Greg Gets Schooled: Linguist Stu Jay Raj Critiques a Thai Conversation [S6.E59]

This week it's Greg's turn to feel the wrath/wisdom of our
in-house Thai language guru, Stu Jay Raj. After Ed did it a few
months ago, our listeners have been waiting for Greg to take the
hot seat, so here it is. Greg recorded a short conversation with
his friend Tong, and the show starts with a replay of that
conversation. 


Greg begins by self-flagellating, but Stu tries to buck him up
and reassure him that there's nothing to be embarrassed about.
Stu begins by pointing out Greg's choppy way of speaking,
something that Greg himself had noticed when listening to
himself. This creates a problem in Thai, where length of vowels
is extremely important to clarity. Another thing Stu points out
is Greg's use of the Thai 'meuan gan', when he really should just
have used 'meuan' alone, which Stu explains with a lesson in
colloquial semantics.


The feedback continues, with Stu sometimes emphasizing
pronunciation, but also focusing on the nuances of word usage and
colloquialisms. While most non-native speakers fret over tones,
which Stu admits are important, he seems to focus more on
choosing the correct word for a particular context. 


The targeted advice continues next week in Part 2 of this
interview. 


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