ดึงดูดใจ: Thai Lyrics and Translations

Thai Lyrics and Translation blog…

After falling for the catchy tune by Cham Cham Ramis, กรุณาฟังให้จบ /gà-rú-naa fang hâi jòp/, I found the Thai-English translation on a new (to me) Thai Lyrics and Translation blog, ดึงดูดใจ /deung-dòot jai/. Excellent! Translation sites for Thai songs are few and far between – many more are needed.

Aiming to feature ดึงดูดใจ on WLT, I shot off an email to Tahmnong, the creator of the site. The about page was a good start for a post but I wanted more (I always want more, yes?)

But, silly me, I assumed Tahmnong was a guy so added a tidbit so’s not to scare him off: The site name is tongue in cheek… not many women learn Thai ;-)

Seems I overlooked ขอบคุณค่ะ on the about page. Ooops. No ครับ – ค่ะ is a female polite partical.

Sending a laughing email back, Tahmnong (Melodie) was thrilled to answer a few questions about herself and the origins of her Thai Lyrics and Translation blog.

Melodie and ดึงดูดใจ…

You know, you are right. I know so many men learning Thai but only a handful of women. We’re a rare breed! ;)

Hmm, what else about me can I share? I am a girl, haha, in my mid 20s. An American-born Puerto Rican/Romanian who spent so much time in Thailand while growing up, I feel more comfortable there than anywhere else in the world.

My dad was in the air force stationed in Thailand during the Vietnam War. He fell in love with the place so we were constantly going on vacations to Thailand whenever possible.

I also went my first year of college to Rangsit University before deciding a degree from an American university would probably do me better in the long run.

When I was younger, my Thai friends gave me the ชื่อเล่น /chêu-lên/ (nickname) Tahmnong (ทำนอง) since it’s the direct translation of my American name, Melodie (Spanish name Melodía), and it’s stuck ever since.

As a kid, I missed Thailand so much whenever I was back in America that I loved listening to music and watching movies and lakorns; they reminded me of the country.

Because of my love for Thailand, my desire to spend more time there in the future, as well as the lack of subtitles/translations for most Thai media, I started comprehensively studying Thai on my own in high school. I learned from books and practiced by subtitling interviews and movies and translating songs for fun.

With Thai music getting more world-wide attention, I decided to create Deungdutjai to share my many translations with the world. And in case anyone was like me, using song lyrics as a learning aid, the translations are line-by-line with romanization as well.

I love anything and everything to do with translation, the study and teaching of languages, and understanding of foreign cultures, especially Thai, so I’m always happy to contribute however I can with any kindred spirits.

Someday I’d like to expand my blog to song and album reviews as well, so more people can comment and share opinions and interactions. But, as my plate is rather full right now, I’m afraid of biting off more than I can chew. To at least keep my song translations updated daily, any sort of expansion will have to wait for the time being.

I’m currently living in California finishing school for one more year before I move to South Korea with my Korean boyfriend for a while. But there will definitely be plenty more vacations back to the Land of Smiles!

Tahmnong (Melodie)
ดึงดูดใจ: Thai Lyrics and Translation blog