Sightseeing around Bangkok…

Last month a friend emailed to say, ‘I’M COMING TO BANGKOK!’

I emailed back, ‘Whooh! WHEN?’

A mere two days after his arrival, David had already paddled up the floating market, tussled for eight hours with tigers, then dropped a krathong into the klong. And more.

Which got me wondering…

… just what unique experience can I thrill David with now?

The Grand Palace, the Golden Buddha, Wat Po… the… the… the…

Wait! How about going off the beaten path to…

…the Chao Mae Tuptim Shrine?

Sightseeing at the Nai Lert Park Lingam shrine…

Piling into Khun Pisout’s taxi, we were driven past the security guards and onto the grounds of the Nai Lert Park Hotel (formerly a Hilton, it is now a Swissôtel).

Walking from the bright sunshine of the Nai Lert Park Hotel into Nai Lert Park, it took a minute for our eyes to get used to the patchy shade.

Soon enough, the expected forest of mushroom shapes sprouted from the dark.

Only, they are not mushrooms. They are penises. Ribbon wrapped, flower topped penises.

There. I’ve said it twice now. How brave of me.

The first time I visited the Lingam shrine at Nai Lert Park, I was with my Canadian buddy Lynn. And I wasn’t the only one sporting embarrassed smiles whenever penis was repeated. Which was often.

By the time David arrived, I was mostly immune. And mostly brave.

Penis, the word I could barely speak on my first visit to the shrine, now felt natural enough to say out loud. And as David and I stood sharing perspectives, there was no tittering, no embarrassed smiles even. Oh my.

In middle of the park is the real reason for the shrine. The goddess: Chao Mae Tuptim.

To get a photo of the wooden carving depicting the goddess, I stepped up on the platform, then leaned forward to peer through the narrow door of the spirit house.

As it is fairly dark inside the house, I took along a flashlight, but an ordinary camera flash will do (my thanks for that tip goes to thaiwebsites.com).

At the entry of the park is a metal sign:

The origins of Chao Mae Tuptim are obscure. It can only be recalled that a spirit house was built by Nai Lert for the Spirit who was believed to reside in the large Sai (Ficus) tree.

The basic offerings are fragrant wreaths of snow-white jasmine flowers, incense sticks, pink and white lotus buds.

Chao Mae Tuptim has received yet another less conventional kind of gift, phallic in shape, both small and large, stylized and highly realistic. Over the years they have been brought by the thousands, and today fill the area around the shrine.

Confronted by the extraordinary display the shrine has automatically been concluded to be dedicated to fertility.

Questions, I have questions…

Taking the mention of obscure as a challenge, I compiled a list:

• The goddess of the shrine is known as Chao Mae Tuptim.
• Chao Mae Tuptim’s background is unknown.
• Nai Lert built a spirit house for Chao Mae Tiptim.
• The original offerings were: Jasmine flowers, lotus buds, and incense.
• The lingam (phallic) offerings changed the focus of the shrine.

The list brought up these questions:

• Who is Nai Lert?
• Who is Chao Mae Tuptim?
• Who decided that the tree spirit was Chao Mae Tuptim?
• Why were the lingam’s brought to the shrine?

More questions were added as I went along, but I will leave them for now.

Who is Chao Mae Tuptim?…

Finally! Yeah, I finally get to quote from one of my books on spirit houses.

Spiritual Abodes in Thailand: According to one account, she (Chao Mae Tuptim) was originally a Chinese deity who lived on an island in the South China Sea… and was particularly revered by seafarers.

When people from that region, mostly Techew and Hainanese, began migrating to Thailand in large numbers, some who lived near bodies of water erected shrines in her honour.

So I now have three additional pieces of information:

• Chao Mae Tuptim is a Chinese deity.
• She protects fishermen and sailors.
• There is more than one Chao Mae Tuptim shrine.

The book goes on to mention a different Chao Mae Tuptim shrine in Bangkok. Located on the Chao Phraya River in the Samsen district, the shrine was built in 1842 by the Teochews (แต้จิ๋ว), a Chinese ethnic group. The book also maintains that it is possibly the first Chao Mae Tuptim shrine in Bangkok.

Curious to see what another goddess shrine would look like, I went looking. In the photo to the right is the Chao Mae Tiptum shrine located next to the Thonburi bridge. And as it is also deemed to be the first Chao Mae Tiptum shrine built in Bangkok, they are most likely one and the same.

The difference? The credit for building this shrine goes to another Chinese ethnic group, the Hainanese (ไหหลำ).

During my visit, I was informed that the building was not really a shrine or a temple. It was more of a residence for the spirit; a sanctuary. Confusing.

ศาล (săan) shrine; spirit house
ศาลา (săa-laa) pavilion; wayside shelter; hall
ศาล เจ้า (săan jâo) shrine; joss house; place of worship

What’s up with Chao Mae Tiptum and penises?…

On my visit to the Chao Mae Tiptum shrine (the one near the Thonburi bridge), I took care to notice the offerings: Flowers, fruit, incense, and a bottle of cooking oil. But no penises.

Legend has it that until a worshiper become pregnant after making a request of the goddess at Nai Lert Park, the typical offerings were fairly similar: Jasmine flowers, lotus buds and incense.

The unknown women, at an unknown time, left a phallic offering as a thank you for the birth of her child. And when word got around about the successful pregnancy, those hoping for children followed suit, but others stuck to the original plan. With a twist.

William Warren’s Bangkok: Most people, at least my farang friends, assumed it [the phallic offerings] had something to do with sex, probably a desire for children, but those who actually came with offerings assured me this was not the case.

The spirit’s powers were far broader, they said; in addition to helping the barren and impotent, she could grant all kinds of wishes, though in return she had a marked preference for phallic objects.

Spiritual Abodes in Thailand: Research suggests that the majority of requests relate to more mundane matters such as winning the lottery, relief from illness and making a profit in business.

So while Chao Mae Tiptum is not a fertility goddess, at this particular spirit house she acquired a hankering for lingams. But, those bringing the lingams are not necessarily aiming at becoming fertile, and those wanting favours do not always bring lingams. Sure. That makes sense.

Still on the lookout for more, I discovered that apart from the Chao Mae Tiptum at Nai Lert Park, the closest place of worship with lingam type offerings (ศิวะ ลึงค์) in Thailand is Phra Nang (พระ นาง) in Krabi (which also has a fisherman’s focus).

ศิวะ (sì-wá) Shiva
ลึงค์ (leung) penis
พระ (prá) title used for a revered person
นาง (naang) woman; lady

If you a lingam fan and are up for a bit of travel, head to Japan. There you will find the Tagata Jinja shrine and (given the right time) the Kanamara Matsuri festival.

Mâe Yâa-naang or Jâo Mâe Táp-tim, what’s in a name?…

In southern Thailand, the goddess in question is known as Mâe Yâa-naang (เเม่ ย่านาง), which loosely translates to Mother(ing) Guardian Spirit. She is also known as Mâe Yâa-naang Reua (แม่ ย่านาง เรือ), which I’m guessing means Mother Goddess of Seafarers.

But in central Thailand (where I live), she is known as Chao Mae Tuptim (เจ้า แม่ ทับทิม).

Using my transliteration style of choice, Thai2english.com gives us Jâo Mâe Táp-tim. And to make the name easier to pronounce, I will stick to that version.

Jâo Mâe Táp-tim could mean Red Mother Goddess in Thai.

เจ้า แม่ (jâo mâe) goddess; female guardian spirit; angel
ทับทิม (táp-tim) ruby; ruby red; pomegranate

But to find out who she is, what I really need is the Chinese name for the goddess.

At the Thonburi bridge Jâo Mâe Táp-tim sanctum, I was told that the name above the door was the Chinese name for the goddess, but in Thai script. Supposedly, it is a transliteration of the Chinese spoken with a Hainanese (ไหหลำ) accent.

The full Thai script is: ศาลเจ้า จุ้ยไบเนี้ยว
ศาลเจ้า (săan jâo) means place of worship in Thai.
จุ้ยไบเนี้ยว (jûi-bai-niêo) is the Chinese name for Jâo Mâe Táp-tim.

Asking around, no one at the temple knew the actual Chinese (Hainanese?) name for the goddess, so I continued on with my quest.

And this is where google comes in handy (where previously it had failed). Or where I thought it had failed.

Googling ศาล เจ้า จุ้ยไบเนี้ยว (săan jâo jûi-bai-niêo) connected me with the official name of the Thonburi shrine: สาม เสน เทียง โหว เต๋ง (Săam Săyn Tiang Wŏh Deng). The name niggled me to go back to a discarded wikipedia page. Discarded, because at the time I felt the information was not a good fit (and hey, I’m new at all of this!)

And no wonder I had wandered off the page. I mean, just look at all of the different names for the Chinese goddess!

Mazu (goddess): Māzǔ, Ma-tsu, Má-chó, Matsu, Mother-Ancestor, Elder Lady Mazu, Heavenly Empress, Heavenly Queen, Heavenly Princess Consort, Grandmother, Heavenly Holy Mother, Princess of Supernatural Favour, Protector of the Empire and the Brilliantly Outstanding Heavenly Princess, Holy Mother of Heaven Above, Heavenly Empress, Holy Mother in Heaven.

And not a single Red Mother Goddess amongst the lot.

What was the deciding factor? This bit… (the bit I missed)

In Thailand, there are a lot of Mazu temples too, especially in cities near the sea such as Bangkok, Chonburi, Pattani, and Phuket. There are 3 shrines as Gew Leng Thong, –>> Sam San Tian Hew Geng, Keng Jew Hui Guan.

So Sam San Tian Hew Geng is Săam Săyn Tiang Wŏh Deng (have I mentioned just how much I dislike the uncertainty of transliteration?)

I now give you the real Jâo Mâe Táp-tim – Mazu…

Apparently, Lin Moniang (the goddess Mazu) was born in 960 AD (พ.ศ. ๑๕๐๓), on the island of Meizhou, Fujian.

There are many legends going around – google if you need to fill a few hours – but they all note that Mazu had powers from a young age: second sight, saving people from drowning, fighting dragons even.

But most of all, the legends agree that Mazu’s abilities focused on seafarers (not fertility).

… Indigenous goddess of the sea who protects fishermen and sailors, and is invoked as the goddess who protects East Asians who are associated with the ocean.

And this part mostly answers the red issue:

She wore red garments while standing on the shore to guide fishing boats home, even in the most dangerous and harsh weather.

So there you have it. Jâo Mâe Táp-tim is the Chinese goddes Mazu.

Maybe.

Now, here’s the kicker…

After days of research and running around Bangkok, and with this post already written, I went back to the Jâo Mâe Táp-tim shrine on Thonburi to get special permission to photograph the shrine.

An hour into the visit, the manager arrived. Perfect. So my outstanding question was put to him: Do you know the meaning of the transliteration over the temple doors? Yes. Well, mostly yes.

จุ้ย (jûi) is water
ไบ (bai) did not know
เนี้ยว (niêo) being female

จุ้ยไบเนี้ยว (jûi-bai-niêo) Water Goddess

Rikker from Thai 101 helped too. He located the alternative name for the southern goddess (mentioned above), and discovered two more ways that the Thais are spelling the Chinese name: จุ้ย โพ เนี้ บว (jûi poh niêo bà-wá) and จ้อ โป๋ (jôr bo). And I thought transliteration was confusing… Thanks Rikker!

Hindsight: There are a number of things I could have done to shorten my research time. But would it have been as fun? Nahhh…

And I still have questions to answer…

• Who is Nai Lert?
• Who decided that the tree spirit was Chao Mae Tuptim?
• And hey, what’s up with all those penises in Thailand?

And as this post is long enough already, the remaining questions will have to wait for another day.

Directions to the Nai Lert Park…

Getting the the Nai Lert Park in Bangkok is easy, especially if you go via taxi. Head to the Swissôtel Nai Lert Park Hotel on 2 Wireless Road. At the hotel entrance you will be stopped by a guard. Politely inform him of your intentions, then park either in the hotel parking on your right, or take a left and park closer to the shrine.

If you are arriving via foot, then Richard Barrow’s directions work just fine: Chitlom BTS station >> exit sky train via Central Chitlom department store >> once outside the store, turn left >> turn left on Soi Somkid >> turn right into Swissôtel Nai Lert Park Hotel >> turn left once you are past the hotel guards.

And if you are arriving by boat, please let me know how it goes.

Enjoy…

L-Ceps Personaltrainer language learning software…

I played around with L-Ceps Thai Language Software last year, but I did not spent a lot of time with it (my bad).

There were three reasons:

1. L-Ceps had too much of a PC feel
2. I already had Rosetta Stone (also PC)
3. I did not like Rosetta Stone (guilt by association?)

But this week L-Ceps launched a free online version, L-Lingo, that kept my attention. Not only is it beautifully crafted, but it offers 40 free Thai lessons (and that’s just for starters).

Although free is great, I am not gushing for that reason. It was the design of L-Lingo that jiggled me to take a look at the redesign of L-Ceps.

And loving the new look, I contacted Khun Busakorn (the voice of L-Lingo) to ask a few questions.

Interviewing Khun Busakorn from L-Ceps…

When did you rewrite your original software? The reason I ask is because I tried L-Ceps previously, and the old version had a different feel to it.

The major redesign of L-Ceps was in Version 2.0, published June 2009.

The online application was released just a few days ago. This version was created because we wanted to make our language learning software more accessible to our users.

Also, we plan to adapt the software to mobile phones – iPhone, Android, etc – and this new platform will make it easier.

The new platform is also visually much more attractive (or what do you think? :)

In order to get a lot of feedback from users, we released this version early. This is because we are serious about building an application that people like to use; one that suits their needs.

Besides the price, what are the main differences between L-Ceps and Rosetta Stone?

We started developing L-Ceps after using Rosetta Stone (my husband to learn Thai, and I to learn German). In general, we liked Rosetta Stone but we found some things missing. We also wondered why it was so expensive.

We believe the main differences are:

1. Our application offers translations. In Rosetta Stone, the meaning of the pictures is not always clear (we often had to use a dictionary).
2. Our application teaches practical phrases. For instance, the L-Ceps software has a unit dedicated to common phrases. Note: this unit is not available for the web based version, but it will be eventually.
3. We focus on Asian languages and consider typical Asian language patterns. For example, most Asian languages do not change verb forms for tenses, etc., but add certain words for past or future tenses.
4. Our images are mostly shot in Asia (especially in Thailand), whereas Rosetta Stone uses predominantly North American scenery and people.
5. Our PC version has features that Rosetta Stone does not. Giving just one example: a Joker to hide possible answers.

Please do not misunderstand me, we both like Rosetta Stone. But RS leans more towards total immersion based learning (that is why there are no translations in Rosetta Stone).

What do you see in L-Lingo’s future?

The free online version at l-lingo.com will always remain free.

What you see at the moment is the first version. We will continuously update and add more (hopefully exciting) features that people like to use.

At the moment our main focus is getting feedback from users.

At a later stage we might offer premium (paid) features to support our business. However, I do not see this happening soon.

We also aim to create a mobile version for iPhone and the new Android phones.

Can you tell me more about L-Ceps?

The paid version at l-ceps.com is a Java based software, which offers many features that are not (yet) available online.

It might not be as visually appealing as the online version, but it contains more content. It has detailed learning statistics, printable textbook and pdf flashcards, and more.

The L-Ceps version has been developed over many years. It will continue to be maintained, with new features in the pipeline.

Thank you Khun Busakorn.

L-Lingo: Learn Thai Online for Free…

When you check out L-Lingo, please be sure to leave your two cents are they are totally serious about getting resposes from users.

We would like to know your feedback and suggestions and therefore let us know if you find anything that doesn’t work. Use our Blog (click here) to communicate with us.

Enjoy…

Thai language and Thai culture go hand in hand…

Thai, just like any language, has multiple ways to say the same things. And culture has a lot to do with which words we use in which situations. Although this makes for a robust, fun language to learn and use, it causes us non-native Thai speakers all sorts of confusion and difficulties. These arise not only because we have to work harder to learn more than one way to say the same thing (there are more than 20 ways to say the personal pronoun “I”), but because we need to learn when and where a certain word or phrase is properly used. One clear example of this is the Thai word(s) for “to know”.

Look up “know” in any good English/Thai dictionary and you will come back with two very good and proper Thai words, ทราบ sâap, and รู้ róo. They both mean “to know” and the only difference seems to be that ทราบ sâap is usually labeled “formal”. But that label really doesn’t tell us when to use one and when to use the other. “Formal” is a word that is difficult for most westerners to understand since our ideas of social rank differ greatly from the ways the Thais think of it. Other terms we might use to indicate the same thing are Polite, Respectful, Differential, Well Mannered, or as one dictionary puts it “Used in a setting where those of a higher social rank are present.” See, we have different ways to say the same thing too.

So, if they mean the same thing, when do we use ทราบ sâap and when do we use รู้ róo?

The word รู้ róo seems to be the more useful of the two since, besides having a meaning itself, lots of compound words are formed with it.

Examples:
รู้ róo = to know a piece of information
รู้จัก róo jàk = to know a person or place
รู้สึก róo sèuk = to feel an emotion; to experience
รู้ใจ róo jai = to know (one’s) mind
รู้ตัว róo dtua = to be aware
รู้ภาษา róo paa-săa = to know the language of
รู้เรื่อง róo rêuang = to know (what’s going on)

ความรู้ kwaam róo means “knowledge” but there doesn’t seem to be an equivalent using ทราบ sâap. One rare compound using ทราบ sâap is the word รับทราบ ráp sâap, which means “acknowledge”. Another is ซึมทราบ seum sâap, meaning “understand clearly” or “empathize”.

The use of รู้ róo in a compound word is always OK in both informal or formal settings and even when “those of a higher social rank are present”.

Examples:
Do you know Somchai?
Yes I do = รู้จัก (ครับ/ค่ะ) róo jàk (kráp/kâ)
No I don’t = ไม่รู้จัก (ครับ/ค่ะ) mâi róo jàk (kráp/kâ)

How are you feeling?
Good = รู้สึกดี (ครับ/ค่ะ) róo sèuk dee (kráp/kâ)
Not so good = รู้สึกไม่ดี (ครับ/ค่ะ) róo sèuk mâi dee (kráp/kâ)

He is very knowledgeable = เขามีความรู้มากมาย kăo mee kwaam róo mâak maai

But if someone asks you if you know something or some piece of information, it is often better to answer with ทราบ sâap or ไม่ทราบ mâi sâap. It is a softer, less abrupt way of speaking.

Examples:
Do you know when they are coming?
Yes I do = ทราบ (ครับ/ค่ะ) … sâap (kráp/kâ)…
No I don’t = ไม่ทราบ (ครับ/ค่ะ) mâi sâap (kráp/kâ)

Do you know what time the movie begins?
Yes I do = ทราบ (ครับ/ค่ะ) … sâap (kráp/kâ) …
No I don’t = ไม่ทราบ (ครับ/ค่ะ) mâi sâap (kráp/kâ)

Just for fun, here are a few more words that show different levels of formality. There are also dozens of informal/formal/casual/vulgar personal pronouns in Thai, but let’s leave them for another time.

Restaurant
ร้านอาหาร ráan aa-hăan (colloquial)
ภัตตาคาร pát-dtaa-kaan (formal)

Eat
กิน gin (colloquial)
ทาน taan (formal)
รับประทาน ráp bprà-taan (very formal)

Husband
ผัว pŭa (colloquial)
สามี săa-mee (formal)

Wife
เมีย mia (colloquial)
ภรรยา pan-rá-yaa (formal)

Give me (as in asking for something)
เอา ao (casual)
ขอ kŏr (formal)

Thank you
ขอบใจ kòp jai (casual)
ขอบคุณ kòp kun (formal)
ขอบพระคุณ kòp prá kun (very formal)

I’m sorry
ขอโทษ kŏr tôht (casual)
ขออภัย kŏr à-pai (formal)
ประทานโทษ bprà-taan tôht (very formal)

Dog
หมา măa (casual)
สุนัข sù-nák (formal)

Pig
หมู mŏo (casual)
สุกร sù-gon (formal)

Foot
เท้า táo (casual)
ตีน dteen (vulgar)

Defecate
ขี้ kêe (as a verb it borders on the vulgar)
อุจจาระ ùt-jaa-ra (formal)
ถ่ายอุจจาระ tàai ùt-jaa-ra (very formal)
อึ èu (used with little children)

Urinate
ฉี่ chèe (casual)
ปัสสาวะ bpàt-săa-wá (formal)
เยี่ยว yîeow (vulgar)

So when you have a choice between a formal and a casual word in Thai, which one do you choose? Here is what works for me. Listen to how those around you speak, especially well respected people like teachers and doctors, and your elders, and speak like they do. If they use a word (with you) then you can use the word (with them).

Also, be aware of your surroundings. If you are in the doctor’s office and you wanted to tell him you are having trouble urinating (And who doesn’t?) then ปัสสาวะ bpàt-săa-wá is the better word. If you are out with your drinking biddies and need to go to the bathroom then ฉี่ chèe is more appropriate. It is probably a good idea to always avoid the vulgar words like เยี่ยว yîeow.

If you are in doubt, treat everyone as if they are of a “high social rank”. Why not? It won’t hurt and you can’t go wrong being “polite” in Thailand.

Hugh Leong
Retire 2 Thailand

Interviewing Successful Thai Language Learners…

Name: Paul Garrigan
Nationality: Irish
Age range: Just turned 40
Sex: Male
Location: Lopburi
Profession: Freelance writer
Thai level: Intermediate
Website: AC: Paul Garrigan
Book: Last Escape

Do you speak more street Thai, Issan Thai, or professional Thai?

I previously worked as an ESL teacher so would pick up a lot of Thai from the students as well as the Thai teachers. I also lived in a Thai village for almost 4 years where they spoke Issan. Now I live in Lopburi and as this is an army town you get a lot of people from all parts of Thailand with many accents. A lot of my Thai vocabulary has come from reading so it is a mixture of all of these influences. I suppose it is a mixture between professional and street Thai.

What were your reasons for learning Thai?

I began learning Thai when I moved here eight years ago. As well wanting to be able to know what was going on around me, I also wanted to find out more about Thai Buddhism. I have been interested in Buddhist philosophy since my teens and wanted to be able to communicate with monks in Thai and read some of the Buddhist resources that are only available in Thai.

Do you live in Thailand? If so, when did you arrive?

I moved to Thailand at the end of 2001.

How long have you been a student of the Thai language?

I have been learning Thai since moving here, but my studies have dropped off at times.

Did you learn Thai right away, or was it a many-pronged approach?

I definitely don’t think that I have learnt the right way. I guess that a lot of the time it was going around in circles. Still though, progress has been made along the way.

Did you stick to a regular study schedule?

I can get periods where I manage to have regular times for studying each day. These productive periods can last for a few months before life interrupts.

What Thai language learning methods did you try?

I used the internet from day one. Places like Speaking Thai the Easy Way and some other I forget. I used to buy every Thai text book I could find including the Benjawan Becker series; I suppose these are the ones that stand out as being really useful. These days I don’t buy any more textbooks but use real texts. I do subscribe to the Learn Thai Podcast and these have been helpful.

Did one method stand out over all others?

I think that it has been a mixture of all these methods that have gotten me to where I am today. I think that is how it works, you learn a bit here and a bit there.

How soon did you tackle reading and writing Thai?

Learning to read Thai was important to me from the beginning so I was learning from the first day. I am glad that this was the path I took.

Did you find learning to read and write Thai difficult?

I have found learning to read Thai to be far easier than learning to speak it. This is probably because I much prefer dealing with written text than spoken language; even in English. I am quite satisfied with my ability to read and my vocabulary is quite large.

What was your first ‘ah hah!’ moment?

I have had lots of times when it felt like I am really getting it. I can understand all that is going on around me and they seem to understand every word I say in Thai. During the first few years I would mistake this for being fluent, but now I’m less optimistic about my abilities.

How do you learn languages?

Slowly but surely.

What are your strengths and weaknesses?

I never give up is my strength and my weakness is that I’m easily distracted.

What is the biggest misconception for students learning Thai?

I think that people expect things to happen quickly, but this is not the way for most of us. It is usually a case of believing that you are almost fluent one day to realising that you have a long way to go. It is easy to become disheartened because the prize always seems to be moving further away. Still if you stick with it you will get better. It might take a long time though; for some of us it will be a long long time.

Can you make your way around any other languages?

I learnt Irish for fourteen years in school and can barely put a sentence together so my history with languages is fairly poor.

Were you learning another language at the same time as Thai?

I lived in Saudi for a bit before coming to Thailand, but my attempts with Arabic finished as my attempts with Thai language began.

What advice would you give to students of the Thai language?

You need to realise that you will improve if you keep on practicing; there will always be improvements. It is like a journey, but some of us have further to travel. We will all make it to the end if we keep on going; the only thing that can stop us is the end of our lifespan. The fact is though, anyone who spends enough time learning Thai will become fluent.

The Series: Interviewing Successful Thai Language Learners…

My personal thanks for this series goes to: Marcel Barang, Chris Baker, Hugh Leong, Terry Fredrickson, Glenn Slayden, Rikker Dockum, David Smyth, Tom Parker, David Long, Aaron Handel, and Chris Pirazzi.

Getting advice from experienced Thai language learners is important. If you are a successful Thai language learner and would like to share your knowledge with those coming up, please contact me to make it so.

Enjoy…

The Loi Krathong song in Thai…

My Thai teacher just loves to sing. And sometimes, right there in the middle of a lesson, she will stand up and belt out a Thai song.

Often, she will drag me up too. Then, swinging her arms like a conductor, we prance around my sofa. In unison. Singing loud.

What a sight. Her, a tiny wee thing. And me, this blond western thing.

My teacher has a beautiful voice. And while my voice isn’t too shabby either, I’m glad my condo walls are thick!

For a long while, her song of choice was the Thai national anthem.

Fair enough, but I needed something different so we moved on to other songs (but not for very long).

Today is the Thai festival, Loi Krathong. And guess what? It has a song too.

Btw – if you are not sure what the festival is about, here is a brief explation from my buddy Talen:

Thailand Land of Smiles: Originating as a Brahmanical festival adopted by Thai Buddhists during the reign of Rama IV in1863, Loy Kratong is a ceremony that venerates the Lord Buddha by offering floating trays laden with flowers, candles and incense. Loy translates to “float” in Thai, while Kratong pertains to a tray made from banana leaves. The light from the candle honors Lord Buddha, while the act of floating symbolizes the release of anger, resentment or any tarnishing of one’s character. It is a way for a person to make amends and start afresh.

And (surprise!) in honour of the festivities my Thai teacher taught me the much loved Loi Krathong song.

So, are you ready to sing along?

Note: To see the transliteration, roll your mouse over the Thai script.

วัน เพ็ญ เดือน สิบสอง

full-moon day · month · twelve

น้ำ ก็ นอง เต็ม ตลิ่ง

water · also · overflows · full · bank

เรา ทั้ง หลาย ชาย หญิง สนุก กัน จริง วัน ลอย กระทง

we · all · many · men · women · enjoy · together · really · day · float · basket

ลอย ลอย กระทง, ลอย ลอย กระทง

float · float · basket · float · float · basket

ลอย ลอย กระทง กัน แล้ว ขอ เชิญ น้อง แก้ว ออก มา รำวง

float · float · basket · together · and then · ask · young · beloved · come out · dance

รำวง วัน ลอย กระทง, รำวง วัน ลอย กระทง

dance · day · float · basket · dance · day · float · basket

บุญ จะ ส่ง ให้ เรา สุข ใจ, บุญ จะ ส่ง ให้ เรา สุข ใจ

making merit · will · make · us · happy · making merit · will · make · us · happy

Then begin at the beginning again…

Hunting down my darling…

My intention was to first type out the Thai script, then translate the song into English. But, when googling to find a better fit for nóng gáew (น้อง แก้ว), I found that learningthai.com had darling.

Learningthai.com also has a beautifully translated version of the Loi Krathong song:

The full moon (of) the twelfth month, as water fills to the banks.
We, all men and women, really have a good time (on) loy krathong day

Float, float the krathongs
Float, float the krathongs

After we’ve floated our krathongs, (I) invite (you) my darling to come out and dance.

Ramwong (on) loy krathong day
Ramwong (on) loy krathong day

(Making) merit will give us happiness
(Making) merit will give us happiness

The Loy Krathong song in English…

The English YouTube version has slighly different lyrics to the Thai Loi Krathong song.

November full moon shines

Loi Krathong, Loi Krathong

And the water’s high in local river and the klong

Loi Krathong, Loi Krathong
Loi Krathong, Loi Krathong

Loy gratong is here and everybody’s full of cheer

We’re together at the klong
Each one with his krathong
As we push away we pray
We can see a better day

Loi Krathong, Loi Krathong
Loi Krathong, Loi Krathong

Loy gratong is here and everybody’s full of cheer

So you you can choose to pray in English, or you can make merit in Thai. Up to you.

Enjoy…

Interviewing Successful Thai Language Learners…

Name: Marcel Barang
Nationality: French
Age range: 60+
Sex: Male
Location: Bangkok
Profession: Literary translator from the Thai

Website/blog: Marcel Barang, thaifiction.com

Books: Over 40, mainly in English, on thaifiction.com

What is your Thai language level?

Fluent.

Do you speak more street Thai, Issan Thai, or professional Thai?

Both street and professional. Isarn, bor pen.

What were your reasons for learning Thai?

The need to communicate with people. I came to Thailand as a journalist.

Do you live in Thailand? If so, when did you arrive?

I’ve lived in Thailand since 11 May 1978. But I was already familiar with Thailand (as a reporter, since 1972).

How long have you been a student of the Thai language?

31 years and still learning.

Did you learn Thai right away, or was it a many-pronged approach?

Right away.

Did you stick to a regular study schedule?

Yes. I studied intensely for two-three years. A few years later, I got married locally, which helped a lot: Thai became my first language in daily life. Still is.

What Thai language learning methods did you try?

Wasted one month in a small school in Sathorn Rd that insisted on the oral method (nothing written down) then hired one of their teachers to teach me how to write, read and speak at home the old-fashioned way, three lessons per week initially (with homework), then two, then one, each lesson lasting one hour and a half – until dear Khun Buaphan decided I was proficient enough to be left to cope with dictionaries all by myself.

Did one method stand out over all others?

I need to write things down. Knowing the international phonetic system (learned when I studied English at school in France) helped a lot. I adapted it to Thai in my own way.

Did you find learning to read and write Thai difficult?

Not really. To me, speaking good Thai with the proper accent is more difficult.

What was your first ‘ah hah!’ moment?

Too many to remember.

How do you learn languages?

By parroting, by writing things down, by asking what this or that means.

When I used to teach English to French students, the first thing I did was to have them speak French with an English accent: it worked wonderfully.

One decisive moment was very early in my study of Thai when I overheard an already Thai-fluent Catholic priest friend of mine in Song Phee Nong ask a fellow Thai, ‘How would you say this correctly?’ (Tong Phoot Yanggai Jueng Ja Took): I’ve been using that open-sesame ever since.

What are your strengths and weaknesses?

As a speaker, when I’m tired or nervous, I make mistakes; I know too much slang for my own health. As a translator, you tell me.

What is the biggest misconception for students learning Thai?

That learning to read and write is difficult: it takes time, certainly, but it’s hugely rewarding. If you settle down in Thailand for a number of years, it’s well worth investing in reading and writing. My only regret: I never learned to type Thai. It’d have come handy in my line of work, to consult dictionaries online or to Google things.

Can you make your way around any other languages?

I’m French educated, learned English at school then went to England (twice, one year each time), learned Spanish at school pero no lo he ablado hace muchos anos, so I understand Italian a little. Having spent two schoolyears in Cambodia, I had enough Khmer to buy cigarettes at the market and order the maid around, but it was that experience (the fact that I had talked all along in French or English with the elite only) that convinced me that, were I to settle down somewhere as a journalist, the first thing I’d do would be to learn the local lingo, to be able to address everyone and understand what’s going on without having to rely on an interpreter.

Were you learning another language at the same time as Thai?

No.

What advice would you give to students of the Thai language?

Are you committed? Then never despair: it all builds up somehow. If you are not, then mai pen rai, just have fun, they’ll like you anyway for trying and for being (to their ears) funny.

On the subject of translation…

What qualities do you look for in good Thai literature?

The same as I do in world literature: clever, credible plots; well-rounded characters; words that sing; food for thought and the soul.

What, in your opinion, are the great Thai literary works that remain untranslated?

All the classics in verse, of the Khun Chang Khun Phen calibre – a mammoth task, not for me. In terms of modern novels, I’m currently working on See Phaendin by Kukrit Pramoj, the last of the 20 best novels of Thailand according to me.

Which Thai literary works need re-translation?

Narm Thuam Park = I’m tongue-tied.

Do you plan to tackle any of those listed?

I’ve retranslated three or four novels that needed and deserved to be, in my view. Let’s leave it at that.

Would you recommend translation as a language learning exercise?

Definitely. Just don’t publish your renderings right away: wait until you’ve reached a certain level of fluency. And don’t believe that you (whose Thai is still wobbly) teaming up with a Thai (whose English or French or whatever isn’t really up to par) is going to work wonders. On the other hand, you don’t need to engage in literary translation – ordinary texts can be as rewarding; just keep clear of newspaper lingo, a tough nut to crack, especially headlines!

What process do you use for your word-by-word approach to translation?

It’s a three-step approach:

1. translate word by word by word just to enter the text into the computer, never mind the gobbledygook you produce;
2. mould each sentence and each paragraph, trying as much as possible to keep them as they are, respecting their grammar and their flow and their level of language (very important); for dialogues, improvise, rewrite if you have to: there are too many idioms, too many plays on words and levels of understanding to stick to the original formulation;
3. once your text has been checked for exactitude and for language correction (in English or French or whatever), check it all over again for dissonance (of a word, of an expression) and of course for consistency.

This, in my view, is the only way to respect a writer’s style, instead of imposing your own.

Your translation style (word-by-word) is an attractive option for those learning to read Thai. If a student were to work their way through your collection, 1) which order would you advise, and 2) are the Thai versions easily available?

They should start with any of Chart Korbjitti’s novels or collections of short stories: simple, not too colloquial language. Also Seeboorapha’s Behind the Picture short novel: easy and beautifully flowing classical Thai. All readily available in Thai. Leave Saneh Sangsuk’s The White Shadow for the very end of your learning curve. And if you have a patois to add to your mother language, then tackle Jao Jan Phorm Horm (Lady Jane of the Fragrant Mane) by Mala Khamchan for me. That one is beyond my ability to translate.

Have you considered developing Thai language courses/instruction tied to your translations? (pdf downloads, educational seminars, or similar).

No, but a friend of mine, Doug Cooper, has been busy building up a corpus of translated Thai stories, including some of mine. You’ll find them at sealang.net/lab and much, much more at sealang.net/thai.

Marcel Barang
Marcel Barang | Thai Fiction

The Series: Interviewing Successful Thai Language Learners…

My personal thanks for contributing to this series goes to: Larry Daks, Chris Baker, Hugh Leong, Terry Fredrickson, Glenn Slayden, Rikker Dockum, David Smyth, Tom Parker, David Long, Aaron Handel, and Chris Pirazzi.

Getting advice from experienced Thai language learners is important. If you are a successful Thai language learner and would like to share your knowledge with those coming up, please contact me to make it so.

Enjoy…

Pali and Sanskrit Roots of Thai Words…

Have you ever seen those brilliant kids in the national spelling bees? When given a word to spell, the first thing they ask for is the word’s origin. Knowing the “Latin”, or “Greek”, or any of the many other roots to our English words they immediately not only know the word’s basic meaning but they have a big head start on how to spell it correctly. Well, Thai is also a language whose roots come from many other languages.

The latest of these of course is English. But with English, Thai usually borrows the complete word. In Thai, these are referred to as ทับศัพท์ táp sàp or borrowed words. It is amazing that without ever studying Thai you will already know hundreds of Thai words, albeit borrowed from English. The way they are pronounced might make them a little hard to recognize though. My golf caddie (Don’t blame me, I’m retired and supposed to be playing golf) the other day was talking about a “dy wat”. It took me a while to realize that she was talking about a “divot” that I had just made in the fairway. But when she called out the Thai word “on”, it didn’t take me long to figure out that I had hit my ball “on the green”.

The Thai Royal Language, ราชาศัพท์ raa-chaa sàp, borrows a great deal from the Cambodian Royal Language. And of course Thai has lots of Chinese influence. But the languages with the most impact on Thai, especially the roots of Thai words, are the Indian languages of Pali and Sanskrit. Although both are “dead” languages, similar to Latin, you can still hear Pali spoken daily as it is the language of the Buddhist scriptures and chants. All men who join the monkhood must learn some Pali in order to take part in the Buddhist chanting and rituals. That is not so different from the time when all Roman Catholic masses were held in Latin.

I am always looking for ways to help me increase my Thai vocabulary. And the fact that so many Thai words have their origins in Pali and Sanskrit can help with that. Just like those spelling bee kids, if we can learn the roots of a word we can get a head start on figuring out its meaning and maybe even remembering it.

By the way, the two Thai words used above both have roots in Pali and Sanskrit. The root ศัพท์ sàp in each means “word”. ทับศัพท์ táp sàp = (borrowed) word.

ราชาศัพท์ raa-chaa sàp has the extra benefit of having two roots. ราชา raa-chaa means royal or pertaining to the king. So ราชาศัพท์ raa-chaa sàp = royal words. The root ราชา raa-chaa, meaning “royal”, can also be seen in the English phrase “the British Raj” or in the word “Maharaja”. The “maha” in “maharaja” is another root meaning “great”. So “maharaja” = “great king”.

As you can see, one root will lead to another. This could go on for a while. That is why I have been compiling a list of Thai words that have Pali and Sanskrit roots. Glenn Slayden of thai-language.com has graciously offered to format these and place them on his website at Pali and Sanskrit Prefixes and Suffixes. If you have trouble reading the Thai simply click on the word and you’ll be shown a complete discussion of the word including a phonetic transcription.

I am still adding to this list so if you come across any roots that I don’t have yet please drop a line and we’ll try to incorporate them. For now, just have fun with the language.

See if you can find the Pali and Sanskrit roots to Thai words that also are roots to English words. There are quite a few, showing that the Thai and English languages are in fact distant cousins. Here are a few below (although some are merely guesses on my part).

• ราชา

  (Pali) raa-chaa – royal, of or pertaining to king
  British Raj, Raja, Maharaja, Rajasthan

• มหา

  (Pali) má-hăa – great; omnipotent; large; many; much; maximal; paramount; exalted
  Maharaja (great king), Mahatma (Great Soul, Atma = soul) as in Gandhi

• มรณ

  mor-rá-ná – death; the act of dying; cessation
  mortal, mortality, immortal

• มาตุ

  (Pali) maa-dtù – maternal; relating to mother
  The word for mother in so many languages start with “m”. This is just one more.

• อารย

  (Sanskrit) aa-rá-yá – Aryan race; civilized person; honorable person; honest person
  Aryan, Iran

• วิทยา

  (Pali) wít-tá-yaa – science; knowledge; learning; philosophy
  Possibly related to wit, witty

• มานุษ

  (Sanskrit, Pali) maa-nút – human; relating to human
  Possibly related to human, man, woman, humanity

• โทร

  (Sanskrit?) toh – remote, over a distance
  Pronounced toh-rá when used in compound words. Possibly related to “tele” which is a Greek root meaning remote, over distance. The Thai words with this same prefix are so close to English. Just replace the “r” sound with an “l” and you will see.

  telephone โทรศัพท์ toh-rá sàp – ศัพท์ is the Pali word for “word”
  television โทรทัศน์ toh-rá-tát – ทัศน์ is the Sanskrit root for “vision”
  telegraph โทรเลข toh-rá lâyk – เลข is the Pali root for “writing”
  telescope โทรทรรศน์ toh-rá-tát – ทรรศน์ is the Sanskrit root for “see”

Hugh Leong
Retire 2 Thailand

Introducing Hugh Leong and the Thai Language/Thai Culture series…

Regular readers won’t need an introduction to Hugh Leong and his passion for the Thai language and culture. Hugh first made an appearance in WLT’s Interviewing Successful Thai Language Learners series. Then soon after, he shared his Advanced Thai Reading and Vocabulary Building materials.

Hugh loves explaining things and during his 40 plus years of trying to learn Thai and its culture he learned to love the cross-cultural aspect of living in a foreign country and speaking its language. So he suggested this open-ended series of essays on Thai Language/Thai Culture, where he will discuss various aspects of learning Thai and how the Thai culture will influence what and how we say things.

Trying to separate language from its culture is like taking a piece of music and trying to separate the melody from the rhythm. Sure, it can be done, but what you are left with just doesn’t play right.

Besides having varied careers in psychotherapy, English teaching, and computer consulting, Hugh has also written for the Bangkok Post, Asia Magazine, Far Eastern Economic Review and Mother Earth News. When he was teaching at Chiang Mai University and later as the director of AUA Chiang Mai, Hugh also acted as cross cultural advisor to a number of university and American Field Service exchange programs. Besides Thailand, Hugh has also lived in Saudi Arabia and Iran.

He currently writes a column on retirement in Thailand for Chiang Mai City Life magazine, writes a website on retiring in Thailand (retire2thailand.com), and has written a series of English for special purposes (ESP) textbooks for Thailand published by Silkworm Books. But he is most proud of working with his wife Pikun to raise, and breed, endangered Thai mountain tortoises and thus saving them from the soup pot.

Enjoy…

Rikker’s Friday post on bumper stickers, Bumper-to-bumper Language Lessons, reminded me that I had one more bumper sticker post waiting in the wings…

Stickers from Buy Thai Books…

When I ordered two packs of books from Buy Thai Books last December, as a thank you they sent over a handful of stickers. Yeah! And as I collect stickers, I was chuffed.

เปิด ปิด เบาๆ ด้วย ขอบ คุณ
bpèrt bpìt bao bao dûay
Turn on, turn off, softly, softly, please.
Please open and close softly (don’t slam the door).

ปิด เบาๆ
bpìt bao bao.
Close softly, softly.
Close softly.

ยินดี ด้อน รับ
yín-dêe dton ráp
Pleasure to welcome.
You are welcomed.

ห้าม สูบ บุหรี่
hâam sòop bòorèe
Forbidden to smoke cigarettes.
No smoking.

ที่ สูบ บูหรี่
têe sòop boorèe.
Place for smoking cigarettes.
Smoking area.

เรา [หัวใจ] พระเจ้าอยู่หัว
rao [heart] prá-jâo-yòo-hŭa
We heart His Majesty.
We love the King.

รักพ่อ เเม่
rák pôr-mâe
Love father mother.
I love my parents.

And as you might have noted, this is a continuation from the Thai Bumper Sticker series: Thai Bumper Stickers 1, Thai Bumper Stickers 2, Thai Bumper Stickers 3, Thai Bumper Stickers 4, and Stickers on Taxis.

And as soon as I can chase down another bumper sticker hawker, there will be more to come.

Enjoy…

Bumper stickers are us…

Bumper stickers in Thai land make for an interesting language lesson and a good way to pass time when you’re caught in traffic.

Apart from the typical เมา ไม่ ขับ (mao mai khap) “Don’t Drink and Drive” and เรา รัก ในห ลวง (rao rak nai luang) “We Love the King” stickers, one can typically count on Thai bumper stickers to be one of two things: clever and sexually suggestive. Frequently they are both.

One clever sticker I saw recently made me chuckle. On government vehicles you’ll see the lettering ใช ใ้น ราชการ เท่า นั้น (chai nai raatchakaan thao nan) “For Official Government Use Only” below the logo of whatever department it belongs to.

A taxi had adorned its bumper with: ใช้ หนี ราชการ เท่า นั้น (chai nii raatchakaan thao nan) “For Fleeing (from) Government Officials Only”, a play on the usual phrase by simply replacing ใน (nai) with หนี (nii).

If your sensibilities aren’t too delicate, take a look at the website that Doug Cooper put up sometime back during the Clinton administration: Thai Bumper Stickers.

It’s a large collection of Thai bumper stickers. Most are transcribed and many are translated. Some of the translations are wrong, and you have to download a special font to see the phonetic Thai, but it’s still a nice collection. The content is not the kind of Thai you’ll want to use in polite company, if ever. Be warned.

Here’s one that’s suggestive but relatively mild: รับ สอน ก่อน วิวาห์ (rap son gon wiwaa), which means “(I teach) wedding night lessons”.

And another nice bit of wordplay:

It reads: วัตถุ เมา ไว (wat-too mao wai) “Highly intoxicatable”. This is a play on วัตถุ ไว ไฟ (wat-too wai fai) “Flammable material”, as seen on gas tankers, liquid propane cylidners and so on.

There is another popular one that I’ve seen so many times, that I began wondering if I’d gone colorblind.

The gimmick is sticker lettering on the rear of the car saying: รถ คัน นี้ สี (X) (rot kan nee see X) “This car is (color)”, filling in the blank with any color that the car isn’t. The lettering is often the color the car purports to be, but not always.

A typical example is a pink taxi with lettering on its bumper: รถ คัน นี้ สี เขียว (rot kan nee see kieow) “This car is green”. I looked around on some Thai message boards, and many people claim it’s done to เเก เคล็ค (gae klet) as Thais say – “to ward off bad luck”, because some colors are considered luckier than others.

I’m sure plenty do it to be ironic or trendy.

One more for the road, from the “just-keep-telling-yourself-that” department:

ลูก ผู้ ชาย ต้อง ไว้ พุง (look poo chaai tong wai poong) “Real men have a paunch.”

There is certainly no lack of bumper stickers on vehicles in Thailand, and trying to read them can also improve your ability to read some of the highly stylized fonts that are often used on signs and other forms of advertising, such as Thai script designed to look like Chinese, which we see around the Vegetarian Festival.

This might even help you to start to develop the confidence you will need to read the most difficult script of all: handwritten Thai.

Rikker Dockum
Thai 101

The Thai 101 Learners Series first appeared in the Phuket Gazette ‘08
@ Copyright 2008-2009 Rikker Dockum