Posts filed under 'polite and vulgar language'
Polite v. vulgar: Part Two – bodily functions
While in the West we can be quite squeamish when talking about bodily functions, and frequently employ euphemisms (‘going to see a man about a dog’, ‘going to powder one’s nose’), Thais generally have far fewer compunctions. This is not to say that there are not euphemisms, but their use is nowhere near as frequent, and Thais on the whole (if you’ll excuse my language), call a shit a shit.
The most useful word to know in this context is khee (ขี้). While on its own khee means something like ’shit’ (although it should be noted that while it is a rather blunt word, it is not considered swearing), in conjunction with other words is can mean almost any bodily excretion. For instance khee mook (ขี้มูก) is nasal mucus, khee huu (ขี้หู) is earwax, khee dtaa (ขี้ตา) is sleep from one’s eyes, and so on. You also find prik khee nu chillies, which in English are often called ‘bird’s eye’ chillies, but which actually translates as ‘mouse shit chillies’.
The equivalent word when it comes to urination, which means something along the lines of ‘pee’ in English, ischee (ฉี่), although in slightly more vulgar speech one might use the word yiaw (เยี่ยว), a word commonly used when talking about animals (hence the name for preserved eggs – khai yiaw maa – which literally means ‘horse piss eggs’. Appetising stuff).
A further word for poo, commonly used when talking to or about small children, is eu (อึ), a word that sounds so much like a young child straining to go, that it is surely onomatopoeic.
Of course, these words are very informal, and one would not normally use them in a formal context, or when talking to one’s doctor. Here one would use the word bpassawa (ปัสสาวะ) for urine, and tai bpassawa (ถ่ายปัสสาวะ) for urinate. Similarly, stools are utchara (อุจจาระ), and to defecate is tai utchara.
Another rather formal word for urine, and one that surely began as a euphemism, as the word otherwise means ‘to relieve’, ‘light’, ‘easy’, is bao (เบา). This word is used when talking of the Royal Family, and is also preserved in bao waan (literally ’sweet urine’) or diabetes.
Finally, Thais do sometimes employ more obvious euphemisms. If you are a woman and you bpai det dork mai (‘go to pick flowers’), you might actually be going to the loo, while the equivalent for men is bpai ying gratai (‘go to shoot rabbits’), expressions which no doubt have their origins in the fields.
If you are not in the fields, you will do your business in the hong nam (ห้องน้ำ – ‘water room’), hong suam (ห้องส้วม – ‘latrine room’), or more formally, the sukha (สุขา). This last one would seem to derive from suk, or pleasure. So glad to have got that out.
Add comment November 3, 2008
Polite v. vulgar: Part One – animals
In many languages, there are certain words that are used in everyday language, but which have politer versions for use in more formal settings. Bodily functions, of course, present many examples of this, as do body parts.
In Thai, this polite versus vulgar language is perhaps more encompassing than in English, and in the next few posts I want to address some of the areas in which it is used: with animals, for body parts and for bodily functions.
In part, the distinction in Thai is between formal written Thai and that spoken amongst ordinary people, but this division is far from being clear cut. The ‘formal’ version of a word might be more appropriate used in particular social settings (such as talking to a doctor or a teacher), while the ‘vulgar’ version might be used in written form when quoting speech or simply for a more informal effect.
The three animals to which the polite/vulgar distinction applies are the pig, the dog, and, somewhat surprisingly to westerners, the water monitor. The two former of these, of course, are considered dirty in many cultures, and the words for these animals are often insults. Interestingly, in Thai the common words for pig and dog are not considered particularly insulting, but they are merely considered too unrefined for formal usage.
In informal usage, ‘pig’ in Thai is moo (หมู), while the formal equivalent is sukon (สุกร), the latter word deriving from Sanskrit. Similarly Sanskrit-derived is the formal word for dog, sunak (สุนัข), as opposed to the informal maa (หมา).
The case of the water monitor is somewhat different. For some reason, calling someone a water monitor, or hia (เหี้ย), in Thai, is considered a particularly grave insult. While the word may be used with a degree of affection among close, usually male, friends (it is sometimes prefixed in front of a name and used almost as a title, indicating a degree of toughness on the part of the person thus named), in general usage it should be avoided.
Formally, therefore, a water monitor is often described as a taguat (ตะกวด), but strictly speaking this is inaccurate, as the latter is in fact a Bengal monitor, as opposed to the substantially larger water monitor. This distinction is, however, rarely observed. Another way of avoiding usage of the word hia is to speak of a tua ngern tua thong (ตัวเงินตัวทอง), or ’silver and gold creature’ instead.
Add comment October 30, 2008
