Thai Sense of Humour

[eldragon]

Thai humor: say anything you want in any tone you choose; if someone gets offended or seems bothered, tell them they're too serious and need to mellow out.

[CapeCobra]

Thais seem to like puns and - what do you call it? - when you switch initial letters of two words. Here's my favorite example, below.

I was riding in a van full of women, my wife and her dear old friends from university days. We were passing Wat Jet Yod on the Superhighway in Chiang Mai. The name means "seven peaks." Someone mis-spoke, don't know if it was intentional or not, and it came out Wat Jod Yet. which now means "park and [have a romantic encounter]. An alert moderator might censor the last of the Thai words. since it's usually translated in English to the "F-word." That van rocked with laughter for several minutes. People couldn't catch their breath. So there you have it. Of course there's the ribaldry. Maybe another factor is the naughtiness, the borderline sacrilege, of it being associated with the word "wat," as if there's a wat for that.

EDIT This (semi) alert mod removed all the Thai language as it's not permitted outside the Thai Language forum.

It's called spoonerism.

Sample:

What some TV punters have to say is all

"A lack of pies"

Alright?

"Wave the sails" err "Save the whales"

Ha, and finally:

If she says "Go shake a tower", it doesn't necessarily mean, do it yourself.

Edited January 27, 2015 by CapeCobra

[casualbiker]

My wife likes this comedian. He is a proper stand up.

Note Udom.

YouTube with subtitles :

Edited January 27, 2015 by casualbiker

[Yann55]

To those here who jump on the opportunity to do a little Thai bashing and claim that 'they don't get it' or 'they have no sense of humor', I would like to say 2 things :

1/ Does it occur to you that a person's sense of humor depends more on education, class and intelligence than on their nationality ?

2/ On this forum I am periodically struck by the fact that humor in general and ironical remarks in particular are totally lost on a lot of posters here, if not most. And i'm talking about English speaking people, not Thais.

Edited January 27, 2015 by Yann55

[baneko]

To those here who jump on the opportunity to do a little Thai bashing and claim that 'they don't get it' or 'they have no sense of humor', I would like to say 2 things :

1/ Does it occur to you that a person's sense of humor depends more on education, class and intelligence than on their nationality ?

2/ On this forum I am periodically struck by the fact that humor in general and ironical remarks in particular are totally lost on a lot of posters here, if not most. And i'm talking about English speaking people, not Thais.

Well put but you never answered the question? Do Thais have a sense of humour?

[Yann55]

To those here who jump on the opportunity to do a little Thai bashing and claim that 'they don't get it' or 'they have no sense of humor', I would like to say 2 things :

1/ Does it occur to you that a person's sense of humor depends more on education, class and intelligence than on their nationality ?

2/ On this forum I am periodically struck by the fact that humor in general and ironical remarks in particular are totally lost on a lot of posters here, if not most. And i'm talking about English speaking people, not Thais.

Well put but you never answered the question? Do Thais have a sense of humour?

Thanks for your comment. I believe I did answer the question though. The question is actually irrelevant because humor is not related to nationality. Individuals have the sense of humor related to their education, intelligence and class, which does not make Thais any different from other nationalities.

The original question was just an attempt at generalizing, on a subject where generalization is (I repeat) irrelevant. For reasons which are off topic here, most Western expats in Thailand are more likely to meet Thais who have little education and come from a class which loves soap operas, heavy-footed comedy and sirupy music. Assuming that their taste is representative of the whole nation is absurd.

[baneko]

To those here who jump on the opportunity to do a little Thai bashing and claim that 'they don't get it' or 'they have no sense of humor', I would like to say 2 things :

1/ Does it occur to you that a person's sense of humor depends more on education, class and intelligence than on their nationality ?

2/ On this forum I am periodically struck by the fact that humor in general and ironical remarks in particular are totally lost on a lot of posters here, if not most. And i'm talking about English speaking people, not Thais.

Well put but you never answered the question? Do Thais have a sense of humour?

Thanks for your comment. I believe I did answer the question though. The question is actually irrelevant because humor is not related to nationality. Individuals have the sense of humor related to their education, intelligence and class, which does not make Thais any different from other nationalities.

The original question was just an attempt at generalizing, on a subject where generalization is (I repeat) irrelevant. For reasons which are off topic here, most Western expats in Thailand are more likely to meet Thais who have little education and come from a class which loves soap operas, heavy-footed comedy and sirupy music. Assuming that their taste is representative of the whole nation is absurd.

Yes but do Thais have a sense of humour?

[Yann55]

To those here who jump on the opportunity to do a little Thai bashing and claim that 'they don't get it' or 'they have no sense of humor', I would like to say 2 things :

1/ Does it occur to you that a person's sense of humor depends more on education, class and intelligence than on their nationality ?

2/ On this forum I am periodically struck by the fact that humor in general and ironical remarks in particular are totally lost on a lot of posters here, if not most. And i'm talking about English speaking people, not Thais.

Well put but you never answered the question? Do Thais have a sense of humour?

Thanks for your comment. I believe I did answer the question though. The question is actually irrelevant because humor is not related to nationality. Individuals have the sense of humor related to their education, intelligence and class, which does not make Thais any different from other nationalities.

The original question was just an attempt at generalizing, on a subject where generalization is (I repeat) irrelevant. For reasons which are off topic here, most Western expats in Thailand are more likely to meet Thais who have little education and come from a class which loves soap operas, heavy-footed comedy and sirupy music. Assuming that their taste is representative of the whole nation is absurd.

Yes but do Thais have a sense of humour?

Well, I don't know about Thais, but Baneko obviously thinks he has a sense of humor. Someone should tell him that it's pretty lame, though.

[CapeCobra]

Plato's Socrates opined that the essence of the ridiculous is an ignorance in the weak, who are thus unable to retaliate when ridiculed.

This true for many Thais and many of the TV bashers.

[Seastallion]

I've tried to introduce cross-lingual puns (I know, pun is the lowest form of humour, but, hey, what the heck why not).

E.g, I don't mind going to the doctor, but a Thai dentist is more fun.

I had a few more....not memorable, obviously!

lead balloon.

[Seastallion]

Thais seem to like puns and - what do you call it? - when you switch initial letters of two words. Here's my favorite example, below.

I was riding in a van full of women, my wife and her dear old friends from university days. We were passing Wat Jet Yod on the Superhighway in Chiang Mai. The name means "seven peaks." Someone mis-spoke, don't know if it was intentional or not, and it came out Wat Jod Yet. which now means "park and [have a romantic encounter]. An alert moderator might censor the last of the Thai words. since it's usually translated in English to the "F-word." That van rocked with laughter for several minutes. People couldn't catch their breath. So there you have it. Of course there's the ribaldry. Maybe another factor is the naughtiness, the borderline sacrilege, of it being associated with the word "wat," as if there's a wat for that.

EDIT This (semi) alert mod removed all the Thai language as it's not permitted outside the Thai Language forum.

I think you have exemplified the humour-culture divide; I would lay odds that the mirth was from the fact that a mistake was made, not at a clever spoonerism.

"He made a mistake, HAHAHAHA!"

Also that the Y word was mentioned.

Someone falling on their arse, slapstick humour, mistakes....that is humour to many Thais.

Edited January 27, 2015 by Seastallion

[Seastallion]

Benny Hill.

Many Thai people I have met appreciate that type of humour.

Sarcasm seems not to be very well understood.

Agree........all types of humour will make them laugh, if they understand it....sarcasm they don't get like Woody allen humour for example

Actually depending on their level of worldliness, they do.

This old Woody Allen joke regarding sex gets them at all levels:

"Hey Siriporn (Krap) Does sex always have to be dirty ?"

(Give Siriporn a few seconds to ponder that before you suggest . . . . . )

"Well, yes, of course it does. . . . . . . If you're doing it properly ;-)"

If it "goes through" they get it and they'll giggle BUT then they'll realize what they've effectively revealed.

The joke will then reverberate and if they're sharing it and If it reverberates appreciably they'll get into uncontollable giggles.

(I've seen tears streaming down their faces and some even leave the room laughing.

If she gets it and laughs (no Thai girl wants to carry her reaction to this *by herself* among a group of, say, office workers) she'll either translate it and share it so everyone except the office virgin can have a laugh. . . . OR

she'll feign malcomprehension" (um, that's your cue NOT to parse the joke and explain it, n-n-n-nkaaaay;- ?)

But she won't forget it.

Or the guy who told it.

Kinda like the first time back in the late nineties when the girls all got together and porn-surfed.

But that's a story for another day ;-)))))

I converted a joke about Queen Elizabeth and George W Bush to Queen Elizabeth and Yingluck (It was an easy and obvious conversion). Wife loved it. But a few jokes I tell that she likes, she takes to school and tells her students....usually blank faces, with only the occasional laugh.

[katana]

More Note Udom. It's quite similar to English humour:

[Eliot Rosewater]

Thais seem to like puns and - what do you call it? - when you switch initial letters of two words. Here's my favorite example, below.

I was riding in a van full of women, my wife and her dear old friends from university days. We were passing Wat Jet Yod on the Superhighway in Chiang Mai. The name means "seven peaks." Someone mis-spoke, don't know if it was intentional or not, and it came out Wat Jod Yet. which now means "park and [have a romantic encounter]. An alert moderator might censor the last of the Thai words. since it's usually translated in English to the "F-word." That van rocked with laughter for several minutes. People couldn't catch their breath. So there you have it. Of course there's the ribaldry. Maybe another factor is the naughtiness, the borderline sacrilege, of it being associated with the word "wat," as if there's a wat for that.

EDIT This (semi) alert mod removed all the Thai language as it's not permitted outside the Thai Language forum.

It's called spoonerism.

Sample:

What some TV punters have to say is all

"A lack of pies"

Alright?

"Wave the sails" err "Save the whales"

Ha, and finally:

If she says "Go shake a tower", it doesn't necessarily mean, do it yourself.

Like people who work in the finance industry; are they warring bankers or just boring <deleted>?

[katana]

Note Udom

http://youtu.be/cQG4STiyySM?t=4m37s

[weegee]

uh huh ?....