Language and Linguistics
"I'll see you on my furry this evening" - This might sound like the introduction to an 'R'-rated story, but this in fact was the parting sentence that led to a deep state of confusion for an American friend visiting Thailand when he
Thai
Learning a new language can be confusing sometimes. No matter how hard we listen and how hard we try, there are often times where native speakers struggle to understand what we are trying to say. Surely we're saying it right aren't we? Take a look at
Thai
Getting Tattoos in Thai, Chinese, Arabic and other Foreign Scripts is Dangerous - Think Before You Ink Getting a tattoo in Chinese characters, or using Thai, Khmer or even Arabic writing may seem exotic, mysterious, spiritual or just 'cool' to some, however even if you actually manage to
Thai
The lady had the word ไทย 'Thai' tattooed inThai on her foot. “I wish someone would throw acid on her – that would show these uneducated people without couth to respect people” “I would like to splash acid in her face” “How would she feel if I put her country / name in the same place?”
Thai
Take a look at the following words in English and see if you can work out what they all have in common: pedestrian, podiatrist, pedestal, pedicure, pedal, path. FEET! If you're a native speaker of English, even if you don't speak fluent Latin or Greek, you
Thai
While the Thai language did not derive from Sanskrit (which is an Indo-european language akin to Latin and Greek), because of its cultural and religious history, there are an enormous amount of Sanskrit based words and influences used in everyday Thai. Take a look at these words in English and
Chinese
Try saying these words - Nguyen, Ngan, Ngoai, Ngoh, Ngoi, Ngai, Nggak, Ngopi, Ngerti, Ngut-ngit, Ngi-ngau. Imagine living in Vietnam with 38% of the population having the surname Nguyên, and not being able to pronounce their name properly? In spoken Indonesian, the initial 'ng' sound often plays a
South by Southeast (SXSE)
Is Bullying an essential part of maintaining cultures that put a high importance on hierarchies, saving face and respecting 'powers that be'? - Is it bullying? Perhaps it's just something cultural that should be off limits for discussion? Every year we see horrific pictures and hear
South by Southeast (SXSE)
Would you date a bar girl? What would you do if a potential business partner turned up to a business meeting with a bar girl? This past week a survey was conducted in Thailand and 51% of the respondents mentioned that they indeed ‘would’ date a bar-girl and presented an
This past week I had the honour and pleasure of being a guest on the wildly successful Youtube 'Picnicly' show. I realised my age as I was tested on some 'pop culture' of the new generation in this part of the world. It was the first
Culture and Business
The Original Story Appears in Hotel Intel.co. Click here for full story. Several months ago, I was brought into a project in a high-end hotel in Bangkok that was a couple of months away from completion. Right now in Thailand, the labour market is flooded and finding internationally minded
Yesterday a man held up traffic in downtown Bangkok holding a knife and releasing a bag of snakes. Last week, my wife Wimintra arrived home from Sri Lanka just a day before the tragic events that rolled out in Colombo. After a wave of messages coming in from friends and