Bangkok embassies tackle tongue-twisters for Thai Language Day
Foreign embassies in Bangkok marked National Thai Language Day by showing off their linguistic expertise on Friday (July 29).
Embassy Facebook pages were filled with staff members displaying their Thai skills, ranging from reciting poems with difficult-to-pronounce words to tackling tongue-twisting phrases.
Sweden’s embassy declared that Thai is among languages taught in Swedish schools nationwide, as part of the country’s policy of “mother-tongue language education” introduced in the 1960s.
“In fact, one of our Facebook page administrators learnt Thai in Sweden from this [school] programme too,” the embassy added.
The Japanese embassy’s Facebook page highlighted the birth of the Thai script eight centuries ago under the reign of King Ramkhamhaeng. It made a comparison with the Japanese writing system, which has three sets of alphabets used for different purposes.
The Australian Embassy posted a video featuring three Aussie diplomats taking on “different challenges to prove how good their Thai is”.
One of them tackled a Thai tongue-twister while another recited an eight-line verse containing difficult poetic words.
The Chinese embassy followed suit by grappling with tongue-twisting Thai phrases — most of them difficult even for locals. A video posted on the embassy’s Facebook page also featured Chinese diplomats talking fluently in Thai about how difficult it was for them to learn the language.
The US embassy challenged its American staff to “speak Thai for a day.” In the accompanying video, the staff recited their favourite Thai words and also ones difficult to pronounce.
The British embassy got in on the act with a video displaying the Thai skills of the ambassador and other officials. They were asked to pronounce the official Thai term for the United Kingdom, Thai words for certain animals, and name as many Thai dishes in 30 seconds as they could.
