My closest neighbors are chickens.

9 hours ago, KMartinHandyman said:

Yup! When I try only with my wife to speak one or two words I’ve read in English phonetic print see looks bewildered as I repeat many times with slight variations until she asks me to describe what am I trying to say in Thai. When I convey this she says it in Thai with a slight tonal or inflection difference and laughs how bad my attempt was and tells me what I was saying is “not the same honey”.
No ability to extrapolate my attempt knowing I’m clueless to the nuances of the language. I learned there’s no hope for me speaking Thai when she told me “ba” was the word for jungle and I couldn’t enunciate it properly for her ear despite 10 attempts because there are six variations of the pronunciation that all mean something different.
Now I stick to learning what a few Thai words mean for common things when she speaks them and teaching her a little more English slowly. Over the years she’s progressed amazingly and picks up books and watches English tutorials with Thai and English speakers on YouTube on her own accord.

That's because she doesn't want you to speak or understand Thai. "I'm going for a walk in the auntie/crazy/jungle" how hard for you was picking the correct 'ba'? 

Thai is not easy to learn and took me years -  persevere and you'll be OK.
 
 

I don’t know, it seems most everyone posting on TV speaks Thai fluently...

7 hours ago, MrPatrickThai said:

Thai is not easy to learn and took me years -  persevere and you'll be OK.

 

 

I use to think I was pronouncing Thai words correctly and that people purposely did not understand me. After many years, my pronunciation got better and they actually did. There is a world of difference.

4 minutes ago, mogandave said:

 

I don’t know, it seems most everyone posting on TV speaks Thai fluently...

I don't, but I can make myself understood most of the time and vice versa. I also know very few Westerners that speak Thai much better than I do. I know two or three people who are really fluent after decades in LOS and - in an intense  conversation with a Thai - I can't follow what they are saying at all.

24 minutes ago, MaeJoMTB said:

That's because she doesn't want you to speak or understand Thai. "I'm going for a walk in the auntie/crazy/jungle" how hard for you was picking the correct 'ba'? 

If she doesn't speak English, that then becomes moot point.

I don't, but I can make myself understood most of the time and vice versa. I also know very few Westerners that speak Thai much better than I do. I know two or three people who are really fluent after decades in LOS and - in an intense  conversation with a Thai - I can't follow what they are saying at all.

I know one...

10 hours ago, MaeJoMTB said:

That's because she doesn't want you to speak or understand Thai. "I'm going for a walk in the auntie/crazy/jungle" how hard for you was picking the correct 'ba'? 

See in my neck of the woods ba with a short a is 'go'

 

Again probably khmer but.....

 

luckily my intelligent wife speaks good English

14 hours ago, 473geo said:

See in my neck of the woods ba with a short a is 'go'

 

Again probably khmer but.....

 

luckily my intelligent wife speaks good English

They do say opposites attract

 

Learning Thai has nothing to do with intelligence. Being submersed in an environment with only Thai speakers, anyone can lean to be fluent. It might take a year or two. Strangely, the guys I kno that live in villages choose not to integrate with the locals and watch their TV and speak to their intelligent, P6 educated wives in the Queen's English.

42 minutes ago, MrPatrickThai said:

They do say opposites attract

 

Learning Thai has nothing to do with intelligence. Being submersed in an environment with only Thai speakers, anyone can lean to be fluent. It might take a year or two. Strangely, the guys I kno that live in villages choose not to integrate with the locals and watch their TV and speak to their intelligent, P6 educated wives in the Queen's English.

Sure opposites attract!! my language skills have never been good, and working with heavy machinery in my youth has damaged my hearing, so I guess I have a rather uphill struggle. As for integrating many senior members of my Thai family frequently ask when I am coming to live in Thailand, it pleases me that even as a non Thai speaker they look forward to my imminent arrival to live full time.

Sure I watch Thai TV, just as my son enjoys watching his favourite English programme Mr Bean

 

2 hours ago, 473geo said:

Sure opposites attract!! my language skills have never been good, and working with heavy machinery in my youth has damaged my hearing, so I guess I have a rather uphill struggle. As for integrating many senior members of my Thai family frequently ask when I am coming to live in Thailand, it pleases me that even as a non Thai speaker they look forward to my imminent arrival to live full time.

Sure I watch Thai TV, just as my son enjoys watching his favourite English programme Mr Bean

Do you mean you speak Thai or not, your post suggests you don't because of your hearing loss.(the oldest excuse in the book - even deaf people can learn to understand Thai and lip read, even those that are not very intelligent)

 

What do you talk about that they are so eager for your living in Thailand?

 

Maybe you help them financially and they're putting on a show. This is so very very common here. As a Thai speaker, I've heard so many funny things from Thais about the illiterate farang ATM.

4 minutes ago, MrPatrickThai said:

 

Do you mean you speak Thai or not, your post suggests you don't because of your hearing loss.(the oldest excuse in the book - even deaf people can learn to understand Thai and lip read, even those that are not very intelligent)

 

What do you talk about that they are so eager for your living in Thailand?

 

Maybe you help them financially and they're putting on a show. This is so very very common here. As a Thai speaker, I've heard so many funny things from Thais about the illiterate farang ATM.

You know Patrick, people can get a 'feel for others' right now I feel I would not like you very much.

I don't find this with many of my Thai associates and relatives

45 minutes ago, MrPatrickThai said:

 

Do you mean you speak Thai or not, your post suggests you don't because of your hearing loss.(the oldest excuse in the book - even deaf people can learn to understand Thai and lip read, even those that are not very intelligent)

 

What do you talk about that they are so eager for your living in Thailand?

 

Maybe you help them financially and they're putting on a show. This is so very very common here. As a Thai speaker, I've heard so many funny things from Thais about the illiterate farang ATM.

Good grief.....

8 hours ago, 473geo said:

Sure I watch Thai TV, just as my son enjoys watching his favourite English programme Mr Bean

What programmes do you watch? 

 

I never watch Thai TV, and when my kids were young, never let them. 

 

On 26/11/2017 at 6:49 AM, mogandave said:

 

I don’t know, it seems most everyone posting on TV speaks Thai fluently...

 

Really? In my experience here it's quite the opposite.

On 26/11/2017 at 6:44 AM, MaeJoMTB said:

 

On 26/11/2017 at 6:44 AM, MaeJoMTB said:

That's because she doesn't want you to speak or understand Thai.

If the Thai woman doesn't want her other half to learn Thai, alarm bells ring!!!!!!! 

How many here would not encourage their partner to learn English if they lived in the UK, US, Oz, etc?

23 hours ago, 473geo said:

luckily my intelligent wife speaks good English

When I met my wife she couldn't speak a word of English. Luckily for me I could speak Thai,  or I'd never have been able to chat her up!

 

On 25/11/2017 at 11:33 AM, 473geo said:

Today at our local Temple a elderly woman tried to converse

She asked in Thai can you speak Thai, I replied in my best Thai, I don't speak Thai, she then asked again and I replied again I don't speak Thai.......

She then informed me you are telling me you don't speak Thai, I am Talking to you in Khmer!

 

Really, where was this?

2 minutes ago, Neeranam said:

When I met my wife she couldn't speak a word of English. Luckily for me I could speak Thai,  or I'd never have been able to chat her up!

 

When I met my long-term Thai GF she couldn't speak a word of English. She still can't.

On 25/11/2017 at 7:51 PM, mogandave said:

Seems most always get treated respectfully when I go places.

I would quit trading with people I thought were disrespectful to me or anyone else for that matter.


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

Same here.

2 minutes ago, JLCrab said:

When I met my long-term Thai GF she couldn't speak a word of English. She still can't.

 

What's long term?

After 16 years of marriage, my wife speak pretty good English. She went to English school which really helps when we visit relatives abroad. I only ever talk to my kids in English too, and told her not to. As a result, they are bilingual.

On 22/11/2017 at 5:18 AM, George FmplesdaCosteedback said:

Saying all Thais are stupid is not accurate.

However I repeat none have any common sense or logic.

Do you really think ALL Thais have no common sense??

5 minutes ago, Neeranam said:

 

What's long term?

After 16 years of marriage, my wife speak pretty good English. She went to English school which really helps when we visit relatives abroad. I only ever talk to my kids in English too, and told her not to. As a result, they are bilingual.

8 years and no plans for her to go abroad.

13 minutes ago, JLCrab said:

When I met my long-term Thai GF she couldn't speak a word of English. She still can't.

 

19 minutes ago, Neeranam said:

When I met my wife she couldn't speak a word of English. Luckily for me I could speak Thai,  or I'd never have been able to chat her up!

when i met my (now long-term) non-Thai wife she couldn't speak a single word of Yoruba and neither could i. unfortunately we could neither converse in Woluf nor in Thai... and we still can't

 

luckily for both of us it turned out her mother tongue was English, a language which i struggle to master but somehow manage to make myself understood

 

OK but this is Thailand and she was born in Thailand and happens to speak Thai very well.

1 hour ago, JLCrab said:

8 years and no plans for her to go abroad.

Then your Thai will be very good!

 

My Thai was better 15 years ago although my vocabulary is much better now.

 

I speak to my wife in English, as well as kids, and always English at work. One needs to practice continuously.

1 hour ago, Naam said:

 

when i met my (now long-term) non-Thai wife she couldn't speak a single word of Yoruba and neither could i. unfortunately we could neither converse in Woluf nor in Thai... and we still can't

 

luckily for both of us it turned out her mother tongue was English, a language which i struggle to master but somehow manage to make myself understood

 

Your written English is good. The only mistake I've seen is since instead of for.

Great that you made the effort to learn English and can converse with your wife about any topic.

If married to a Thai it's essential to learn Thai, IMHO, if you want to understand her culture.

1 hour ago, Neeranam said:

Really, where was this?

Just a few klms outside Surin

2 hours ago, Neeranam said:

What programmes do you watch? 

 

I never watch Thai TV, and when my kids were young, never let them. 

 

I watch the Thai soaps alongside my wife, usually making cracks about the Thai ladies fighting...again!!

4 minutes ago, 473geo said:

Just a few klms outside Surin

I guess that's the only area, southern Learn, the Thais speak it.

 

They all probably understand Thai too.