Tone deaf
Re: "Mask mandate to ease in June", (BP, May 25).
The continued mask-wearing mandate will cause long term problems for Thai students learning English.
This is my assertion following 28 years of teaching this subject both here in Bangkok and back home in the United Kingdom.
When learning a language, one has to hear and mimic the exact sound. Yet with the teacher wearing a mask, the high frequencies needed for English are distorted and even reduced to negligible muffled sounds.
Moreover, most young students are unable to observe the specific position of the tongue, which is vital for the "th" and "v", not to mention "z" as well as the minute differences between the "sh" and "ch" blend.
Unlike Thai, English is a non-tonal language, so students are not able to use tone (which is not affected by the wearing of a face mask) as a clue to fill in the missing high frequencies within the consonants.
Many Thai children and adults had issues with these sounds even before Covid. In my opinion, Thai pronunciation in English, which is so vital for this country to compete on the world stage, will be diminished even further until this mask-wearing mandate is removed.
DAVID JACKSON
Vits trump jabs
Re: "Ministry eyes cutting virus alert to Level 2", (PostBag, May 31).
Most new fatalities are people aged 70 years and older, and over half of them were unvaccinated, Chakrarat Pittayawonganon, director of the epidemiology division at the Department of Disease Control said.
He added that it is important for the high-risk group to be vaccinated and receive booster shots to prevent the worst effects of the virus.
According to Reuters, 98.2% of Thailand's population has received two doses of Covid vaccine. So the above statement clearly indicates the vaccines are highly ineffective.
Half of new-case hospitalisations and deaths are among those who are double-dosed, and no children are dying of Covid-19. However, many children are suffering myocarditis, pericarditis, neurological disorders and liver disease caused by the vaccines. As such, isn't it time to end vaccinations altogether and administer vitamin D3 while emphasising a healthier lifestyle?
MICHAEL SETTER
Toxically un-Thai
Re: "Wissanu rejects dumping Thai numbers", (BP, May 31).
Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam has his priorities right as he rightly rejects the impertinent suggestion that Thai numerals be dropped in place of Arabic numerals, which the Western world adopted centuries ago merely for their practical convenience.
Thai numerals are a pillar of Thai culture, both its globally potent soft power and its battle-tested real-world influence. To suggest reform of that pillar of Thai pride for centuries is clearly to seek to overthrow it. Such an assault must be met with the full weight of the law, lest Thailand be dragged into something as unimaginably un-Thai as the 20th century, or even the 21st.
To further ensure the enshrined exceptionalism of Thailand's most anciently venerated ways, efforts must also be made to halt and reverse other Western, foreign, that is, encroachments that have taken root. An obvious example is the invasion of motor cars, motorbikes, BTS trains and such like that have been introduced merely in the name of convenience, efficiency and thriving growth.
FELIX QUI
