Stu Jay Raj on Cursing, Dirty Talk & the Importance of Tones [S6.E2]

Stu Jay Raj on Cursing, Dirty Talk & the Importance of Tones [S6.E2]

Greg interviews our old pal Stu Jay Raj - linguist, polyglot, and true Renaissance man. As you would expect, the topic is the Thai language and foreigners' struggle to learn it properly, but with a focus on the trouble you can get into if you don't understand how tones work.

Stu begins with an important point: the nature of English allows a fair amount of flexibility in pronunciation and accent without sacrificing intelligibility, whereas Thai does not. In short, 'getting close' to correct Thai is often not good enough, leading to frustration among foreigners who don't understand why Thais cannot figure out what they are saying.

Greg gives Stu a few examples of difficulties he has faced, starting with the pronunciation of the popular street "Charoen Krung." It turns out even something so short and seemingly simple is not so, and even if a foreigner's tones are correct, a slight mispronunciation of the vowels can confound native speakers. Greg then brings up a common Thai curse word and the shocked reaction of Thais to any foreigner who uses it. Stu goes into an in depth explanation of close Thai relationships that allow a casualness with language that is very difficult to replicate as a foreigner.

The two continue discussing the Thai language minefield with Stu dropping many pearls of wisdom along the way. Listen in next week for Part 2 of this interview.

Don't forget that Patrons get the ad-free version of the show as well as swag and other perks. And we'll keep our Facebook, Twitter, and LINE accounts active so you can send us comments, questions, or whatever you want to share.

Jaksot(561)

Western Weddings vs Thai Weddings: Which is More Fun? [S7.E75]

Western Weddings vs Thai Weddings: Which is More Fun? [S7.E75]

Greg and Ed discuss a fascinating question: Are Thai weddings or American weddings more fun? The question was raised after Greg attended the wedding of friend of the podcast Daniel Fraser. As everyone...

17 Kesä 202527min

Thai Tourism: Is the Downward Trend Here to Stay? [S7.E74]

Thai Tourism: Is the Downward Trend Here to Stay? [S7.E74]

Greg and Ed discuss the recent troubling decrease in overall Thai tourism numbers. In general, since COVID, the Thai tourism industry has bounced back quite well, and projections were that 2025 number...

10 Kesä 202531min

Stolen English: A Few Words That Thai Has Fully Thai-ified [S7.E73]

Stolen English: A Few Words That Thai Has Fully Thai-ified [S7.E73]

Greg and Ed tackle a frustrating aspect of learning Thai - borrowed English words that are pronounced according to the rules normally applied to native Thai words. Ed makes clear they are not just tal...

3 Kesä 202545min

Making Thai Subtitles: Culture, Slang & Curse Words [S7.E72] (Classic ReCast)

Making Thai Subtitles: Culture, Slang & Curse Words [S7.E72] (Classic ReCast)

In this month's Classic Recast, Greg interviews Palm, a professional translator of English to Thai, but in a very specific context: subtitles for film and television. Palm begins by explaining that sh...

27 Touko 202537min

Are Int'l School Fees a Scam? Stu Jay Raj Crunches the Numbers [S7.E71]

Are Int'l School Fees a Scam? Stu Jay Raj Crunches the Numbers [S7.E71]

After his latest video dropped and generated a lot of buzz, Greg and Ed interview Stu Jay Raj, the podcast's Thai language expert, but this time Stu explains his new video and website discussing the c...

20 Touko 202558min

A Few Western Staples Thai Cuisine Refuses to Embrace [S7.E70]

A Few Western Staples Thai Cuisine Refuses to Embrace [S7.E70]

Thai cuisine is remarkably good at adopting flavors and ingredients into its fold, but there are some that just have not made the cut. In a city where you can find almost any type of food from around ...

13 Touko 202537min

Phra Pandit Joins to Discuss the Mixing of Monks and Politics [S7.E69]

Phra Pandit Joins to Discuss the Mixing of Monks and Politics [S7.E69]

Greg interviews Phra Pandit about Buddhist monks and politics. Greg begins by framing the issue around the recent tumultuous nature of politics around the world. Could Buddhist calmness provide an an...

6 Touko 202549min

Gotcha! Ten Situations When the Score is Bangkok 1, You 0 [S7.E68] (Classic Recast)

Gotcha! Ten Situations When the Score is Bangkok 1, You 0 [S7.E68] (Classic Recast)

Bangkok's a big city that's got her own rules. You can try to fight them, but in the end, in certain situations, no matter how much you beg and plead, Bangkok wins, and you lose. Greg and Ed discuss t...

29 Huhti 202543min

Suosittua kategoriassa Yhteiskunta

olipa-kerran-otsikko
sita
siita-on-vaikea-puhua
kaksi-aitia
i-dont-like-mondays
gogin-ja-janin-maailmanhistoria
uutiscast
poks
antin-palautepalvelu
kolme-kaannekohtaa
mamma-mia
rss-murhan-anatomia
rss-nikotellen
yopuolen-tarinoita-2
aikalisa
meidan-pitais-puhua
rss-haudattu
naakkavalta
loukussa
rss-palmujen-varjoissa