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Being a Good Person and Being a Vegetarian Sufficiency Economy “Cross-cultural communication and pragmatic failure among Thais and foreigners speaking English”
Being a Good Person and Being a Vegetarian Back to top “You know you can be a good person without becoming a vegetarian.” I was mystified by this comment from Jane, not her real name, who calls herself a ‘good person’ and is obviously not a vegetarian. I was visiting an orphanage, speaking with the head of the organization who did not know that I am a vegetarian. She was characterizing some of the volunteers who are vegetarians as trouble-makers because they try to demonstrate how good they are by not eating meat. I was provoked because I never thought that I would hear those kinds of words from this woman, especially because the volunteers, who happen to be vegetarian, are trying to help the orphaned kids, children she claims she loves. At the same time, she talked about how good she is because she loves children and can even stay with the children all day and all night. People who work there are assumed to be good people. I believe that no one in this world is a hundred percent good but I think that those who work there are generous and charitable because they work for the benefit of needy kids for little pay. I am grateful for the work they do. So why do people not eat meat? And what do people mean when they call someone a ‘good person‘? Are these two ideas related or not? ‘Vegetarian’ refers to people who do not eat meat, fish and poultry. However, vegetarians are categorized by the American Dietetic Association into groups; vegans, or strict vegetarians, lacto vegetarians, and lacto-ovo vegetarians. The differences between the groups are determined by the kinds of animal products they consume. Vegans or strict vegetarians are people who do not consume anything made from or by animals at all. They do not eat meat, poultry, fish, eggs, milk, cheese, and other dairy products, and also avoid wearing or using products which involve the death of animals. Lacto vegetarians are people who do not consume meat, poultry, fish, or eggs but consume dairy products such as milk, cheese, yogurt (without gelatin), butter, cream, and kefir. Lacto-ovo vegetarians eat dairy products and also include eggs in their diets. They are the group of vegetarians who consume the greatest amount of animal products. There are also people who call themselves vegetarians because they do not eat some kinds of animals like red meat, or the meat of ‘large’ animals, like cows and buffaloes. Some of these people still eat fish, or chicken, or seafood. I have been a lacto-ovo vegetarian for almost two years. I do not eat any animals but I still consume eggs, dairy products and use products made from animals, like leather. Many people in Thailand think that it is very difficult to be a vegetarian because they have to be careful when they eat or cook. They believe that they can eat less kinds of food and that they have to cook by themselves if they cannot buy food from a restaurant. They also assume that there might be difficulty ordering food when they go out especially to a regular restaurant or that sometimes they could go hungry because they cannot find vegetarian food, etc. Some of them say that I am a very good person because I do not eat meat. It is true that being vegetarian can be difficult, but only for some people. People become vegetarians for different reasons, but does everyone who wants to be a good person have to become a vegetarian? Many people become vegetarians and regard themselves as kind-hearted or good people because they do not kill and eat any animal product. They also think that they are better than people who do consume animal products. But this is not everyone’s motivation. I began to dislike eating meat when I was young, I had seen my uncle kill a pig by hitting its head with a club and stabbing a long metal spike into its neck. The pig screamed loudly many times, like a person would, until it died. It was very traumatic to see the animal suffer. After seeing that, I ate less meat but still ate some food made from animals. As time passed I kept thinking about the suffering of the animals being killed so I started to avoid eating meat by the giving meat in my food to other people and eating only the vegetables. That continued for about ten years. At that time, I was often very weak and got sick easily but I did not know why. I visited the doctor regularly but no one ever asked me about my eating habits so I never thought it was related to my weakness. Eating the way I did didn’t provide enough nutrition for my body. I ate only vegetables I liked, and did not care about what my body needed. My body lacked healthy food. I avoided meat but did not replace it with anything nutritous. Later, vegetarian food was my new choice. A good vegetarian diet has variety and provides all the nutrients that a meat-eating diet does, including protein, calcium, and important vitamins. After eating vegetarian food I noticed that my body was stronger so I decided to be a vegetarian. Going to the doctor often is something I no longer need to do. Good health is something that everyone wishes for. Doctors and dieticians worldwide have recognized that following vegetarian diets can provide many health benefits. According to the American Dietetic Association, vegetarian diets can reduce the risk of heart disease, colorectal, ovarian and breast cancers, diabetes, obesity and hypertension (high blood pressure). Data from the China Health Project suggests that vegetarianism could help to prevent 80% of breast cancer deaths among women (quoted in Vegetarianism by Brett). There are more reasons which make people become vegetarians. In some religions, for example Hinduism, vegetarianism is taught as a moral practice. Many people are instructed by their doctors to reduce or avoid eating meat either during specific treatments or to improve different aspects of their health, like cholesterol levels. Some people become vegetarians because they were born in vegetarian families or they have vegetarian partners. Trend can be a reason as well. Many people now become vegetarians because it is popular. Whatever the reason, it is a person’s right to choose to be a vegetarian or not. So what about ‘good people’? Who are they? It is easy to tell the meaning of the word ‘people’ but ‘good’ has many different meanings in different places. After all, people in different groups have very different ideas about morality, and right and wrong. Do good people have to be successful? Rich? Kind and generous? Some people are called good because of their everyday behavior, while others are given this label for a single important act, like a donation or heroic action. Many times people forget about bad things someone has done when he has just done one good thing that impresses everyone. One way that many people judge goodness is from a religious view. From this perspective, good people are ones who follow the teachings of their religion. For example, in Buddhism, there are five commandments which Buddhists are supposed to follow. They are Pānātipātā veramani sikkhāpadam samādiyāmi (I promise to refrain from killing living beings), Adinnādānā veramani sikkhāpadam samādiyāmi (I promise to refrain from stealing), Kāmesu micchācāra veramani sikkhāpadam samādiyāmi (I promise to refrain from sexual misconduct), Musāvāda veramani sikkhāpadam samādiyāmi (I promise to refrain from lying) and Surā meraya majja pamādatthānā veramani sikkhāpadam samādiyāmi (I promise to refrain from drinking alcohol). In Thailand, about 94% of population practice Buddhism but many Buddhists cannot follow all of them strictly, all of the time. The precept that teaches us to not kill animals is particularly problematic because meat is a part of many different dishes in Thailand. In the central region, fish sauce and shrimp paste are the main seasonings. In the North, food is usually made from pork, beef, chicken and fish. Also in the northeast area, Issan, people like to eat “Lap”, a spicy minced meat or chicken and barbecued chicken with papaya salad. In the South, many kinds of food come from the sea such as shrimp, shellfish, crabs or fish. Meat is mixed in various foods and it also an important source of energy for people so many of them find it difficult to stop eating meat. This is why Buddhists in Thailand, where the diet has a lot of meat in it, often call vegetarians good people. Many Christians, on the other hand, believe that nature and animals were created for humans to use and benefit from, and so they do not have any objections to using animals for food or clothing. So in a world with people of many different religions, which do not agree on spiritual practices, how can we choose whether being a vegetarian is really good or bad? Most people in the world would agree that a good person is someone who does not harm or make any trouble for others, and who is helpful to other people and society. How does vegetarianism match this definition? By not eating meat, a vegetarian does not really cause more or less harm to other people, and except for possible environmental or health impacts, also does not create a lot of benefit for others or society in general. According to this general definition of ‘good person’, vegetarians do not seem to be any better or worse than anyone else. Is it true that all vegetarians are good people? People claim that Leonardo Da Vinci, the famous painter, inventor, and highly respected Renaissance scholar was a vegetarian, but so was Adolf Hitler. Some vegetarians are known as good people, while others are not, and this almost never has anything to do with their chosen diet. For me, when Buddhist Thai people find out that I do not eat meat and call me a good person, I know they really mean that this is one good thing that I do. People have different motivations for becoming vegetarians, and they hope to get benefits from doing that choice. It might be their way of trying to be a good person but it is just as likely to be for personal, selfish reasons. Being vegetarians does not mean that a person is always good because avoiding consuming animal products is not the only thing that makes humans good people. I, in fact, agree with what the head of the orphanage said to me, that you do not have to be a vegetarian to be good, but not in the way she meant it. Most vegetarians do not choose their diets to show others how good they are, but instead to follow their own personal needs or beliefs. Vegetarians are not all good, or all bad, we just do not eat animals. Sources: http://alumnus.caltech.edu/~brett/whyveg.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lacto_vegetarianism http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Five_Precepts http://www.brown.edu/Student_Services/Health_Services/Health_Education/nutrition/veg.htm http://www.eatright.org/cps/rde/xchg/ada/hs.xsl/advocacy_933_ENU_HTML.htm http://www.eatright.org/cps/rde/xchg/ada/hs.xsl/index.html http://www.marimari.com/content/thailand/general_info/religion/religion.html http://www.thaifocus.com/thaifood.htm http://www.thailandchefs.com/modules.php?name=Page_View&page=ThaiKitchen.html http://www.vrg.org/nutshell/vegan.htm Sufficiency Economy Back to top Sufficiency Economy is a philosophy introduced to Thai people by His Majesty the King providing guidance on appropriate conduct covering numerous aspects of life which point the way for recovery that will lead to a more resilient and sustainable economy, better able to meet the challenges arising from globalization and other changes (http://www.sufficiencyeconomy.org/detail.swf). The term “Sufficiency Economy” is familiar to Thai people, but there is a question, at least for me, whether Thai people really understand the meaning or the concept of that philosophy. I believe that there are even some people who definitely understand it but still do not know how to apply it to their lives efficiently. Many times I hear people say “We Love The King” and many of them say that they should follow his teachings especially the one about sufficiency economy, but in reality not every of them does what they say and there are still many people whose actions are quite opposite to this principle. In his meaning, sufficiency means moderation and due consideration in all modes of conduct, together with the need for sufficient protection from internal and external shocks (http://www.sufficiencyeconomy.org/detail.swf). But it seems difficult to see moderation among Thai people since there are still many people who are materialistic and love giving importance to the amount of the money they have. They also use the amount of money as a tool to put people in different classes. This leads to a desire to be richer and control more money than others, to increased competition and to more conflicts in society. However, there are still lots of people who understand and can apply the King’s theory to their lives which creates real happiness for them. I would like to give an example of a person who faces this situation. I got to know his story through a documentary TV program called Khon Khon Khon by TV Burabha. It is a story of “Laem” Poonsak Somboon a farmer in Yasothorn who chooses to be a farmer, a humble job in many people’s eyes. Laem owns 16 rai of farmland. He divides his farm into many parts, plants many different things and feeds fish and frogs on his property. Laem is very good at management and a part of this is a result of following the King’s theory. His behavior is ridiculous in many people’s eyes especially his plans to send his sons to school until they finish Mattayom 3 and then to continue his dream of being good and successful farmers. Some people think that he is insane since he does not want his sons to go to university and get a degree which would help improve the family’s status. I agree with Laem about one failure of the Thai educational system because schools do not teach people to be real people living with reality but it teaches people to live in a fictitious, idealized world. People with high education are not always successful and do not always have really happy lives. On the other hand, people with low education might be more successful and happier. Apart from that, the Thai education system does not seem able to teach people to live and be satisfied with what they have because even highly educated people still cannot stop themselves from being greedy. Worse than that, it makes some Thai people look down upon each other especially those who are poorer. Sufficiency Economy is a philosophy which aims to help Thai people and which was created by the King who never thinks about taking any advantage from Thai people. If Thai people really do love the King, they should learn more about his teachings and follow them effectively. Sufficiency is a moderation which will never make people poor because as long as people think they have enough, they do not have to feel unhappy, envious, or ashamed when they compare themselves to people who have more. "Cross-cultural communication and pragmatic failure among Thais and foreigners speaking English” Back to top Introduction “As a result of the Industrial Revolution, the British economic predominance in the 19th century paved the way for colonialism of large geographical reach that spread the English language in the world. More importantly, the strong political and military predominance of the U.S. after World War II paved the way for a substantial economic and cultural influence that displaced French from the sphere of diplomacy and fixed English as the standard for international communication.” (Schutz, 2005) To communicate between people from different nations who do not share a common native language, English as an international language is being used world-wide. Generally, there will be misunderstandings when people from different countries speak English to each other. The causes of the problem can be semantic or pragmatic, and what is behind these problems is culture, which is attached to humans everywhere. As a result of different cultural backgrounds, some people unintentionally offend others by their words or conversation produced by their communicative behaviors. Something appropriate for some people in some situations in some countries is not so for others. Today English is very important in Thai society. Many Thai people use English for studying and working. They have more chances to speak English and talk to foreigners who come to study, work or travel in Thailand. They try to make friends or have a good relationship with foreigners in order to improve their language ability or to get more benefit for their business. It is expected that misunderstandings will occur when Thais and foreigners speak English to each other. The problem is foreigners have difficulty understanding the Thai speakers’ intended meanings. It is not their fault but it is because of they are from a different culture so they interpret contexts’ meanings differently. So we can say that culture is one cause of misunderstanding when people from different countries talk to each other. This paper aims to analyze and explain some ways of misinterpreting messages by answering the following questions: · Why are some foreigners displeased by Thai people’s greeting? · Why are some Thai people unhappy when greeted by foreigners? · Why do some foreigners feel uncomfortable having a conversation with Thai people? · Why are some Thai people bored talking to foreigners? The explanation will be examined in term of semantics and pragmatics to show the different meanings of the same messages as interpreted by Thai people and western people. The information used in this paper is from interview, textbook, and internet sources and the examiner’s experience. The outcome will provide more understanding of the speaking cultures of Thais and westerners, leading to more successful communication and a decrease of misunderstandings. Greetings Many Thai people try to improve their English by making new foreign friends in Thailand. It is the cheapest way and seems easy but sometimes Thai people offend foreigners because they speak English based on Thai speaking culture. The way they talk, their gestures and what they like to talk about is directed by Thai social rules and norms. Thailand is known as the “Land of Smiles” and a land of friendly people. When Thai people meet foreigners they will try to be really friendly. The first thing people usually do when they meet people is to give a greeting. There are many Thai ways to greet and show friendliness. Some of them impress many listeners but some can make listeners, especially foreigners, feel unhappy. In these examples, “S” refers to a Thai speaker and “L” refers to a western listener. Normally Thai people greet others by saying the following: สวัสดีครับ /sa wad dee krab/ (a male greeting) สวัสดีค่ะ /sa wad dee ka/ (a female greeting) The suggestions for using these two greetings are: when a male says สวัสดีครับ /sa wad dee krab/ or a female S says สวัสดีค่ะ /sa wad dee ka/, a male L should say สวัสดีครับ /sa wad dee krab/ back to S and a female L should say สวัสดีค่ะ /sa wad dee ka/. Both สวัสดีครับ and สวัสดีค่ะ can mean the same as “Hi”, “Hello”, “Good morning”, “Good afternoon” and “Good evening”. สบายดีไหม /sabaii dee mai/ or เป็นอย่างไรบ้าง /pen yang rai bang/ The meaning of these questions is “How are you?” in English. It is fine if L just answers สบายดีครับ /sa baii dee krab/ or สบายดีค่ะ /sa baii dee ka/ which mean “I’m fine” because sometimes S just wants to say hi and has no time to wait for L to think about his answer. But sometimes S expects to get a real answer from this question so L has to tell him the truth, L’s real emotion. กินข้าว(แล้ว)หรือยัง /gin kao (laew) reu yang/ These questions mean “Have you had rice yet?” or “Have you eaten yet?”. Eating and food are related to body and health so this question will be asked when S want to show L that he cares for him. L just answers either yes or no. Sometime L is supposed to answer this question quickly. If not, S might walk away before L answers. Besides the questions mentioned above, there are more ways to say hello which are not used as greetings by westerners. ไปไหน /pai nai/ (“Where are you going?”) ไปไหนมา /pai nai maa/ (“Where did you go?” / “Where have you been?”) These are questions people usually ask when they walk past each other. The first one, ไปไหน /pai nai/, is usually used in a passing context because it’s very short, only 2 syllables, and the speaker can say it quickly. Because Thais usually use it with each other, they usually ask this question when they talk to foreigners who speak different languages. When L is asked, he is supposed tell the place he is going to go. The latter question can cause a problem when some foreigners want to answer. They will have a problem telling Thai people the places they have been because they are not sure if Thais want to know about every place he has been or not. So when S asks this question, L just answers or tells S the last or most noteworthy spot L has been or just chooses to tell S a name of a place L thinks that S knows. All are examples of greetings used by Thais to show sincerity and interest in the listener. However, the two last questions can be problematic. These questions seem nosy to foreigners but Thais do not mean to put their noses into others’ business. They just want to show their interest which shows that they care about whom they talk to. This is why Thais are often surprised when foreigners answer those questions by saying, “It’s none of your business.” or “Why do you want to know?” because their intention is just a simple greeting. If we look at these questions in terms of semantics and pragmatics, we will see that both questions, ไปไหน /pai nai/ and ไปไหนมา /pai nai maa/ show misunderstanding between a Thai speaker and a western listener. The entailments of these are “Where are you going?” and “Where did you go?” or “Where have you been?”. The meaning in the speaker’s mind is “I want to show you that I’m friendly”, but the listener’s interpreted meaning is “You are trying to get involved in my affairs which are not your business”. The problem is caused by a difference in sentence entailment and speaker’s intended meaning. On the other hand, foreigners can make Thai people feel uncomfortable by their greetings, too. One cause is varieties of questions which mean the same thing. Some Thai people have a problem answering many questions like “How are you doing?”, “How are things?”, “How have you been?”, “How do you do?” etc. because they are usually asked the simple question “How are you?” They are not sure of the meanings of those questions or they may misunderstand the meaning of the question, for example: John: How do you do? Somchai: I’m a teacher. From the example we will see that Somchai is confused between two questions, “How do you do?” and “What do you do?”. John: How have you been? Somchai: I have been to Pattaya. Here, Somchai confuses the meaning of the questions “How have you been?” and “Where have you been?”. John: How are you doing? Somchai: I’m eating. Again, Somchai has misinterpreted the question “How are you doing? as “What are you doing?”. Apart from this confusion, many times Thai people understand the questions correctly but are too nervous to answer accurately. Also, some Thai people have trouble thinking about their answers because they want to tell their real feelings or situations but do not know how to say it in English. This difficulty comes from a lack of language competence. All the examples above demonstrate that showing friendliness by greeting can actually cause problems for both speakers and listeners. Thais and foreigners often have the same, uncomfortable feeling when they talk to each other, and one cause of the problem is that they are from different places. They have different ways of life. They speak different languages so most utterances they make result from the language background of their first language. Small Talk Besides greeting, trying to have a good relationship with small talk can also create problems between speakers and listeners. In small talk, the main function is to break a silence, but it can also be used as a relationship builder. Having a small conversation is one way to build a relationship but it can cause a problem also because a different culture creates a different conversation. Thai people sometime anger foreigners when they try to have a small talk with them because Thai people usually talk about personal issues which foreigners usually avoid. · คุณอายุเท่าไหร่ /koon aayuu thao rai/ (“How old are you?”) This question is one of many questions Thai citizens love to ask other people and they expect the listener to answer this question. But in English-speaking countries, people do not like to ask and do not like to be asked about their ages so they are annoyed to talk about it with a person who they have just met. However, Thai people do not mean to be annoying. They have their own reason to ask this question. In Thailand, politeness is very important. Being polite to older people is part of the Thai social hierarchy. This explains why Thai people usually start a conversation by asking other people’s ages with the question, “How old are you?” From the answer, they can address others properly which will show that they are polite. Thai people almost always address each other with titles which show their relative social positions. For example, a speaker will call someone a little older than himself พี่ /phii/ (“older sibling”) before that person’s name. If someone is a bit younger than the speaker, he or she will be called น้อง /nawng/ (“younger sibling”). Thais also address compare people’s ages with their parents, so that if a person is older than the speaker’s parents, he will call him ลุง /loong/ (“elder uncle”) or her ป้า /pa/ (“elder aunt”). A person younger than the speaker’s parents will be called น้า /naa/ (“younger maternal aunt or uncle”) or อา /aa/ (“younger paternal aunt or uncle”). In English, people call others by name or using a title and last name, depending on the relationship between them, so this also shows that asking ages is not immediately necessary. Another popular question Thai people often ask is: · คุณทำงานอะไร /koon tam ngan arai/ (“What job do you do?”) A listener is expected to answer the question because there is no reason to keep the name of legal job a secret. Knowing the other person’s job is a way for Thai people to know their relative social positions and how to speak and act with each other. For Thai people, this is very important. Aside from finding out social positions, Thais also use this question to learn more about other jobs and careers as well as the other person’s skills. For many westerners however, the question is not socially important, and may make people feel like they are being criticized or stereotyped. After asking about a person’s job, Thai people usually ask: · คุณได้เงินเดือนเท่าไหร่ /koon dai ngern deuan thao rai/ (“How much money do you make every month?”) This related question is very interfering for foreigners and even for some Thai people. This question’s objective is to find out more information about other jobs, and then the speaker can think about changing his job to improve himself or to make more money. The speaker may even suggest that a new job for the listener. However, it is not suitable for foreigners to talk about salaries with people who do not know each other well. This question seems to place a social importance on money that foreigners don’t find necessary for brief conversations. On the other hand, foreigners can also introduce topics which Thai people are not interested in discussing. In small talk, foreigners usually talk about general things like weather or events, sports, traveling, etc with people who they have just met. For example: · It looks like it is going to rain. · Did you hear about the fire in India? · Do you think Liverpool is going to win tonight? These are examples of how foreigners start a conversation. Often, they talk about sports or weather, which are topics that fairly neutral. For Thai people, these topics are too general and do not give people a chance to get to know each other. Some Thai people have difficultly continuing the conversation because they do not enjoy talking about things so unrelated to themselves. Small talk sounds easy to do but people should not forget to think about ‘safe topics’ which might make their conversation partner uncomfortable. Otherwise it will become a relationship destroyer rather than a relationship builder. Culture still affects people ideas and attitudes and it should not be ignored. Conclusions “Most of our misunderstandings of other people are not due to any inability to hear them or to parse their sentences or to understand their words… A far more important source of difficulty in communication is that we so often fail to understand a speaker’s intention.” (qtd. in Thomas) In conclusion, cultural awareness in conversation is important for making good relationships between people from different backgrounds. Both Thais and foreigners can cause communication breakdowns by they misunderstanding each other as a result of having different conceptions attached to the same words or sentences. It is not anyone’s fault that these differences occur. However, it is everyone speaker’s duty to try to learn more about other cultures that they have to deal with often. Understanding the other's culture facilitates cross-cultural communication and can decrease misunderstandings between Thais and westerners when speaking together in English. References: Grundy, Peter. “Doing Pragmatics” Hodder Arnold Publications, London, 2000. Higbie, James and Thinsan, Snea. “Thai References Grammar: The Structure of Spoken Thai” Orchid Press, Bangkok, 2003 Lockwood, Daniel. Personal interview. 19 January 2007. Redmond, Mont. “Wondering into Thai Culture” Redmondian Insight Enterprises Co., Ltd. Bangkok, 2002. Schutz, Ricardo. “English – The International Language” 14 September 2005. <http://www.sk.com.br/sk-ingl.html> Thomas, Jenny. “Cross-Cultural Pragmatic Failure” Applied Linguistics 4. 1983: 2. 91- 112 Back to top

“Equalizer, a guardian of women's rights, is normally a student living in Uttaradit. She will appear anytime there is a gender inequality.”

Webboard & Comment

Being a Good Person and Being a Vegetarian
Sufficiency Economy
“Cross-cultural communication and pragmatic failure among Thais and foreigners speaking English”

Being a Good Person and Being a Vegetarian

“You know you can be a good person without becoming a vegetarian.” I was mystified by this comment from Jane, not her real name, who calls herself a ‘good person’ and is obviously not a vegetarian. I was visiting an orphanage, speaking with the head of the organization who did not know that I am a vegetarian. She was characterizing some of the volunteers who are vegetarians as trouble-makers because they try to demonstrate how good they are by not eating meat. I was provoked because I never thought that I would hear those kinds of words from this woman, especially because the volunteers, who happen to be vegetarian, are trying to help the orphaned kids, children she claims she loves.

At the same time, she talked about how good she is because she loves children and can even stay with the children all day and all night. People who work there are assumed to be good people. I believe that no one in this world is a hundred percent good but I think that those who work there are generous and charitable because they work for the benefit of needy kids for little pay. I am grateful for the work they do.

So why do people not eat meat? And what do people mean when they call someone a ‘good person‘? Are these two ideas related or not?

‘Vegetarian’ refers to people who do not eat meat, fish and poultry. However, vegetarians are categorized by the American Dietetic Association into groups; vegans, or strict vegetarians, lacto vegetarians, and lacto-ovo vegetarians. The differences between the groups are determined by the kinds of animal products they consume. Vegans or strict vegetarians are people who do not consume anything made from or by animals at all. They do not eat meat, poultry, fish, eggs, milk, cheese, and other dairy products, and also avoid wearing or using products which involve the death of animals. Lacto vegetarians are people who do not consume meat, poultry, fish, or eggs but consume dairy products such as milk, cheese, yogurt (without gelatin), butter, cream, and kefir. Lacto-ovo vegetarians eat dairy products and also include eggs in their diets. They are the group of vegetarians who consume the greatest amount of animal products. There are also people who call themselves vegetarians because they do not eat some kinds of animals like red meat, or the meat of ‘large’ animals, like cows and buffaloes. Some of these people still eat fish, or chicken, or seafood.

I have been a lacto-ovo vegetarian for almost two years. I do not eat any animals but I still consume eggs, dairy products and use products made from animals, like leather. Many people in Thailand think that it is very difficult to be a vegetarian because they have to be careful when they eat or cook. They believe that they can eat less kinds of food and that they have to cook by themselves if they cannot buy food from a restaurant. They also assume that there might be difficulty ordering food when they go out especially to a regular restaurant or that sometimes they could go hungry because they cannot find vegetarian food, etc. Some of them say that I am a very good person because I do not eat meat. It is true that being vegetarian can be difficult, but only for some people. People become vegetarians for different reasons, but does everyone who wants to be a good person have to become a vegetarian?

Many people become vegetarians and regard themselves as kind-hearted or good people because they do not kill and eat any animal product. They also think that they are better than people who do consume animal products. But this is not everyone’s motivation.

I began to dislike eating meat when I was young, I had seen my uncle kill a pig by hitting its head with a club and stabbing a long metal spike into its neck. The pig screamed loudly many times, like a person would, until it died. It was very traumatic to see the animal suffer. After seeing that, I ate less meat but still ate some food made from animals. As time passed I kept thinking about the suffering of the animals being killed so I started to avoid eating meat by the giving meat in my food to other people and eating only the vegetables. That continued for about ten years.

At that time, I was often very weak and got sick easily but I did not know why. I visited the doctor regularly but no one ever asked me about my eating habits so I never thought it was related to my weakness. Eating the way I did didn’t provide enough nutrition for my body. I ate only vegetables I liked, and did not care about what my body needed. My body lacked healthy food. I avoided meat but did not replace it with anything nutritous. Later, vegetarian food was my new choice. A good vegetarian diet has variety and provides all the nutrients that a meat-eating diet does, including protein, calcium, and important vitamins. After eating vegetarian food I noticed that my body was stronger so I decided to be a vegetarian. Going to the doctor often is something I no longer need to do.

Good health is something that everyone wishes for. Doctors and dieticians worldwide have recognized that following vegetarian diets can provide many health benefits. According to the American Dietetic Association, vegetarian diets can reduce the risk of heart disease, colorectal, ovarian and breast cancers, diabetes, obesity and hypertension (high blood pressure). Data from the China Health Project suggests that vegetarianism could help to prevent 80% of breast cancer deaths among women (quoted in Vegetarianism by Brett).

There are more reasons which make people become vegetarians. In some religions, for example Hinduism, vegetarianism is taught as a moral practice. Many people are instructed by their doctors to reduce or avoid eating meat either during specific treatments or to improve different aspects of their health, like cholesterol levels. Some people become vegetarians because they were born in vegetarian families or they have vegetarian partners. Trend can be a reason as well. Many people now become vegetarians because it is popular. Whatever the reason, it is a person’s right to choose to be a vegetarian or not.

So what about ‘good people’? Who are they? It is easy to tell the meaning of the word ‘people’ but ‘good’ has many different meanings in different places. After all, people in different groups have very different ideas about morality, and right and wrong. Do good people have to be successful? Rich? Kind and generous? Some people are called good because of their everyday behavior, while others are given this label for a single important act, like a donation or heroic action. Many times people forget about bad things someone has done when he has just done one good thing that impresses everyone.

One way that many people judge goodness is from a religious view. From this perspective, good people are ones who follow the teachings of their religion. For example, in Buddhism, there are five commandments which Buddhists are supposed to follow. They are Pānātipātā veramani sikkhāpadam samādiyāmi (I promise to refrain from killing living beings), Adinnādānā veramani sikkhāpadam samādiyāmi (I promise to refrain from stealing), Kāmesu micchācāra veramani sikkhāpadam samādiyāmi (I promise to refrain from sexual misconduct), Musāvāda veramani sikkhāpadam samādiyāmi (I promise to refrain from lying) and Surā meraya majja pamādatthānā veramani sikkhāpadam samādiyāmi (I promise to refrain from drinking alcohol).
In Thailand, about 94% of population practice Buddhism but many Buddhists cannot follow all of them strictly, all of the time. The precept that teaches us to not kill animals is particularly problematic because meat is a part of many different dishes in Thailand. In the central region, fish sauce and shrimp paste are the main seasonings. In the North, food is usually made from pork, beef, chicken and fish. Also in the northeast area, Issan, people like to eat “Lap”, a spicy minced meat or chicken and barbecued chicken with papaya salad. In the South, many kinds of food come from the sea such as shrimp, shellfish, crabs or fish. Meat is mixed in various foods and it also an important source of energy for people so many of them find it difficult to stop eating meat. This is why Buddhists in Thailand, where the diet has a lot of meat in it, often call vegetarians good people. Many Christians, on the other hand, believe that nature and animals were created for humans to use and benefit from, and so they do not have any objections to using animals for food or clothing. So in a world with people of many different religions, which do not agree on spiritual practices, how can we choose whether being a vegetarian is really good or bad?

Most people in the world would agree that a good person is someone who does not harm or make any trouble for others, and who is helpful to other people and society. How does vegetarianism match this definition? By not eating meat, a vegetarian does not really cause more or less harm to other people, and except for possible environmental or health impacts, also does not create a lot of benefit for others or society in general. According to this general definition of ‘good person’, vegetarians do not seem to be any better or worse than anyone else.

Is it true that all vegetarians are good people? People claim that Leonardo Da Vinci, the famous painter, inventor, and highly respected Renaissance scholar was a vegetarian, but so was Adolf Hitler. Some vegetarians are known as good people, while others are not, and this almost never has anything to do with their chosen diet. For me, when Buddhist Thai people find out that I do not eat meat and call me a good person, I know they really mean that this is one good thing that I do.

People have different motivations for becoming vegetarians, and they hope to get benefits from doing that choice. It might be their way of trying to be a good person but it is just as likely to be for personal, selfish reasons. Being vegetarians does not mean that a person is always good because avoiding consuming animal products is not the only thing that makes humans good people. I, in fact, agree with what the head of the orphanage said to me, that you do not have to be a vegetarian to be good, but not in the way she meant it. Most vegetarians do not choose their diets to show others how good they are, but instead to follow their own personal needs or beliefs. Vegetarians are not all good, or all bad, we just do not eat animals.

Sources:

http://alumnus.caltech.edu/~brett/whyveg.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lacto_vegetarianism

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Five_Precepts

http://www.brown.edu/Student_Services/Health_Services/Health_Education/nutrition/veg.htm

http://www.eatright.org/cps/rde/xchg/ada/hs.xsl/advocacy_933_ENU_HTML.htm

http://www.eatright.org/cps/rde/xchg/ada/hs.xsl/index.html

http://www.marimari.com/content/thailand/general_info/religion/religion.html

http://www.thaifocus.com/thaifood.htm

http://www.thailandchefs.com/modules.php?name=Page_View&page=ThaiKitchen.html

http://www.vrg.org/nutshell/vegan.htm

Sufficiency Economy

Sufficiency Economy is a philosophy introduced to Thai people by His Majesty the King providing guidance on appropriate conduct covering numerous aspects of life which point the way for recovery that will lead to a more resilient and sustainable economy, better able to meet the challenges arising from globalization and other changes (http://www.sufficiencyeconomy.org/detail.swf).

The term “Sufficiency Economy” is familiar to Thai people, but there is a question, at least for me, whether Thai people really understand the meaning or the concept of that philosophy. I believe that there are even some people who definitely understand it but still do not know how to apply it to their lives efficiently. Many times I hear people say “We Love The King” and many of them say that they should follow his teachings especially the one about sufficiency economy, but in reality not every of them does what they say and there are still many people whose actions are quite opposite to this principle.

In his meaning, sufficiency means moderation and due consideration in all modes of conduct, together with the need for sufficient protection from internal and external shocks (http://www.sufficiencyeconomy.org/detail.swf). But it seems difficult to see moderation among Thai people since there are still many people who are materialistic and love giving importance to the amount of the money they have. They also use the amount of money as a tool to put people in different classes. This leads to a desire to be richer and control more money than others, to increased competition and to more conflicts in society. However, there are still lots of people who understand and can apply the King’s theory to their lives which creates real happiness for them. I would like to give an example of a person who faces this situation. I got to know his story through a documentary TV program called Khon Khon Khon by TV Burabha. It is a story of “Laem” Poonsak Somboon a farmer in Yasothorn who chooses to be a farmer, a humble job in many people’s eyes. Laem owns 16 rai of farmland. He divides his farm into many parts, plants many different things and feeds fish and frogs on his property. Laem is very good at management and a part of this is a result of following the King’s theory. His behavior is ridiculous in many people’s eyes especially his plans to send his sons to school until they finish Mattayom 3 and then to continue his dream of being good and successful farmers. Some people think that he is insane since he does not want his sons to go to university and get a degree which would help improve the family’s status. I agree with Laem about one failure of the Thai educational system because schools do not teach people to be real people living with reality but it teaches people to live in a fictitious, idealized world. People with high education are not always successful and do not always have really happy lives. On the other hand, people with low education might be more successful and happier. Apart from that, the Thai education system does not seem able to teach people to live and be satisfied with what they have because even highly educated people still cannot stop themselves from being greedy. Worse than that, it makes some Thai people look down upon each other especially those who are poorer.

Sufficiency Economy is a philosophy which aims to help Thai people and which was created by the King who never thinks about taking any advantage from Thai people. If Thai people really do love the King, they should learn more about his teachings and follow them effectively. Sufficiency is a moderation which will never make people poor because as long as people think they have enough, they do not have to feel unhappy, envious, or ashamed when they compare themselves to people who have more.

"Cross-cultural communication and pragmatic failure

among Thais and foreigners speaking English”
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Introduction

“As a result of the Industrial Revolution, the British economic predominance in the 19th century paved the way for colonialism of large geographical reach that spread the English language in the world. More importantly, the strong political and military predominance of the U.S. after World War II paved the way for a substantial economic and cultural influence that displaced French from the sphere of diplomacy and fixed English as the standard for international communication.” (Schutz, 2005)

To communicate between people from different nations who do not share a common native language, English as an international language is being used world-wide. Generally, there will be misunderstandings when people from different countries speak English to each other. The causes of the problem can be semantic or pragmatic, and what is behind these problems is culture, which is attached to humans everywhere. As a result of different cultural backgrounds, some people unintentionally offend others by their words or conversation produced by their communicative behaviors. Something appropriate for some people in some situations in some countries is not so for others.

Today English is very important in Thai society. Many Thai people use English for studying and working. They have more chances to speak English and talk to foreigners who come to study, work or travel in Thailand. They try to make friends or have a good relationship with foreigners in order to improve their language ability or to get more benefit for their business. It is expected that misunderstandings will occur when Thais and foreigners speak English to each other. The problem is foreigners have difficulty understanding the Thai speakers’ intended meanings. It is not their fault but it is because of they are from a different culture so they interpret contexts’ meanings differently. So we can say that culture is one cause of misunderstanding when people from different countries talk to each other.

This paper aims to analyze and explain some ways of misinterpreting messages by answering the following questions:

·        Why are some foreigners displeased by Thai people’s greeting?

·        Why are some Thai people unhappy when greeted by foreigners?

·        Why do some foreigners feel uncomfortable having a conversation with Thai people?

·        Why are some Thai people bored talking to foreigners?

The explanation will be examined in term of semantics and pragmatics to show the different meanings of the same messages as interpreted by Thai people and western people. The information used in this paper is from interview, textbook, and internet sources and the examiner’s experience. The outcome will provide more understanding of the speaking cultures of Thais and westerners, leading to more successful communication and a decrease of misunderstandings.

Greetings

Many Thai people try to improve their English by making new foreign friends in Thailand. It is the cheapest way and seems easy but sometimes Thai people offend foreigners because they speak English based on Thai speaking culture. The way they talk, their gestures and what they like to talk about is directed by Thai social rules and norms.

Thailand is known as the “Land of Smiles” and a land of friendly people. When Thai people meet foreigners they will try to be really friendly. The first thing people usually do when they meet people is to give a greeting. There are many Thai ways to greet and show friendliness. Some of them impress many listeners but some can make listeners, especially foreigners, feel unhappy.

In these examples, “S” refers to a Thai speaker and “L” refers to a western listener.

Normally Thai people greet others by saying the following:

สวัสดีครับ /sa wad dee krab/   (a male greeting)

สวัสดีค่ะ /sa wad dee ka/   (a female greeting)

The suggestions for using these two greetings are: when a male says สวัสดีครับ /sa wad dee krab/ or a female S says สวัสดีค่ะ /sa wad dee ka/, a male L should say สวัสดีครับ /sa wad dee krab/ back to S and a female L should say สวัสดีค่ะ /sa wad dee ka/.

Both สวัสดีครับ and สวัสดีค่ะ can mean the same as “Hi”, “Hello”, “Good morning”, “Good afternoon” and “Good evening”.

สบายดีไหม /sabaii dee mai/ or เป็นอย่างไรบ้าง /pen yang rai bang/

The meaning of these questions is “How are you?” in English. It is fine if L just answers สบายดีครับ /sa baii dee krab/ or สบายดีค่ะ /sa baii dee ka/ which mean “I’m fine” because sometimes S just wants to say hi and has no time to wait for L to think about his answer. But sometimes S expects to get a real answer from this question so L has to tell him the truth, L’s real emotion.

กินข้าว(แล้ว)หรือยัง /gin kao (laew) reu yang/

These questions mean “Have you had rice yet?” or “Have you eaten yet?”. Eating and food are related to body and health so this question will be asked when S want to show L that he cares for him. L just answers either yes or no. Sometime L is supposed to answer this question quickly. If not, S might walk away before L answers.

Besides the questions mentioned above, there are more ways to say hello which are not used as greetings by westerners.

ไปไหน /pai nai/ (“Where are you going?”)

ไปไหนมา /pai nai maa/ (“Where did you go?” / “Where have you been?”)

These are questions people usually ask when they walk past each other. The first one, ไปไหน /pai nai/, is usually used in a passing context because it’s very short, only 2 syllables, and the speaker can say it quickly. Because Thais usually use it with each other, they usually ask this question when they talk to foreigners who speak different languages. When L is asked, he is supposed tell the place he is going to go. The latter question can cause a problem when some foreigners want to answer. They will have a problem telling Thai people the places they have been because they are not sure if Thais want to know about every place he has been or not. So when S asks this question, L just answers or tells S the last or most noteworthy spot L has been or just chooses to tell S a name of a place L thinks that S knows.

All are examples of greetings used by Thais to show sincerity and interest in the listener. However, the two last questions can be problematic. These questions seem nosy to foreigners but Thais do not mean to put their noses into others’ business. They just want to show their interest which shows that they care about whom they talk to. This is why Thais are often surprised when foreigners answer those questions by saying, “It’s none of your business.” or “Why do you want to know?” because their intention is just a simple greeting.

If we look at these questions in terms of semantics and pragmatics, we will see that both questions, ไปไหน /pai nai/ and ไปไหนมา /pai nai maa/ show misunderstanding between a Thai speaker and a western listener. The entailments of these are “Where are you going?” and “Where did you go?” or “Where have you been?”. The meaning in the speaker’s mind is “I want to show you that I’m friendly”, but the listener’s interpreted meaning is “You are trying to get involved in my affairs which are not your business”. The problem is caused by a difference in sentence entailment and speaker’s intended meaning.

On the other hand, foreigners can make Thai people feel uncomfortable by their greetings, too. One cause is varieties of questions which mean the same thing. Some Thai people have a problem answering many questions like “How are you doing?”, “How are things?”, “How have you been?”, “How do you do?” etc. because they are usually asked the simple question “How are you?” They are not sure of the meanings of those questions or they may misunderstand the meaning of the question, for example:

John:                How do you do?

Somchai:          I’m a teacher.

From the example we will see that Somchai is confused between two questions, “How do you do?” and “What do you do?”.

John:                How have you been?

Somchai:          I have been to Pattaya.

Here, Somchai confuses the meaning of the questions “How have you been?” and “Where have you been?”.

John:                How are you doing?

Somchai:          I’m eating.

Again, Somchai has misinterpreted the question “How are you doing? as “What are you doing?”.

Apart from this confusion, many times Thai people understand the questions correctly but are too nervous to answer accurately. Also, some Thai people have trouble thinking about their answers because they want to tell their real feelings or situations but do not know how to say it in English. This difficulty comes from a lack of language competence.

All the examples above demonstrate that showing friendliness by greeting can actually cause problems for both speakers and listeners. Thais and foreigners often have the same, uncomfortable feeling when they talk to each other, and one cause of the problem is that they are from different places. They have different ways of life. They speak different languages so most utterances they make result from the language background of their first language.

Small Talk

Besides greeting, trying to have a good relationship with small talk can also create problems between speakers and listeners. In small talk, the main function is to break a silence, but it can also be used as a relationship builder. Having a small conversation is one way to build a relationship but it can cause a problem also because a different culture creates a different conversation. Thai people sometime anger foreigners when they try to have a small talk with them because Thai people usually talk about personal issues which foreigners usually avoid.

·        คุณอายุเท่าไหร่ /koon aayuu thao rai/ (“How old are you?”)

This question is one of many questions Thai citizens love to ask other people and they expect the listener to answer this question. But in English-speaking countries, people do not like to ask and do not like to be asked about their ages so they are annoyed to talk about it with a person who they have just met. However, Thai people do not mean to be annoying. They have their own reason to ask this question.

In Thailand, politeness is very important. Being polite to older people is part of the Thai social hierarchy. This explains why Thai people usually start a conversation by asking other people’s ages with the question, “How old are you?” From the answer, they can address others properly which will show that they are polite. Thai people almost always address each other with titles which show their relative social positions. For example, a speaker will call someone a little older than himself พี่ /phii/ (“older sibling”) before that person’s name. If someone is a bit younger than the speaker, he or she will be called น้อง /nawng/ (“younger sibling”). Thais also address compare people’s ages with their parents, so that if a person is older than the speaker’s parents, he will call him ลุง /loong/ (“elder uncle”) or her ป้า /pa/ (“elder aunt”). A person younger than the speaker’s parents will be called น้า /naa/ (“younger maternal aunt or uncle”) or อา /aa/ (“younger paternal aunt or uncle”). In English, people call others by name or using a title and last name, depending on the relationship between them, so this also shows that asking ages is not immediately necessary.

Another popular question Thai people often ask is:

·        คุณทำงานอะไร /koon tam ngan arai/ (“What job do you do?”)

A listener is expected to answer the question because there is no reason to keep the name of legal job a secret. Knowing the other person’s job is a way for Thai people to know their relative social positions and how to speak and act with each other. For Thai people, this is very important. Aside from finding out social positions, Thais also use this question to learn more about other jobs and careers as well as the other person’s skills. For many westerners however, the question is not socially important, and may make people feel like they are being criticized or stereotyped.

After asking about a person’s job, Thai people usually ask:

·        คุณได้เงินเดือนเท่าไหร่ /koon dai ngern deuan thao rai/ (“How much money do you make every month?”)

This related question is very interfering for foreigners and even for some Thai people. This question’s objective is to find out more information about other jobs, and then the speaker can think about changing his job to improve himself or to make more money. The speaker may even suggest that a new job for the listener. However, it is not suitable for foreigners to talk about salaries with people who do not know each other well. This question seems to place a social importance on money that foreigners don’t find necessary for brief conversations.

On the other hand, foreigners can also introduce topics which Thai people are not interested in discussing. In small talk, foreigners usually talk about general things like weather or events, sports, traveling, etc with people who they have just met. For example:

·        It looks like it is going to rain.

·        Did you hear about the fire in India?

·        Do you think Liverpool is going to win tonight?

These are examples of how foreigners start a conversation. Often, they talk about sports or weather, which are topics that fairly neutral. For Thai people, these topics are too general and do not give people a chance to get to know each other. Some Thai people have difficultly continuing the conversation because they do not enjoy talking about things so unrelated to themselves.

Small talk sounds easy to do but people should not forget to think about ‘safe topics’ which might make their conversation partner uncomfortable. Otherwise it will become a relationship destroyer rather than a relationship builder. Culture still affects people ideas and attitudes and it should not be ignored.

Conclusions

“Most of our misunderstandings of other people are not due to any inability to hear them or to parse their sentences or to understand their words… A far more important source of difficulty in communication is that we so often fail to understand a speaker’s intention.” (qtd. in Thomas)

In conclusion, cultural awareness in conversation is important for making good relationships between people from different backgrounds. Both Thais and foreigners can cause communication breakdowns by they misunderstanding each other as a result of having different conceptions attached to the same words or sentences. It is not anyone’s fault that these differences occur. However, it is everyone speaker’s duty to try to learn more about other cultures that they have to deal with often. Understanding the other's culture facilitates cross-cultural communication and can decrease misunderstandings between Thais and westerners when speaking together in English.

References:

Grundy, Peter. “Doing Pragmatics” Hodder Arnold Publications, London, 2000.

Higbie, James and Thinsan, Snea. “Thai References Grammar: The

Structure of Spoken Thai” Orchid Press, Bangkok, 2003

Lockwood, Daniel. Personal interview. 19 January 2007.

Redmond, Mont. “Wondering into Thai Culture” Redmondian Insight

Enterprises Co., Ltd. Bangkok, 2002.

Schutz, Ricardo. “English – The International Language” 14 September

2005. <http://www.sk.com.br/sk-ingl.html>

Thomas, Jenny. “Cross-Cultural Pragmatic Failure” Applied Linguistics

4. 1983: 2. 91- 112

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