| #4 Just FYI, there is a word for foreigner in Javanese, Malaysian, and Persian (possibly others - Indo?) that are all similar forms of the "farang" sound pattern, according to an Iranian friend of mine who was suprised to hear me say it. I don't know who originated it - it's common across a large region and was, supposedly, due to intermingling among fishermen and traders in that well-populated and busy region. At first she thought I was speaking Persian (heh) and was about to correct me as I had emphasized the wrong syllable (1st in Persian) and used the Thai penchant for substituting an "el" for the "ar" sound had thrown her, heh... all I knew was the Thai pronunciation, lol. VERY common word - with little or no apparent pejorative or hostile connotation. Current usage has some, of course, but it originated a hell of a long time ago. "fah-lahng" is the most common Thai pronunciation. Perisan is, IIRC, "fah-rayng". Prolly misremembering that one, lol. |