the perils of IM chat with non english speaking family

[khonrai]

Hi

today I was on facebook chatting with my neice.

she said she was going on holiday to Ireland for one day

So I was asking if she had passport and visa and why she was only going for one day

she seemed a little confused by all of my questions and I was getting a little worried
as to why she would only go for one day.

she sends me a pic of where she is going.

To island not ireland.

I felt like a crazy farang I am sure my neice felt the same way

I know better. Never take what a non english speaker says or writes as the gospel
or as fact

always take your time and figure out what they are trying to say.

Has anyone else had similar conversations or encounters?

[Marie]

Oh, English -what a difficult languid! When talking to native English sneakers I always need to glisten well. They talk like they roll out the worlds through their noses. And they cannot make up their minds- some words that sound the same are spelled differently while words that are spelled the same have different pronunciations and meanings. See this:

1) “I will pare the pair of pears.” 2) “Since there is no time like the present, I decided to present the present.” And 3)"girl, curl, and pearl all rhyme, but comb, tomb, and bomb do not".

That's why I often misunderstand them and I end up getting inferiority conflicts.

[paul_au]

Well there are always advanced English techniques. Spell the word the way they sound and forget about the dictionary.

[badfish]

This one here always makes me laugh. http://www.thailandqa.com/forum/show...1077#post61077

[KhaoNiaw]

Most Thai kids pronounce the 's' and you'd think she was going to Iceland! So good on your neice for not coming out with that one.
'Island' v 'Ireland' I'd be happy to put down to your unfamiliarity with her accent rather than an error.

[Betti]

well not that there is such a huge difference between "island" and "ireland" if you pronounce them :-/

by the way - perils of "chatting" with natives - you start doubting yourself if reads is a correct word and shouldn't it be "he read's", "its" and "it's" had never been a problem before but now you have to pause, not to mention the likes (or is that like's) of dogs, dog's and dogs'.
most non-natives don't make these mistakes apart from the first couple of months of learning, as these forms are so clear and logical to the likes of us (or was it like's, again?)

[TomUK]

A few months ago I wanted to call a Thai friend. He did not answer his phone and I sent him what I thought was an innocent text message - "I tried to call you.". When we spoke again the next time he was rather upset about this, but I could never figure out why. Now I am thinking that he might have understood my message as "I am tired to call you." Well, next time I speak to him I will ask him about this.

When it comes to the proper use of the English language I must admit that quite often I have a problem with the pismonunciation of worms. Only last December I ended up with fork handles on my Advent's decoration.

TomUK

[khonrai]

Hi

My neice was writing not speaking to me.

she typed in ireland instead of island

I thought her name was Lossa all these yrs until I saw it spelled on her facebook page rossa

[nam phyyng]

Oh, English -what a difficult languid! That's why I often misunderstand them and I end up getting inferiority conflicts.

Marie, from your many posts I conclude that you have an excellent grasp of the English languid.

[djaidee]

I thought her name was Lossa all these yrs until I saw it spelled on her facebook page rossa

That is quite common - there is a famous Male Thai Movie Star his Name is โฬม which will read something like "Lom", but in English his Name is written "Rome" - "R" instead of an "L".