canuckamuck Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 I sometimes find myself in situations where I need to have a technical or complex conversation which is above my ability to speak Thai. In these instances a translator is needed so I can fully understand and be fully understood. For example, currently I am renovating a house and the builder has many subjective questions which are hard for me to answer accurately in Thai. I try to have my wife there to assist. But here is what regularly happens. As soon as the question is translated and I begin to respond, the builder begins speaking to my wife again, often with a new question. It is like the conversation is between them only and I am supposed to give telepathic answers to my wife while they are conversing. Now my wife is very polite and she won't speak over or ignore another person (except me I guess) so instead of hearing me out and making the other guy wait his turn; she engages his conversation and many minutes float by, and I haven't even fully answered the first question. Eventually when their conversation winds down, they realize they still haven't solved anything. At this point I can refocus them and make my point but usually I end up looking like a hot head because I am nearly jumping up and down with frustration. Quite often I participate in only about 5% of the conversation despite the fact that I am the only one with the information they need. This occurs even if my responses are in Thai. Of course people will reply that I should get better at Thai. Well I am getting better, and I have quite a few conversations with the builders on my own most of them productive, but I am not much past conversational. Besides that, I have perceived that even being fluent in Thai is no great time saver, as I have seen massive conversations about the simplest question. It is all bunny trails and strange assumptions. Are their any culturally acceptable ways to get someone else to stop talking when you are talking? And why don't Thai people understand that during translation you have to wait until the answer has been responded to and translated back before you speak again? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WebBangkok Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 Just talk louder so they can only hear your voice? Or maybe just think "fuc_k it" and sit down and pour yourself a beer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lannarebirth Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 (edited) Your situation is by no means unique my friend. A homebuilding project I was involved in here probably took 5 years off my life. If you can produce pictures of what you want, that seems to help; as does leaving the wife out of the conversation altogether, despite your communication difficulties. Edited August 5, 2011 by lannarebirth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welsh1 Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 You can shout and shout as much as you want. no body will listen to you... Bet you get the what the fuc_k is falang on about now.stare when you are shouting also Like the op said ..just sit back down and pour your self a nice cold one In Thailand its the Thai way or the high way Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WebBangkok Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 Yeah, we revonated our house, should of taken 2 months but it took a year. They didnt listen and took short cuts. I made them redo things many times, they got the shits and striked and took days off here and there, but eventually they job was done properly. You have to watch them the whole time, I was always walking around just watching all there moves. What really got me, when putting in a new bathroom, the toilet is suppose to have a pipe that runs from the bottom, I saw them just dig the tunnel which is concrete and put the toilet on top, lucky I saw that or I would have pee and pooh leaks in my roof. Anyways I know I didnt answer the question, but thought I would share that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meatboy Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 thai culture they are always right,i think we have all been through it,so have a few beers and f-ck em,had a pond built he woudnt listern so i let him carry on then made him do it all over again,he blamed my measuring tape. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kerryk Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 Neip neip or if they are from Issan sow wow. Keep saying these words over and over until they are quiet. Then stick out your jaw when talking and don't look them in the eye, look above them. This also works with Thai dogs. Not so much with cats or insects. Oh, I should mention this will not work with Thai women of any age. As a matter of fact it may complicate the situation when talking with Thai women. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canuckamuck Posted August 5, 2011 Author Share Posted August 5, 2011 Neip neip or if they are from Issan sow wow. Keep saying these words over and over until they are quiet. Then stick out your jaw when talking and don't look them in the eye, look above them. This also works with Thai dogs. Not so much with cats or insects. Oh, I should mention this will not work with Thai women of any age. As a matter of fact it may complicate the situation when talking with Thai women. Are you one of the Knights who say Neip? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Berkshire Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 Serious advice: if your Thai is already passable, then you should try to speak with the contractor directly. Don't even have your wife around. This will force the guy to talk to you and you alone. Might be a tad frustrating, but I promise you will have a captive audience. The thing about Thais is that if there's another Thai around, they will prefer to talk to that person. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onionluke Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 Have you tried sketching out what you want . When you get ignored you can colour them in with crayons to pass the time until you are required . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
talk2sam Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 Have you tried sketching out what you want . When you get ignored you can colour them in with crayons to pass the time until you are required . cracking me up... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bifftastic Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 Neip neip or if they are from Issan sow wow. Keep saying these words over and over until they are quiet. Then stick out your jaw when talking and don't look them in the eye, look above them. This also works with Thai dogs. Not so much with cats or insects. Oh, I should mention this will not work with Thai women of any age. As a matter of fact it may complicate the situation when talking with Thai women. Are you one of the Knights who say Neip? Niep's a bit severe, but it depends on the situation I reckon. But yeah, maintaining your 'superirority' would be the trick to pull off. Be the boss. Having your wife translate for you has probably put you right down the pecking order! Not that is should do, of course but there it is. If I were you, I'd try to get the wife out of the equation, even if it makes the conversations harder. Given the choice, the builder will always want to talk to a native Thai speaker and you'll get ignored. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dean999 Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 Get better at Thai. Sorry, couldn't resist. :jap: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bagwan Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 My recipe is that they do it my way with good grace or they don't get paid. Never failed yet. I'll respect Buddha days or other public holidays yet any other absence is interpreted as they have found something better to do so don't come back. All surviving members of my project teams get a great bean feast and pish up with music and dancing girls when the job is done. I think that in any relationship with Thai people you have to make clear that you are the phu yai from day one. Lose their respect and you'll never get it back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onionluke Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 A simple plan for a house build can easily turn into the blue print of a smoke and mirrors folly . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welsh1 Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 Have you tried sketching out what you want . When you get ignored you can colour them in with crayons to pass the time until you are required . Classic post .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richard_smith237 Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 I'm so not looking forwards to having a house build in Bangkok..... These stories are so very common... Are there any guys out there who when having their house built have had their high expectations met by a contractor without having to chase after them to correct shoddy work ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welsh1 Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 (edited) I'm so not looking forwards to having a house build in Bangkok..... These stories are so very common... Are there any guys out there who when having their house built have had their high expectations met by a contractor without having to chase after them to correct shoddy work ? With so many fa lang builders in Thailand,,,Why o why do fa langs still insist on having there dream home built by a friend of a friend or a uncle or member of there teeraks family Edited August 5, 2011 by welsh1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slapout Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 I found using the wife to translate on a house build was a waste of time and effort. The problem was her translation was inaccurate at times and when pointed out she would admit not knowing the English word, thus translation was incorrect. I actually found drawing of some things worked very good (traps under sinks, showers, etc. and surprisingly enough the building vocabulary is similar on many terms in building. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simon43 Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 The builder of my small hotel insisted that he could understand technical plans - but he couldn't... So I wrote details for him in Thai Then I found out that he could not read or write.... So every day I would 'translate' the technical plans into spoken Thai, such as 'put a wall here, dig a hole there etc'. It worked OK and my knowledge of Thai building terms improved greatly Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leo12345 Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 As mentioned before make sure you hold the conversation by yourself. If there are points you do not understand then call your wife to translate only a word you do not understand. Make sure after that you ask her to get the builder a glass of water or something so that she will leave. You also have to be there 99% opf the time to see what they are doing or something WILL go wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canuckamuck Posted August 5, 2011 Author Share Posted August 5, 2011 Have you tried sketching out what you want . When you get ignored you can colour them in with crayons to pass the time until you are required . I love this, probably the most constructive advice for the situation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canuckamuck Posted August 5, 2011 Author Share Posted August 5, 2011 About drawing pictures, I do have the whole project done up in Google Sketchup, and they love it. But there are still things to discuss because real life is different then a 3D image. However, Sketchup has done wonders and I am very pleased with the builder so far. I just wish simple questions could be dealt with more efficiently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Semper Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 Neip neip or if they are from Issan sow wow. Keep saying these words over and over until they are quiet. Then stick out your jaw when talking and don't look them in the eye, look above them. This also works with Thai dogs. Not so much with cats or insects. Oh, I should mention this will not work with Thai women of any age. As a matter of fact it may complicate the situation when talking with Thai women. Neip neip or if they are from Issan sow wow Would this be the same as pak nak in CM? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ballpoint Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 Neip neip or if they are from Issan sow wow. Keep saying these words over and over until they are quiet. Then stick out your jaw when talking and don't look them in the eye, look above them. This also works with Thai dogs. Not so much with cats or insects. Oh, I should mention this will not work with Thai women of any age. As a matter of fact it may complicate the situation when talking with Thai women. Are you one of the Knights who say Neip? I thought he was trying to get a house built. Now we find out all he wanted was a shrubbery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JurgenG Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 To the OP : you're not alone ! The strategy of the builder will be to make your wife uncomfortable, stuck between you and him, in order to get what he wants, basically what is the easiest and the cheapest for him to do. You want things done, your wife wants peace on earth, it's not always compatible. What's the solution ? If someone knows, I'm really interested. But don't use your wife as a go-between, you won't get things done and your relation is going to suffer unnecessarily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canuckamuck Posted August 5, 2011 Author Share Posted August 5, 2011 Neip neip or if they are from Issan sow wow. Keep saying these words over and over until they are quiet. Then stick out your jaw when talking and don't look them in the eye, look above them. This also works with Thai dogs. Not so much with cats or insects. Oh, I should mention this will not work with Thai women of any age. As a matter of fact it may complicate the situation when talking with Thai women. Are you one of the Knights who say Neip? I thought he was trying to get a house built. Now we find out all he wanted was a shrubbery. Next I will will have cut down a tree with herring Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trembly Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 (edited) Serious answer from a Thai : just say "diew gon" (just a moment) . . . Phom gamlang torb (I'm answering / I'm in the middle of answering). Just cut right in when he starts talking. What is he, a moron? Can't he see that you haven't answered? Edited August 5, 2011 by Trembly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happyrobert Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 I'm so not looking forwards to having a house build in Bangkok..... These stories are so very common... Are there any guys out there who when having their house built have had their high expectations met by a contractor without having to chase after them to correct shoddy work ? With so many fa lang builders in Thailand,,,Why o why do fa langs still insist on having there dream home built by a friend of a friend or a uncle or member of there teeraks family Because there is not a Thai male over 15 that does not know how to build every part of a house, including hooking up the hot water heater. And they will not listen as we all live in teepees and caves back west. I drew out how to square up my foundation, using the 3-4-5 meter method. I had the batter boards in place and the lines strung, just needed to be adjusted. I even gave them a construction calculator and demonstarted it numerous times. They just couldn't get it. I came back after lunch to find the "foreman" using a cabinet square, about 5" x 9", to "square up a 5 meter by 6 meter slab. But he was very serious about it, frowning hard and barking orders. And, it matters not whether you speak Thai or not. The results are likely to be the same, just disappointed faster. Of course, I don't mean to paint all Thai with such a wide brush. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ARISTIDE Posted August 6, 2011 Share Posted August 6, 2011 Why don't you just tell him clearly that you want him to listen to a translation and understand it. Most builders are just mainly peasants and sometimes they simply don't understand what you want unless you tell them. There is no need to pour a beer and assume all Thai are stupid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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