How come Thais don't s-s-s-stutter?

[balo]

Been here many years and still waiting for my first kh kh kh kh kh khrap.......

[Gecko123]

Posit a similar amount stutter to anywhere else. For one, they are big repeaters of words. You have to listen keenly. If you don't understand Thai (not that you'd really need to) you might be missing it amid the general yada yada yada.

Regards the kid, I would either forget about it (we all took the piss out of our teachers), call her out on it for a pinch of loss of face (though too late and it may come back on you) or just mark the bitch down.

I got a good chuckle out of your comment that Thais are "big repeaters of words" and because of this it might not be easy someone stutttering in Thai.

The repetition of words like "maak, maak" or "jing jing" or "suay suay" or "dii, dii", etc., is called reduplication. If someone was stuttering or stammering, they would be saying "m-m-m-maak, m-m-m-maak" instead of "maak, maak." I don't think it would be that easy to confuse reduplication with stuttering.

My Thai isn't perfect by any means, but I have been studying it for 20+ years. If a kid really was having trouble with a stutter or a stammer, I'm pretty sure that I would be able to pick up on it, but as another poster astutely pointed out, if someone tried to hide his stutter by not speaking, that could very well escape my attention.

[Gecko123]

I don't recall coming across Thais with a stutter. However, bear in mind, a number of facts.

1. Stutterers don't stutter all the time.

2. Stutterers have strategies e.g speak less, don't speak, etc. to hide their stutter.

3. If speaking in English, the foreigner may mistake a stutter as getting stuck in English.

4. We will probably encounter a lot more "language hours" in English (or German or Dutch or whatever) than in Thai so there is more opportunity to encounter a stutterer.

All excellent points.

[Gecko123]

ka.. ka.. ka.. ka.. ka.. ka.. ka... bunch of women everyday on some morning tv show my wife watches, and they seem stuck on this whenever I walk by...

You're just being silly right?

Actually, a quite funny post.

But just on the outside chance that you were being serious, the person interjecting 'ka' repeatedly when someone else is speaking, is just saying "Yes" or "Uhn-hun" or "That's right" to lend support to the main speaker.

But I suspect you knew that already, you comedian you.

[marko kok prong]

to busy thinking about money.

[A1Str8]

It's caused by something repressed. As for the retarded kid who made fun of it, don't get mad. Feeling inferior and trying to compensate for it by laughing at others is the most laughable thing in the world. Just explain it to the kid so s/he can shut up.

[Gecko123]

If there's anybody out there who definitely thinks plenty of Thais stutter, can they describe what it sounds like?

If a Thai stutters while reciting the letter Gaw Gai, would it sound like gaw-gaw-gaw-gaw-ga-ga-ga-gai, the same way a person might sound stuttering in English?

Edited January 24, 2015 by Gecko123

[sipi]

Some pub-trivia..

Do you remember the song "You ain't seen nothin' yet" by BTO?

Well, the singer Randy Bachman couldn't hold a note, so he 'stuttered' the words instead to last the distance, and it became an international hit.....

[thehelmsman]

I wanted to grab her with both hands by the back of her M.4 blouse and bodily throw her out of my third story classroom window.

Why would you chosse to be a teacher if you stutter ?? Also you might want to control your anger, you sound like a ticking time bomb. tttick, ttttick.

I appreciate your concern, but the sentence you latched onto was strictly hyperbole, and only included to add color and humor to the story, and to help people understand how it feels to be mimicked in public.

The subject of the thread isn't whether people who stutter should be allowed to teach. The subject is why Thais seem to have a lower incidence of stuttering than Westerners.

But to answer your question, I choose to teach in Thailand because I have a degree in English, generally enjoy teaching and kids, it keeps me active, and it's one of the few forms of employment which foreigners can do in rural Thailand. I have been successfully teaching in Thailand for many years, and as I said in my OP, my stutter isn't that pronounced.

Might I add, as long as we are exchanging first impressions of one another, that you sound like you woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.

As a father of a 3 yr. old girl going to school in Thailand I found that comment to be extremely disturbing, understand? Don't try to sugar coat it, you're an idiot. Plain and simple........

[Gecko123]

As a father of a 3 yr. old girl going to school in Thailand I found that comment to be extremely disturbing, understand? Don't try to sugar coat it, you're an idiot. Plain and simple........

OK. I'm an idiot.

Feel better now?

[slipperylobster]

I wonder what stuttering farangs that try to learn thai sound like.

sa sa sa wa de kh kh khap?

[sipi]

I wanted to grab her with both hands by the back of her M.4 blouse and bodily throw her out of my third story classroom window.

Why would you chosse to be a teacher if you stutter ?? Also you might want to control your anger, you sound like a ticking time bomb. tttick, ttttick.

I appreciate your concern, but the sentence you latched onto was strictly hyperbole, and only included to add color and humor to the story, and to help people understand how it feels to be mimicked in public.

The subject of the thread isn't whether people who stutter should be allowed to teach. The subject is why Thais seem to have a lower incidence of stuttering than Westerners.

But to answer your question, I choose to teach in Thailand because I have a degree in English, generally enjoy teaching and kids, it keeps me active, and it's one of the few forms of employment which foreigners can do in rural Thailand. I have been successfully teaching in Thailand for many years, and as I said in my OP, my stutter isn't that pronounced.

Might I add, as long as we are exchanging first impressions of one another, that you sound like you woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.

As a father of a 3 yr. old girl going to school in Thailand I found that comment to be extremely disturbing, understand? Don't try to sugar coat it, you're an idiot. Plain and simple........

And as the father of a four year old; my son goes to school to learn, not to teach. A student does not mimic his/her teacher, full-stop. And a teacher does not mimic his students, full-stop.

The OP is within his rights to be annoyed by his students behavior. To this day, my wife holds her teachers in the highest regard. She would never mimic her teachers, ever; and she is now in her thirties.

[AnotherOneAmerican]

It's cos Thai is tonal.

If you sing your sentences in English you won't stutter either.

[Gecko123]

It's cos Thai is tonal.

If you sing your sentences in English you won't stutter either.

AOA:

That's an interesting idea.

I remember in that movie "The King's Speech', the speech therapist had the king recite sing-song verses as well.

Edited January 24, 2015 by Gecko123

[AnotherOneAmerican]

It's cos Thai is tonal.

If you sing your sentences in English you won't stutter either.

AOA:

Can you elaborate on this theory at all?

From an English standpoint, there seems to be plenty of opportunities to stutter in Thai as well.

I know I sometimes stutter in Thai, mostly when I'm struggling to find a word.

Can't sing and stutter, it's one of the therapies they use to stop stuttering.

Sing everything, seems to work.

http://www.coloradostutteringtherapy.com/additional_info/facts.htm

http://manpreetstammers.blogspot.com/2009/10/why-we-dont-stutter-while-singing.html

"Klaas Bakker says,

Singing differs in many ways from natural speech, and so any physical difference of singing could be part of the explanation of why you don't stutter (as much). When someone sings, or speaks in a sing songy manner, you may bypass some of the brain centers you typically use for speaking (I don't think people sing from the right brain entirely though). When you sing, usually much of the expression is in how you produce the vowels of your speech (they have a certain pitch, intensity and duration, while their stress is related to a rhythimical pattern). All of this could explain why there is less stuttering. Finally, often singing involves speech already formulated by someone else, so it comes from memory. However, if you speak in a sing songy manner, like you described, obviously you are still in control of that. These would be some of my first thoughts looking for an explanation. But any explanation would still need more research to definitely tell."

Edited January 24, 2015 by AnotherOneAmerican

[jimi]

I know when focusing on Thai words my mouth feels like it is working out...if you watch Thai speakers enounciating words it looks like a lot of work...where English is effortless....

I think it has more to do with what language you are really used to, end less to do with some general trait of a language.

English is my second language, and even though I have been speaking it for almost 30 years now, I still can get stuck or stutter on some words. Some English words just don't feel natural to my mouth. Especially if it was a while since I talked English, and then all of the sudden end up in a conversation with one or more native English speakers.

[AnotherOneAmerican]

My biological father stuttered really bad but I didn't meet him for nearly 30 years as I was adopted by a doctor. I never stuttered, but have always been self-conscious about speaking. I assume it is somewhat learned, but possibly also genetic.

Brain damage too,

Popped up a bit quick from a scuba dive one day, stuttered for the next 6 years, also forgot the names of everyone I worked with.

Had to go around the office with everyone's name written on the back of my hand for the next two years.

(friends and family names no problems, just people I worked with)

Stutter went away over the next 5-6 years.

[Cypress Hill]

Sure Thais stutter. Heard a couple do it.

[VBF]

It's cos Thai is tonal.

If you sing your sentences in English you won't stutter either.

AOA:

Can you elaborate on this theory at all?

From an English standpoint, there seems to be plenty of opportunities to stutter in Thai as well.

I know I sometimes stutter in Thai, mostly when I'm struggling to find a word.

Can't sing and stutter, it's one of the therapies they use to stop stuttering.

Sing everything, seems to work.

http://www.coloradostutteringtherapy.com/additional_info/facts.htm

http://manpreetstammers.blogspot.com/2009/10/why-we-dont-stutter-while-singing.html

"Klaas Bakker says,

Singing differs in many ways from natural speech, and so any physical difference of singing could be part of the explanation of why you don't stutter (as much). When someone sings, or speaks in a sing songy manner, you may bypass some of the brain centers you typically use for speaking (I don't think people sing from the right brain entirely though). When you sing, usually much of the expression is in how you produce the vowels of your speech (they have a certain pitch, intensity and duration, while their stress is related to a rhythimical pattern). All of this could explain why there is less stuttering. Finally, often singing involves speech already formulated by someone else, so it comes from memory. However, if you speak in a sing songy manner, like you described, obviously you are still in control of that. These would be some of my first thoughts looking for an explanation. But any explanation would still need more research to definitely tell."

Agree!!! I had a so-called "nervous" stutter when a child and a speech therapist encouraged me to speak in a sort of "sing-song" style.

Then, when I found I could pronounce my words that way, i found I was able to pronounce them in the usual way too. That proves there was no physical problem and why I described it as a "nervous" stutter - which still happens, 50 years later if I'm under stress or very tired.

A lot of "impediments" are actually psychosomatic rather than purely physical..

A further thought: Could that be why different cultures with different thought processes suffer from different impediments in different ways?

Edited January 24, 2015 by VBF

[katana]

Thais do stutter, just like any other nationality.

Here's a short clip on it with some input from a Thai doctor:

http://youtu.be/agvZT7ncico?t=49s

[willyumiii]

It's cos Thai is tonal.

If you sing your sentences in English you won't stutter either.

AOA:

Can you elaborate on this theory at all?

From an English standpoint, there seems to be plenty of opportunities to stutter in Thai as well.

I know I sometimes stutter in Thai, mostly when I'm struggling to find a word.

Can't sing and stutter, it's one of the therapies they use to stop stuttering.

Sing everything, seems to work.

http://www.coloradostutteringtherapy.com/additional_info/facts.htm

http://manpreetstammers.blogspot.com/2009/10/why-we-dont-stutter-while-singing.html

"Klaas Bakker says,

Singing differs in many ways from natural speech, and so any physical difference of singing could be part of the explanation of why you don't stutter (as much). When someone sings, or speaks in a sing songy manner, you may bypass some of the brain centers you typically use for speaking (I don't think people sing from the right brain entirely though). When you sing, usually much of the expression is in how you produce the vowels of your speech (they have a certain pitch, intensity and duration, while their stress is related to a rhythimical pattern). All of this could explain why there is less stuttering. Finally, often singing involves speech already formulated by someone else, so it comes from memory. However, if you speak in a sing songy manner, like you described, obviously you are still in control of that. These would be some of my first thoughts looking for an explanation. But any explanation would still need more research to definitely tell."

Agree!!! I had a so-called "nervous" stutter when a child and a speech therapist encouraged me to speak in a sort of "sing-song" style.

Then, when I found I could pronounce my words that way, i found I was able to pronounce them in the usual way too. That proves there was no physical problem and why I described it as a "nervous" stutter - which still happens, 50 years later if I'm under stress or very tired.

A lot of "impediments" are actually psychosomatic rather than purely physical..

A further thought: Could that be why different cultures with different thought processes suffer from different impediments in different ways?

Great!

I am looking forward to seeing you and your lady walking down the street singing to each other like Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland in some old 1940s musical!

I miss the good old days!

[VBF]

LoL!! Plenty of opportunities for "Singing In The Rain" in Thailand