The-Thais-Speaking-Like-A-Farang-Speaking-Thai

[Gaccha]

Young Thais (say, 10- 25 years-old) often mock farang speaking Thai by putting on a certain accent/sound that in their view sounds like a farang speaking Thai.

The accent cannot, of course, sound anything like any farang accent since it is as preposterous as an Englishman doing a generic "foreigners' accent". They do it even when the farang speaking Thai has an excellent Thai accent. So it must be so heavily inculcated into the Thai mind that the enormous gap of reality and mimicry is not registered.

So what do they do to produce this accent. Well, I'm not really sure. But, to my ears, it sounds like a deepening of the voice, a bizarre undulating tone, and-- the part I am most confident about-- a lengthening of the vowels.

But I would be interested to know if anyone has listened further. I would love to know of idiosyncracies that make the mimicry more Thai than they would care to believe. Ultimately, I want to copy this mimicry and reproduce it to Thais.

Thank you.

[mikenyork]

I've lived here a bit more than five years (this time), taught in a govt school for two years--lived upcountry and in Bangkok. I speak Thai well and my hearing comprehension is very, very high (not bragging--I've been at it since before birds evolved on the earth)--my point is, I have never, ever, not even once heard the phenomenon the OP is referring to. I've had students mock me (universal phenomenon, based on my memories of my own student days), but I've not ever had them mimic my Thai. They (and all Thais) have, of course, laughed at my mistakes, to ease my embarrassment (doesn't work for me and I suspect most other farangs, but they laugh at themselves and each other just as hard--it's just a cultural thing). I'm not saying the OP hasn't heard what he/she has heard. Just stating the fact that I haven't when I would think, if it were happening around me, I would have heard it.

[meadish_sweetball]

Influenced by the way farang movies are dubbed into Thai, perhaps?

[Gaccha]

I've lived here a bit more than five years (this time), taught in a govt school for two years--lived upcountry and in Bangkok. I speak Thai well and my hearing comprehension is very, very high (not bragging--I've been at it since before birds evolved on the earth)--my point is, I have never, ever, not even once heard the phenomenon the OP is referring to. I've had students mock me (universal phenomenon, based on my memories of my own student days), but I've not ever had them mimic my Thai. They (and all Thais) have, of course, laughed at my mistakes, to ease my embarrassment (doesn't work for me and I suspect most other farangs, but they laugh at themselves and each other just as hard--it's just a cultural thing). I'm not saying the OP hasn't heard what he/she has heard. Just stating the fact that I haven't when I would think, if it were happening around me, I would have heard it.

Ask them to mimic a foreigner, and then you'll know. That they won't say it can't be done, will remove any ontological doubts. Then the issue just becomes analysis.

[mikenyork]

I've heard Thais mimic what a farang speaking Thai with an accent sounds like (to them). There was even, for a long time, a commercial for Tylenol on TV that featured a farang with a pretty thick accent. That's not, in my mind, the same thing as mimicking me to my face. The latter is bad manners. The former is not. My experience has been, for several decades, that Thais have been way over the top in praising any farang's effort, however clumsy or inappropriate the result may have been. Again, I'm not questioning that others may have had a different experience, but that has been mine. IMHO, Thais have far less to explain in this regard than Americans (of which, I hasten to add, I am one).

[Gaccha]

Influenced by the way farang movies are dubbed into Thai, perhaps?

A good thought. The same people again and again do the dubbing.

Here is an excerpt of a pirated audio of Apollo 13 when Lovell wants instructions back from Houston. I say pirated in that there is no official audio dubbed version but the pirated versions only contain an audio. Comically, to mimic the sound of radio transmission they seem to clasp their hands over their mouths.

Still, it gets the point across of the slightly absurd voices.

this is what you are going to do.mp3

[keo]

Interesting topic! I've heard what Gaccha is talking about once, while teaching a class of teenagers. The topic of foreigners speaking Thai came up, and one girl said คุณสวยมาก pretty much as Gaccha described it - deep monotone voice, with uniform vowel lengths. That's as far as it went though, and I've never heard it again since.

However, personally I enjoy mimicking farangs butchering the Thai language, it's become somewhat of a hobby. Quite often when I speak to my wife in Thai, I do so in a upper-class English accent, lengthening the short vowels, pronouncing the vowel sounds the way a posh English person would, aspirating the final consonants, losing all the tones and using English intonation patterns. It amuses me no end!

[Jay_Jay]

This is what Thais call พูดเหน่อๆ 'phut noe noe' ... often attributed to Farang, Luuk Kreung and young girls around Siam that are trying to sound 'inter'. The ช ช้าง moves back in the mouth, along with many other consonant and vowel sounds.

[Gaccha]

This is what Thais call พูดเหน่อๆ 'phut noe noe' ... often attributed to Farang, Luuk Kreung and young girls around Siam that are trying to sound 'inter'. The ช ช้าง moves back in the mouth, along with many other consonant and vowel sounds.

Is there any audio recording of this you have...? Thanks.

[Gaccha]

>snip<

However, personally I enjoy mimicking farangs butchering the Thai language, it's become somewhat of a hobby. Quite often when I speak to my wife in Thai, I do so in a upper-class English accent, lengthening the short vowels, pronouncing the vowel sounds the way a posh English person would, aspirating the final consonants, losing all the tones and using English intonation patterns. It amuses me no end!

You would laugh yourself to death if you heard me... those vowel lengths and tones...

[keo]

This is what Thais call พูดเหน่อๆ 'phut noe noe' ... often attributed to Farang, Luuk Kreung and young girls around Siam that are trying to sound 'inter'. The ช ช้าง moves back in the mouth, along with many other consonant and vowel sounds.

Is there any audio recording of this you have...? Thanks.

[hehehoho]

I, a foreigner, often mimic other foreigners speaking Thai, to my Thai wife, if they say something atrociously within earshot.

I think it's quite hilarious the way most speak it.

[Gaccha]

Most people who do this are girls in their 20s.

But this very person recorded here did this, and she is in her late 30s.

A smart lass and as soon as I called her on it she pointed out how common it is.

What amuses me is that I sound nothing like the flat tone impression since I go out of my way to exaggerate my tones to kill the possibility of this response.... it is just such a common response in Bangkok.

I've only ever heard middle class do it (and that might explain why Mikenyork in the post above has never heard it... since I believe he lives up country).

[Gaccha]

Ok. Second attempt to attach file...

thai person speaking farang thai.wav

[Murf]

The kids at school try it with me, pronouncing all the tones wrong... and the final word or sometimes all the words in a sentence usually have the falling tone, and are drawn out.

ขอไปห้องน้ำได้ไหม would become something like ข้อป้ายห้องน่ามด้ายม้าย

I pretend not to understand anything until they speak correctly... Sometimes it takes a while

[Gaccha]

The kids at school try it with me, pronouncing all the tones wrong... and the final word or sometimes all the words in a sentence usually have the falling tone, and are drawn out.

ขอไปห้องน้ำได้ไหม would become something like ข้อป้ายห้องน่ามด้ายม้าย

I pretend not to understand anything until they speak correctly... Sometimes it takes a while

I simply play this recording....

Often their friends need to explain i am parodying their parody...

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[leosmith]

You would laugh yourself to death if you heard me... those vowel lengths and tones...

link?

[bannork]

Thai teenagers mocking farangs speaking Thai are common in my opinion.I've pulled up at a petrol station in Issan and the boy at the pump whom I've never seen before comes out with a mangled sabai dee mai, tones all over the place. The objective is to get a few laughs from his friends- look at me a poor boy taking the piss out of this supposedly rich farang.It's good to put the cheeky runt in his place with some crispy clear Thai or better still Issan-' jao ben eeyang, siang jao pian khoi fung bor hu heuang'

Anyone who watches Thai comedians knows the butchering Thai language farang character is as ubiquitous as the ageing over the top ladyboy. Guaranteed for cheap laughs.

[Gaccha]

I heard something rare the other day:

In a snooker club an old-timer Siamese-Thai attempted to mimic the English i was speaking. He literally knew not a word of English to copy or parody. It was just sounds...

At least that joke won't work among the young...

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[Gaccha]

You would laugh yourself to death if you heard me... those vowel lengths and tones...

link?

Too dangerous. You might die.

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