Lifestyle & Language

[Bredbury Blue]

The other problem I have is why do people get so upset when two Westerners speak Thai to each other - I thought we were in Thailand?

Now you're taking the piss! Why would two farlangs want to speak to each other in thai, apart from being pretentious gits, unless say one only spoke german and the other only spoke english?

You were taking the piss / having a joke weren't you

If two Russians were speaking to each other in English in England, no one would have a problem – in fact, if they spoke Russian some people might be angry about that and say learn English. If two Spaniards were speaking to each other in English, no one would have a problem.

So why does two Germans speaking Thai to each other in Thailand generate such negative comments – according to you they would be "pretentious gits". What about a family sitting in a restaurant, two foreigners each married to a Thai, with kids, all conversation in Thai – even when speaking to each other, then would they be "pretentious gits" for speaking Thai. Remove the children, still "pretentious gits" for speaking Thai.

Please enlighten me as to the proper circumstances under which two westerners may engage in a conversation in Thai, IN THAILAND, and let me know if the same rule applies for a conversation in England or Australia, and if not why?

Two russians, alone, speaking thai and not russian - pretentious!

Two russions, with a thai present, speaking thai - acceptable.

Simple isn't it.

[Bredbury Blue]

BTW in Thailand You will ALWAYS be an outsider regardless, unless you become a Thai Citizen but this is fairly rare.

Don't think the Thai citizen bit comes in to the equation as how would a thai in the street know if you possess such a thing. Personally i reckon if you speak thai fluently but are farlang you will always be classed as an outsider (or a farlang) though as i watch my two more-farlang-looking-than-thai luuk khrung kids grow up and how their 100% thai compatriots treat them, i may or may not have to change that opinion, time will tell.

An aussie living in Manchester for 70 years will always be "that aussie bloke" and therefore a bit of an outsider (by an aussie i obviously mean that people can tell by his aussie accent).

[geronimo]

Didn't know whether to post this here or in the language section but I decided here because it is not about advice on learning Thai, more about advice on the benefits of learning Thai FLUENTLY. (mods : sorry if not in correct area :-)

I have lived in LOS for a few years and am now back in the UK. I would come over for a year or more at a time and spend about 6 months - 1 year back in the UK. I know it is not an ideal way to go about things but I am planning on changing all that. Basically my question is thus : what are the benefits of speaking Thai fluently as opposed to just quite well apart from the obvious fact that you can communicate a lot better and immerse yourself in the culture at a deeper level.

Would it help you find work? I know of people speaking fluent Japanese and getting good money from translating etc.

I am not in a great rush to return to Thailand just yet but I feel it would be a great waste if I just forgot all that I have learned over the years so I am in two minds whether to hit the books hard and get fluent, or keep them in the closet gathering dust. It has always been a dream of mine to speak another language really well so I think I will probably go ahead anyway, just curious of the perks ?

Cheers !

Being Fluent in Thai enables you to have a conversation with just about anyone. True, most of the time I do not wish to do this but I have had some really deep dialogues with professional Thais about their culture etc etc. Also whenever you are in trouble or need something it is invaluable. I never used to think about it but just lately I have had to translate for a few foreigners in a variety of situations and it made me realise how easy life is when you are fluient in Thai

[steveromagnino]

Sure, you can live, work and prosper here. I have seen plenty of Farangs do that. Many people know a hel_l of a lot more about 'high' Thai cuture and history than I do, by reading books. And that is fine and good luck to them. But I don't know how I'd cope here if I didn't speak the lingo.....

You'd probably still be working for your mates at Accenture

[Furbie]

The other problem I have is why do people get so upset when two Westerners speak Thai to each other - I thought we were in Thailand?

Now you're taking the piss! Why would two farlangs want to speak to each other in thai, apart from being pretentious gits, unless say one only spoke german and the other only spoke english?

You were taking the piss / having a joke weren't you

If two Russians were speaking to each other in English in England, no one would have a problem – in fact, if they spoke Russian some people might be angry about that and say learn English. If two Spaniards were speaking to each other in English, no one would have a problem.

So why does two Germans speaking Thai to each other in Thailand generate such negative comments – according to you they would be "pretentious gits". What about a family sitting in a restaurant, two foreigners each married to a Thai, with kids, all conversation in Thai – even when speaking to each other, then would they be "pretentious gits" for speaking Thai. Remove the children, still "pretentious gits" for speaking Thai.

Please enlighten me as to the proper circumstances under which two westerners may engage in a conversation in Thai, IN THAILAND, and let me know if the same rule applies for a conversation in England or Australia, and if not why?

Two russians, alone, speaking thai and not russian - pretentious!

Two russions, with a thai present, speaking thai - acceptable.

Simple isn't it.

What about two Russians speaking English?

[samran]

Sure, you can live, work and prosper here. I have seen plenty of Farangs do that. Many people know a hel_l of a lot more about 'high' Thai cuture and history than I do, by reading books. And that is fine and good luck to them. But I don't know how I'd cope here if I didn't speak the lingo.....

You'd probably still be working for your mates at Accenture

Ak-sen-cha as we say in OZ, gave me a nice payout when they downsized, so I'm not gonna knock them too much.

But back on topic. Job wise, the amount of conversations I've had that begin with "Hey Samran, you'd be perfect for this" or "You are such a unique commodity here..." I reckon helps.

My Thai ebbs and flows, depending on how much I use it. I reckon though, being able to go into a meeting, not have to have it translated and where you contribute, means that things get done.

Having said all that though, I think for dealing with certain Thai's, especially overseas educated ones who tend to gravitate to the top of the management chain in government and the private sector, using English for documents/presentations is useful and very productive. English tends to cut through to the chase a lot more in terms of communicating concepts. Thai (the way I've needed to use it..eg government) can be longwinded (a bit like my posts), but the Thai senior manager who usually has to put up with a lot of formal Thai language padding, appriciates direct and to the point writing in Engerish.

[frikkiedeboer]

speaking thai fluently opens doors you didnt even know existed. you can build up trust with the locals and learn to know how they think (although you wont believe or underdand why) and once you do, anything is possible

Edited April 11, 2007 by frikkiedeboer

[frikkiedeboer]

I'm interested in your point 2 - why you have to speak Thai well in order to truly understand how and why people think the way they do? Would you like to explain more. what if they're Thai but speak english well / fluently, do they think differently in thai?

yes,they do