We’re talking with Stu Jay Raj, who uses his fluency in 12 languages to help
Before we get started, we need to talk about our Patreon page, the only way we raise funds to support the show, and how many people have already signed up to get bonus content and extra content from us for a few bucks. There’s also our quasi-official LINE account, where a few of our followers are engaging in one-on-one conversations with Evo all the time. Are you connected with one or both of those? No? Fix that. You’ll get the warm fuzzies almost immediately! Prosody. It’s not a Thai word, but it’s not a word that either of us were familiar with. And, as it turns out, it’s key to becoming a better Thai speaker. That’s what you’ll learn when you listen to Greg’s conversation with one of the most talented and well-known polyglots in Asia, Stu Jay Raj. He’s fluent in over 12 languages including English, Thai, Lao, Indonesian, Malay, Khmer, Burmese, Spanish, Hindi, Danish, and Vietnamese, with working knowledge of several more. But he's not your average language educator. He has a degree in Cognitive and Applied Linguistics and uses his skills as a corporate facilitator, cross-cultural training specialist, and to assist multinationals, governments and NGOs in high-level conflict resolution. Here’s what you’ll learn from Stu when you listen to this conversation:
Some things really push our buttons. In this case… it’s Thai people in elevators pushing the door close or door open button. Every. Time. Even though they know the door will close in a matter of sub-seconds… they’ll still push the button. Every. Time. You can probably guess how we feel about this. But if you listen, you’ll learn a fun prank to play. (And it won’t get you kicked out of the country! Probably not.)
If it’s your first time experiencing The Bangkok Podcast, you really should get our show downloading to your phone automatically every week. If you use iOS, it’s a breeze to listen via Apple Podcasts. Android users are be able get the show any number of ways. And for bonus points, leave us a review on those platforms or however you listen to the show. We’d love to hear from you, either on the contact form on our website or through a comment or message on our Facebook page. You can Tweet to the show @bangkokpodcast or follow Greg’s tweets of snarky Bangkok goodness. Evo chronicles his Bangkok adventures on Instagram from time to time, if that’s your thing. And as mentioned, we now have a LINE account! Yep. Just for the Bangkok Podcast. Join us over there, too! See you next time on The Bangkok Podcast!