settle a quibble: e-baaa vx ting tong vx baa....

[bina]

what are all the variations?

which is worse? (more derogotory)

the e or i before a word, where does that come from, and is it really derogatory or just issaan and therefore considered rude in other circles?

help me settle the quibble (in an israeli forum, so we are trying to translate the slang to our slang... not a linguistics forum, but a mixed couples forum and someone asked, so i thought i would ask the experts here)..

awaiting an answer

bina

[justben]

I can't say these are derogatory at all. The e is derogatory but ebaa is used between friends when someone makes a crazy suggestion or action... ya dafuk... metoraf shekmotcha..vechulay vechulay... I've never heard this used as an attempt to offend somebody. If you say it to a stranger for no reason it will be perceived as derogatory, to what extent depends on the receiving end.

ting tong.. I don't think Ive actually heard this used in spoken form at all other than jokingly when referring to someone being eccentric. May be used with facial expressions to compliment it. In a written sentence it can be broken up into two words and playfully made into a longer sentence containing both rhymingly. Describing someone or something. .. Again this word exists but kinda useless in practice.

[naboo]

baa = crazy in a mental illness way.

ting tong = crazy in a funny way, no mental illness involved.

Eee is an offensive way of saying "you" to a woman whilst ai is the version to say to men.

Note ai with a different tone is polite in Lanna language.

[GooEng]

Baa means crazy or deranged, generally speaking isn't a wise word to use to describe someone to their face in most situations.

Ee-baa is only appropriate between friends who know each other well and must be used with care otherwise it's quite a serious insult.

Ai-baa same as above.

Not sure of the origins of the term "Ee" and "Ai", but I seem to recall reading somewhere that in days gone by "Ee" wasn't a derogatory term and was used as a term of address for women - something like "dame"... Could be wrong, can't remember properly.

Ting-tong less serious and means something like dippy, silly or air-headed, but again care must be taken and you have to know when it's appropriate to use a term like ting-tong without causing offence.