Words, Words, Words
The English language is rich in vocabulary. Thai has fewer words. You understand the precise meaning from the context. Sawatdee kap, for example, can mean hello or goodbye. When you meet someone it means hello; when you leave, it means goodbye.
I wanted an electrical plug at the warehouse and was shown a socket. I did not know the Thai for “plug” and for the life of me I could not explain what I wanted. Pushing three fingers into an imaginary hole to mimic a plug going into a socket was obviously amusing to the salesgirl but it didn’t get me very far. In another aisle, I saw what I wanted and called her over. Seemed odd that plugs and sockets were not displayed in the same place.
“This is what I want. I’ll take two. What are they called in Thai?”
“Plug.” We call them both “plug.”
There may be a specific word for socket but it is never used. Most Thais say plug.
I also needed some half-inch flexible hose to join some rigid tubes. I knew I was going to have trouble describing that to a sales assistant. Gesturing with my hands again, I eventually got what I had visited the shop for.
She came back with my change and said the owner had told her the word was tek.
An interesting afternoon. It reminded me a little of the Ronnie Barker Four Candles sketch where there was amusing confusion in the shop with the words four candles being mistaken for fork handles.
You may also like my previous story.
https://link.medium.com/1hwsY1NuGnb
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