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Would you mind being called a “pig” or perhaps a “buffalo”? I imagine you wouldn’t like it. But in Thailand many people are called by these names and others which seem equally strange to us. Thais have first and last names like we do, but they are often four or five syllables long and, at least for us, impossible to pronounce, what to speak of remember.
This was not always the case. A few centuries ago Thais had much shorter and less convoluted names. Only in the last few generations has it become all the rage to adopt such monstrous names. The Thais actually had to come up with a law that limits the number of syllables that a name can have. This prevented the multi syllable name game from making legal transactions unmanageable. Changing your name in Thailand is quite easy. Your name does not fit you – just select one you like better. It is a relatively simple procedure.
In Thailand you might plead “please, anything but your real name!” Fortunately most Thais use abbreviations of their real name or nicknames which are at the other end of the spectrum of the multi syllable confusion. They are mostly just one syllable long and sometimes only one letter. Often the Thais use one of the syllables of their legal name as their nickname – it does not matter which one. Some nicknames appear quite strange to us. There is Ms Pig, Mr. Buffalo, Mr. Dog, or Ms Bomb. How do they come up with those names? Here are the actual stories of friends of mine here in Thailand.
There are many nicknames that are descriptive in an odd sense. One girl I know is called “pig”. In western countries that would be very demeaning, but she was given that name since her baby fat reminded her adoring parents of a piglet. Thais believe that this is a rather cute name. Of course if ever the girl decides one day that she does not like her nickname anymore, she can simply change it. The nickname of another acquaintance of mine is “dog”. As a young child he was very talkative and a little hyper active. That reminded his family and friends of the yapping of a dog, so ‘dog’ became his nickname.
Some nicknames can have special meanings, and even magical powers. One man was always sickly as a boy and could never shake his various ailments. And so the villagers figured if they would call him “buffalo”, then the spirit of such a powerful animal would help him. There is even a saying ’strong as a buffalo’. Amazingly his chronic diseases went away and he became a strong, healthy person, true to his name. But you really should know the story behind the name since ‘buffalo’ in Thailand can also be an insult. They are considered quite stupid animals. “Stupid like a buffalo” is a derogatory way to talk about someone.
Some nicknames are descriptive in a colorful way. One of my friend’s nickname is “Green”. Her parents noticed a greenish complexion when she was born and thus called her by that name. Today, 40 years later, she looks anything but green, however she still goes by the same name.
Let’s enter the dreamtime. A good Thai friend of mine once had a dream. She went to a temple with her sister in law and a monk wanted to give a large beautiful precious stone to her sister in law. She declined the gift and requested that the monk give it to her friend who was very happy to receive it. Then she awoke from the dream and discovered that she was pregnant. She was convinced that the dream had told her that she would have a baby and so she called it Ploy, meaning ‘precious stone’ in Thai. The gift of the stone symbolized that she was about to receive something beautiful, and the pregnancy confirmed that.
Thais know no limits when it comes to creative nicknames. The same friend of mine also gave birth to a boy right around the time of the Iran-Iraq war. The Thai news agencies published regular stories about all the shooting and bombing. Since she had not been able to decide on a good nickname for her newborn son, she just called him “bomb”.
Not all nicknames are that graphic. Some are just single letters like O (pronounced Oh) , E (sounds more like the English pronunciation of ‘A’), B (pronounced ‘bee’) or D (pronounced ‘dee’). One-syllable western names like ‘Cat’ or ‘Joy’ are all the rage nowadays.
Some Thais do not use nicknames, but they are a minority. In most cases Thais will introduce themselves by their nicknames. However strange some of those nicknames appear to us, they are a blessing in disguise since we would never be able to understand, repeat or remember most of those convoluted legal names which the Thais like so much.