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Why Do Posters Include Thai Phrases In Their Posts?


kunash

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In my house the conversation is in three languages and some things are said better in Thai.

With this being a forum of expats one hopes that a number of readers appreciate the nuance or the humor of the added Thai phrases. But you can't please everybody.

in my house the conversation is quite often in more than three languages. [un]fortunately none of them is Thai. and when i raise my voice and "speak" German nobody seems to be pleased ph34r.png

That's because nobody understands why you shout 'Big smile, big smile'

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I don't think anyone has been pulled up for a rendezvous or a "C'est la vie" or a "gweilo" or a "mai pen rai". However, since the forum is aimed at foreigners (non-Thais) and English has been nominated as the lingua franca for this forum, then it is good manners to post such that everyone can understand.

As others have said, some phrases carry so much more meaning in Thai, such as "Som num na", which, if I understand from the context, could mean either "just desserts", or "Look how pretentious I am!" Either way, for those of us less familiar with the lingua franca, for whom it may be a second language, 'som num na' carries the point quite clearly enough

kenwhitameenanatjimmy?

SC

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Sometimes I encounter things in Thailand which I do not know the English word for (ie a regional fruit, building materials, a government service) etc.. In which case I would use the word that they are commonly referred to in Thailand. In many cases there may not be a specific English word that refers to the exact Thai item.

In the same way Thais often use English words mixed into their vocab when they want to refer to something that has a specific English name, but does not have a specific Thai name (ie would require many Thai words to explain it, or one English word).

For example if someone wanted to get an "Official government land measurement and marking survey" done, would it make more sense to tell them to:

1) Go to land department and ask for a "Rangwat"

2) Go to land department and try to act out hand signs for a "Official government land measurement and marking survey"

Oh dear I chose option #1 and mixed in a Thai word, what a tool I am...

What if you posted an answer such as, "You would need to go the land department and ask for a "Rangwat" which is the Thai word for an official government land measurement and marking survey." I have a feeling that no one would have an issue with this type of response.

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the only one that annoys me is when people use 555 .... u might as well have hello kitty as your profile picture

Good suggestion. But as if I would take advice....

SC

Ho ho ho as the season dictates . But what the use of terms like , " hi so , lo so , motophsyce and oilrig ? Why not think too much ?

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There's a google ad on the top of this page in Thai - says a lot about what has happened to this forum.

There is a Chinese language add at the top of this page , I guess if you were in whatever country you will get whatever adds . Freedom of choice is what you get .

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How strange having a Thailand based website that doesn't allow the use of Thai - is it because the moderators can't speak Thai?

Some have given up on learning Thai, not all of them live in Thailand, and at least one apparently only speaks a regional dialect. There seems to be a bit of a problem recruiting and retaining moderators, so it is sensible to make their job easier.

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How strange having a Thailand based website that doesn't allow the use of Thai - is it because the moderators can't speak Thai?

Some have given up on learning Thai, not all of them live in Thailand, and at least one apparently only speaks a regional dialect. There seems to be a bit of a problem recruiting and retaining moderators, so it is sensible to make their job easier.

Seems some members are too lazy to read the entire thread, and for sure not the forum rules....including no discussion of moderation in public.mad.gif

See a post above by one of the mods. Most mods speak Thai very, very well. Unfortunately, I'm not one of them.

Again, it's not allowed as members would post in Thai, Swahili, Arabic, etc. Impossible to moderate.

One member is on a posting holiday, let's try to make sure more don't end up there. jap.gif

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