The Word Teeluk

[DRONGOH]

Where was the article, Pattaya Today ?

Rubbish, especially the bit about a ânice Thai woman never calling her husband teerak"

No, they don't. If they do too many times, they would never call him anything at all again and they know that.

Easy, mia-noi the same day.

[SteeleJoe]

No, they don't. If they do too many times, they would never call him anything at all again and they know that.

Easy, mia-noi the same day.

Errr...what?

[Keesters]

In fact most conversations between the Thai neighbors go something like: farang, nern, nern, nern, farang, nern etc.

Sure.

At least you are in no danger of your current status changing.

And I'm glad of it.

[SteeleJoe]

And I'm glad of it.

Yes, I got that from your first post - it was among the small bit that was believable.

[Docno]

Hi guys, the word you are referring to "TEELUK" is correctly pronounced " Teerak" and is used by a Thai male or female as " My Darling" it is only used towards teenagers and adult romantic couples or married couples, it is not used towards children as I have been told by my Thai wife and it originated from Isaan.

It is definitely not a derogatory or insulting word,

I hope this clears everything up for you my little Teeraks!

Tenaceous

The word is 'correctly' pronounced Teeruk only if you are from central Thailand it seems. Elsewhere it is correctly pronounced 'teeluk' (as mentioned, for example, there are no 'R's' in the Lao/Isaan dialect/language). Though technically the Isaan word for 'love' is 'hak', so it should be 'teehak' ... that pernicious Bangkok influence :-)

[GuyL]

As far as I know, it's not sarcastic. The only times when my Thai girlfriend does not call me "<Thai language removed>" ("teerak", "thirak", "teeluk", whatever!) or "darling" are when she is very angry at me! Then, she uses only my given name instead. That's why I am pretty certain that in her mouth and for my case, "<Thai language removed>" is a sweet word.

[maxme]

Christ almighty, all this to discuss about the Thai equivalent of "my darling"...

[Thaddeus]

.

I don't quite understand all this debate about Thai people's pronunciation of Rs and Ls.

[AnotherOneAmerican]

What is the meaning of rubbish?

Answer -- pitiful, narrow minded folks who move to a faraway country and then spend the

rest of their lives trashing the country, the people and their customs and traditions.

If someone strongly dislikes Thai music, that equates to trashing the country, the people and their customs and traditions? It means that person is pitiful and narrow minded rubbish?

If a Thai moved to America and said American music was rubbish, would you say he was trashing the country, the people and their customs and traditions and HE was pitiful narrow minded rubbish?

I wouldn't.

I like American music, I like Thai music.

I like many different styles of music.

I have to agree with BiA's comment.

I have no problem with a lady calling me teerak, I do have a problem with people calling me farang, especially as I am not white and I'm not a foreigner.

[Berkshire]

I do have a problem with people calling me farang, especially as I am not white and I'm not a foreigner.

Now this puts a whole new spin on the "farang" argument. If you're not white and not a foreigner, then you're....mixed Thai heritage? Perhaps you look more farang than Thai? And you're insulted when someone refers to you as a farang? That's more like calling a Canadian an American, but certainly shouldn't be an indictment on the use of the word for descriptive purposes. Heck, I have a full-blooded Thai friend who was born in the US and he gets called "farang" all the time. Doesn't bother him in the least.

[Gerald14]

teeruk is completely OK and used in our house, what should be wrong with it??

[Kananga]

My wife sometimes calles me tee rak. Usually when she wants something.

The police call me tea money. Usually when they want something.

[how241]

if she is calling you tee rak after the first 20 minutes it just means she cant remember your name

+1

[Maestro]

Thailand has no official rule for the romanisation of the Thai language, ie the transcription into the Latin alphabet.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thai_language#Transcription

Thi rak is the transcription using the Royal Thai General System of Transcription (RTGS), published by the Thai Royal Institute.

Teerak, teeluk and similar constructs are pronunciation guides for English speakers. They are not transcriptions.

[Baerboxer]

I was reading through some online articles late last night about the Thai language. In one persons opinion teeluk is used in an almost sarcastic and degrading way from Thai women to western men. It goes on to say that a nice Thai woman would never call their Thai partner teeluk. What are people's thoughts on this?

I've heard many references here to teerak, teelak, now teeluk. My wife has never called me any of them and I've never heard her use the term with others either. Maybe it's an Isaan thing?.

No its Thai

[AnotherOneAmerican]

I was reading through some online articles late last night about the Thai language. In one persons opinion teeluk is used in an almost sarcastic and degrading way from Thai women to western men. It goes on to say that a nice Thai woman would never call their Thai partner teeluk. What are people's thoughts on this?

I've heard many references here to teerak, teelak, now teeluk. My wife has never called me any of them and I've never heard her use the term with others either. Maybe it's an Isaan thing?.

Maybe your wife doesn't love you, in which case calling you 'my love' would be inappropriate.

[SteeleJoe]

I've never heard ( my wife) use the term with others.

That's probably a good thing, no?

[Baerboxer]

True ive only heard bargirls use it

1) How much time do you spend around bargirls?

2) How much time do you spend around people who are not bargirls or former bargirls?

3) How much time do you spend around Thai couples speaking Thai?

4) Do you speak Thai?

5) Do you think Thais would typically use terms of endearment- particularly around others - as frequently as westerners might?

6) Can you explain the Thai songs that use the word in lyrics or the Thai movies that have it in the title?

No need to answer these questions here but perhaps you'd like to consider them for your own improved perception.

Also Thai music IMO is like listening to someone scratching a blackboard. So no I probably won't have your linguistic experience of listening to rubbish. Thai soaps are utter rubbish too. Like Days of Our Lives in Thai. Give me a bullet. But if thats the way you spend your twilight years in LOS. Then good luck. As I stated I have only heard the phrase from bargirls

What is the meaning of rubbish?

Answer -- pitiful, narrow minded folks who move to a faraway country and then spend the

rest of their lives trashing the country, the people and their customs and traditions.

Spot on Brad! You only missed out "socialise mainly with bar girls" and you've a good profile.

[SteeleJoe]

Spot on Brad! You only missed out "socialise mainly with bar girls" and you've a good profile.

I share the disdain for pitiful, narrow minded folks who move to a faraway country and then spend the rest of their lives trashing the country, the people and their customs and traditions. I find them odd and unpleasant, to say the least.

But I don't agree that if someone doesn't like Thai music - or shows any other personal taste that happens not to include something of Thai origin - that makes them "rubbish".

To think that way is to me extremely narrow-minded (and illogical).

[Trembly]

Hi guys, the word you are referring to "TEELUK" is correctly pronounced " Teerak" and is used by a Thai male or female as " My Darling" it is only used towards teenagers and adult romantic couples or married couples, it is not used towards children as I have been told by my Thai wife and it originated from Isaan.

It is definitely not a derogatory or insulting word,

I hope this clears everything up for you my little Teeraks!

Tenaceous

It can't have originated from Isan because Lao already has a word for love without having to bastardise "rak" and that word is "hak".

You see, Lao and Northern Thai originally use an H in place of what would be an R in central Thai.

As I've said earlier, the very term Teerak is about as Central Thai as they come. You'd hear it all the time on the old scratchy Thai films from 60's and 70's that were constantly being repeated on Thai TV 15 -30 years ago, which is no doubt how it was picked up by the masses in Isan.

[Trembly]

Look, "teeluk" is NOT the "lazy way" of saying "teerak", as one poster said, nor does it have anything to do with how 'poor farming' people talk, as another poster suggested. It is simply the Isaan pronunciation of the word. In the Isaan dialect, the "r" of central Thai is usually replaced with an "l" both in speech and right. So in Bangkok, a 'restaurant' is 'ran ahaan' but in Korat it is 'lan ahaan' (and it's spelt in the Thai alphabet that way). It's ignorant and offensive to say this is a "lazy" pronunciation."

Now, I've heard "teeluk" said among a lot of Thai couples (always by the woman) in Isaan. My gf also calls me it, and she was never a bargirl, etc. It's simply the equivalent of 'dear' or 'darling'. Of course, if a bar girl in Patpong calls you 'teerak', there may be an element of sarcasm, or (more generously) it could simply be the false affection that they need to convey in their work. And, if it is the case that girls from poorer Isaan are disproportionately represented among bargirls in Bangkok and elsewhere, you may be more likely to hear the word from them if it is more of an 'Isaan thing'. But that doesn't mean that only 'dodgy' girls will use the word: similarly, if a man hears western prostitutes saying 'dear', he shouldn't become concerned about his Western wife.

Whilst it is correct that Laotian does not have an R at all, the practice of swapping Rs for Ls is not confined to Thais with Isan / Lao cultural influence; it is every bit as prevalent in other parts of Thailand bar the south, where the R is a more rhotic (like the Mandarin Chinese or standard American R).

True. I did not mean to suggest that this pronunciation is confined to the Isaan dialect alone. What would be interesting to know is, when the southern dialect is written in Thai alphabet, whether the 'l' sound is represented by an 'l' letter or an 'r' letter. If the former, it would suggest a dialect difference, if the latter, an accent difference. Anyway, apologies for drifting off topic. I would suspect that you have more people from Isaan living in Bangkok than from the South, so the 'teeluks' you may hear are more likely Isaan in origin.

They use Ls in the south too, they just tend to be much better at preserving the integrity of Rs in colloquial speech because their dialect has a certain emphasis on Rs. This is not to say that the L/R swap hasn't spread to the south at all though . . .

[Trembly]

Hi guys, the word you are referring to "TEELUK" is correctly pronounced " Teerak" and is used by a Thai male or female as " My Darling" it is only used towards teenagers and adult romantic couples or married couples, it is not used towards children as I have been told by my Thai wife and it originated from Isaan.

It is definitely not a derogatory or insulting word,

I hope this clears everything up for you my little Teeraks!

Tenaceous

The word is 'correctly' pronounced Teeruk only if you are from central Thailand it seems. Elsewhere it is correctly pronounced 'teeluk' (as mentioned, for example, there are no 'R's' in the Lao/Isaan dialect/language). Though technically the Isaan word for 'love' is 'hak', so it should be 'teehak' ... that pernicious Bangkok influence :-)

People do say "teehak" in Isan to take the piss or be ironic, but the term itself is native to Siam.

It is correctly pronounced Teerak if you're speaking formal central Thai. You don't need to be from central Thailand to speak formal central Thai, just as you don't need to be from the boondocks in order to speak informal central Thai (characterised by eschewing Rs for Ls).

Bangkok and the provinces that border Bangkok do not have a shortage of natives who can't pronounce Rs to save their lives.

[AnotherOneAmerican]

Bangkok and the provinces that border Bangkok do not have a shortage of natives who can't pronounce Rs to save their lives.

R/L

It's nor regional, it indicates social class.

Plenty of the lower classes around BK.

[BradinAsia]

Spot on Brad! You only missed out "socialise mainly with bar girls" and you've a good profile.

I share the disdain for pitiful, narrow minded folks who move to a faraway country and then spend the rest of their lives trashing the country, the people and their customs and traditions. I find them odd and unpleasant, to say the least.

But I don't agree that if someone doesn't like Thai music - or shows any other personal taste that happens not to include something of Thai origin - that makes them "rubbish".

To think that way is to me extremely narrow-minded (and illogical).

Well, we could say that rubbish is as rubbish does...

To express the idea "doesn't like" is normal and understandable. But

calling someone's music or movies "rubbish" is quite another thing.

In particular, a farang going to another country and expressing such

extreme disdain for the local culture is a rather despicable way for a

mature, civilized adult to act.

I have zero interest in football (Man Utd, Barcelona and all that), but

for me to call it rubbish would be offensive to millions of football fans.

No one forces me to watch football (thank heaven) and I doubt anyone

forces farangs to to watch Thai soap operas.

[jamles]

Hi guys, the word you are referring to "TEELUK" is correctly pronounced " Teerak" and is used by a Thai male or female as " My Darling" it is only used towards teenagers and adult romantic couples or married couples, it is not used towards children as I have been told by my Thai wife and it originated from Isaan.

It is definitely not a derogatory or insulting word,

I hope this clears everything up for you my little Teeraks!

Tenaceous

It can't have originated from Isan because Lao already has a word for love without having to bastardise "rak" and that word is "hak".

You see, Lao and Northern Thai originally use an H in place of what would be an R in central Thai.

As I've said earlier, the very term Teerak is about as Central Thai as they come. You'd hear it all the time on the old scratchy Thai films from 60's and 70's that were constantly being repeated on Thai TV 15 -30 years ago, which is no doubt how it was picked up by the masses in Isan.

The term Teerak was already very popular in Isaan, especially among bar girls, in 1971.

[PaYaiLen]

Maybe just me but I've been calling my wife teeluk for 42 years - she likes it and most of our

Thai friends find it nice. Of course when I screw up she more often calls me sh**head. What

can I say.

[Trembly]

Bangkok and the provinces that border Bangkok do not have a shortage of natives who can't pronounce Rs to save their lives.

R/L

It's nor regional, it indicates social class.

Plenty of the lower classes around BK.

It appears that you have failed to comprehend my previous posts.

There are also plenty of those who are not from the lower socio-economic backgrounds who eschew Rs for Ls.

[Songhua]

thii rak is literally '(the) one who I love' and is used by couples in the same way we would say sweetie, honey or darling.

Yes, you could use it in a smartass or joking manner with someone you barely know (in the same way you might call them your lover in English when they're not).

You could also refer to your beloved as thii rak when talking about them with someone else but it'd sound a little odd .... imagine sitting around with your mates and referring to your wife as 'my darling' .

[SteeleJoe]

thii rak is literally '(the) one who I love' and is used by couples in the same way we would say sweetie, honey or darling.

.

Thanks for that. I have bit my tongue, so to speak, and not nitpicked about the translation to "sweetheart" that I see so much - while of course the word is used the same way, I was sure that more literally it meant "the one who I love".

[KhunBENQ]

Thailand has no official rule for the romanisation of the Thai language, ie the transcription into the Latin alphabet.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thai_language#Transcription

Thi rak is the transcription using the Royal Thai General System of Transcription (RTGS), published by the Thai Royal Institute.

Teerak, teeluk and similar constructs are pronunciation guides for English speakers. They are not transcriptions.

Care for some citation from another WiKi article about RTGS?

The Royal Thai General System of Transcription (RTGS) is the official^[1][2] system for rendering Thai language words in the Latin alphabet, published by the Royal Institute of Thailand.^[3] It is used in road signs and government publications, and is the closest thing to a standard of transcription for Thai, though its use by even the government is inconsistent.^{[citation needed]}

The last sentence is the very truth (even if citation missing I could give many examples).

I have given up on that topic, just think about the ridiciolous "Suvarnabhumi" (RTGS: Suwannaphum) or the ineradicable "Isaan" with double "a". In the 1990s in my Thai family there existed passports with different spellings of the familly name, crazy.

But the english pronounciation skripts are a source of confusion when you look for places on a navigator or a map and so on...

Want to listen how "thirak" is pronounced (from thai-language.com)?:

http://www.thai-language.com/audio/D25244.wma