Is it worth learning Thai

[Aforek]

2 hours ago, Peterw42 said:

One thing I dont fully understand is when people suggest learning to read Thai, as you will be able to speak Thai.

 

I think I know what people who say that suggest: what I love in Thai language script is that the tones are written in the word; the signs that you see above the letters are, or vowels, or tone marks  and when you know the tone rules, you know how to pronounce the syllabe, just in looking how the word is written , that's why people who can read have normally a good prononciation; as for me, I can read easily, it's a very interesting language, I live upcountry, nobody speaks English, and even if I lived in Bangkok, I would read , just for pleasure ; the more complex is the alphabet, the more I like it ????

for the guy above who could read and write after two years, I am not surprised, if you are motivated, you can do it, it's not as difficult as it seems at the beginning 

 

ps: agree with the post above, reading not too difficult, writing , beyong my motivation; very difficult to remember the spelling of every word

Edited May 11, 2019 by Aforek

[villagefarang]

For me personally the answer is, YES.  

 

The ability to speak Thai has opened innumerable doors for me and ushered me into a world I would have been denied access to without being able to speak Thai.  Jobs, Thai television, social groups and friends came from speaking Thai.

 

I wouldn't have gotten very far with my wife if I hadn't been able to speak Thai when we met.  After 22 years, a university degree in English and years of travel, her language ability is on a par with mine and we can switch between English and Thai as we please.

 

I have clearly led a very different life from those who have answered NO.  I would not be happy living like that but hope others are truly content with their lot in life and their answer is not simply a case of sour grapes.  ????

[Orton Rd]

44 minutes ago, DaRoadrunner said:

 

Problem now is I can't switch it off and am forced to listen to what the morons are saying. It is amazing how primitive and basic their mentality is.

 

 

Ha ha, classic, try wax earplugs I always ram them in when around Thais, especially the women. Basic mentality, never a truer thing typed on TV!

[OneEyedPie]

1 hour ago, Maestro said:

I find Google Translate from and to Thai useless.

Agreed.  For any European language then it's a really useful tool but Thai throws up all sorts of nonsense.  It's early days so hopefully will improve over some considerable time to come.

[Gene1960]

I find it very convenient to understand what your Thai friends and relatives write in social media.

I usually answer to the Thai language messages in English. For me written Thai is much easier, probably because I stay in HK or Europe most of the year and I am exposed to spoken Thai only 4 months a year. I have already lost my ability to speak any coherent Thai.

[bikerlou47]

NO NO NO

[1FinickyOne]

100 percent yes. I really enjoy speaking with Thai people. Especially country people. 

[ThaiBunny]

7 minutes ago, kenk24 said:

Especially country people

Your intellectual milieu?

[Ravi98008]

19 hours ago, BritManToo said:

It's something you can do on your own without paying a Thai teacher.

Most of the Thai teachers I hired were completely hopeless.

Apart from BoonMark who worked for AUA in ChiangMai, he was brilliant.

Can I please know how I can get contact with BoonMark, thanks

[BritManToo]

1 minute ago, Ravi98008 said:

Can I please know how I can get contact with BoonMark, thanks

I'd visit AUA, don't know if he's still there, that was 9 years back.

[BritManToo]

16 hours ago, villagefarang said:

I wouldn't have gotten very far with my wife if I hadn't been able to speak Thai when we met.

Mine was happy with the 1,000bht, sadly she learnt English very quickly.

[MadMuhammad]

20 hours ago, edgarfriendly said:

no!!

 

20 yrs of actually understanding all the stupidity has been hell on earth

 

 

And yet you’re still here 

[Bang Bang]

If you are only snowbirding here then maybe not. But living full time? Or working? Definitely helps to speak the language.

 

Jeez, other than the little thing that the 60,000,000 people around you speak Thai and little English, it does help to be able to get the point across in the supermarket/pharmacy/bank/taxi/...

[ThaiBunny]

Just now, Bang Bang said:

Jeez, other than the little thing that the 60,000,000 people around you speak Thai and little English, it does help to be able to get the point across in the supermarket/pharmacy/bank/taxi/...

That rather depends on where you live. I live in central Bangkok ie. between Lumphini Park and the river, and haven't had a problem speaking only English with all of the above for several years now.  The most recent time where the Thai struggled with me was on the rare occasion I visited my bank; the official just pulled up Google Translate on his phone and we were in business

[MadMuhammad]

17 hours ago, Aforek said:

I think I know what people who say that suggest: what I love in Thai language script is that the tones are written in the word; the signs that you see above the letters are, or vowels, or tone marks  and when you know the tone rules, you know how to pronounce the syllabe, just in looking how the word is written , that's why people who can read have normally a good prononciation; as for me, I can read easily, it's a very interesting language, I live upcountry, nobody speaks English, and even if I lived in Bangkok, I would read , just for pleasure ; the more complex is the alphabet, the more I like it ????

for the guy above who could read and write after two years, I am not surprised, if you are motivated, you can do it, it's not as difficult as it seems at the beginning 

 

ps: agree with the post above, reading not too difficult, writing , beyong my motivation; very difficult to remember the spelling of every word

I learned to read and write (not spell) to a basic level in around 40hrs. Definitely depends on your learning resource. 

I had a motorcycle crash and have an Acquired Brain Injury that set me back for some time. I’m back into self teaching now 

[Bang Bang]

1 minute ago, ThaiBunny said:

That rather depends on where you live. I live in central Bangkok ie. between Lumphini Park and the river, and haven't had a problem speaking only English with all of the above for several years now.  The most recent time where the Thai struggled with me was on the rare occasion I visited my bank; the official just pulled up Google Translate on his phone and we were in business

You're lucky. Not the case where I live near VM. And then I like to get out of Bkk every now and then as well.

 

I have no head for languages, my tones are mangled so my Thai assaults the ears of native speakers no doubt. Still as long as I can limp home with what I want to say I am happy.

[Emdog]

I speak decent amount of Thai, but no matter how hard I try, they still don't understand my number 8.

Fun thing to do with some of those translator programs is to enter sentence in English, get Thai translation, copy and past into new iteration, back and forth a few times. Somewhat like game of telephone...

[Bang Bang]

4 minutes ago, Emdog said:

I speak decent amount of Thai, but no matter how hard I try, they still don't understand my number 8. 

Fun thing to do with some of those translator programs is to enter sentence in English, get Thai translation, copy and past into new iteration, back and forth a few times. Somewhat like game of telephone...

My downfall is 5. I keep slipping on the tone. And far vs. near. I will die a happy man if I can ever straighten the two out.

[PerkinsCuthbert]

If you learn Thai you may still be a hansum man, but you will certainly be accused of 'knowing too mutt'.

[TKDfella]

My comment is more general. Whatever country one moves to I think it is a good idea to learn the language, as best as one can...we all have limitations. Sometimes the culture is interwoven with the language so there's a plus there but I think  the most important point is that it allows a little choice of doing some things on your own without having to depend on others. That doesn't include official documents but then even in one's native country such documents can be difficult to understand (????).

[BritManToo]

3 minutes ago, TKDfella said:

My comment is more general. Whatever country one moves to I think it is a good idea to learn the language, as best as one can...we all have limitations. Sometimes the culture is interwoven with the language so there's a plus there but I think  the most important point is that it allows a little choice of doing some things on your own without having to depend on others. That doesn't include official documents but then even in one's native country such documents can be difficult to understand (????).

I haven't moved to Thailand, I only have a 90 day VISA.

I was in Saigon for a week last month, should I have learned Vietnamese?

I was in Phnom Penh for a week last month, should I have learned Khmer?

 

Sure if I had citizenship, I'd probably learn the language, but not under current conditions in Thailand.

You're just wasting your time.

[Knee Jerk Reaction]

I arrived here in 1986 and my employer sent me for language lessons at the weekends. My head was already full of three other languages and I progressed at an average pace. I met my wife the same year and the four children we produced made all the difference to my ability. I enjoy reading Thai books which was helped by reading the kids' school books with them. If I was a retiree newly arrived in Thailand I wouldn't stress over becoming fluent. Enjoy your retirement and just try to learn the essentials in order to make life smoother.

[BritManToo]

41 minutes ago, Bang Bang said:

My downfall is 5. I keep slipping on the tone. And far vs. near. I will die a happy man if I can ever straighten the two out.

mai glai (abrupt), mai glai (relaxed), nit noi glai (relaxed).

Not near not far little bit far ............ as they say

 

if you bark the 'near glai' and drawl the far glai they will understand you.

Modifying your emotion as you speak will change your tone.

Edited May 12, 2019 by BritManToo

[Bang Bang]

5 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

mai glai (abrupt), mai glai (long), nit noi glai (long).

Not near not far little bit far ............ as they say

 

if you bark the 'near glai' they will understand you.

Modifying your emotion as you speak will change your tone.

Khob khun, krub, BritManToo. If this works I shall owe you a great debt of gratitude.

[Caldera]

"A lot of thais in bkk hated that you spoke their language (falang lo mak).  Very very anti."

 

That hasn't been my experience at all, I wonder where you find those Thais.

[Farang99]

21 hours ago, Peterw42 said:

Yes, of course its worth learning, I just wish I was better at learning.

I still find it very difficult, I cant hear or reproduce the tonal differences, 5 minutes later I have forgotten the word anyway.

 

If some old Thai lady who left school at 12 years old can learn some of my language, makes me feel pretty stupid, that I cant learn some of her language. It would certainly be worth it.

 

I think its a cop out to say its not necessity, not worth it, I choose not to learn etc.

The natives should have never been allowed to join the empire club if you ask me, lol

 

 

 

 

 

As I have got older I find my ability to distinguish tones has steadily disappeared, so i can no longer tell the difference between 'near' and 'far'. I wonder if Thais have problem with this? But it was still worth the effort to learn to speak and read Thai. 

[jdlancaster]

I'm really surprised at all the people saying no. It's not that difficult if you focus. For reference, I speak/read at an Interagency Language Roundtable level 3. My writing isn't that great though. You also need cultural competency, it's not enough to just know the words.

 

1. It makes getting around much easier. You won't need people to get things done.

 

2. It opens up places around the country that you can travel alone with no issues. I love riding my motorcycle to remote villages and drinking with locals.

 

3. It opens up the amount of girls that you can reasonably date. You have access to girls that don't speak English. Girls that also never thought they'd date a farang are also available. It can be funny when it shocks the girl's friends and family. You can then interact with them and have a good time instead of sitting alone awkwardly waiting to go home. Many of these girls also try to pay their way and have good jobs. They're not looking for a handout.

 

4. You make friends and have friends of friends that can be helpful and influential... Such as a friend that is an Immigration Officer at BKK, can be helpful when you have loads of visa exempt stamps in your passport.

 

5. It's healthy for your brain. Also, it's just lazy not to.

 

6. It can be fun if you approach it with the right attitude. Some of the 'No' group are just worried about looking dumb. It's an unhealthy attitude to approach life with.

 

7. There are racist elements in every country. Many of the people that complain about it here and aren't willing to assimilate also complain about immigrants in their home country, ironic. I've found you will be more respected if you can speak the language. How much respect would someone that lived many years in the US, Canada, England, etc. Get if they still didn't speak English after 5 years and needed help doing everything?

 

8. Cultural competency is also important. How you interact with people and behave is what sets your place within society. You can be a part of the community and your place among it can be more than random drunk pensioner or English teacher. 

[andre47]

21 hours ago, simon43 said:

Being able to write Thai is a useful skill for me that meets a particular need. 

You are able to write Thai? That is amazing. Read and speak ok, but write. I will never learn how to write and even many Thais are very bad in writing their own language.

The same sound can be produced by different letters and the resulting tone might differ depending of the letter combination. Its really hard to learn.

[BritManToo]

2 minutes ago, andre47 said:

The same sound can be produced by different letters and the resulting tone might differ depending of the letter combination. Its really hard to learn.

Thais don't learn speaking or writing by tone rules.

They memorise each entire word, it's more of a pictorial language.

Edited May 12, 2019 by BritManToo

[mlkik]

I began learning Thai 27 years ago and can speak central Thai well,read and write Thai. I struggle with reading newspapers.

As much as I speak Thai it has not helped with understanding the Thai mentality and way of thinking . Sometimes I think I would be less frustrated in not knowing the language ! 5555