“Don’t complain about our English, If you can’t speak Thai” - sign at restaurant goes viral - again

[Saint Nick]

1 hour ago, GeoMill said:

How much do you know about the restaurant in question? For all we know this restaurant is not centered in a holiday hotspot, and their aimed clientel is not foreigners, but Thai? I bet plenty of Farang go to these restaurants rather than the tourist restaurants because of the inflated prices at the latter. 

And the guest in this country chestnut? How about criticise your own country before you criticise others. Germany and France are among the western nations where English is mostly useless. And Germans aren't underpaid sub-90-IQ people, whats their excuse? A quick search showed that actually most tourists in Germany come from the Netherlands. Have Germans bothered to learn Dutch? Last time I was there I had to order my food in German to make sure I got what I wanted. Why expect something from Thai, when we ourselves don't even bother?

 

Again, not saying it's not a good idea to learn the language of the tourist. But it is your own choice to come to Thailand. If their broken, or lack of, English is an issue, perhaps go elsewere? Australia or Canada perhaps? But I guess the working ladies and food there is too expensive? If you want cheap food, just suck it up that they don't speak English. At most fancy restaurants I visit in Thailand they do speak English btw.

 

Also, may I remind you, that learning English, a GERMANIC language, for a German is something diffrent than learning it as a Thai? I wonder which one of you and your friends would pick up Cambodian or Lao faster.

Next time if you don't want to sound like a hypocrit with your last sentence, answer to me in Dutch. 

Edit: Little sidenote; "Please, Don't complain about our English, If you can't speak Thai, Love you". is NOT the same as "Learn out language or <deleted> up.". It's just pointing out how hypocrit you all are.

 

Okay...let's go through this heap of steaming nothing, bit by bit!

a) I said, that we don't know what happened there! But WHAT we know, is that someone put up a sign - in English- to complain about the behavior of someone, who expected some English knowledge from the staff! Correct?

So for that reason ALONE, they must have a clientel, that at least in parts consists of foreigners!

That is just logic!

 

I am the first to criticize my country!

I just googled "how many Germans speak English" and one of the first results that came up, mentioned a number 63% speaking and understand English at least "somewhat".

I bet, this number is way higher than in Thailand.

 

Have Germans bothered to learn Dutch?
No!

And that is not the point!

They have learned to speak ENGLISCH, which is also spoken by many Dutch- people...ergo: they can communicate with each other!

No one asked of any Thai to learn every goddamn language on Earth, since it is ENGLISH that matters!

 

Next point: hardly a fancy restaurant...I assume!

 

It really doesn't matter who has it harder to learn what!

As NO ONE wants all Thais, everywhere in the sticks, to speak perfect Oxford - English!

But -as explained a million times now- if you want international guests, some English would be good to learn!

(Tourism= important source of income for a vast number of Thais!)

 

Why would I answer to you in Dutch?

Do you have many Thai- friends who speak Dutch to you?

We are talking about ENGLISH, which is the international language, spoken in all walks of live, everywhere in the world, so people from different countries can communicate with each other!

It's really not that hard to understand!

 

[Saint Nick]

1 hour ago, KC 71 said:

Carabao has done some tracks in English before 

I know!

How many Thais know them, listen to them and why did Carabao go back to Thai?

Here are the answers: almost none, almost none and because their fanbase doesn't give a hoot about it and only wants Thai!

 

[Saint Nick]

1 hour ago, josephbloggs said:

Talk about being a bit over the top!  Get a grip.  The sign was cheeky and only said not to complain about their English unless you can speak Thai, love you.  They are not telling anyone to learn Thai.  They are not scolding anyone.  You can order your food in English.   You are reading something in to it that absolutely isn't there.

And the sign is written in very good English let's not forget.

There are some really humourless people on here.

Oooooh yes!

 

[DrTuner]

4 minutes ago, Saint Nick said:

just googled "how many Germans speak English" and one of the first results that came up, mentioned a number 63% speaking and understand English at least "somewhat".

I bet, this number is way higher than in Thailand.

When I first moved to Germany in 99, nobody spoke English. I had to learn German, which I did. Last summer I visited Munich for the first time since over a decade and .. English spoken everywhere, especially younger folks were fluent. The change was unbelievable, probably driven by social media. Germans took the hint and acted, unlike Thais. I liked the old Munich better, though.

[ThaiBunny]

1 minute ago, DrTuner said:

When I first moved to Germany in 99, nobody spoke English. I had to learn German, which I did. Last summer I visited Munich for the first time since over a decade and .. English spoken everywhere, especially younger folks were fluent. The change was unbelievable, probably driven by social media. Germans took the hint and acted, unlike Thais. I liked the old Munich better, though.

English is now the common language of the European community. I read recently that Dutch is almost a "dead" language in The Netherlands. I doubt this will change even when Brexit is a reality

[Saint Nick]

23 minutes ago, DrTuner said:

When I first moved to Germany in 99, nobody spoke English. I had to learn German, which I did. Last summer I visited Munich for the first time since over a decade and .. English spoken everywhere, especially younger folks were fluent. The change was unbelievable, probably driven by social media. Germans took the hint and acted, unlike Thais. I liked the old Munich better, though.

If you did move to Munich in 99, I find that surprising!

Sounds more like Eastern Germany, where Russian was taught, before the wall went down and a lot of the East Germans did speak English.

[Mister Fixit]

21 hours ago, RJRS1301 said:

The ability to teach is a skill, the abilty to reapeat "parrot fashion" words cannot be considered a skill.

The abilty to faciltate and instruct a group, while ensuring all are receiving and UNDERSTANDING the same thing is and advanced skill

And that's why the Thai education system is broken.

[Jonathan Swift]

On 1/20/2020 at 11:34 AM, samsensam said:

 

if someone complained about my second language ability, for example my french, and especially if i was using that language in order to be successful in business, i'd work hard to improve my language skills. that would be common sense/good business sense, wouldn't it?!

How do you know how hard they have worked at it? Do you speak an Asian language of any sort? You think it's easy?

[RJRS1301]

2 hours ago, DrTuner said:

When I first moved to Germany in 99, nobody spoke English. I had to learn German, which I did. Last summer I visited Munich for the first time since over a decade and .. English spoken everywhere, especially younger folks were fluent. The change was unbelievable, probably driven by social media. Germans took the hint and acted, unlike Thais. I liked the old Munich better, though.

Gosh I was in and out Germany late 70s and into mid 80s, and found English widely spoken where I frequented

[DrTuner]

12 minutes ago, RJRS1301 said:

Gosh I was in and out Germany late 70s and into mid 80s, and found English widely spoken where I frequented

I did spend the first few months in the outskirts of Munich, granted. Wasn't much better in the center when I got there, by that time I could converse in German though so I didn't mind. Anyway the difference to today is astonishing.

[nrasmussen]

English is in my opinion (based on a lifetime of traveling to numerous countries all over the world) the de facto lingua franca of international tourism, so it would seem to be beneficial for any business that caters to foreign tourists to have at least some staff being able to converse in English.

 

Of course this is getting more and more irrelevant as technology progresses. Apps like Google Translate are already at a level where two people without a common language can communicate quite comfortably without too much effort, and substantial improvements will undoubtedly be forthcoming sooner rather than later.

[ravip]

6 hours ago, Saint Nick said:

...talking about a holier- than -thou- attitude, oh gracious defender of everything Thailand...

When suffering from Tunnel Vision, one loses visual acuity in the peripheral visual fields while retaining visual acuity only in the central regions. Hence, it is a narrow path...

[Opl]

7 minutes ago, ravip said:

When suffering from Tunnel Vision, one loses visual acuity in the peripheral visual fields while retaining visual acuity only in the central regions. Hence, it is a narrow path...

 

and that's why your daughter is dumb

[ravip]

Just now, Opl said:

 

and that's why your daughter is dumb

Very smart indeed!

[ravip]

I went back to the OP and read the sign again. It says

"Please dont complain about our English if you cant speak Thai. Love you."

So... they DO speak English, dont they? It is just us, who were blinded by the hate for the Thais and anything Thai that missed the point?

[Enki]

15 hours ago, Saint Nick said:

Okay...let's go through this heap of steaming nothing, bit by bit!

a) I said, that we don't know what happened there! But WHAT we know, is that someone put up a sign - in English- to complain about the behavior of someone, who expected some English knowledge from the staff! Correct?

So for that reason ALONE, they must have a clientel, that at least in parts consists of foreigners!

That is just logic!

 

I am the first to criticize my country!

I just googled "how many Germans speak English" and one of the first results that came up, mentioned a number 63% speaking and understand English at least "somewhat".

I bet, this number is way higher than in Thailand.

 

Have Germans bothered to learn Dutch?
No!

And that is not the point!

They have learned to speak ENGLISCH, which is also spoken by many Dutch- people...ergo: they can communicate with each other!

No one asked of any Thai to learn every goddamn language on Earth, since it is ENGLISH that matters!

 

Next point: hardly a fancy restaurant...I assume!

 

It really doesn't matter who has it harder to learn what!

As NO ONE wants all Thais, everywhere in the sticks, to speak perfect Oxford - English!

But -as explained a million times now- if you want international guests, some English would be good to learn!

(Tourism= important source of income for a vast number of Thais!)

 

Why would I answer to you in Dutch?

Do you have many Thai- friends who speak Dutch to you?

We are talking about ENGLISH, which is the international language, spoken in all walks of live, everywhere in the world, so people from different countries can communicate with each other!

It's really not that hard to understand!

 

German kids at the Dutch boarder learn Dutch as first or second foreign language, and mostly speak it anyway as borders are not language borders.

[Enki]

15 hours ago, DrTuner said:

When I first moved to Germany in 99, nobody spoke English. I had to learn German, which I did. Last summer I visited Munich for the first time since over a decade and .. English spoken everywhere, especially younger folks were fluent. The change was unbelievable, probably driven by social media. Germans took the hint and acted, unlike Thais. I liked the old Munich better, though.

In 1999, everybody who had finished high school (20 years ago) spoke german. But obviously not a 50 year old on a bakery shop.

[mike787]

this topic is on fire....hilarious...

[Airbagwill]

On 1/24/2020 at 9:48 AM, LetsCleanUpTHAILAND said:

Historically, the Dutch have always had strong ties with Thailand. This is a reason why Thailand was never colonialized by a western power. To maintain this economic partner ship, THAILAND's ambassador learned to speak the language of their European partner. There wasn't a big "To Do Business With Thailand, you must speak Thai" painted on the fortress wall of the Kingdom of Ayuthaya (Siam, former Thailand in the 1500's).

 

No one is talking about fluency in English. We are all talking about how Thais should have a basic/foundational level of English for Tourism. Most Thais in the tourism industry don't understand "Can I have some ketchup." Let me give you another example. Most Thais outside of city areas will answer you "I'm ____ years old" if you ask the question, "How are you?" Are you telling me that's not a problem for a country that, as of the past 20 years, has transitioned from a farmer economy to a tourism economy??? Thailand is in tough competition with EVERY country in SE Asia and they are currently losing millions of tourism to less linguistically stubborn countries. In SE Asia, Cambodia and Thailand are the dumbest countries about English. That's not a problem?

What on earth are you rambling on about? Nothing to di with my post for a start.

[Airbagwill]

On 1/24/2020 at 10:34 AM, GeoMill said:

Actually to me it seems to suggest the poster of the sign asks foreigners not to complain about their bad English skill. I agree learning English to some degree would help their bussiness, not denying that in any way. 

 

The problem I have is that some individuals, ParkerN for example, seem to feel entitled that the whole world needs to learn their language. His post is full of demeaning assumptions based on nothing but his own lack of knowledge. Even if he is right, how can he expect a sub-90-IQ waitress to learn several languages in the little spare time she has? Surely he must know Westerners aren't the only tourists here. There is Chinese, Japanese, Indians, granted the latter usually speak English. And all this for a few dollar of wage per day. 

Most criticism on this site and thread are in fact just racism in disguise. 

Laregel by people who don't speak Thai and are trying to justify their own ignorance or re-establish their dented feelings of superiority.

In reality they display a breathtaking ignorance of language and how it works.

[Youlike]

On 1/20/2020 at 1:15 PM, Sticky Wicket said:

The main problem is with customers who want to add/take something off an existing item on the menu i.e. fussy eaters or with allergies etc.

Most people even if they can't speak Thai can point at the item they want, it's not rocket science!

I've seen most problems when a non Thai speaker is trying to alter a meal in English. You can literally see the server's head spinning

Start asking for sunny side up eggs or crispy bacon & well done toast in English and you are bound to <deleted> up the whole order

I always let my wife order in BKK and still 70% of the time things goes wrong because of the stupid waiters. Even after they repeat the total order which is all correct. They are just sooooo uninterested and uneducated you can't even blame them....and i'm not talking about cheap restaurants!

[Airbagwill]

On 1/23/2020 at 6:17 PM, RJRS1301 said:

But symtomatic that well named "airbags" make typos while inflating their egos.

I was merely attempting to put the correct slant on your post, by clearing any misunderstanding about the content.

Not my typo....QED. 555.

Edited January 26, 2020 by Airbagwill

[mpyre]

On 1/19/2020 at 11:41 PM, ParkerN said:

Yes. well. English is the default uniquitous language of the world. Thai isn't. It must surely be the responsibility of Thais to speak English, not for Europeans or Americans (both of whom come here mainly for cheap beaches, cheap food or cheap sex) to learn how to order Somtam in Thai or to engage a waiter whose IQ is likely less than 90 in conversation (quantum mechanics anyone?).

 

Seems reasonable for foreigners to boycott jingoistic little restaurants like this one. It probably isn't very clean anyway and it seems they need a few lessons in how not to <deleted> their customers off.

The operative phase here is "complain about our English;" English is widely spoken, and the imperial arrogance that goes with it is also widespread, unfortunately...particularly among Brits and Yanks. 

Edited January 29, 2020 by mpyre

[Teee]

On 1/20/2020 at 4:41 AM, bkk6060 said:

I speak only a few Thai words but I agree with the sign.

Only because I have witnessed too many Falang get upset or even yell at staff at various places because they cannot understand English.  Calling them stupid and the such.

It can be frustrating but not really their fault. Blame the government for not making them learn English in school.

If you want good English interaction with mostly polite people, go to the Philippines 90% there speak.

Ha ha ha Really....your advising people to go to the Phillippines because they speak 90% English....ha ha most fillipinos are stupid and give wrong answer to anything you say to them..

[Airbagwill]

10 hours ago, mpyre said:

the imperial arrogance that goes with it is also widespread,

this perspective is incorrect - English is the lingua franca - i.e. the language used by a vast number as the language of international communication - it is not solely for the benefit of NECs but as a second or other language.

[ravip]

5 hours ago, Teee said:

Ha ha ha Really....your advising people to go to the Phillippines because they speak 90% English....ha ha most fillipinos are stupid and give wrong answer to anything you say to them..

YOU are judging most Filipinos as stupid? Please do re-evaluate yourself. Thank you.

[ravip]

3 hours ago, Airbagwill said:

this perspective is incorrect - English is the lingua franca - i.e. the language used by a vast number as the language of international communication - it is not solely for the benefit of NECs but as a second or other language.

Just a thought that just popped into my mind...

English is the lingua franca - i.e. the language used by a vast number as the language of international communication

Why say that in Italian and translate it? Do more people know Italian than English? ????

Edited January 30, 2020 by ravip
Corrected

[fusion58]

On 1/20/2020 at 11:44 AM, Coremouse said:

It may be inappropriate to question a country farmer's english skill, but for Service Industry earning income from farangs, this sign is just a silly excuse. And a country as a whole putting up a language barrier won't do any good to its economy. As you see I'm also not a native english speaker, yet the appalling english-inability of Thailand also gave me tons headache. 

This.

[fusion58]

The sign might just as well read "don't complain about anything we do or say as the Thai way is the best way and the only way."

 

 

[ParkerN]

On 1/20/2020 at 11:41 AM, bkk6060 said:

I speak only a few Thai words but I agree with the sign.

Only because I have witnessed too many Falang get upset or even yell at staff at various places because they cannot understand English.  Calling them stupid and the such.

It can be frustrating but not really their fault. Blame the government for not making them learn English in school.

If you want good English interaction with mostly polite people, go to the Philippines 90% there speak.

There is no reason to go off on one just because the waiter can't speak English. Such behaviour has no justification and will only serve to reinforce prejudices, which doesn't help anyone. Better to use the same feet that helped you get in, to help you get out if you can't cope with that level of problem.

 

 

Edited January 31, 2020 by ParkerN