I mean, I'm not a complete cultural loser: I know my language. I know Thai history better than most Thai people apparently. I know the basics of Buddhism. But no... I haven't done Thai literature yet. Shame on me.
Well, truth be told, I really haven't done any American or European literature either: I'm all about history books, politics, and geography. (Yes... who knew I'd grow up to be so boring and pedantic?)
But, even I know Tom Sawyer, The Grapes of Wrath, and Hamlet... and Phra Abhai Mani is all of those to Thai people. (Although my maid couldn't remember the name of Phra Abhai Mani's brother, so maybe its' renown isn't as extant as I was lead to believe... but still.)
Anyway, it's a fun, fantastical story that so far basically is Captain Kirk, Thai style: Phra Abhai Mani goes zipping from one fantastical place to another, meets some alien babe like a giantess or a mermaid, bangs her, and then moves on to the next girl. (He loves each one though. Thai people call this "chai mee lai horng" or "his heart has many rooms." So does Hugh Heffner's mansion buddy.) He's also got a flute that works like the Vulcan Nerve Pinch, which is cool.
Anyway, as good as it is, it is probably much better in the original Thai since it was an epic poem of sorts. However, the last thing I want to try to do at this point in time is have the powerful tide of my brain meet with the jagged rocks of written Thai. Why do I say that, you ask?
What's worse, Thai language just drops vowels, as in "Oh, you know what vowel goes there, you silly thing... just spit it out!"
But that's just for starters. When they do put vowels in, the vowels will be after (as per usual), above, below, or even before the consonant they follow.
Then, as a final bit of confusion, if a sentence starts with a vowel, just put "Ch" in front keep it simple, OK?
No wonder Thai people have such a tough time with subtitles at movies. Imagine that flashing up on the screen for 3 seconds. Read it! Quick!
No comments:
Post a Comment