User:Thanapol Chadchaideee/sandbox

Amidst rapid changes accelerated by digitization, the distinct character of rural speech, or Siang Ner in Thai, of people in my hometown of Suphan Buri has never changed. As soon as Siang Ner is spoken, we immediately know that the speaker is a native of Suphan Buri or nearby provinces such as Kanchanaburi, Ang Thong, or Ayutthaya. Though we are proud of our distinct character, sometimes we feel embarrassed at being the center of attention or even get angry after being teased by people. We say in Thai mai ruu kaa la te sa. People from other provinces often tease us by saying the phrases below: Phor kor maa (Father also comes.) Mae kor maa (Mother also comes.) Maa kan mod baanloei (All have come.)

The word  maa, as used above, means ‘to come’ in English, but the people of Suphan Buri speak it with a low tone. As Thai has five tones that give similar words a different meaning, using the wrong tone thus makes it sound similar to that of another Thai word maa which means a ‘dog’ in English. The three sentences above can thus be taken to mean the entire family members are dogs! In general, people of Suphan Buri are shy about speaking their rural accent in front of strangers, so we leave them in their own group, to freely enjoy speaking or chatting in their own patois or Siang Ner.