Laurian della:LOST IN TRANSLATION, 2014

Volunteer Stories | 25/10/2025 | |

Laurian della:LOST IN TRANSLATION, 2014
30 พ.ค.,2016 Jason

Laurian della:LOST IN TRANSLATION, 2014
Laurian della:LOST IN TRANSLATION, 2014
Laurian della:LOST IN TRANSLATION, 2014
  • During my time teaching English in Thailand, I have been so proud of how much vocabulary my students have learned. However, there are still some English words that seem to get a little lost—or rather, transformed—in translation and pronunciation.
  • For example, “toes” become “foot fingers,” which actually makes a lot of logical sense if you think about it. A “seal” turns into a “water cat,” and honestly, that’s not far off if you consider “sea lion.” A “flashlight” becomes a “sun stick,” and “sea horse” is translated as “water horse” because in Thai, the word for seahorse is ma nam — ma meaning horse and nam meaning water. I can understand why that one causes confusion.
  • Then there’s “Spiderman,” which somehow becomes “Spitman.” I can only imagine what that superhero’s costume would look like! “Gloves” are called “hand socks,” which fits the same pattern as “foot fingers.”
  • One of the funniest mix-ups happened with “beauty” and “booty.” The vowel sounds ū and oo may seem similar, but they mean completely different things. After hearing several students say “Teacher, you have much booty,” I realized I needed to go back and review vowel sounds. The students meant to compliment my beauty, but the result was quite different!
  • Another memorable moment was when I asked a student, “Why didn’t you bring your notebook?” The English word “Why” sounds exactly like the Thai word “Wai,” which refers to a polite bow used in greeting or showing respect. So when I repeated, “Why? Why?” my student thought I was telling him to perform three wais. He responded by bowing three times in front of the class! Once I understood what was happening, I couldn’t help but laugh.
  • Teaching across languages is full of these small, funny misunderstandings. They remind me that while words may get lost in translation, laughter always finds its way through.
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