good vs. bad
Posted: Sun Jun 06, 2010 10:45 am
I’ve just returned to Thailand after a 30 year hiatus and spent a rather eventful month in Bangkok. Way back when I was stationed in the Northeast for four years in the U.S. Peace Corps and developed a great love for Thai-Isan (Lao) people. I was surprised and saddened to hear a fellow-Thai in Bangkok refer to them by the term “prai” ไพร่ which I always thought of as the opposite to “poo dee” ผู้ดึ, literally a “good person,” or someone of more noble station. Does this make “prai” ไพร่ a “poo mai dee” ผู้ไม่ดี? I am not interested in any political remarks about the recent crisis – I don’t care if you wear a red shirt, a yellow shirt, a green shirt or go bare-chested!!! I am interested in knowing whether the term “prai” ไพร่ still carries negative connotations and the derivation of this word, as well as that of the word “poo dee.” ผู้ดึ