Mar
19
The Language Barrier
March 19, 2007 |
Today Nan was really frustrated. She wanted to ask me about something that was obviously important for her. But she could not find the words. And it ended up like it always end up in that situation. “mai bpen rai” - it does not matter. But for once I had a brilliant idea. And she became very enthusiastic about it. So I thought I would share it with the rest of you.
If there is anything she need to know about me, and she can’t find the words. She will write them down in a little book in Thai. And when I get back we have them translated. Brilliant!
Nan’s English is actually quite okay. And it is getting better. She is learning new words at a rate of 5-6 a day. So that simple course book with accompanying CD’s I gave her is actually paying off. And she proudly tries them out on me every chance she gets. There is an expat English teacher near her home, who is giving lessons. And Nan will try to find out how much he takes for some tuition.
My own attempts at learning Thai however is not going so great. I am getting lazy, and instead of doing my homework I am watching TV, or spending far to much time on the net reading other peoples blogs about Thailand.
I have had some funny moments when talking with Nan on the phone though. Today her mother wanted to say hello. What I did not know was that half the clan was gathered at the house when I called. And Nan switched on the speakers on her phone so that everyone could hear me say “sawadee khrap” and “sabai dee mai” to her mama. Needless to say the sanuk factor became to much and I could hear the whole crowd jubilantly roar with laughter in the back ground.
Her mom managed to compose herself, and fired away some more Thai, but all I could say was “pom mai kao jai khrap”, and the crowd went wild. So I guess I have something to live up to when I make my way up to her village.
The language thing can really be a big problem for Thai-farang couples. I have one advantage in that English is not my first language either. And with a new dialect in every valley and fjord in my country, I am used to hearing a language being spoken in many different ways. In addition I have been working in many countries where people have very limited English skills, so I am used to simplify my language, without sounding like I speak to a baby. And I am very good at recognizing when the person I speak do not understand what I say.
But there is going to be problems. And it’s not made easier by the fact that Thais in general will never say anything directly when something is nagging them. So I have quite a job ahead of me teaching Nan that whatever is on her heart and mind, she can tell me. And that I will always be happy because she did so. I realize that this will take a lot of time and effort for both of us.
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