'Falang' or 'farang'?

[marshal]

I am aware of the different meanings of the word farang,could anyone tell me what the correct saying is?Is it farang or falang? Sometimes you see it as the spelling with the R other times with an L.
I was wondering if it was westerners who pronounce this word differently??
I have been referred to as farang many times by thais, but not falang??

[stogie bear]

Same same... You can get away with either.

Farang is the lazy Thai way of saying falang!

[Guest]

Cool always good to be amongst the Lazy Thai category

[daveduke007]

I think that you will find a lot of Thai's dont pronounce their "R"'s and instead it sounds like an "L"

Another example is "Loom" instead of "Room"

[daveduke007]

(stogie bear @ Mar. 04 2008,12:43) Farang is the lazy Thai way of saying falang!

I would have thought it the opposite actually Mr Bear

[marshal]

Cheers guys

[stogie bear]

You are indeed collect, Dave!

[69billy]

Same same.....

[rxpharm]

daveduke007 is right - but it isn't just a Thai thing, many Asians have trouble pronouncing "r" correctly, unless they were raised in a Western country, or had an excellent English teacher!

[si geena]

Only the Scots can do the right "r".

[olekunde]

falang is slang, or typical northeastern/lao way of speaking

you can hear correct pronounciation on thai news, tv or radio: rrrrroy baht, rrrip rrrrroi etc

[bigmick22]

the equivalent in Issan is Potsida/Boksida.

Not quite sure which - I used to say Potsida and now I say Boksida. Either way, they know what I'm saying

For those who want to know, "Sow Ow" (both pronounced to rhyme with cow in English) is Issan for shut up. That always gets a laugh when I say it (in a playful, gentle manner only) - followed by a puzzled stare as they wonder how a falang/boksida would know how to say that

Best used when 1 or more LBs start speaking Issan in front of you. Dreadful rudeness on their part, altogether.

[EyeMahk]

Unless educated in English, the Thai brain does not distinguish the difference between "farang" and "falang". And even if their English is OK, their brain has to "stop thinking in Thai" to differentiate the "r" and "l" sound. To put it simply, "Right" and "Light" come into a Thai person's ear differently but when they reach the brain, they are processed the same. Try it sometime, even with a Thai that speaks good English. Say "turn on the right switch, please" or "do you think it will lain today?" in a casual manner and I'll bet the Thai will not even correct you or even know you misspoke; they'll turn on the light or answer the question about the rain.

Much like a Thai person saying "nee mai mai mai" ("This is not new wood") in three tones, your brain has to work very hard to distinguish the difference between the tones of mai. Likewise for "khon kai dtua" - depending on the tones, it means someone who sells tickets or a prostitute. But you won't hear the difference unless you are listening for it.

[stogie bear]

Great post. Thanks.

[si geena]

(EyeMahk @ Mar. 06 2008,12:35) Unless educated in English, the Thai brain does not distinguish the difference between "farang" and "falang". And even if their English is OK, their brain has to "stop thinking in Thai" to differentiate the "r" and "l" sound. To put it simply, "Right" and "Light" come into a Thai person's ear differently but when they reach the brain, they are processed the same. Try it sometime, even with a Thai that speaks good English. Say "turn on the right switch, please" or "do you think it will lain today?" in a casual manner and I'll bet the Thai will not even correct you or even know you misspoke; they'll turn on the light or answer the question about the rain.

Much like a Thai person saying "nee mai mai mai" ("This is not new wood") in three tones, your brain has to work very hard to distinguish the difference between the tones of mai. Likewise for "khon kai dtua" - depending on the tones, it means someone who sells tickets or a prostitute. But you won't hear the difference unless you are listening for it.

Interesting observation.

I'm learning some basic Thai right now so it doesn't gel with what I'm learning.

In the Thai alphabet, there's a clear distinction between the "r" and the "l" sounds, there are 2 consonants per sound. I rather think that it's the uneducated/ lazy Thais who lapse into the usage of "l" when it should be a rolling "r" or even displace it altogether.

For example, "krap" (polite particle) is also commonly expressed as "kap".

And again, the newscasters are often the examples of good and accurate speakers of the language, I don't think it's because of their exposure to English.

Of course, if you want to break ice with a go-go girl, it's not too friendly to sound all-too haughty with accurate Thai. A bit of code-switch would be better.