How About Thailand?

 

 

Have you ever watched a foreign movie or TV series in the original language? You could probably answer me with an optimistic YES… but I don’t mean English ones. A common trend, which has spread all over Europe and other countries in the last years, is watching Asian entertainment. There are a lot of people that, through the most important platforms of streaming, like Netflix, YouTube, and other apps created for this purpose, spend their time watching them. From Anime to K-Dramas, Asian entertainment applies to all likings.

Usually, when you watch a TV series, you start to collect a lot of knowledge about the country where it was set: the culture, the religion, the habits… Ask yourself: “How many topics do I know about American/British culture? Why?” You certainly know a lot because the majority of the TV series and movies we have seen in our lives were set in those places.

Asian culture is really different from Italian and English culture, so it was really interesting for me to understand the ethnographic elements from the series and also the traditions of these exotic places… I’ve watched series in Chinese, in Japanese, in Korean and in Taiwanese, but the majority of them were in Thai… so today my aim is to share what I’ve learned about Thai culture through entertainment.

MY TOP 7 THAI WORDS

Since I started watching Asian TV series with English subtitles, I’ve immersed myself daily into a completely different world from mine and bombarded my brain with words from two different languages. It could be good; actually, I’ve learned a lot of words in the last 6 months in English and in other languages, but it could be also bad. For example, the linguistic baggage in your own language may decrease, or you can struggle to find the right words in your speech.

The first word I’ve learned was “SHIA”, which is an exclamation that could be used in everyday life when something very bad happens to you. In fact, the English translation is “Damn It!” or “Sh*t!”. “No” in Thai is “MAI”, “YES” is “CHAI”, and “Never Mind, don’t worry about it” or “it’s ok” is “MAI PEN RAI”. This last expression could change its meaning depending on the situation to say no, yes, or thank you. “MAI CHAI” means “No, it’s not”. “Isn’t it?” is “CHAI MAI”.

“KHOP KHUN KHAP/KHA'', which means “Thank you”. Khap/kha are politeness particles; khap is for male speakers and kha is for female speakers. They don’t have to be used in every situation but only if you're talking to a policeman, staff of a restaurant or a pub, or someone older than you. If you want to be extra polite, you can use “KHOP KHUN NA KHAP/KHA''. “Hello” in Thai is “SAWADEE KHAP/KHA''. It can also be used to say good morning, good evening, good day, and even goodbye. My favourite word in Thai is “TIIRAK”, which stands for my dear or my love. Another word that I really like is “AROY DEE'', which means “yummy!” If someone asks you if the food is good, you can only say “AROY” and nod. (Thai has a different alphabet from us, so I wrote the pronunciation)

FUN FACTS

· Thai is a tonal language, so the meaning could change with the intonation

· Thai is a really polite language, so there are a lot of expressions to say the same thing in order of politeness.

· In Thailand, are really common English expressions such as “Fighting!” to wish Good Luck and “Deal,” which is used to seal an agreement matched with a handshake.

 

NICKNAMES AND APPELLATION

In Thailand, when they introduce themselves, they don’t give you their real names but a nickname chosen by them. In the majority of the cases, this is not connected with the real name and is made up of two or one syllable. The nickname could be taken from an English word.

One of the first questions that a Thai could ask is how old you are because they consider the age a lot, so they use a different appellation if you are older or younger than them. There are different types of appellations: formal one, usual one, and appellation used with family of Chinese origins. I want to focus on the last two categories because they are the ones that you can find in TV series.

The second ones are used when they talk with a brother/sister or one of their colleagues or friends. When they’re talking with someone older, they use the appellation PI (P’), which means older brother or sister, before the nickname. When they’re talking with someone younger, they use NONG (N’) before the nickname that stands for younger brother/sister. When there is someone older than you but this person has Chinese origins, Thai people use the appellation “Hia” before the nickname.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Today’s Blogger

Hello there! I'm Giorgia Masi, and my heart belongs to reading, especially poetry. Writing and immersing myself in music are my passions, as I believe in the magic of words and the beauty of melodies, just like the lyrics from Jung Kook's 'Seven' say: "every hour, every minute, every second, seven days a week."

I'm a film enthusiast, particularly drawn to romantic and dramatic movies – perhaps my zodiac sign, Cancer, explains my penchant for emotional stories. I also have a soft spot for Asian TV series and, of course, I can't resist re-watching 'The Corpse Bride' for the millionth time, as Tim Burton is my all-time favorite film director.

In my family, I'm known as the activist, and my dream is to become a researcher with a degree in Physics. Why? That’s a question I often ask myself, and I'm eager to explore the answers.