ศาลาชุมนุม

[Tgeezer]

The penchant for Thais to teach foreigners Thai that sounds foreign is just plain crazy .

Because it is the only chance they get to try to get us morons to behave in a respectful manner; they can't tell us to put a shirt on, to cover our tattoos, have a shave, keep our voices down, etc.
There are people who are paid to teach us and our friends, neither want our behaviour to reflect badly on them, or to affect the way we are treated by other Thais. If we respect our teachers we follow suit until we decide not to and project our own image if that is different.
Naturally, if you never use respectful language, you are unlikely to hear any.

[Pirin]

If a new learner of Thai intentionally says, "คับ", he can sound like a kid younger than ten. Some might think that he is funny and secretly smile to hear it.

If he says, "ครับ" clearly, a lot of us value his attempt to say words in Thai correctly although he might not sound natural.

This is to say that, a speaker doesn't look funny when he says anything in Thai and ends the last statement with "ครับ".

In addition, the way I communicate in English can be an example of how a learner (of English) tries to use a foreign language. I don't sound as natural as native speakers. I believe that my message can sound somewhat like a part of the text in the dictionary or textbook. But that is the best I can do, and I think it sounds proper enough. I immitate the right model.

By contrast, what would native speakers (of English language) think if my messages were similar to those of text messaging because I have read some models, for example:

“some people believe that texting is REALLY harmful. no, it’s not harmful at all. Matter of fact, it can help with your spelling if you type on word. Yes, some people do like to use IM such as lol, jk, rofl, ect. But how can some think that students are stupid enough to get IM mixed in with their typical english. I text a lot and as a matter of fact, I’m a great speller. For example, I will spell the longest word in the dictionary... ANTIDISESTABLISHMENTARIANISM. look, I’m not stupid, it doesn’t interfear with anything”.

Is it ganna be alrite if IM trying to immitate this, lol?

In short, please say, "ครับ" instead of "ขอรับ", its old version, or "คับ", the incorrect one.

[Vortarulo]

Now, do we know the etymology of คะ and ค่ะ then? We now assume that ครับ comes from ขอรับ (which makes sense), but where might the female form come from? A different word?

[JSW88]

If a new learner of Thai intentionally says, "คับ", he can sound like a kid younger than ten. Some might think that he is funny and secretly smile to hear it.

If he says, "ครับ" clearly, a lot of us value his attempt to say words in Thai correctly although he might not sound natural.

This is to say that, a speaker doesn't look funny when he says anything in Thai and ends the last statement with "ครับ".

In addition, the way I communicate in English can be an example of how a learner (of English) tries to use a foreign language. I don't sound as natural as native speakers. I believe that my message can sound somewhat like a part of the text in the dictionary or textbook. But that is the best I can do, and I think it sounds proper enough. I immitate the right model.

By contrast, what would native speakers (of English language) think if my messages were similar to those of text messaging because I have read some models, for example:

“some people believe that texting is REALLY harmful. no, it’s not harmful at all. Matter of fact, it can help with your spelling if you type on word. Yes, some people do like to use IM such as lol, jk, rofl, ect. But how can some think that students are stupid enough to get IM mixed in with their typical english. I text a lot and as a matter of fact, I’m a great speller. For example, I will spell the longest word in the dictionary... ANTIDISESTABLISHMENTARIANISM. look, I’m not stupid, it doesn’t interfear with anything”.

Is it ganna be alrite if IM trying to immitate this, lol?

In short, please say, "ครับ" instead of "ขอรับ", its old version, or "คับ", the incorrect one.

Is this sentiment shared by other native Thai speakers? I was taught to use คับ by Thais and have never heard a male speaker use ครับ around me in normal conversation. Nor have I ever heard any adverse reactions to me using คับ, but I could be unaware of it.

I would prefer to sound like a native speaker rather than a pompous farang so I've just always imitated their pronunciations.

[David and Bui]

Is this sentiment shared by other native Thai speakers? I was taught to use คับ by Thais and have never heard a male speaker use ครับ around me in normal conversation. Nor have I ever heard any adverse reactions to me using คับ, but I could be unaware of it.

I would prefer to sound like a native speaker rather than a pompous farang so I've just always imitated their pronunciations.

Thank you very much for that information. I was completely unaware that Thais believe that saying ครับ indicated pomposity. Does this usage apply to all registers and social groups and regions or is it particular to certain areas and groups?

[Nan]

I was completely unaware that Thais believe that saying ครับ indicated pomposity. Does this usage apply to all registers and social groups and regions or is it particular to certain areas and groups?

I don't think saying ครับ indicated pomposity. I always admire anyone who can say clear ครับ, but if anyone can't say it's ok, nothing wrong with that either.

[JSW88]

I've never been told directly that it comes off as being pompous, and I would certainly take a native Thai's opinion over mine. But to me, if Thais who have been speaking the language their entire lives choose to omit the ร sound, then why would I choose to pronounce it and sound not only more foreign but somewhat condescending? If I hear them pronounce it as คับ and I say ครับ to me it's as if I'm subtly correcting them in my usage of their own language, for no reason other than to prove that I'm capable of pronouncing it correctly when they don't.

This is just my perspective on it though. I've adopted the philosophy of "When in Rome, do as the Romans do" in my approach to learning and speaking Thai. I would prefer to sound as much like them as possible, regardless of whether it's necessarily the "correct" way of speaking.

[Vortarulo]

... to me it's as if I'm subtly correcting them in my usage of their own language, for no reason other than to prove that I'm capable of pronouncing it correctly when they don't.

I can imagine. It's somehow like (as a foreigner) answering someone's question "Do you wanna come?" with "Yes, I want to come."

[Tgeezer]

... to me it's as if I'm subtly correcting them in my usage of their own language, for no reason other than to prove that I'm capable of pronouncing it correctly when they don't.

I can imagine. It's somehow like (as a foreigner) answering someone's question "Do you wanna come?" with "Yes, I want to come."

เยี่ยมมากคับ
ยอดเยี่ยมมากครับ

Those are comments on a Facebook picture, both people belong to the same club and are friends on facebook.
Needless to say there were no comments made about their individual writing styles.