Poo Bum Man

Thai is not always an easy language to conquer, not least because you need to learn its five tones; rising, falling, high, low and mid. These tones can be difficult to master as, for example, the word Maa, can mean to come, horse, dog, or mother, depending on the tone employed. It's obvious then that there are many potential minefields to be found within this tonal system.

For the most part I think I have coped quite well with all these tones or perhaps the Thai have just been too polite to tell me when my speaking has gone seriously astray. Youngsters of course are less likely to contain themselves when their teacher makes a mess of her pronunciation and there have been countless occasions when my students have dissolved into laughter during roll call.

Luckily I always got the pronunciation of Poo correct- that nickname means erupt but, change the tone and you are calling him rotten. I didn't have a problem with my student Man either which is just as well; his nickname when pronounced correctly means diligent, but change the tone, and you would be calling him either useless, grease or potato.

I could never get the hang of the correct tone for Pao though. His nickname means Tribe but, it seems I always called him Bum! He wasn't so happy about it but all the other students loved it and a hush would fall over the class as the time for calling his name arrived. And I didn't mind that- it was the only quiet time I got during the hour.