Farang speaking Pidgin baby talk - painful to listen to!

[belg]

he's psychology : go down to the level, so people might understand what he tries to say...

never heard a thai trying to speak some english?

[maswov]

I find myself speaking broken English at times. When I travel I tend to pick up accents pretty easy and considering in addition to Thais many of the people I have regular dealings with are Russian of European and speak broken English as well. Sometimes when speaking to Thais, depending on their English ability, they may not understand a proper complete sentence spoken in English. If you live with a person like this it just becomes natural to speak that way.

That said I have encountered a few people that way beyond. A fat-ass American lady was telling me at the police station about her dog bite and how Pattaya city was responsible her hospital bill. She said "Dog stay park. City own park. City own dog."

[xerostar]

Maybe this guy has spent a few years in New Guinea and picked up the habit there.

Believe it or not, that's the way they speak there!

With so many native dialects in New Guinea it's the only way to get your meaning across.

[Baerboxer]

I used to have a colleague who was an old Harrovian and spoke very proper English. As soon as he got to the Far East he switched to using this Pidgin baby-talk. He really believed all he spoke to would understand this gibberish and thought I was wasting my time having Chinese lessons.

Mind you he used a knife and fork to eat everything too- even BBQ ribs, noddles and sushi. Great watching him with his knife and fork and ordering another 'bloody mary" in his Pidgin talk.

[h90]

Maybe this guy has spent a few years in New Guinea and picked up the habit there.

Believe it or not, that's the way they speak there!

With so many native dialects in New Guinea it's the only way to get your meaning across.

In Africa there is something similar. They call it "broken English" very strange mix of languages.

[sabaii69]

I have an English friend who does the same thing but I thought it was a culture thing. He also calls Thai areas such as Pattaya -pa ty ya and Khao Talo-cantaloupe. His wife is Thai and doesn't correct him and uses proper terms . He does watch TV and listen to others use the correct terms but enjoys his 'freedom (to kill) speech'. I shall call his birth place LONDOON and see what happens.

[Frank James]

Does it really matter? If it irritates you , move on.

Have you tried asking him?

Maybe he is not aware that he is doing it to the degree he is because its become a habit, and no one as yet, has bothered to ask or point it out to him.

Just a thought.

Just tell him that he sounds like a dildo.

Dildo? You ting tong falang. Dildo only say "squees-sqeesh!"

[Frank James]

On visits back to the States I have to stop myself from saying "Kaap" in acknowledging what someone has said to me. They'll wonder why I am mentioning the "cops."

[PAWNEESE]

I thought it very odd, many years ago when a manager was showing German visitors around our work place in England.

He just spoke english very slowly and loudly ... in an exagerated and silly german accent. I assume he felt this helped them understand him.

He was not messing about he thought he was being helpful.

It was embarrassing.

[BlackArtemis]

Have a friend who started to do this, younger guy too. I started to call him out on it. He knows it's stupid but he found it easier to talk English to Thais like this, but agrees it further lowers people's English abilty here. So he has started talking like a normal person again.

If it's someone else I just try to get out of earshot.

[thailiketoo]

I have a friend who has ex pat homes in both Thailand and Mexico. When he gets drunk he forgets where he is and starts talking pidgin Mexican to the Thai ladies. It's quite funny.

[Yann55]

Hilarious... reading your post is a great way to start the day. Thanks, grsxnkz or gzxykrx or grmblblbr or whatever your name is

[Deaw]

There's a huge difference between talking like a baby and slowing down your speech so a Thai may understand you better.

"Me come room you, we go bar, meet friend you 10 o-crock, we go disco, dance all night na?" could easily sound like this [slowly enunciated]; "I will come to your room at 10, we can go to meet your friend, then we can go dancing." The person saying it won't sound like a fool or sound condescending, The Thai will understand them perfectly, and everyone is happy.

I cringe whenever I hear someone talking pidgin English to a Thai; they are working hard to understand a second language, not mentally retarded.

If someone really talks like this around other farangs, I'd say it's clearly time to make new friends.

[smotherb]

Yet on TV, we are not supposed to make fun of those who can't write a simple English sentence without spelling, grammar, punctuation, and/or structure problems. Me confuse mak mak.

[sweatalot]

I am not a native English speaker, but it's enough to understand and be understood by the natives.

My Thai wife speaks Thinglish and I find myself quite often embarassed assimilating it.

I really have to take care that my command of the English language doesn't deteriorate over time.

May be he is in the same situation and not aware of this habit.

Have you ever told him that he could speak proper English with you?

You might be surprised

Edited May 27, 2014 by sweatalot

[freebyrd]

From a 70something who used to visit 2 or 3 times a year: "Today I paid hoksip for a Tuk Tuk, usually I pay haasip"

[elgenon]

Yes, speaking that way to a native English speaker makes no sense. BUT what you think is baby talk is smart when speaking to a bar girl. If you can't speak Thai but are in Thailand at least speak English in a way for the Thai to understand you. That means use the words they know and the sentence structure they understand. So what if it sounds like baby talk to you, the idea is to communicate. Or is it more important to be elitist?

[Deaw]

Or is it more important to be elitist?

It's more important not to sound condescending.

I swear, some of these Thai people must shake their heads after we leave them, as in "did you hear the way that fool was talking to me?"

[thailiketoo]

Thais expect you to do something silly. Walk in a restaurant at the mall and every eye is on you. Do a little dance or sing a song, maybe make animal noises or something out of the ordinary. They are expecting it. Don't disappoint.

[Bangel72]

Simple but effective language is very important for integrating across cultural communities.

For example I had a chat with an international recruiter a while back and they were praising the quality of their vocabulary assessments in choosing candidates to work in international companies, I offered an alternative view that was perhaps counter-intuitive to his own cultural background.

I can only comment on the one's I know so if you look at many European educations systems there is a lot of emphasis on vocabulary and the use of language, varying your words, using words that are even just mildly more representative of your message is important and is highly valued when it comes to doing business in a single country.

However when you are working in an environment where English is a second language the plethora of words you use for similar things is just confusing and actually detracts from business value, simplify your language, use the same words to make similar points, use smaller words where you can, be consistent.

All of these things your friend seems to be doing, his consistency may be painful for you but he may have found value in this approach with others.

I often drop conjunctive verbs for example, even when visiting Europe it takes me about a week to re-adjust my language.

Being entirely consistent is not always appropriate, for example international conference calls with your Thai team alongside you, your language can though still be simplified but still must remain effective and you will often find yourself rephrasing the words of those on the other end of the call for the benefit of the local team.

The key point here and your concern may be regarding whether your friends language has been simplified too much that it loses it's effectiveness or that it makes him sound like an idiot, thankfully English has many many wonderful words to mock him with friendly banter on this aspect.

[slipperylobster]

call him Mumbling Bob...or something.

The nickname will stick, and even the gals in your bar will laugh.

Seriously, tell him if he wants to fit in then take a Thai language course.

[sirchai]

Does he speak funner, or funnerer?

Edited May 27, 2014 by sirchai

[H1w4yR1da]

Just sounds like Barglish!

"Him have big money, take care papa me".

"My friend you".

"Your friend me".

[slipperylobster]

Yes, speaking that way to a native English speaker makes no sense. BUT what you think is baby talk is smart when speaking to a bar girl. If you can't speak Thai but are in Thailand at least speak English in a way for the Thai to understand you. That means use the words they know and the sentence structure they understand. So what if it sounds like baby talk to you, the idea is to communicate. Or is it more important to be elitist?

Incorrect. That is the worst way to teach english. (bargirls included). People will learn faster if you speak your native language correctly. Could you imagine walking into a bank and babbling like a two year old about setting up an account, and then have them reply in perfect english that you are incoherent.

[lostmebike]

I too hate this. Pick a language and speak it properly.

Agreed.

When I speak English to a Thai, if they don't understand, I then speak Thai (that includes the English words Thai use ...COMPUTERRRR etc...) but I always insist on never breaking into T-English, I hate it! Like a poster or two has said, teach them to speak real English and not that silly babble.

Do the users of this sh*te not realize how totally idiotic they sound? I hear this 'same-same but different' is okay. BS, it takes no time at all to explain the word they're looking for is SIMILAR, lol.

Although I agree with the OP's point on how annoying many an 'educated, well-traveled, wise' (YEAH RIGHT!) expat men are here, you got to question, what does he really expect in a bar? Hardly the place to debate the pitfalls of mankind and the importance of science in today's society!

[slipperylobster]

Yes, speaking that way to a native English speaker makes no sense. BUT what you think is baby talk is smart when speaking to a bar girl. If you can't speak Thai but are in Thailand at least speak English in a way for the Thai to understand you. That means use the words they know and the sentence structure they understand. So what if it sounds like baby talk to you, the idea is to communicate. Or is it more important to be elitist?

That is the worst way to teach english. (bargirls included). People will learn faster if you speak your native language correctly. Could you imagine walking into a bank and babbling like a two year old about setting up an account, and then have them reply in perfect english that you are incoherent.

[Regyai]

Worse still those gumps in fancy dress

Stopped in a mass docs check on Sukhumvit

A par broiled farang in a dayglo nylon suit with more badges than a boy scout convention proceeds to give me the gogo gaga baby bar speak - for christ's sake we are both ENGLISH!! I appreciate that these useless clowns cant utter a syllable of Thai language (thereby wholly negating their raison d'etre) but why the self enforced inability with their native language? Could it be that once divested of the 'bat suit' they are straight back to their natural habitat cooing 'me pay bar you' etc

.

[thejcb]

Does it really matter? If it irritates you , move on.

Have you tried asking him?

Maybe he is not aware that he is doing it to the degree he is because its become a habit, and no one as yet, has bothered to ask or point it out to him.

Just a thought.

Yes, it matters, it is bloody stupid too. Ridiculous. I even had one proudly telling me (after he had been here 6 months, now a self-styled expert) that is the way ex-pats speak to the Thais to get them to understand.

Learning some Thai would be the way to go rather than 'learning' this drivel

Anyway, they don't understand it and they can never learn English when spoken to like this.

[slipperylobster]

How about the guy who eavesdrops into you conversation with a local, and decides to step in. Now here I am thinking he may have some fluency in Thai. Then he gets that stupid grin on his face and starts this gob smacking baby jibberish. When finished, he glances sideways at me and winks, like he just did me a favor.

I am thinking....nice work you, now we both look like idiots. No wonder they laugh when they get our money.

[Gonki]

goes on continuously, regardless of the subject matter

Never been exposed to it but I bet it's less annoying than "cold war" pudendum jingles I've heard so many times in America!