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

[hotchilli]

4 hours ago, Jingthing said:

If a Thai business is catering to English speaking tourists then it's in their interest to help their staff speak better English as opposed to dissing their customers. That said, living in Pattaya I can see the language is quite challenging. One year it's English, then Russian, then Arabic, then Hindi, then Farsi, then Chinese. Too much!

And now Indian.... good luck with that one!

[bkk6060]

4 hours ago, Exilerunner said:

I disagree. I have seen lots of people in the Philippines speaking nothing but Tagalog even though it is supposed to be their primary language in school. I have seen many Thais speaking better English ...

Well, you are wrong.

They are speaking Tagalog because they are probably talking about you. Duh.

But, there are official stats on this and 3 times as many people speak English in the Phils then Thailand. 

As I stated, many many more especially in the cities and tourist areas speak English in the Phils then here. Places like AC close to 100%.

 

Edited January 20, 2020 by bkk6060

[Yinn]

1 minute ago, monkfish said:

Does that include Thai's who complain or just Farang who complain?

Everybody.

i think if I go your country, if I not like your people, I will leave, not complain.

Is better way.

 

Generally speaking, IMO, farang country have more % people who complain to much.

is thai culture not to complain to much. Stronger

[ravip]

3 minutes ago, Odisan said:

"It must surely be the responsibility of Thais to speak English..." Oh, give over!

Sheez...  Why is it?

Then you write, "...to engage a waiter whose IQ is likely less than 90 in conversation..." Ah, right!

The thing is, you can say what you like, but you don't get to say whose responsibility it is. Anyone with an IQ of 90+ would know that.

Judge. Jury. Executioner.

Please dont speak about IQ here. It is irrelevant!

Please, I beg...

[MrsT]

I don’t expect any Thais to speak English however there is a polite way to tell tourists how much an item is example : tapping on the calculator. 
Rather then telling us off. Many market stall holders can be rude that way. In addition, not everyone who looks Asian and has tanned looking skin are Thais - so don’t get offended if we do not answer you in THAI. 
 

[Yinn]

1 minute ago, bkk6060 said:

Well, you are wrong.

They are speaking Tagalog because they are probably talking about you. Duh.

But, there are official stats on this and 3 times as many people speak English in the Phils then Thailand. 

As I stated, many many more especially in the cities and tourist areas speak English in the Phils then here.

 

Thailand 39 million tourist. Philippine 5.5 million tourist.

 

Thailand win.

[ChaiyaTH]

12 minutes ago, Yinn said:

Everybody.

i think if I go your country, if I not like your people, I will leave, not complain.

Is better way.

 

Generally speaking, IMO, farang country have more % people who complain to much.

is thai culture not to complain to much. Stronger

Stop speaking about what you do not really know. You just happen to be staying in your own country, most if not all of your life (so far). 
Also, saying that you would leave for the smallest thing instead of complaining, proves you are the victim of wrong education. 

And:

''Thailand 39 million tourist. Philippine 5.5 million tourist.

Thailand win.'' 

You do understand you make Thailand the laughing stock by that comparison right? It proves how TH fails learning English,
even with so many arrivals, not tourists.

Edit: If the sign would say, Chinese, I would have sympathy for it. English is for the world, anyone serving tourism industries knows it is mandatory.

Edited January 20, 2020 by ChaiyaTH

[Odisan]

2 hours ago, Ventenio said:

Dinner:  Farang 1000 baht, Thai 20 baht

Use Restroom:  Farang 1000 baht, Thai free

Drinks:  Water, Farang, 1000 baht, Thai free

 

Love you  

Drink/eat more sweets. It might help remove some of the bitterness.

[ravip]

1 minute ago, MrsT said:

I don’t expect any Thais to speak English however there is a polite way to tell tourists how much an item is example : tapping on the calculator. 
Rather then telling us off. Many market stall holders can be rude that way. In addition, not everyone who looks Asian and has tanned looking skin are Thais - so don’t get offended if we do not answer you in THAI. 
 

The Thais do it very politely. It is the stuffed up foreigners who make a huge scene - they are 'superior' ????

[Lacessit]

3 hours ago, BritManToo said:

They all get taught English for 11 years in school.

Maybe blame them for not learning.

 

Oddly enough, my son aged 8, has been learning English for 3 years in his Thai school, and they class his English ability as 'poor', even though he's a native English speaker and chats all day in English at home.

Makes you wonder!

Perhaps he has picked up your accent, the UK has a large number of them. Cockney, Welsh, Yorkshire, Cornwall, cut-glass - the list goes on and on. You would be unaware of it, but it might sound weird to the teachers. Hence their rating.

I once had a Latin teacher from the north of England. Took the class 3 months to work out what on earth he was saying.

[VBF]

3 hours ago, RJRS1301 said:

I attended a conference in Mexico several years ago, on the flight into Mexico City from LAX, a very loud woman from USA, who was also a fellow presenter, in the seat next to me, stated "I hope they speak decent english there", when I pointed out that a lot of the conference presentations from other world wide presenters whose native language was NOT English,  would be translated into nominated languages through headsets, but the major language was Spanish, her indignation was one of entitlement and complete lack of respect for any other tongue.

 

I'm English but lived in Houston, Texas for a year in the eighties.

My complexion is such that when I'm tanned, I look a bit Hispanic (or Arab, or Southern European, take your pick!)

 

In a supermarket, this very large, loud lady who apparently also had a rather red neck (sic) said to me:

"Do YOU ALL speak English?"

 

I replied in my best mock Etonian accent:

"Rather better than you do Madam"

 

I STILL giggle when I recall the look on her face ????

[ravip]

2 minutes ago, ChaiyaTH said:

Stop speaking about what you do not really know. You just happen to be staying in your own country, most if not all of your life (so far). 
Also, saying that you would leave for the smallest thing instead of complaining, proves you are the victim of wrong education. 

And:

''Thailand 39 million tourist. Philippine 5.5 million tourist.

Thailand win.'' 

You do understand you make Thailand the laughing stock by that comparison right? It proves how TH fails learning English,
even with so many arrivals, not tourists.

"victim of wrong education"

555 555 555 

YOU are talking about 'education'???

555 555 555 
 

[White Christmas13]

14 minutes ago, Yinn said:

Maybe your English not so good.

it NOT say you must learn thai.

it say NOT complain. 

 

Glad and to help you sir.

 

Yes.

You should learn. Safety first.

Safety first? and that coming from a Thai where every year 24.000 people die on the road.

[monkfish]

5 minutes ago, Yinn said:

Everybody.

i think if I go your country, if I not like your people, I will leave, not complain.

Is better way.

 

Generally speaking, IMO, farang country have more % people who complain to much.

is thai culture not to complain to much. Stronger

No you misunderstand my question I mean Thai living in Thailand if they complain should they better leave.

[FarangULong]

3 hours ago, Exilerunner said:

I disagree. I have seen lots of people in the Philippines speaking nothing but Tagalog even though it is supposed to be their primary language in school. I have seen many Thais speaking better English ...

This. And there are plenty of xenophobe and outright racist Philippinos as well. To anyone who has never been there, I recommend going to any Boxing video on YouTube (doesn't matter if it's about Floyd Mayweather or Manny Pacquiao - their national hero and boxer turned bad 80s esque B action movie star/producer turned congressman turned senator...) and you will find plenty of Pinoy comments in semi ok to barely comprehensible English spouting off racial abuse, n bombs, etc. and even Pinoy supremacist <deleted> (ie a few of them posting the same comment on multiple videos, which goes something like "Philippinos are Jungle Asians, they have more rugged features, taller, bigger hands, bigger dicks than other Asians like Korean, Chinese, Japanese.." and <deleted> along those lines)...

Plenty of wankstains there also, plus the Muslim troublemakers there are far more violent & militarized than the ones that sometimes cause trouble in Thailand. Plenty of gold diggers there also. So really not "Garden Eden" (as some of them like to claim also) either...

As for the sign I wholeheartedly agree. Now if thise was the restaurant inside the Hilton or any other larger 4 or higher star Hotel, ok. But if it's some small restaurant/grill whatever, then people need to <deleted> with their <deleted>. I'm from Vienna, which is an international city. The UN has it's seat here, so does the International Atomic Energy Organisation, etc. The US for example has three ambassadors here. Yet in 2014ish I spoke with a group of Brits working here, and they ALL complained how hard it is for them to do shopping etc. because so few people (even in the large malls) speak good English.

And this is even though people in my age group (30s) have been taught English since grade 3 or 4 (don't remember) of PRIMARY/Elementary school. Not so long after that (like a few years) they started teaching it from 1st grade onwards. Still most people suck at it. I dropped out of school when I was 17 (I'm not proud of it though), yet I have far superior command of the English language than many people with an undergrad in Business Administration (which requires you to pass Business English classes for a few semesters). It's improved somewhat, but yeah.

 

We also rely somewhat on tourism, especially in the alpine/mountain regions and around the lakes etc. yet there people arenN't that great with English either, and it's often foreign seasonal workers who help with that.

 

And it IS mostly Anglos who bitch the most about people not speaking THEIR language. The very first thing I do before travelling anywhere, is trying to learn at least a few words and phrases (esp. stuff like "what is this... [called]" along with pointing at stuff). I speak some French also. If language doesn't work, I try to use simple words, pointing, hands and feet, and last but not least google translate..

[Hoppyone]

4 hours ago, Exilerunner said:

I disagree. I have seen lots of people in the Philippines speaking nothing but Tagalog even though it is supposed to be their primary language in school. I have seen many Thais speaking better English ...

You’ve got to be joking ,I’d like to see a poll on that ,from people who have been to both countries,I found most Phillipino’s that couldn’t speak English could at least understand a sign language 

[kentrot]

English lessons in Thai schools are pathetic. I met a Thai "English" teacher up country and she could just barely hold an intelligible conversation. 

 

Given that the official language of all the ASEAN countries is English - wouldn't it be an advantage to anyone dealing with the public to make an effort to learn English. 

 

And yes I speak just enough Thai to be understood in taxis and while out shopping. Furthermore I have a trusty "app" on my phone that is voice activated and translates almost any language to Thai .

 

 

 

[Lacessit]

2 minutes ago, VBF said:

I'm English but lived in Houston, Texas for a year in the eighties.

My complexion is such that when I'm tanned, I look a bit Hispanic (or Arab, or Southern European, take your pick!)

 

In a supermarket, this very large, loud lady who apparently also had a rather red neck (sic) said to me:

"Do YOU ALL speak English?"

 

I replied in my best mock Etonian accent:

"Rather better than you do Madam"

 

I STILL giggle when I recall the look on her face ????

I've been asked if I speak English on a few occasions here. My standard response is " I speak Australian, will that do?"

[Odisan]

2 hours ago, 4MyEgo said:

Sawadee Krup Yinn

 

Just to clarify, I am Aussie, born from Greek parents, I have been travelling to Thailand since 2005, moved here in 2015, never learned Thai, nit noi, nung, song, sum, see, ha ha ha, now, yen, catoh, tiruk, etc, etc.

 

I don't have the patience to learn another language, even though I live here, you know the older you get your brain slows, that said, it doesn't take much for a person to be polite when visiting another country, smile, sawadee, sabi dee, point at a bottle of water, run your finger down the list of a menu, pet pet, muk, muk, cop kun krup, I have always found Thai's to be willing to assist.

 

I have never had a problem, sign language/gestures with Thai's works most times, but at the bank the other day I asked the teller if she could photocopy the page on the bank book, I pointed to the page and with 1 finger, copy please, she came back with a copy of my name page, I said sorry, no, politely and asked again, she stood back and a colleague of hers came over and I point to the page and showed him 1 finger, copy please, no I didn't show him my middle one, and he did the copy for me, I said cop coon krup and to the girl who looked a little upset at me, but "up to her" as the Thai's say, I was polite and we can all try, it doesn't take much to live together, but as for farangs who get upset, well, that's just the bottom quality of impatient and uneducated tourists, and Budda help the Thai's if they intend on moving here, mai pen rai ????

 

How's your English coming along?

[sucit]

People speak only their native tongue in many parts of the world. Especially in professions like waitressing. 

 

I think the real issue here is when people have a little money to spend on their vacations, they think that money gives them the right to complain about any inconvenience, no matter how ridiculous. 

 

My thought is, if you want well educated English speaking service, be prepared to pay through the nose for it and I am sure many places would be happy to provide it. But everyone demands that everything be dirt cheap. 

[VBF]

Just now, Lacessit said:

I've been asked if I speak English on a few occasions here. My standard response is " I speak Australian, will that do?"

Not even close Ocker!!!!

If you're a big geezer....just kidding!

[PhineusFreek]

4 hours ago, Jingthing said:

If a T7

hai business is catering to English speaking tourists then it's in their interest to help their staff speak better English as opposed to dissing their customers. That said, living in Pattaya I can see the language is quite challenging. One year it's English, then Russian, then Arabic, then Hindi, then Farsi, then Chinese. Too much!

use google translate and shut tf up then

[Odisan]

1 minute ago, kentrot said:

English lessons in Thai schools are pathetic. I met a Thai "English" teacher up country and she could just barely hold an intelligible conversation. 

 

 

Wow! You've been to every Thai school? Must be some traveller. Or, perhaps, it's just that you were absent on that day in your own school when the teacher told those who did actually bother to turn up that it makes you look like an idiot when you try and paint an entire nation with such a sweeping generalisation. Good on ya, sport. 

[Odisan]

6 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

I've been asked if I speak English on a few occasions here. My standard response is " I speak Australian, will that do?"

I bet they speak slower to you after you tell 'em...

Edited January 20, 2020 by Odisan

[Odisan]

11 minutes ago, ravip said:

"victim of wrong education"

555 555 555 

YOU are talking about 'education'???

555 555 555 
 

Yep, clearly a purveyor of black kettles...

[holy cow cm]

51 minutes ago, Yinn said:

POTY YINN 2019 Special advice for happy live in Thailand. 

 

Not be impolite in restaurant before ALL your food/drink order come already. 

 

You are correct Yinn. Yes because hocktooey/hock a loogie or something that is brown and long that floats in water may be extra special ingredient in your food. Need to be good boy and girl before food comes. And second rule, never send your food back to be cooked again when complaining.

[ChaiyaTH]

9 minutes ago, kentrot said:

English lessons in Thai schools are pathetic. I met a Thai "English" teacher up country and she could just barely hold an intelligible conversation. 

Yes but after 10 years, aside of a time with Internet, movies and so on, basic English should really not be a problem. Most of my English has actually developed while staying in Thailand, not in school either. It is all about practice, losing face / culture is the real issue. 

To learn and say; Hello, how are you, what would you like to eat, etc. is really not that difficult. It is a matter of wanting to learn or not. 
If you want to earn from tourism business, you know English is part of the skills and tools you need. That counts for every country except perhaps Spanish ones.

Edited January 20, 2020 by ChaiyaTH

[Saint Nick]

Just now, Odisan said:

Wow! You've been to every Thai school? Must be some traveller. Or, perhaps, it's just that you were absent on that day in your own school when the teacher told those who did actually bother to turn up that it makes you look like an idiot when you try and paint an entire nation with such a sweeping generalisation. Good on ya, sport. 

You are aware, that you do not need to have been to every Thai- school, to have a general overview about their education...right?!

In general, I have spoken to a large number of Thais, throughout my years on business/ holiday and living in Thailand.

People, who have studied at Universities and who got good grades at school in English...and who were not able to put together a sentence, that could be understood, without turning your own brain off!

It looks similar for about every other subject!

The Thai- education system is broken and that is no generalisation, that's a fact!

[Xonax]

In a country where 18% of GDP comes from international tourism, isn´t it fair to expect, that some sort of international languages are spoken?

I only speak a little Thai, but no Thai´s speaks my native language. So could we at least try to meet in an international language?

Edited January 20, 2020 by Xonax

[JustAnotherHun]

24 minutes ago, bkk6060 said:

But, there are official stats on this and 3 times as many people speak English in the Phils then Thailand. 

As I stated, many many more especially in the cities and tourist areas speak English in the Phils then here. Places like AC close to 100%.

 

What? A country, which was a US-colony and has English not only as its official language but also as school language from the third year on has more english speaking people than Thailand?

Unbelievable! You must be kidding.

Edited January 20, 2020 by JustAnotherHun