Our Thai language instruction has begun. Our teacher is Soison Saksorat, but we call her Pee Nan. Nan is her nickname and Pee means big brother or big sister in Thai. As we have begun to learn, once you enter a familiar relationship with any elder in Thailand they will allow you to call them by your nickname. Pee Nan got her Ph.D in London and has been teaching in Thailand for a number of years. She is exceedingly enthusiastic, patient and kind. She has taken a lot of time to teach us Thai but also answer questions about her culture and her country. And boy, do we have a lot of questions, myself in particular. But she takes them all in stride.
So good things about the Thai language.
No plurals
No verb tenses or conjugations
No verbs at all in some sentences
So frustrating things about the Thai language.
Forty-two consonants and twenty-one vowels
The Thai understanding of vowel and consonants is totally different from English
Five tones, each tone can give each word a radically different meaning
Direct translation from Thai to English is very difficult.
So I’ve gleaned some things about Thai culture through studying their language. These are just generalizations that I have formed in my mind after being in their country for only a week. I put them forward with the disclaimer they may be disproved later and flow only from my short experience here.
There is a constant emphasis on being polite and making sure feelings are never hurt. As Pee Nan tells us almost every lesson, we are learning the “polite way” to say things. No disagreement should ever be voiced to sharply and or any request to forcefully. The concern for the feelings of others reflected in the Thai language is alternately refreshing, particularly as someone who has spent the last few years in New York City. At the same time, I have chafed under it because I feel that many tensions that bubble below the surface are either not voiced or voiced in a much more subdued way than is warranted. These are my observations so far and they may prove to be totally wrong later but I’ll stick to them now. More posts on the way.
Chike
So good things about the Thai language.
No plurals
No verb tenses or conjugations
No verbs at all in some sentences
So frustrating things about the Thai language.
Forty-two consonants and twenty-one vowels
The Thai understanding of vowel and consonants is totally different from English
Five tones, each tone can give each word a radically different meaning
Direct translation from Thai to English is very difficult.
So I’ve gleaned some things about Thai culture through studying their language. These are just generalizations that I have formed in my mind after being in their country for only a week. I put them forward with the disclaimer they may be disproved later and flow only from my short experience here.
There is a constant emphasis on being polite and making sure feelings are never hurt. As Pee Nan tells us almost every lesson, we are learning the “polite way” to say things. No disagreement should ever be voiced to sharply and or any request to forcefully. The concern for the feelings of others reflected in the Thai language is alternately refreshing, particularly as someone who has spent the last few years in New York City. At the same time, I have chafed under it because I feel that many tensions that bubble below the surface are either not voiced or voiced in a much more subdued way than is warranted. These are my observations so far and they may prove to be totally wrong later but I’ll stick to them now. More posts on the way.
Chike
1 comment:
I think your perception about politeness is correct - I have often angered the thai students here this year because of my informality/abrasive interaction with some; and they don't like it if you try to set up a female on a date with another friend. Big on respect...
-DM
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