Most of my co-workers are Thai (maybe 50% anyway). I do my best to learn a little Thai, and I’m a fan of the Thai-language dictionary which has phonetic dictionaries and lots of helpful things.
Most of my coworkers have, to me, long and modestly unpronounceable names, but everyone has a nickname: Ying, Neht, Tee/Jiew and so and so forth.
My chief programmer invited me to a party this weekend, but with the “warning” that everyone would be Thai, so I said I’d look for my Babel fish but had plans already (UFC99 baby!).
My friend said they’d be doing karaoke and I pointed out that I can’t hardly speak Thai, let alone read Thai characters. He said not to worry because they always have the phonetic guide up to help with pronunciation.
Although there is a semi-enforced phonetic spelling guide it’s very adaptable, and I see how my co-workers refer to our boss by nickname (Auntie), but spell it differently, Nah Dtim, or N’Dtimm etc. I wondered what I’d do in the reverse if I was to move to Thailand; how would I spell my name.
My friend paused and said, “Actually, your name already is a Thai word.”
“Really? Ian?”
“Um. Yes.”
“Neht…what does my name mean?”
“Well, you know when you eat too much fatty food? You feel…”
“Bloated?” I suggested.
“Yes,” he said with a smile. “Bloated, or sick”.
GRRRREAT
My name in Thai is เอียน meaning the feeling you get when you’ve eaten something nauseating or sickeningly sweet. This must be addressed. I’m going to find out what the traditional meaning of the root of my name is (John) and find out the Thai version of that instead…
UPDATE: 06/12/09
Speaking with my boss about this post she corrected Neht’s translation. My name is actually Nauseous Sideburns Brooks. Great.
And John actually doesn’t have any meaning in Thai. But its pronunciation is like “Jon” which means sideburns.
Welcome my Project Manager to Thailand. May I present Dr. Bloated Sideburns Brooks.
Neht….I swear…I will do all in my power (not much then? Ed.) to get you back for this!!
Bloated, sickly sideburns.
Y’know, that suits you.
Cheers mate. First against the wall you are. When the revolution comes. First against the wall.
fwiw, I can’t actually grow sideburns; my stubble line stops at my chin, and I’m rake thin, so the name is a delightful misnomer!
Your name, Ian, is a veritable linguistic Swiss-Army knife.
In Pitjantjara, ‘Ian’ refers to the action of kicking over by accident a milk bottle that you’d left out on the doorstep only the night before;
in Basque it means a space in a municipal car park that is, frustratingly, just too small for the average family car;
in Amharic it means a ball of fluff underneath the coffee table that somehow resists all attempts to remove it by vacuuming;
in Tocharian it refers to the noise made by a Bactrian camel when trying to remove peanut butter from the roof of its mouth;
in Tagalog it means that small piece of cellophane from a cigarette packet that always sticks to your hands when you try to remove it;
in Old Norse it refers to any plea made by a Northumbrian monk before you cut his head off and run off with his illuminated manuscripts;
in Mandinka it refers to the distinctive sound made by a saz detuned to such a degree that the strings vibrate against the fingerboard;
in Hungarian it refers to the feeling one gets in one’s stomach after having queued all night at the bakery for the first gyorvehkelys of the day;
and
in Yiddish it refers to that insouciant shrug of the shoulders when you finally face the truth that your son will never achieve your ambition of becoming a Council Home Energy Inspector.
First against the wall?
I am the wall.
haha! THat is very good, Dr Bloated :)
It makes me wonder what all other names mean…. hmm… maybe it is best to leave it closed?
@HG: You sir, are a genius. I would love to play “Call my Bluff” with you (Mornington Crescent Rules, of course).
@RG: Gimme a minute here…bit early in the morning for me…I’ll have a witty repartie by lunchtime.
@AK: What’s yours mean Asa?
“Don’t mess with the arse-kicking Viking”
And having been on the “receiving end” training with Asa during Muay Thai, I can tell you truthfully: You do not want to mess with the arse-kicking Viking!
Well, there you go. QED.
So in other words then:
You are Morgan Spurlock and ICMFP.
…thanks Amy. Wow… teh internests. How you who your friends are!
Would you like fries with that?
A pint of Speckled Hen wouldn’t go amiss…
Had one of those… (thinks) two nights ago. Very nice it was too.
Pub near me got it on tap. I think I’m calling an emergency business meeting there in an hour or two…
No reason for you to visit London then.
Shame.
splort
did you see my Grandstand post!?
Nope.
And there I was thinking that a post entitled “hoo neuw” was going to be something about that wacky Dutch language (again). Ah well. Hoowarawut Noowongphaykagantharit indeed.
Mazel tof.
Ha! I actually meant to change the title before I posted! I thought it looked too Dutch (with all due respect to our Dutch colleagues….some of my best friends are Dutch!).
I’m currently chatting with a Dutch person who pretends not to be Dutch.
? that is odd… I’m reading e-Health Policy documentation and listening to Queensryche
What? Me?
I thought you were a Canadian? I’m mixing up my ex-pats again aren’t I?
If the hoed fits…
Guess what Vancouverites used to call this Vietnamese restaurant?
(Photos from here)
It’s me that’s Canadian now, do try to keep up please.
Although others have made the same mistake with us female ex-pat Europeans in North America. Me, Eva, and Asa are now actually interchangeable on NN.
… and you’ve never been seen together.
Hmm. Ponder
I did my PhD in a lab with two Dutch postdocs.
Then I did my postdoc in a lab with two Dutch students. And a supervisor.
I can’t get away from them, can I?
P.S. For a good laugh, click on
AsaEvaCath’s link, scroll down to the bottom of the comments and click on the link you’ll find there. Hint: the name of the restaurant begins with “Phat”, and is mos’ def NSFW.@Cath: oop! Sorry…
@RG: I think we might have something here y’know…some form of…conspiracy!
@RW: Glutton Pho punishment?
Rats, they’re onto us! I should’ve kept my big mouth shut.
Ian: pho shizzle (joke shamelessly stolen from that same link)
55555
Thai for LOL; 5 is pronounced ha
My mom told me that my last name means chicken butcher. Look like we are in the same food-obsessed, bloated boat.
Caryn there’s a great scientist/bioinformaticist I’m hoping to collaborate with who’s name translates to veal-flesh. Obviously the family were butchers, but what a name!
So much more expressive than Brooks: lived near a stream?! w00t FAIL
Mine means red herb (Sarbjit derived from some species of herb, Lall means red). I feel like a wimpy garnish next to chicken butcher, bloated side burns and veal flesh.
Brooks: see my name in Swedish would translate into “born of a god/goddess” [pagan gods Asar … Åsa = Asa = from Asar ]
You’re cute. I wouldn’t recommend getting punched or kicked by you either though! ;)
Cath: that is an interesting name of a restaurant there ….. :) and yeah, since it seems like we all have moved around alot and have been in Canada or soemthing like that… I guess we confuse them ^^
(watching the stanley cup finals at the moment. Clearly I am not the only one confused at this time)
exciting game! Sorry about your team…
Ftw… I believe the phrase you’re looking for is
WEEEEE AAAAAREE THE PEEENNNNNGGGGUUUINS
To the normail people, the Pittsbuuuurgh Penguins just won the Stanley Cup. :) w00t
My name means Rocky Outcropping and on a separate note I hate the Penguins!
My last name means sour in Plattdüütsch. I’d rather be living near a stream…
I think Ian and Åsa should get a room.
My name in Lakota Sioux means ‘Excuse me Madam, but does this bus go to the station?’
By the way, anyone want any eggs?
Richard, I think they’re more likely to get into a hockey fight
The Stanley Cup is a proper trophy. Look at this
compared to this
I have trophy envy
watching the stanley cup finals at the moment. Clearly I am not the only one confused at this time
I was confused and disappointed- why aren’t the Rangers there? Good game though, nice trophy.
I have decided my name really means “Englishman with massive hangover”. What on earth are you all doing up at this ungodly hour?
Actually I think it means Englishman with broken nose…
Oh, Ian, what have you done?
I think I got my nose busted sparring today. ‘Thankfully’ I’ve done it so many times the cartilage just snaps off the bone :/ can’t stop sneezing!
I was gonna ask Asa what she’s done
Cath: ha :) nothing this time around I’m afraid (for the record, I think Ian and I are 1-1 on the snapping the cartilage of the other’s nose….). I was home looking at the great tree who decided to move on top of the roof with the “almost tornado but only severe thunderstorms” Friday that shook Memphis.
‘Learn Korean in five minutes’ is fun but I’ll refrain from posting a link (which can easily be found on teh webz).
I’ve still go those eggs, you know.
Ooh! Eggs! I’d
murderkilllove a fried egg sandwich right now…I watched the last three minutes of that Stanley Cup final, which was enough I think. Then I watched (in aggregate) about five hours of a real sports event, the 24 Heures du Mans, which wasn’t nearly enough but about as much as I could fit in.
We watched UFC. 2 hours of grown men beating each other bloody in Koln, DEU. nice.
ha that’s awesome. thanks for the laugh!
Thanks for stopping by Trisha!
I’m getting more and more eggs by the day. Drowning in eggs. I had a dream last night that some of them hatched and that we were overrun with chickens, only to wake up to find that it was true.
Teach Crox Minima & Minor the art of egg juggling. In the back yard, by the compost heap.
Caption Competition Time, free-range style, folks.
A
Lifetime SupplyBumper Box of Eggs from a certain back garden in Cromer to the person who comes up with something appropriate for this:-More of a short story than a caption…
“Maisonnes Girrafes” – your one-stop solution for ostrich-sized chickens, piracy, and crap spelling.
Meh, I got nothing. Sorry.
Nice one Brooks.
Am I allows to enter? Oh, and why not. “The Curious Case of The Incredibly Shrinking Rev. Dr Ezekiel Gee”.
@RW: Yeah. best have a lie down there mate I think
@GS: Ta very much!
My dream looked very much like Graham’s picture.
A few days ago Mrs Gee went to feed the new ex-battery hens. They swarmed all over her … when she came in she said she felt like she’d been in a remake of The Birds.