SoiBiker

34 minutes ago, nisakiman said:

 

I realise that the tonal system complicates the written language, but are 44 letters necessary for that? The Greek alphabet is not so different to the Roman alphabet, but only has 24 letters instead of our 26, yet when you understand the rules of written Greek, it is completely phonetic. As well, Greek not only includes all the sounds that English does, but also sounds that English doesn't use. Plus in Greek where the stress falls on a word can alter its meaning, and this is also included in the written word. So regardless of whether or not you have come across a word before, if you can read it, you can speak it, and be understood by any Greek, which is not something you can say about English, or indeed most European languages. And this, as I say, with 24 letters.

The number of letters is partly to do with the tones - there are multiple versions of most consonants, and which particular combination appears in a word dictates the tone. Bear in mind, though, that English has 19 vowel sounds and only 5 symbols to convey them. 

The Thai alphabet seems daunting at first, but its really not so hard once you spend a little time with it. I'd thoroughly recommend it to anyone - it opens up a whole new world when you can read all those squiggles around you, rather than walking round like you're illiterate, and it totally helps with learning to speak the language. Even just being able to decipher road signs and food menus is worth the effort alone. 

29 minutes ago, tartempion said:

You have a point here, but there are ways around, Dutch uses double vowels for long sounds, French and German use accents and I dislike the Thai writing system, do I need to explain why?
Note I am fluent in 5 languages and Thai is not part of these, all 5 use ABC with some variances.

You're not obliged to explain why, but I would be interested to hear it nonetheless. 

10 minutes ago, SaintLouisBlues said:

That's why scientific research flourished in Europe - our script was flexible enough to accommodate new concepts whereas the pictographs of earlier languages and Asian languages was not

That makes little sense - Thai script is more flexible than ours, in that it is able to accurately convey a wider range of sounds without the vagueness that ours suffers. 

Do you think the Thai alphabet is formed of pictographs?

1 hour ago, tartempion said:

I have my 5 year little one writing her ABC in capitals and small script like a chef and struggling every day with the 44 Thai consonant and how many vowels/composed vowels?
Her Thai reading is a nightmare but her English reading is progressing well.
When they will abandon thar crazy script they will make progress, that will not happen any time soon however. So much energy get lost in learning their language there is not much time left in 12 years of school to learn much else. And some people ask why Thais know so little...

I think the Thai writing system has some advantages over ours. Whereas ours is so vague that the same combination of symbols can be pronounced a number of different ways, a word in Thai script rather elegantly contains all the information required to know exactly how it should be said, including the tones. 

Obviously, you need to take the trouble to learn it to appreciate this, whereas simply dismissing it takes little effort whatsoever. 

47 minutes ago, joeyg said:

Fortunately this is not real.  Only digital digital signals in cyber space.  That's close enough for me.  

Those signals come from real people, though.

12 minutes ago, dutchinlondon said:

You're a bit naive. Aren't you?

Sent from my GT-I8552 using Thaivisa Connect mobile app
 

I'm not the one commenting on a news story from six months ago. New to this internet thing, are we?

...who would you let in? And who would you keep out? What sort of people do you think Thailand needs more of? Who can it do without?

I heard that ice in your beer ruins your short term memory. 

Didn't this forum use to have rules about not slagging off the Thai people?

2 minutes ago, joeyg said:

98% of "customers" in Thailand are Thais.

You may be right. But they don't do their 'shopping' in Nana. 

2 minutes ago, bkkgooner said:

 

Go home, you sound like you despise Thais.

If they all went home, Nana would be a ghost town. 

Oh sweet lord, here come the memes. This has been an interesting discussion. Lets not let it deteriorate into the kind of teenage boy bullshit that belongs on 4chan. 

4 minutes ago, LivinLOS said:

 

you mean this isnt true ?? Or is perfectly normal examples of modern feminism merely representing equality.

 

Schools offer ‘safe spaces’ to combat ‘toxic masculinity’

 

 

 

Nothing anti male in these then ?? This is modern snowflake generation feminism.. 

 

 

You're upset about people merely discussing the idea of male privilege?

Seems like you're the delicate snowflake here. 

3 minutes ago, BsBs said:

 

 

So you have visited the 60 kms coast of Chanthaburi ?

 

It's the only place on mainland that has an island feel when you are on the beach.

 

 

 

 

Yep. Didn't find it to be anything special, to be honest. The coast around Prachuap is way more beautiful and pleasant to visit. 

4 minutes ago, beachproperty said:

 

So you speak without ACTUAL knowledge.

I speak of what I've seen myself. I'd have thought that much was obvious. 

1 minute ago, beachproperty said:

 

And how many building sites did you go to back home?

If Fact , in America, at least, many women work in the trades and are present on building sites. Just have to OPEN your eyes!

I don't go out of my way to visit them in either country.

I spoke to several farang women today, including some quite intellectual content - and it didn't cost me a baht!

33 minutes ago, transam said:

I have had that...So I just wonder off to look around and FIND what I wanted..

 

 

If you could find it yourself, why are you bothering the staff? Can't you see they're busy with their phones?

25 minutes ago, BsBs said:

Compared to Chanthaburi, Prachuap is a shiiithole !

 

 

Really? Having visited both, I much prefer Prachuap.

1 minute ago, HooHaa said:

 

now we are in to women in combat roles, and the notion that gender roles beyond reproduction should remain static. interesting.

In many ways, Thailand has a much more fluid attitude to gender roles than the West. For example, I've never seen a woman working on a building site back home.

22 minutes ago, WinnieTheKhwai said:

 

I didn't come here for the women either, but did end up marrying one.

 

BTW I'd be interested to hear how Thai women respond when hearing one is married to a Western woman.  Although that may be a different topic.  

 

Probably once married the spouse's nationality doesn't really matter all that much anymore. 

 

Maybe relatively more people (m/f/Thai/Farang) would perceive you as tourists rather than expats. And some other subtle differences.

They don't seem especially bothered either way by what colour my wife is - or to regard us as tourists.

13 minutes ago, LivinLOS said:

 

"Interestingly, as a man who didn't come here for the women, I often have my presence here questioned in a similar way to the OP"

 

Surely you can see why from the quote, not having an asian partner IS then relevant. If you had one, they wouldnt be questioning it.. 

It's irrelevant to the bit you bolded, which I presumed you were referring to.

13 minutes ago, LivinLOS said:

 

I would understand that in some ways as Thailand offers so many frustrations.. The 4 D's (as a mate put it) the dirt, dishonesty, decrepitude, and driving theres a case of wondering why put up with it if for example you dont like bars and nightlife or some other major appeal to balance. 

 

I know now I no longer spend a great deal of time in the neon the appeals of here are pretty small.. Sure its kind of cheap, but that cheapness does come with a quality adjustment. If it wasnt for my wife a villa in southern portugal or similar would / and is, on my radar. 

You might find life here frustrating. I rather enjoy it.

2 minutes ago, LivinLOS said:

 

I think a lot of that is nonsense.. The (not true to my experiences at all) stereotype of the submissive asian female..  I note you dont have an asian wife, try it, they get things the way they want them just well enough. They perhaps dont attack the problem head on like a bill in a china shop but its no accident Thai women married to Thai men often control the finances, give the guy an allowance from his salary, and control a lot more than perhaps is assumed. 

 

Theres no PC sillyness, theres not a revolt against gender roles, theres no stupid like putting women in combat roles (and then having to reduce all the physical tests so they can pass, there isnt the affirmative action.. And yet without this Thailand has a very matriarchal society.. Hell look at who won the last few elections. 

My wife has no relevance here. I'm just commenting on the kind of things people say, not offering my own opinion.

5 minutes ago, LivinLOS said:

 

Yes but the point being made is many of us read a different OP and that didnt happen in the 6 minutes indicated. 

Maybe you just think you read something different?