่าราชการแพงมาก เนื่องจากเหตุนี้เองเขารับใช้ประชาชน แบบ “รับ (เงิน, ทอง, เกียรติ)แล้วใช้ประชาชนเป็นขี้ข้า”. Therefore, all we need to do to solve thisproblem is to do a better job in the schools of teaching the difference betweenข้าand ค้า and the difference between the compound รับใช้and these two words as separate entities, and we should be good to go. What do all you-all think.

[stevymac]

think wot a load of crap!

[HappyInCM]

think wot a load of crap!

This isn't very constructive if it indeed has the the same meaning as "wot a load of crap!" although I readily admit I'm not sure what the full sentence means.

[mangkorn]

think wot a load of crap!

Oh my, another drunken troll has wandered into the wrong forum, but couldn't resist spewing inane bile and displaying his graceless ignorance...

Anyway, the passage: คนไทยที่เป็นข้าราชการเข้าใจผิดเขานึกว่าเขามีหน้าที่ค้าราชการเพราะว่าเขาได้เสียค่าราชการแพงมาก เนื่องจากเหตุนี้เองเขารับใช้ประชาชน แบบ "รับ (เงิน, ทอง, เกียรติ)แล้วใช้ประชาชนเป็นขี้ข้า" - appears to be an obvious attempt at clever wordplay, with ข้า and ค้า.

The gist of the rant is that government employees are all corrupt.

ข้าราชการ means government officials/bureaucrats.

The deliberate misuse of ค้าราชการ suggests that they use their authority for lucre (ค้า is "trade, commerce, etc."), and/or to make people bow down to them.

The use of รับใช้ here is also ironic: it means "to serve," (but they are serving themselves, for money, and respect); thus, ใช้ประชาชนเป็นขี้ข้า means "they treat the people as their servants/slaves" - instead of they themselves acting as genuine "civil servants."

In broad strokes, it seems like a fairly valid criticism of government employees, the world over (especially cops).

Edited August 4, 2010 by mangkorn

[mangkorn]

Sorry to rain on the OP's epiphany, but the writing in question seems to be quite deliberate - rather than bad spelling.

But I do wonder if it was penned by a Thai person, or a foreigner. Not sure if it is idiomatic, even with the apparent intended irony.

[Peterbigeyes]

I rate Thai one of the hardest languages ever.. I can't even tell the difference between each syllable

[mikenyork]

My apologies to my fellow-forum followers. My poor attempt at some humor in Thai. I have forsworn all such attempts in the future. A moment of weakness, I'm afraid. It wasn't meant seriously, although as another poster pointed out, if one limits it to the police there is more than a little truth in the (admittedly crude) play on words.

[mangkorn]

It did read suspiciously as something penned by a non-native speaker.

[galoubet]

I rate Thai one of the hardest languages ever.. I can't even tell the difference between each syllable

That's very defeatest. It really isn't that difficult. Let's face it even 4 year olds learn to read it at play school.

The grammar (or lack of it) means the language is one of the simplest on the planet. Pronunciation can be a little awkward with the tones but I find if you don't think about the tones there is no problem.

The only difficulty I have is reading Thai with any kind of speed. But judging from Thai friends reading newspapers or books, Thais have the same problem!