Monday, March 29, 2010

Thai nicknames

Thais have forenames and surnames just like westerners, but the latter weren't really used until the 1920s, and are often very long. A colleague of mine is called Mr Wanichupatumkul. Most people - even adults - refer to each other by their nicknames, many of which are Anglicized. In our office we have a Cherry and an Apple; A Bow and a Boy (Boat left last year); an Ao and an Ai; a Moo (the aforementioned Wanichupatumkul); a Dear; a Night; a Jam and a Joy; a Toy; and a Pop and a Pink. But there are weirder ones out there. Take God for example! By the way, for some reason I was called Yoko by a few friends at primary school. More evidence for my post of 21 March?

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