Minor local celebrity Adam Bradshaw, an English language teacher and blogger in Bangkok, has spoken out against Thais who annoyingly speak their mother tongue with a Western accent in an attempt to sound “hi-so.”
In a widely shared Facebook post, Adam, an American expat known for writing and speaking Thai at native-speaker level, snapped at Thai people who have lived abroad for a few years and then suddenly forget how to speak Thai clearly – a trend that has been around in Thai culture for decades as an attempt to flaunt financial status.
“You’ve lived abroad for 2-3 years and forgot your mother tongue? I don’t believe it! I know many Thais who have lived abroad for decades and they can still speak Thai clearly. Their English is fluent as well. They may have forgotten something but their accent doesn’t change,” Adam wrote in Thai.
“Being pretentious and not speaking Thai clearly isn’t cool. It doesn’t make you seem more hi-so. Be proud of your beautiful Thai language. Meanwhile, trying to speak your second language fluently is not considered pretentious. It will just help you communicate better.”
Adam’s comment was a response to a rude Thai twitter user, who told Adam “not to tell Thais how to speak Thai” as the American teacher often brings up the issue.
The post has received almost 30,000 likes with most people nodding in agreement.
“You are a native speaker, and you claim you live somewhere for too long so you cannot speak Thai clearly? There are only three causes for that 1) Just being pretentious 2) Exaggerating 3) Having forgotten where you come from,” a top comment said.
Related:
OPINION: Why international kids who grew up in Thailand don’t speak Thai
