Main Translations

• English: Bully
• Thai: กลั่นแกล้ง (Glan glaeng)
• Phonetic: Glan glaeng (pronounced as "glan" with a short 'a' sound, and "glaeng" rhyming with "length").
• Detailed Explanation: "กลั่นแกล้ง" is primarily used as a verb to describe the act of bullying, which involves intimidating, harassing, or dominating someone physically, emotionally, or verbally. It carries strong negative emotional connotations, often implying power imbalance and repeated behavior. Usage scenarios include school environments, workplaces, or online interactions. For instance, it's commonly used in discussions about anti-bullying campaigns in Thailand, where it highlights issues like emotional distress or social exclusion. Semantically, it emphasizes ongoing harassment rather than a one-time event, making it a nuanced term for describing toxic dynamics.
• Thai: คนบูลลี่ (Kon bully)
• Phonetic: Kon bully (pronounced as "kon" like "con" in "convict," and "bully" as in English).
• Detailed Explanation: This is a secondary translation, often used as a noun to refer to a person who engages in bullying behavior. It's a borrowed term from English, popular among younger Thai speakers due to global influences like social media and international media. Emotional connotations include disdain or criticism, as it portrays the individual as aggressive and unempathetic. Usage scenarios are similar to the primary translation but lean towards informal contexts, such as casual conversations about cyberbullying or schoolyard incidents. Semantically, it retains the English essence while adapting to Thai culture, where it's frequently linked to modern issues like online harassment on platforms like Facebook or TikTok.

Overview of Usage Scenarios

"Bully" is a versatile word primarily used to denote intimidation or harassment, either as a noun (the person) or verb (the action). Its main usage scenarios span everyday life, including educational settings (e.g., school bullying), professional environments (e.g., workplace harassment), social interactions (e.g., online or leisure activities), and formal discussions (e.g., legal or psychological contexts). In Thai culture, it often appears in anti-bullying initiatives, reflecting growing awareness of mental health. The word carries negative undertones, emphasizing power dynamics and emotional harm, and is adaptable across formal and informal speech.

Example Sentences

Example Sentences in Different Scenarios

Business Scenario

• English: The supervisor bullies his team by assigning unfair workloads.
• Thai: ผู้บังคับบัญชากลั่นแกล้งทีมของเขาโดยมอบงานที่ไม่เป็นธรรม.
• Grammatical Breakdown: "The supervisor" (subject, noun phrase) + "bullies" (verb, present tense, third person singular) + "his team" (object, possessive noun phrase) + "by assigning unfair workloads" (prepositional phrase indicating method).
• Structural Analysis: This is a simple declarative sentence with a transitive verb structure. "Bullies" functions as the main action, highlighting ongoing behavior in a professional context. In Thai, the sentence follows a subject-verb-object pattern, with "โดย" (by) introducing the method for added clarity.

Leisure Scenario

• English: Kids often bully each other during playground games.
• Thai: เด็กๆ มักกลั่นแกล้งกันระหว่างเล่นเกมในสนามเด็กเล่น.
• Grammatical Breakdown: "Kids" (subject, plural noun) + "often" (adverb of frequency) + "bully" (verb, base form) + "each other" (reciprocal pronoun, object) + "during playground games" (prepositional phrase).
• Structural Analysis: This sentence uses a habitual present tense to describe repeated actions in a casual setting. The structure builds on a subject-verb-object framework, with adverbs enhancing context. In Thai, "มัก" (often) adds frequency, making it relatable to informal social scenarios.

Formal Occasion

• English: In a court hearing, the witness testified about being bullied by colleagues.
• Thai: ในศาล คนเป็นพยานให้การเกี่ยวกับการถูกคนบูลลี่จากเพื่อนร่วมงาน.
• Grammatical Breakdown: "In a court hearing" (prepositional phrase, setting) + "the witness" (subject) + "testified" (verb, past tense) + "about" (preposition) + "being bullied" (gerund phrase, object).
• Structural Analysis: This complex sentence employs past tense for narrative and a gerund for detailed description, suitable for formal contexts. In Thai, the passive voice ("ถูก...") emphasizes the victim's experience, aligning with legal discourse.

Informal Occasion

• English: My friend always bullies me in our group chats.
• Thai: เพื่อนของฉันมักคนบูลลี่ฉันในแชทกลุ่ม.
• Grammatical Breakdown: "My friend" (subject, possessive noun phrase) + "always" (adverb) + "bullies" (verb, present tense) + "me" (object pronoun) + "in our group chats" (prepositional phrase).
• Structural Analysis: An informal declarative sentence with simple structure, using adverbs for emphasis. In Thai, the borrowed term "คนบูลลี่" makes it conversational, common in youth slang on social media.

Example Sentences in Different Sentence Types

Declarative Sentence

• English: She bullies her siblings at home.
• Thai: เธอกลั่นแกล้งน้องๆ ที่บ้าน.
• Grammatical Breakdown: "She" (subject) + "bullies" (verb) + "her siblings" (object) + "at home" (prepositional phrase).
• Structural Analysis: Straightforward subject-verb-object structure, stating a fact. In Thai, it maintains a simple SVO order for clarity.

Interrogative Sentence

• English: Do you bully people online?
• Thai: คุณกลั่นแกล้งคนทางออนไลน์หรือไม่?
• Grammatical Breakdown: "Do you" (auxiliary verb + subject) + "bully" (main verb) + "people online" (object + adverbial phrase) + "?" (question mark).
• Structural Analysis: Inverted structure for questions, using "do" for emphasis. Thai uses "หรือไม่" to form the question, making it direct and accusatory.

Imperative Sentence

• English: Don't bully your classmates!
• Thai: อย่ากลั่นแกล้งเพื่อนร่วมชั้น!
• Grammatical Breakdown: "Don't" (negative imperative form) + "bully" (verb) + "your classmates" (object).
• Structural Analysis: Command form with negative prefix, urging action cessation. Thai's "อย่า" serves a similar prohibitive function, ideal for advice or warnings.

Exclamatory Sentence

• English: How dare you bully someone weaker than you!
• Thai: ทำไมคุณถึงกลั่นแกล้งคนที่อ่อนแอกว่าคุณล่ะ!
• Grammatical Breakdown: "How dare you" (exclamatory phrase) + "bully" (verb) + "someone weaker than you" (object phrase) + "!" (exclamation mark).
• Structural Analysis: Emphasizes emotion through rhetorical structure. In Thai, "ล่ะ" adds exclamatory tone, heightening indignation.

Example Sentences of Different Difficulties

Simple Sentence

• English: He bullies his friend.
• Thai: เขากลั่นแกล้งเพื่อนของเขา.
• Grammatical Breakdown: "He" (subject) + "bullies" (verb) + "his friend" (object).
• Structural Analysis: Basic SVO structure, easy for beginners.

Intermediate Sentence

• English: Bullying in schools can lead to long-term emotional damage.
• Thai: การกลั่นแกล้งในโรงเรียนอาจก่อให้เกิดความเสียหายทางอารมณ์ในระยะยาว.
• Grammatical Breakdown: "Bullying" (gerund subject) + "in schools" (prepositional phrase) + "can lead to" (modal verb phrase) + "long-term emotional damage" (object noun phrase).
• Structural Analysis: Compound structure with modal verbs, adding complexity for intermediate learners. Thai uses nominalization ("การกลั่นแกล้ง") for formality.

Complex Sentence

• English: Although he was once a victim, he now bullies others to gain confidence.
• Thai: แม้ว่าเขาจะเคยเป็นผู้ถูกกลั่นแกล้งมาก่อน แต่ตอนนี้เขากลั่นแกล้งคนอื่นเพื่อเพิ่มความมั่นใจ.
• Grammatical Breakdown: "Although he was once a victim" (subordinate clause) + "he now bullies others" (main clause) + "to gain confidence" (infinitive phrase).
• Structural Analysis: Uses subordination for contrast, suitable for advanced contexts. Thai employs "แม้ว่า" for concession, mirroring the English complexity.

Related Phrases and Expressions

Synonyms/Near Synonyms:

• Harass – Often used interchangeably with "bully" in contexts of repeated verbal or physical attacks; e.g., in workplace scenarios to describe ongoing pressure.
• Intimidate – Similar to "bully" but focuses on fear tactics; commonly used in formal settings like legal discussions.

Antonyms:

• Protect – The opposite of "bully," implying defense or safeguarding; used in positive contexts like anti-bullying programs.
• Defend – Contrasts with "bully" by emphasizing support for the vulnerable; frequent in social justice narratives.

Common Collocations:

• School bully – Refers to a student who intimidates peers; common in educational discussions, highlighting youth issues.
• Cyber bully – Describes online harassment; increasingly relevant in digital age conversations, especially in Thai social media contexts.

Cultural Background and Usage Habits

Cultural Background:

• Cultural Point 1: In Thai culture, bullying is often addressed through community and family values, influenced by Buddhist principles of compassion and harmony. For instance, anti-bullying campaigns like those by the Thai Ministry of Education emphasize "Kreng jai" (consideration for others), contrasting with the aggressive nature of bullying. This makes "bully" a term loaded with social stigma, frequently discussed in media to promote mental health awareness.

Usage Habits:

• Habit 1: "Bully" and its Thai equivalents are highly frequent in informal settings among youth, such as schools and online platforms, due to rising cyberbullying cases. It's less common in formal speech but popular in educational and media contexts, applicable to all age groups, though teenagers are the primary users. In Thailand, it's gaining popularity through global influences, with phrases like "คนบูลลี่" trending on social media.

Grammar Explanation

• Grammatical Function: "Bully" can function as a noun (e.g., "He is a bully") or a transitive verb (e.g., "She bullies him"). As a noun, it acts as a subject or object; as a verb, it requires an object to indicate the target of the action.
• Tense and Voice: The verb changes with tense: present ("bully"), past ("bullied"), future ("will bully"), and perfect ("has bullied"). In passive voice, it becomes "is bullied" (e.g., "He is bullied at school"), shifting focus to the victim. In Thai, tense is implied through context or time markers, with passive forms like "ถูกกลั่นแกล้ง" for voice changes.

References

Etymology and History:

The word "bully" originates from the Middle Dutch "boel," meaning a lover or brother, evolving in the 16th century to signify a protector or hired thug, and by the 18th century, it denoted harassment. In modern English, it reflects social issues like school violence. In Thai, adaptations like "กลั่นแกล้ง" draw from traditional concepts of social harmony, influenced by Western media.

Literary References:

• From William Golding's "Lord of the Flies" (1954): "The bigger boys bully the smaller ones," illustrating power dynamics in a survival setting. Source: Golding, W. (1954). Lord of the Flies. Faber & Faber.
• From modern Thai literature, in "The Happiness of Kati" by Ngarmpun Vejjajiva (2006): Implied bullying scenarios highlight emotional resilience, though not directly quoted. Source: Vejjajiva, N. (2006). The Happiness of Kati. St. Martin's Griffin.