Random Observations of a Tourist 2025

[Jun]

Pattaya seems to have a near constant stream of events. So on beach road, they might erect shelters for all the food vendors, take them down and then erect more shelters for the following weekend.
For the wiring, rather than have a reusable loom, they have electricians stripping wire and wiring if from scratch every time. Even the copper recycling contract must be worth a few baht.

Meanwhile, down in Jomtien, they have some SEA games events. Near Soi 12, it appears to be some kind of jet ski racing. I'm not sure what the event will be nearer the centre of Jomtien. All this seems to manage without the food stalls that accompany events in Pattaya.

I doubt my Cambodian friend will be watching this event right on his doorstep. I gather Cambodia are not participating.

[Jun]

Out in Nakluea.

Translation difficulties:


A shop not quite ready to write off their stock of Cambodian flags:

[Jun]

I'm just considering the Boy nicknames. Or is it trading names?
Some of them can't even be written properly in Thai, at least as far as I can tell. For example: Bass, Ball, Golf.

Potentially more risky is the choice of something like Kao. You can write that in Thai, but the odds of a farang mispronouncing it are quite high. When I knew a lad called Kao, I was totally oblivious to tones.

[Gaybutton]

the odds of a farang mispronouncing it are quite high.

I don't see that as a problem - not any more than Thai's pronouncing English correctly all the time. It's not going to happen and in my opinion as long as what the person, farang or Thai, is trying to say is understood, that works just fine.

The only way anyone is going to pronounce everything correctly all the time is to have been fully exposed to learning both languages from fluent speakers starting at childbirth on up.

"You can fool all of the people some of the time. And some of the people all of the time. But you can't fool all of the people all of the time."
- Abraham Lincoln

[Dodger]

The first time a boy tells you his name (which is almost always his nickname) you'll know how to pronounce it. That's all you need. Can't see the problem here???

What's interesting is that some boys have two nicknames; 1) the ones given them at birth traditionally by their grandmothers or mothers, and 2) a second nickname which some prefer to use when on the working scene. For the younger boys who first start on the working scene it's not uncommon for a bar mamasan to select a name for them.

As an example: A previous Boy Special of mine was nicknamed Thep at birth by his grandmother (Thep meaning angel in Thai), and was later given the nickname Mo (short for Model) by his bar mamasan. Believe me, his second nickname was a much better fit.

[Jun]

The first time a boy tells you his name (which is almost always his nickname) you'll know how to pronounce it. That's all you need. Can't see the problem here???

In a hypothetical world where all farang hear a Thai word and get it correct, including the tone, there would be no problem.

However, I suppose it's not the end of the world. Lots of locals also don't get my name right after hearing it several times, so we're even.

[Gaybutton]

I suppose it's not the end of the world.

That's right, it's not. It is also not of major importance. The important part, in my opinion, is understanding what is trying to be said. So, you might not get the pronunciation perfectly correct. So what? You're not ever going to come across as a native Thai speaker and no matter how close you get, you will still have an accent. Getting the tones right is definitely a big help, but the mistake I most often hear farang make is over-emphasizing the tones. The Thais don't do that. The tones are much more subtle than many people think.

Even I, after so many years, still often have difficulty understanding when Thais are speaking rapidly with each other. And there are still Thai words, no matter how hard I try, I just can't pronounce properly. Big deal.

One thing I have no problem about is making myself understood when I am trying to speak Thai, just like my Thai friends have no problem getting me to understand when they are trying to speak English.

In my opinion being able to effectively communicate and understand each other is a hell of a lot more important than worrying about getting everything perfect. And when there is still a problem, that's where the translation apps always seem to solve the problem. That has not failed me yet.

Also, while learning to read Thai might be nice, it certainly is not vital. I have never even tried to learn to read Thai. I have never needed to. So much is written in both Thai and English. And when it isn't, all I have to do is open the Google Lens app, point the camera at the Thai word, click "Translate" and now the Thai word shows in English. Works just fine for me.

[Dodger]

There are some words that Jai tries to teach me that I simply can't pronounce correctly no matter how hard I try.

Here's a challenge for you Thai language enthusiasts:

Go to any restaurant that has Thai waitresses and ask for "Butter" - which is simply "Ney" in Thai.

Sounds easy?

All I can say is that I've been attempting to pronounce this one very simple word for over 20 years and consistently fail. I just laugh at every failed attempt - as does Jai if he's sitting with me.

Listen here to how it should be pronounced - and test your skills the next time you're at a restaurant.

[christianpfc]

I'm just considering the Boy nicknames. Or is it trading names?
Some of them can't even be written properly in Thai, at least as far as I can tell. For example: Bass, Ball, Golf.

There is a unique feature in Thai language, which is (copied from wikipedia)

◌์ ทัณฑฆาต or การันต์ thanthakhat or karan indicates silent letter

This allows to keep the original spelling, but mute letters or combinations that cannot be pronounced in Thai.
Thus, "Golf" is still written "Golf", but pronounced "gop", "Ball" becomes "bon" and "Bass" becomes "bat".
You can write most English words in Thai language, but you cannot pronounce them that an English speaker would recognize them.

[Jun]

Effectively, there are several ways of writing Bat but there's no way of writing Bass.