Multilingual Farm Girls

[mark45y]

I try and stay ahead of the game. Though not a brilliant linguist I have a basic understanding of a few words of Thai. I can go into a bar and tell you if the ladies are from Issan or not. Sometimes I keep my mouth shut and listen and that can be illuminating as well.

Duke is a fun woman. She is a cougar, having more men, money and fun than most Catholic girls in boarding school on a field trip to Bangkok.

When listening to Duke and my current GF talk and joining in the conversation I am both educated and entertained.

Yesterday they had a long phone conversation. Normally I don't eavesdrop because I am polite but I will admit to listening on occasion.

However I was at a loss to understand them or I understood less than I normally understand.

After the call I inquired of my lady, “What the heck language were you and Duke speaking?” She replied ,like I was the dummy, “Pasa Lom Sak.”

Where are you going in Thai, “by ni.” Lao or Issan, “by sai.” Lom Sak, “by young.”

It it too much. These simple farm girls speaking three languages. If I want to visit their home city I am again in the same situation I was years ago. A dummy in paradise not knowing what they are saying. I spend countless hours of study to figure out if that young handsome man is a brother or a gik and now they throw another language at me.

So where can I get a Lom Sak language on line dictionary?????

[IanForbes]

:lol:

]It it too much. These simple farm girls speaking three languages. If I want to visit their home city I am again in the same situation I was years ago. A dummy in paradise not knowing what they are saying. I spend countless hours of study to figure out if that young handsome man is a brother or a gik and now they throw another language at me.

Ah, that great "He's my brother." story. I'd love to have a dollar for every time I heard that one.

I think it's like Swahili language in Africa. Everyone understands it, but if they really want to speak between themselves they go back to their local dialect.

[zzaa09]

And who says these poor farm girls aren't worldly?

[MaiChai]

Ah you have a poor understanding of what being 'Thai' means. Thai language is the official language of Thailand being from Bangkok and spoken by people from Bangkok and sort of slight North of Bangkok. The truth is most Thais come from country areas to city areas, to, well work. People in the country all have their own languages. I can speak Sukhothai language, which is where I learned my Thai; unfortunatly no one understands me in Bangkok but I am fluent in Sukhothai! They call this 'pasa baan': home language, or specifically a country dialect. There will be alot of Thai words in the local dialect, but there will also be a local style of speaking with local words. She comes from Lom Sak, and since she is talking to someone from there, she will drop back to using the local language rather than 'official' Thai. All Thais learn official Thai, and need it to understand telly/news/get jobs in Bangkok, etc. Think of it like Cornish or Welsh or Scottish; all these peoples speak English but with a local dialect, accent, words and expressions.

I can read Thai(ish) and we recently went to Laos. They have a slightly different script there, but after studying a few food menus, I could read Lao! Thus all these languages share common words, phonetics, etc. Probably because they derived from Pali and Sanskrit (Singapore: Singh means lion in Sanskrit/Pali; can't remember which one; as Singh means Lion in beer Singh, as the ex wifes surname was Singhsathorn; magnificent Lion). These are northern Indian languages that had influence right down the Malay peninsular into Indonesia!

Next time you have a chat with a Thai, remind them that Buddha was an Indian. They will probably look at you shocked! Alot of Thais don't realise where their cultural influences come from

Edited March 29, 2011 by MaiChai

[mark45y]

Ah you have a poor understanding of what being 'Thai' means. Thai language is the official language of Thailand being from Bangkok and spoken by people from Bangkok and sort of slight North of Bangkok. The truth is most Thais come from country areas to city areas, to, well work. People in the country all have their own languages. I can speak Sukhothai language, which is where I learned my Thai; unfortunatly no one understands me in Bangkok but I am fluent in Sukhothai! They call this 'pasa baan': home language, or specifically a country dialect. There will be alot of Thai words in the local dialect, but there will also be a local style of speaking with local words. She comes from Lom Sak, and since she is talking to someone from there, she will drop back to using the local language rather than 'official' Thai. All Thais learn official Thai, and need it to understand telly/news/get jobs in Bangkok, etc. Think of it like Cornish or Welsh or Scottish; all these peoples speak English but with a local dialect, accent, words and expressions.

I can read Thai(ish) and we recently went to Laos. They have a slightly different script there, but after studying a few food menus, I could read Lao! Thus all these languages share common words, phonetics, etc. Probably because they derived from Pali and Sanskrit (Singapore: Singh means lion in Sanskrit/Pali; can't remember which one; as Singh means Lion in beer Singh, as the ex wifes surname was Singhsathorn; magnificent Lion). These are northern Indian languages that had influence right down the Malay peninsular into Indonesia!

Next time you have a chat with a Thai, remind them that Buddha was an Indian. They will probably look at you shocked! Alot of Thais don't realise where their cultural influences come from

I appreciate that information. If you read my OP you would have discovered I understand both Thai and Lao and wanted a Lom Sak on line dictionary. PS Most Thais I have asked do know that Buddha is Indian but no one has any idea what Victory Monument was for.