Outrageous Thai. T. F. Rhoden

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      OUTRAGEOUS

       THAI

      OUTRAGEOUS

       THAI

       SLANG, CURSES AND EPITHETS

      T. F. Rhoden

      A book of all those words and phrases that Thais would rather you not

       know—and can’t find in mainstream dictionaries or books!

      TUTTLE PUBLISHING

       Tokyo • Rutland,Vermont • Singapore

      Published by Tuttle Publishing, an imprint of Periplus Editions (HK) Ltd., with editorial offices at 364 Innovation Drive, North Clarendon, VT 05759 USA and 61 Tai Seng Avenue #02-12, Singapore 534167.

      Copyright © 2008 Periplus Edition (HK) Ltd.

      All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior written permission from the publisher.

      ISBN: 978-1-4629-1031-1 (ebook)

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      First Edition

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      Printed in Singapore

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      Contents

Introduction	6
Usage	7
Pronunciation Guide	8
Chapter 1: Slang Basics	11
Chapter 2: Quick Greetings	25
Chapter 3: The Physical	30
Chapter 4: Personal Traits and Characteristics	46
Chapter 5: Cursing	70
Chapter 6: Sex	79
Chapter 7: Drinks and Drugs	114
Chapter 8: Money and Vice	124
Appendix: English-Thai Word List	136

      Introduction

      One of the more frustrating things about learning a new language is that what you get from a textbook or a language instructor is often not what you’ll hear on the street or in everyday life. The Thai language is no exception. This book was designed to help bridge that gap. Whether you’re a volunteer, businessman, aid worker, English teacher, diplomat, exchange student, tourist, journalist, or visiting professor—this book’s for you!

      This book takes a lot of liberty in the way of grammar, both in English and in Thai. The English is definitely American and meant to reflect that accent. The Thai is central and meant to reflect the general “twenty-something” and younger generation. For both English and Thai translations, the goal is to express feeling much more so than to provide a literal translation. This leaves much open to interpretation, and I expect this will help to generate further conversation on how best to use these words and phrases. However, any constructive criticism is welcome in the hope of making the next edition even better.

      As for putting these types of words and phrases into action, do I really need to stress caution? It’s like the gun salesman reminding his customer, “Guns don’t kill people. People do!” There are some powerful words in this book that could easily get you punched in the face—probably worse. So instead of writing impolite or vulgar next to every other word, I remind the reader to be CAUTIOUS in applying what has been learned here. That said many Thais would seriously object to a book like this being published at all. In a lot of ways a book as direct as this simply just goes against many aspects of Thai culture. I really can’t imagine a Thai ever writing something like this text of his or her own accord. But because of the outside-looking-in perspective that I offer you the reader, in this book, you will get the opportunity to really learn some extremely strong language that your Thai colleagues would rather you probably not know. I’ve yet to come across another book on Thai language quite like this one, so what you’ve got here is something unique.

      I’ve learned over the years that it’s one thing to know how to speak a foreign language, and quite another to sound cool. This book will at least give you a fighting chance. Good luck!

      T. F. Rhoden

      Usage

      One general format will be followed throughout most of the book. A concept, word or phrase will be introduced, and then an example of how that word or phrase could be used will be given. For example, when the word เม้มสตางค์ [máym sà-dtàhng] which means to hold back money or to keep a piece of the pie