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.

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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)

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Action Figure Overload: How Accurate Are the Thai Versions of the Viral AI Trend? [S7.E67]

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15 Huhti 202542min

Myanmar Quakes & Bangkok Shakes: Thoughts on the March 28 Earthquake [S7.E65]

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Sopping, Soggy, Sodden, Soaking Songkran: The Thai New Year is Here! [S7.E64]

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With the big holiday nearly here, Greg and Ed reminisce about their various Songkran experiences over the years. Ed notes that last year was a breakthrough year: he actually went out and 'threw water'...

1 Huhti 202539min

Second Opinions & Jedi Lies: Stories From Bangkok's Hospitals [S7.E63] (Classic Recast)

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A fabulous re-cast episode from season 3! Sooner or later, we all spend some time in the hospital, so Greg and Ed riff on their myriad experiences in Bangkok hospitals over the years. But before we ge...

25 Maalis 202545min

The Russians are Coming! What the Influx Means for Phuket [S7.E62]

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Greg and Ed discuss the massive influx of Russians (and some Ukrainians) into Thailand, particularly the island of Phuket. Numerous stories have been written in the last year about the unusually high ...

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Bangkok Pains: Distilling Bangkok Into a Board Game [S7.E61]

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