American man one of three foreigners honored on Thai Language Day

[gunderhill]

17 minutes ago, aqua4 said:

<deleted><deleted><deleted><deleted><deleted> Thats saves me a banning order on the forum. This is not the West.

It is eventually, head east or west and youll get here

[Old Croc]

So the "agriculturist" won an award because he lives on a farm and has gone native.

There's probably hundreds of similar living (hiding out?) in Banoork. 

[upena]

Why are they handing out awards for Thai language skills? Lao is the #1 language in Thailand.

[geoffbezoz]

6 minutes ago, ThaiBunny said:

And what about those bloody Germans, Betty & Co

You mean Boris has also got Germans in the cabinet ? ????

[atyclb]

3 hours ago, Sticky Wicket said:

I'm always amazed how amazed Thais are that we can speak their language, like it's some kind of specially coded means of communicating.

 

It's a very simple language once you get past learning a new alphabet. It only takes about 30/40 hours to learn the alphabet and is important.

When I first attended school in BKK I didn't want to learn the alphabet (just learn to speak) but my teacher advised me it was crucial and I'm glad I did. I don't write very often but I read a lot and it makes my life easier and helps me understand the people more.

 

The tones are a red herring and seem to put people off from every trying. I purposely bypassed spending hours perfecting the tones of each word. Everything about language is context and as long as you can speak in sentences then it is no problem that you are tonally incorrect. You tend to pick up a lot just from listening anyway

 

Can't understand for the life of me why there is so much bewilderment regarding Allen Long .

I've seen the Thais post on his FB at how they are impressed by his accent.

He is THAI for all intent and purposes, he has lived here since he was a small child and went through the whole school system.

 

If he lived in the UK or US, he would be called British or American but here he is still farang.

Just shows how racist and xenophobic the Thais really are.

And we definitely would not be pissing our pants that he could speak the language with our accents. 

 

 

 

 

the american allen long has been in thailand since childhood and went through their school system so why are thai's so amazed that he can speak and write thai ????

 

an analogy would be any japanese or chinese american fluent in english. nobody in america is amazed. 

 

i too know the alphabet and i can say chinese is much harder having to know thousands of drawing like letters versus the thai limited number of vowels, consonants and tone marks.

[Joker Man]

What about me? Did I not invented an electric generator that can supply current without any fuels for eight hours. Common give me something.

[Sticky Wicket]

26 minutes ago, ThaiBunny said:

And what about those bloody Germans, Betty & Co

Harold was the last actual 'English' King/Queen of England and he died in 1066

Since then the bloodline has been a mixture of European countries.

 

[KhaoYai]

4 hours ago, Sticky Wicket said:

The tones are a red herring and seem to put people off from every trying. I purposely bypassed spending hours perfecting the tones of each word. Everything about language is context and as long as you can speak in sentences then it is no problem that you are tonally incorrect. You tend to pick up a lot just from listening anyway

Interesting that you should say that.  A friend and I have argued (nicely) with his wife for years - we say that speaking as fast as they do in conversation, there is no way they use the tones all the time and instead rely on context.  I.E. you would hardly say "I am taking my horse for a walk" you would of course be refering to your dog - the two words 'horse' and 'dog' being spoken the same albeit in differing tones.

 

A couple of months ago my mate's wife finally backed down and admitted that tones are "not used every time, we go by context" - in everyday conversation. ????

 

Gets me though when I'm criticised for using the wrong tone - this from people who call England - Angkrit, Japan - Yipoon and Cambodia - Campoocha.

[Percy P]

16 hours ago, zydeco said:

Hmm. Three pretty dubious descriptions. Agriculturalist? Does that mean "farmer?" Got a work permit for that? 

No. He is a specialist in agriculture. But he would still need a work permit if he is lecturing.

[peter14]

Working land.. WP please...

[Percy P]

14 hours ago, djayz said:

I'm bilingual and I admire anybody who puts the effort into learning a foreign lingua. From personal experience, I know it truely does make daily life and integration much easier if you can communicate with the locals in their own language. 

Unfortunately, I (have to) spend most of my day speaking English and as a result, even after 10 yrs. here, I still haven't picked up a lot of the language. 

As native English speakers, we really do have a tendency to be lazy when it comes to learning foreign languages. 

I take my hat off to the three fellows. Good job! 

But Thai like to be spoken to in English,they can learnt from it. We only learn the language we speak, by someone speaking to use , as soon as we're born.

Edited July 27, 2019 by Percy P
Addition

[klauskunkel]

17 hours ago, Jonathan Fairfield said:

the Culture Ministry has presented a shield to Allen Long

a shield, that could come in handy..., but wouldn't that also be a weapon like the bulletproof vest for journalists?

[zydeco]

20 minutes ago, Percy P said:

No. He is a specialist in agriculture. But he would still need a work permit if he is lecturing.

Looks like a specialist in plowing from that photo.

[Percy P]

4 hours ago, Sticky Wicket said:

I'm always amazed how amazed Thais are that we can speak their language, like it's some kind of specially coded means of communicating.

 

It's a very simple language once you get past learning a new alphabet. It only takes about 30/40 hours to learn the alphabet and is important.

When I first attended school in BKK I didn't want to learn the alphabet (just learn to speak) but my teacher advised me it was crucial and I'm glad I did. I don't write very often but I read a lot and it makes my life easier and helps me understand the people more.

 

The tones are a red herring and seem to put people off from every trying. I purposely bypassed spending hours perfecting the tones of each word. Everything about language is context and as long as you can speak in sentences then it is no problem that you are tonally incorrect. You tend to pick up a lot just from listening anyway

 

Can't understand for the life of me why there is so much bewilderment regarding Allen Long .

I've seen the Thais post on his FB at how they are impressed by his accent.

He is THAI for all intent and purposes, he has lived here since he was a small child and went through the whole school system.

 

If he lived in the UK or US, he would be called British or American but here he is still farang.

Just shows how racist and xenophobic the Thais really are.

And we definitely would not be pissing our pants that he could speak the language with our accents. 

 

 

But ethnically is is not Thai.

A cow born in a stable Is not a horse.

[FarFlungFalang]

1 hour ago, Assurancetourix said:

As a native french speaker I have never learnt english like that ...

Maybe it's a new way to write and/or speak ?

I always learned that after the preposition "to" there must be an infinitive

 

To learning ?

Is this correct english?

 

 

Maybe to learn ?

 

Correct me if I wrote an error.

I think it depends where it occurs in the sentence e.g. The secret "to learning" english is practice."Maybe to learn"english it is better to practice more.

[geoffbezoz]

1 minute ago, zydeco said:

Looks like a specialist in plowing from that photo.

Wonder if the next we here about him will be that he is on a record 14,650 day overstay ? ????

[Percy P]

4 hours ago, Sticky Wicket said:

I'm always amazed how amazed Thais are that we can speak their language, like it's some kind of specially coded means of communicating.

 

It's a very simple language once you get past learning a new alphabet. It only takes about 30/40 hours to learn the alphabet and is important.

When I first attended school in BKK I didn't want to learn the alphabet (just learn to speak) but my teacher advised me it was crucial and I'm glad I did. I don't write very often but I read a lot and it makes my life easier and helps me understand the people more.

 

The tones are a red herring and seem to put people off from every trying. I purposely bypassed spending hours perfecting the tones of each word. Everything about language is context and as long as you can speak in sentences then it is no problem that you are tonally incorrect. You tend to pick up a lot just from listening anyway

 

Can't understand for the life of me why there is so much bewilderment regarding Allen Long .

I've seen the Thais post on his FB at how they are impressed by his accent.

He is THAI for all intent and purposes, he has lived here since he was a small child and went through the whole school system.

 

If he lived in the UK or US, he would be called British or American but here he is still farang.

Just shows how racist and xenophobic the Thais really are.

And we definitely would not be pissing our pants that he could speak the language with our accents. 

 

 

But he wouldn't be a Briish person ethnically.

Edited July 27, 2019 by Percy P
Addition

[FarFlungFalang]

25 minutes ago, Percy P said:

No. He is a specialist in agriculture. But he would still need a work permit if he is lecturing.

He doesn't really need a permit to lecture only to get paid to lecture.Getting paid to lecture without having a work permit he would not be adhering to Thai law,as he speaks fluent Isaan he may have also pick up some of Isaan's lack of adherence to Thai laws or maybe that should be total disregard for the law.   

[Sticky Wicket]

8 minutes ago, Percy P said:

But ethnically is is not Thai.

A cow born in a stable Is not a horse.

If you said something like that in the UK you would get castigated!!

[PerkinsCuthbert]

3 hours ago, rabas said:

 

I'm always amazed how amazed Thai get when they see a foreigner eat steamed rice. "Oh! You can east rice! Very good!" 

I am a constant source of mirth to the 'new' guard at my condo, where I have lived for thirty-two years; he only arrived two years ago, so his continued amusement every time I come home from the market with somtam and sticky rice is, I suppose, to be expected.

Thais, for all their faults -which we all have - need little refreshment in their daily lives in order to uncover something strange about the foreigner, bless them.

Edited July 27, 2019 by PerkinsCuthbert

[Percy P]

2 minutes ago, FarFlungFalang said:

He doesn't really need a permit to lecture only to get paid to lecture.Getting paid to lecture without having a work permit he would not be adhering to Thai law,as he speaks fluent Isaan he may have also pick up some of Isaan's lack of adherence to Thai laws or maybe that should be total disregard for the law.   

Immigration say a foreign person can not give advice to a Thai. 

[geoffbezoz]

6 minutes ago, Percy P said:

Immigration say a foreign person can not give advice to a Thai. 

They wouldn't listen anyway ????

[Suradit69]

2 hours ago, Assurancetourix said:

Correct me if I wrote an error.

"When it comes to learning a foreign language" is correct and acceptable. You have to consider the phrase " when it comes to learning " in context and not just pull out a couple of words.

 

" ... if I wrote an error, " would Probaby be better written as ... " if I made a mistake" or " if I am wrong."

[NCC1701A]

17 hours ago, Jonathan Fairfield said:

"It was a great honor to be given this award," he said. "No Thai citizenship so far though I still remain extremely hopeful".

actually you will and the farmer are going to be thrown out soon. 

[Surasak]

15 hours ago, djayz said:

I'm bilingual and I admire anybody who puts the effort into learning a foreign lingua. From personal experience, I know it truely does make daily life and integration much easier if you can communicate with the locals in their own language. 

Unfortunately, I (have to) spend most of my day speaking English and as a result, even after 10 yrs. here, I still haven't picked up a lot of the language. 

As native English speakers, we really do have a tendency to be lazy when it comes to learning foreign languages.  

I take my hat off to the three fellows. Good job! 

As native English speakers, we really do have a tendency to be lazy when it comes to learning foreign languages. ....I would dispute that statement. Many people find it extremely difficult to learn a different language. A lot can depend on interaction with local people. Living in a city where English is spoken by many locals does not encourage one to learn the language. Whereas

living in a small town or village can almost force you into making more of an effort.

[Paul52]

6 hours ago, balo said:

See? Not all foreigners are looked upon as trash.

Yep, just the ones who ARE pretty trashy (they would be considered so in their home countries).  Why they think they deserve respect in Thailand is beyond me.

[shackleton]

well good luck  to   the 3  guys getting the awards

I can imagine there are  quite a few   more foreigners  who can do the same but probably prefer 

to remain low key not wanting the publicity teachers for example and more 

[Tropposurfer]

17 hours ago, FarFlungFalang said:

He needs to receive financial reward to break this law!Ever seen a Thai woman pay a farang husband for his efforts? 

Yes it’s called pussy reward.

[Just Weird]

5 hours ago, Sticky Wicket said:

Can't understand for the life of me why there is so much bewilderment regarding Allen Long .

I've seen the Thais post on his FB at how they are impressed by his accent.

He is THAI for all intent and purposes, he has lived here since he was a small child and went through the whole school system.

 

If he lived in the UK or US, he would be called British or American but here he is still farang.

Just shows how racist and xenophobic the Thais really are.

And we definitely would not be pissing our pants that he could speak the language with our accents. 

 

 

"Can't understand for the life of me why there is so much bewilderment...He is THAI for all intent and purposes, he has lived here since he was a small child and went through the whole school system.

If he lived in the UK or US, he would be called British or American but here he is still farang.Just shows how racist and xenophobic the Thais really are".

Nonsense, this is nothing to do with, what you perceive as "Thai racism and xenophobia".  It looks as though you may be the bewildered one as, leaving aside the fact that he is already American, he would only be considered British if he had applied for and received citizenship from the UK, exactly the same as here.  

[Just Weird]

3 hours ago, jackdd said:

Might not fulfill the salary requirements to get permanent residency / Thai citizenship. Let's see if they kick him out of the country when he retires because he can't prove 65k per month income from abroad, then he can go back to his "home" country.

He's from a "missionary" family, the B800,000 lump sum is unlikely to be a problem!