TALKING THE TALK
Suwapee (Pom) Duanjam hails from Phitsanulok in the north of Thailand, although she has lived virtually all her adult life in Bangkok where she has been teaching Thai since 1997. She works for one of Bangkok’s largest language schools as well as teaching independently, and her students have included corporate executives, expat housewives, English teachers and Thais who grew up abroad. Pom talked to Naked Farang about her experiences with and opinions of farangs in her homeland.
Khun Suwapee (Pom) is well experienced in the way of the farang having been surrounded by them for over a decade. She works in a language school where Thais are in the minority and while a reasonable percentage of her students are Japanese, many more are farangs.
Comparing farangs with Thais, Pom told me that she found farangs more curious to learn or try new things, whether languages, culture or food. This didn’t always equate to success, however, and she emphasised how long it takes many farangs to adapt to Thai culture or assimilate the language. Although I don’t THINK she was having a go at me, I made a mental note to book some more Thai lessons with her, nevertheless.
To highlight the difficulties that farangs have with the language, Pom shared a story from a recent visit to her home town of Phitsanulok in the north of Thailand. On the trip, she had decided to visit her old school and had been surprised to find a farang English teacher there. Both Pom and the farang found themselves at a drink vendor’s stall at the same time. The farang had nobly attempted to order his drink in Thai. “Khaw nam suam,” he said, which unfortunately translates as “Please may I have some toilet water?”
I know we farangs have some strange habits, but I couldn’t defend this one. Pom helped me out by explaining that he had, in fact, been hoping to order orange juice (nam som), but had suffered the dreaded curse of mispronunciation, much to the bemusement and amusement of every Thai within earshot. He certainly isn’t the first farang and he most definitely won’t be the last to struggle with the tones and pronunciation of the Thai language. Don’t even get me started on my lame attempts at mastering them. At least the vendor used some logic to decipher his request rather than taking him at his word.
While it’s extremely difficult for farangs to truly master the five Thai tones (there are only 5 for Christ’s sake!!!), I had always consoled myself with the notion that the passive skill of listening was much easier to learn. Pom was about to shatter that myth for me.
“Farangs shouldn’t expect Thais to always speak proper Thai.” She saw the look of puzzlement on my face and decided to explain further. “There are many dialects and a lot of slang in Thai, and the majority of Thais don’t speak a standard version of the language,” she continued. I wanted to start crying but couldn’t afford to lose face, so I soldiered on bravely.
Actually, it is something that I have encountered on numerous occasions. The Isaan language, in particular, is distinct from central Thai, and I have occasionally encountered the difficulties of communicating with older Isaan natives. The Isaan dialect is often referred to as Laos because it is more closely related to the Laos language than Thai. Paradoxically, whenever I am in Laos, I find the locals easier to understand and I can converse with them in Thai more easily than I sometimes can in Isaan.
Bangkok is a good microcosm of Pom’s observation on Thailand’s linguistic diversity because of its magnetic effect on people from every region of the country. As you become more proficient in Thai, you will start to notice the differences – subtle at first but distinctive all the same.
I asked Pom for any major differences she had observed between the two cultures, hoping to get off the subject of language. I was only partially successful. Pom mentioned how farangs are more straight-talking than Thais. She told me how farangs will tell you exactly what they think or feel, but with Asians it might take you all day to understand what they want to say or are really thinking. It reminded me of some advice I once heard which states that in Thailand no means no and yes means yes, maybe, I’m not sure, I don’t know, it could be, leave me alone, I don’t care, I’m hungry or no among other things.
Pom went on to discuss the differences in what we say, giving small talk as a primary example. While farangs may talk about the weather, food is the most popular topic in Thailand. She even found a similarity in our differences. Farangs will ask “how are you?” when greeting, but they aren’t really interested in the answer. It’s just small talk – a pleasantry or conversation starter. In the same way, Thais will ask questions such as, “have you eaten yet?” although the answer is equally irrelevant to them.
Food is, however, very important to Thais and Pom continued on this topic by showing how Thais can be friendlier than farangs. She gave the example of how Thais will always offer food and want to eat together. Eating is a much more social event in Thailand than in the West.
Finally, I asked Pom if she had any advice for farangs. She said that the most important thing was to be open-minded and if you have any doubt, be prepared to ask rather than risk making cultural blunders. Thais will be happy to explain the nuances of their culture.
She finished by referring to the whinging farangs who seem to only be happy when they are complaining, and I have met more than a few of those. “If they can’t accept Thai culture and it’s not fun, why stay?” she asked. I can’t argue with that.
Khun Suwapee (Pom) Duanjam was talking to Paul Snowdon (October 2007)
If you are interested in studying Thai in Bangkok, contact Pom at dsuwapee@yahoo.com
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Have your say...
Paul Swanson
13 Nov 2008, 22:17
Wunderbar
