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**WertyNtont** · 06-09-2006, 05:54 PM

Norb, different languages have peculiarities of their own. I think this is such a peculiarity of the Thai language.

In Hindi, 'Haam' is yes. When speaking to superiors, they always say 'Haamji'. 'Ji' is for courtesy or respect. 'Ji' is as commonly used in Hindi as 'kha' and 'krup' in Thai.

Similarly, 'ko' is added at the end of verbs in my own spoken native language to indicate politeness or courtesy.

In the English language, when you say 'you should not do bad things', it can also mean we should not do bad things in general. Such generalisation is not possible in my native language.

I recall how this peculiarity in English once landed me in trouble!

But I just don't know how to explain this to a 4-year old.

06-09-2006, 05:54 PM	#7
WertyNtont Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 481 Senior Member	Norb, different languages have peculiarities of their own. I think this is such a peculiarity of the Thai language. In Hindi, 'Haam' is yes. When speaking to superiors, they always say 'Haamji'. 'Ji' is for courtesy or respect. 'Ji' is as commonly used in Hindi as 'kha' and 'krup' in Thai. Similarly, 'ko' is added at the end of verbs in my own spoken native language to indicate politeness or courtesy. In the English language, when you say 'you should not do bad things', it can also mean we should not do bad things in general. Such generalisation is not possible in my native language. I recall how this peculiarity in English once landed me in trouble! But I just don't know how to explain this to a 4-year old.
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