Sentence from book "Diary of a wimpy kid"

[Mac7]

Can someone please help me with the following sentence?

 

เพราะ งั้น ความ ตั้งใจ ของ ฉัน ใน ปีนี้ ก็เลย เป็นการ พยายาม ช่วย

 

I think I understand the beginning: "Because, if it's like that, my intentions this year...", but after that I'm lost.

 

Any help with this would be much appreciated.

 

Cheers,

 

Mac

[Oxx]

Because otherwise my intention this year is really to succeed at trying to help [others].

[carlyai]

Good one Oxx.

Now that I see your translation I think you are spot on.

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[Mac7]

Thanks a lot Oxx!

 

This helps me a lot.

 

Two things that confused me:

 

เพราะงั้น - i didn't know that this combination means "because otherwise". In the online dictionaries I always found งั้น translated as " if so", "in that case", "then".

 

ก็เลย - i thought that it means "as a result", but i think i get it: in this case, it's rather two separate expressions - ก็ as a filler and then เลย putting emphasis on the following word เป็นการ making it "really to succeed".

 

Thanks again!

[Oxx]

I now just wonder whether เพราะงั้น is teenage speak for เพราะฉะนั้น.

[tgeezer]

It has to be slang for something doesn't it?
เพราะอย่างนั้น is more likely but it's guessable, I imagine.
Because of this/ that situation this year, Only Mac7 knows why it only applies for this year.
ความตั้งใจของฉันปีนี้ : my this year's determination > my New year's resolution.






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[tgeezer]

Mac7, I like to know what each word means too and there is no better way to learn words than in context.
You have the book: เพราะอย่างนั้น indicates that the writer and the reader, you, know what อย่าง is.


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[carlyai]

Could be 'because um'.

Like 'because (then thinking....umm).

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[tgeezer]

The reader would know. If people really want to learn then A 'book club' approach needs to be adopted, copy out the whole paragraph and discuss it.


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[DavidHouston]

Mac sent the rest of the sentence. The whole  sentence reads,

 

" เพราะ งั้น ความ ตั้งใจ ของ ฉัน ใน ปีนี้ ก็เลย เป็นการ พยายาม ช่วย คน อื่น ปรับปรุง ตัว ซะ มาก กว่า"

[Oxx]

A good next step would be for the OP to look at the original English text and provide what was being translated.

 

The original text is fairly easy to find online.

[tgeezer]

Oh! It's English is it? Have you found it on-line then Oxx , if so what is it?


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[tgeezer]

David, I Didn't see that, it doesn't help me. Maybe I am wrong but if it says "because of that" then I would expect 'that' to have been said before this part.


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[bannork]

6 hours ago, DavidHouston said:

Mac sent the rest of the sentence. The whole  sentence reads,

 

" เพราะ งั้น ความ ตั้งใจ ของ ฉัน ใน ปีนี้ ก็เลย เป็นการ พยายาม ช่วย คน อื่น ปรับปรุง ตัว ซะ มาก กว่า"

Looking like meaning เพราะฉะน้ัน surely-  so my intention this year is to try to help/ others improve/better themselves (more) 

[tgeezer]

Could be that bannork but I don't see how a little kid would be capable of helping other people improve themselves. We have already decided that he is trying to improve himself by helping other people. I think it says help other people as one way of improving himself.
It is a bad copy because every word is separated การช่วยคนอื่น ปรับปรุงตนมากกว่า try to help other people, improve myself more.


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[Oxx]

1 hour ago, tgeezer said:

Oh! It's English is it? Have you found it on-line then Oxx , if so what is it?

 

The topic title gives the name of the book, "Diary of a Wimpy Kid".  It's actually a series of very popular books in English.  I'm presuming, since the OP didn't state otherwise, that it's the first book in the series.

 

I have found it online, but it would be against forum rules to provide the link - illegal activity, and all that.  Google for  "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" 1 pdf  and you should find it.

 

The book is more than 200 pages long, which is why I haven't read through to find the original English phrase.  The OP, however, would know which page it's on, so could find the original faster.

[Oxx]

41 minutes ago, tgeezer said:

It is a bad copy because every word is separated

 

In books aimed at children learning Thai the words are separated.  The classic Maanee books are like this.  (At least, book 1 is like this.  I haven't looked that later volumes.)

[tgeezer]

Oh I don't remember reading anything where the words are separated.
มานี are the books to read. Because this is a translation one can't really say what it means. I Googled, please don't ask me to do things like that, had to join to get a library card, tried three times with English names the fourth time I put a Thai name and was told my email address was already a member! what I did find out was that he is entering middle school and his mother wants him to keep a journal, so ปีนี้ refers to this point in his educational career I guess.


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[Mac7]

Hi all. Sorry for my late reply. I just got home. I'm very glad to see so much feedback. Thank you!

 

The sentence is from page 1 of the above mentioned book, fifth row. Let me give you a little more context (sorry, i should have done that before):

 

การหาวิธีปรับปรุงตัวฉันนี่มันไม่ง่ายเลย เพราะดูแล้วฉันก็เป็นหนึ่งในคนที่ดีที่สุดอยู่แล้วอะนะ

เพราะงั้นความตั้งใจของฉันในปีนี้ก็เลยเป็นการพยายามช่วย

 

I think what Oxx suggested is true - that เพราะงั้น is colloquial Thai for เพราะฉะนั้น. I found a comment from a native Thai in another forum: https://hinative.com/en-US/questions/264354 which seems to confirm that. "เพราะงั้น = so (it is quite colloquial used in speaking)". And it fits to the context.

[Oxx]

Mac7, which book exactly is this from? It's clearly not from the original "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" where the first page in English is headed "September, Tuesday". There's nothing remotely matching on the first page.

[Mac7]

The title is "Diary of a wimpy kid - The last straw". It's a sequel of the first book. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diary_of_a_Wimpy_Kid

 

By the way, I just bought the e-book of the English version. This is the sentence in the English version:

 

""Well the problem is it's not easy for me to think of ways to improve myself, because I'm already pretty much one of the best people I know. So this year my resolution is to try to help other people improve."

 

In the Thai version of the book:

 

"การหาวิธีปรับปรุงตัวฉันนี่มันไม่ง่ายเลย เพราะดูแล้วฉันก็เป็นหนึ่งในคนที่ดีที่สุดอยู่แล้วอะนะ

เพราะงั้นความตั้งใจของฉันในปีนี้ก็เลยเป็นการพยายามช่วย"

[tgeezer]

You have left of the 'help other people to improve themselves'. คนอื่นในทางปรับปรุงตัวเอง .
It may well be that it isn't translated which would make an interesting point to discuss.


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Edit:
Since he says "my resolution this year" do you get any idea why "this year? It sound like New Year Resolution.

[Oxx]

7 hours ago, tgeezer said:

You have left of the 'help other people to improve themselves'.

 

It certainly looks like Mac7 has missed the (rather important) next part of the sentence.  Ending with ช่วย totally alters the meaning.

 

And, tgeezer, yes, "my resolution this year" would certainly suggest a New Year's resolution.  In fact, if you look at the original (in English), the date for that diary page is, indeed, January 1.

[tgeezer]

I still think thar งั้น is from อย่างนั้น because if you keep repeating it often enough that is what you get.
Similarly if you keep repeating ฉันนั้น quickly you get ฉะนั้น .
They both mean the same but they come out more naturally if you know their origin.


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[Mac7]

On 4/11/2559 at 8:06 AM, tgeezer said:

You have left of the 'help other people to improve themselves'. คนอื่นในทางปรับปรุงตัวเอง .
It may well be that it isn't translated which would make an interesting point to discuss.

 

Yes, absolutely true (my fault). I was confused, because in the book, there is a line break after ช่วย (before คนอื่นปรับปรุง).

 

The whole thing reads:

 

การหาวิธีปรับปรุงตัวฉันนี่มันไม่ง่ายเลย เพราะดูแล้วฉันก็เป็นหนึ่งในคนที่ดีที่สุดอยู่แล้วอะนะ

เพราะงั้นความตั้งใจของฉันในปีนี้ก็เลยเป็นการพยายามช่วยคนอื่นปรับปรุงตัวซะมากกว่า

 

 

[tgeezer]

 
 
And, tgeezer, yes, "my resolution this year" would certainly suggest a New Year's resolution.  In fact, if you look at the original (in English), the date for that diary page is, indeed, January 1.

I wonder if non-English speaking Thais would recognise ความตั้งใจปีใหม่ as a tradition



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