After Age 60: Is it possible to learn to Read and Speak Thai? And, Is it Worth the Effort?

[Titan1962]

Depends on your brain’s capabilities,mines <deleted> so it’s a big no for me. Left school at 15 because of learning capabilities,mainly retaining information. But got a job and busted my ass my whole life to get where I am today. Some are quick learners and can retain information at the drop of a hat. Some are not so lucky,but life is what you make of it,and mine has been great so far. Yes I would love to be able to speak Thai,especially with my partners mom and dad. But that ain’t going to happen,most places a frequent here in Thailand have staff that can understand basic English so all’s good with a bit of finger pointing and smiles. The other places like fresh fruit and veg markets,the partner does the talking. 
I can speak the absolute basic stuff like a tourist and that’s about it. But I do understand how much easier life would be if I could speak Thai, but still happy and living the dream.

[Airbagwill]

Most illiterate Thai experts I meet are the first to complain about immigrants to their home country who cant speak read and write their language. 

[unblocktheplanet]

For those who can afford it, a private online tutor makes for opportunities to learn the concepts important to your own life. Works better for me than a structured course. My own tutor has taught kids of eight and retirees of 80!

Edited June 4, 2020 by unblocktheplanet
addition

[Purdey]

Put it another way, there are no disadvantages to learning Thai.

I learned by purchasing a book, The Fundamentals of Thai Language, and doing the exercises in pencil, many times. Once i could read Thai, speaking became easier (for me). I could read signs on buses, shops and so on. Speaking made more sense once you envisage the spelling is different for similar sounding words. I would argue it is one of the easiest languages as grammar is not strict (unless you plan to write books) and people forgive wrong tones by understanding the context.

Where tones are concerned, being half human half parrot helps a lot. Just copy the sound of words as Thais say them.

Good luck!

[n00dle]

On 6/3/2020 at 5:25 AM, bkk6060 said:

No.

Waste of time especially if you travel around the country.  The dialects are different Thais lets say in the north, cannot understand everthing a Bangkok Thai says.

Then why do they spend so much time watching television.

 

I have enconter nowhere in thailand where central thai is not understood.

 

Come to think of it, my central thai is also understood very well in the parts of laos that I have visited.

 

To say it is pointless to lean english due to differnces in dialects is like saying it is pointless to learn bbc or even american english because of regional differences in that language 

[DualSportBiker]

1 hour ago, phantomfiddler said:

If I know that I am going to be in one place for a few months or longer I will make sure to learn the basics, ie How much is this ? how do I get to ? etc, but one very sad aspect of learning Thai (and I have not experienced this phenomenon in other languages) is that you will pick up many disparaging things they will say about you, thinking that you know not one word of Thai. Many Thais are taught at school from a very early age that they are the world,s superior race (honestly, not joking) and many of them actually believe it, even though the educational standard here is extremely poor. Yet an uneducated Thai will think nothing of calling you stupid because they can speak Thai and you cannot ! Also on many occasions a Farang will go into a shop and order something. The sales girl/waitress then calls the cashier and say "IT wants a cup of coffee" ! Using a term normally used for dogs ! Mun ow cafe ! Whenever this happens I just say change of mind and leave ???? I know many people who deliberately do not learn Thai because of this.

This happens quite often for sure. I push back, "Which dog are you talking about?" "Maybe you like dogs as you have the manners of one." That usually puts them on the back-foot and depending on the mood I am in I will let them know how disappointed their fellow Thais are at their lack of respect.

[DualSportBiker]

On 6/3/2020 at 5:25 AM, bkk6060 said:

No.

Waste of time especially if you travel around the country.  The dialects are different Thais lets say in the north, cannot understand everthing a Bangkok Thai says.

Utter twaddle. I've ridden around the entire country multiple times. I have never had a problem making myself understood anywhere with my perfunctory Thai skills.

[Airbagwill]

On 6/2/2020 at 11:25 PM, bkk6060 said:

No.

Waste of time especially if you travel around the country.  The dialects are different Thais lets say in the north, cannot understand everthing a Bangkok Thai says.

Here is a very good reason to learn Thai - it would prevent believing such nonsense as this.

[Slain]

On 6/2/2020 at 9:20 PM, GinBoy2 said:

I think a lot depends on how your brain is wired, whether or not as you get older you even can pick up another language.

 

I grew up bilingual, so could swap between English and Spanish without even thinking.

 

My first tonal language was Mandarin, which was tough  I think enabled me to get my head around Thai and Lao fairly easily. Curiously Lao came to be easier than Thai, somehow I found it easier to hear the words. 

Somewhat similar to Spanish, where obviously I understand everything in Spain, but the Spanish lisp makes the words sound less clipped to me, which is how I find Thai & Lao

 

Now was understanding Thai & Lao worth it?

 

Well, obviously it made life easier, but it also makes the absurdities more evident.

Just simple act of watching Thai TV 'news' can leave me shaking my head in despair.

 

Oh I forgot to add, the writing bit.

 

Mandarin was really hard to master, and even today after all these years I'm OK in simplified Mandarin, but I really struggle like a small kid with Traditional Mandarin. Thai was OK, it's a alphabet after all

Then you get to the tricky one, Isaan Lao.

This is basically a transliteration of the Lao language using Thai characters, there ain't no dictionary for that, and I can read it when I see it by sounding it out but it's dodgy at best

Great to have this explained in such a clear manner solving several mysteries i.e why Facebook & Google cant seem to translate Issan |-Thai properly

[Andycoops]

I came in my early 50s now mid 60s and still adding to my Thai speech repotoire.

[talahtnut]

Understanding the lingo spoils the fun

for Thai gals.

My mate said everytime he walked past a

particular group of gals the say 'moo'. and

giggle.

I told him that's good, means they like you.

[GinBoy2]

2 hours ago, Slain said:

Great to have this explained in such a clear manner solving several mysteries i.e why Facebook & Google cant seem to translate Issan |-Thai properly

Don't even try to use Google translate for Isaan Lao it'll come out as gobbledygook.

 

You need to be able to read Thai to understand the letters and tones to even come close to being able to read Isaan Thai/Lao

Edited June 4, 2020 by GinBoy2

[DineshR]

I think if one is going to live and make a life here in Thailand, it makes absolute sense to learn Thai. I've lived in Thailand now for almost 17 years and I now live in rural Thailand where no one speaks English. I took some lessons in Thai while I lived In Bangkok some 15 years ago - took lessons in speaking, reading and writing Thai but I only took it for 5 months before I had to give it up. It was a good enough start to be able to read simple signs and have simple conversations in shops, markets, taxis etc. It was good enough I guess to able to live here. Then I moved to rural Thailand 6 years ago and where I live now, no one speaks English. I finally decided last year to properly learn the language. I have a stepson who is enrolled in Kumon and it has benefitted him tremendously in improving his math and english skills. Last year, the Kumon center here introduced Thai as an additional subject. By that time, I had gotten to know the center's staff quite well and I asked if I could learn Thai at Kumon. They were willing to let me give it a try. When I first started, I asked they start me at ground zero i.e. not knowing a single thing in Thai. I have spent about an hour each day, every day for the last one year and I have progressed through 4 levels now. They start you off with the alphabet, then simple words and sounds, then the tones and more complex words, then sentences and more words. A year later, I am much more fluent in Thai than I ever expected to be. With the Kumon system, it kind of slowly builds the knowledge up. When I first started, the tones were the hardest part to understand. It actually takes a long time before it kind of clicks in but it eventually does. A year later, I am much more confident in reading and speaking and my vocabulary is much more extensive. I can know listen to the radio or TV and actually understand a lot of what is being said - I could never do this a year ago. It's made a huge difference to me in how I live my life since I now actually understand a lot of what is being said around me now at home, in shops, markets etc and the ability to be able to respond and have a dialogue is priceless. More than anything, the Thai people you interact with respond to you so much more personally when you speak with them in Thai. Is Thai easy ? No and it will take me a few more years at Kumon before I can speak like a native. But I think it's worth the effort especially if one is making a life here.  My 2 cents.

[Tropposurfer]

The process of learning is never wasted. Neither is the struggle and joy that it brings.

[utalkin2me]

4 hours ago, unblocktheplanet said:

For those who can afford it, a private online tutor makes for opportunities to learn the concepts important to your own life. Works better for me than a structured course. My own tutor has taught kids of eight and retirees of 80!

There are two ways to hardly learn any Thai... expensive ways and cheap ways. I know the one I am choosing. 

 

The success stories who do learn Thai would have learned anyway, they are good with languages. 

[Rockhopper]

Forget learning Thai if you lost your short term memory.

[ben2talk]

It's useful to learn some, but learning to read well enough to read books or newspapers I'd say probably not. Also, judging by the time wasted by my son reading absolutely ridiculously  boring diatribe in schoolbooks I'd say it's best avoided.

 

Enough to understand signs and basic instructions - but then you can open google translate in the phone and click the camera to get some translating done there.

[DUNROAMIN]

8 hours ago, vogie said:

Oh come on Dunroamin, you seem very intelligent, I sure if you really wanted to learn thai you could, many people say can't when they really mean 'don't want'

I forgot to mention, maybe, lazy.

[umlungu2012]

Waste of time unless you are dead certain to spend the rest of your life in the country. After all, it's not a portable language. Things being what they are, it might seem a tad difficult to project a future in Thailand at this specific point in time. It all depends on your time, effort, perseverance, and general knack for learning languages. I certainly wouldn't bother, English gets you by - just - and with a mobile phone shopping for difficult to describe items is easily accomplished. If you are looking at potentially other places to live and retire post-60, learn a language that has more of a geographic spread.

[elliss]

 

        The thai ladies i have met have been mainly multi lingual .

        My thai lady , is teaching me to speak Chinese ..

 

           PS , i am three score and ten ..

           

 

Edited June 4, 2020 by elliss

[GinBoy2]

2 hours ago, umlungu2012 said:

Waste of time unless you are dead certain to spend the rest of your life in the country. After all, it's not a portable language. Things being what they are, it might seem a tad difficult to project a future in Thailand at this specific point in time. It all depends on your time, effort, perseverance, and general knack for learning languages. I certainly wouldn't bother, English gets you by - just - and with a mobile phone shopping for difficult to describe items is easily accomplished. If you are looking at potentially other places to live and retire post-60, learn a language that has more of a geographic spread.

Dunno about that.

 

I learnt Mandarin while I was living in Shanghai, I subsequently lived in Singapore and Taiwan. 

 

I now don't use it in everyday life, but I like to be able to watch TV news, movies in Mandarin, and to some degree read news from Taiwan, although I will admit my traditional Mandarin is a little shakey.

 

So I'm always of the opinion that you learn the language that you are in. Even now I always when I go on vacation learn simple things; Hello, Thank You, Good Bye

[kokesaat]

Married to the same Thai woman for 48 years, lived in Thailand for 24.  Didn't buckle down learning Thai until about 13 years ago, so I can compare life before and life after learning the language.  My 2 satang worth:  if you're speaking Thai to the cashier in Big C, for example, and she doesn't understand you, I'd guess you haven't learned the tones or haven't learned how to read the language.  If you're relying on transliterated Thai to tell you how to say/pronounce a word, good luck.  Is it Udorn (as it's better pronounced) or Udon as all the signs say?  If it's Udon as all the signs say, then do you pronounce Udon and Ubon the same way (except for the d/b)?  

Ultimately what it comes down to is you have to learn how to read and how to pronounce the tones to be able to communicate......outside of the bar areas where most of the girls have retuned their ears to gutter Thai.

I'm 70, have profound hearing loss, wear hearing aids......but am convinced that if you want to learn the language you can do it if......you have the right teacher and you're willing to spend hundreds of hours practicing what you learn (in addition to the hundred of hours you'll spend learning.

That said, despite the time I've spent on the language, I consider myself an elementary level learner......good at conversations where I can control the flow, bad at slang/Isaan or fast talkers.

If you want to deal with the electric office, buy a car on your own, order food in a restaurant to your liking, or deal with the traffic cop or maid or gardener or clerk in the store, then you have to up your game.  If you're not up to the task, you'll either have to live in an area where English speaking is more common or drag your spouse/gf with you whereever you go.

I only wish I hadn't waited so long.

[pineapple01]

Ive dreamed of a meaningful chat with a Big C Cashier. Now what better incentive do i need. I can order a new Car every day too.

[TKDfella]

11 hours ago, umlungu2012 said:

Waste of time unless you are dead certain to spend the rest of your life in the country. After all, it's not a portable language. Things being what they are, it might seem a tad difficult to project a future in Thailand at this specific point in time. It all depends on your time, effort, perseverance, and general knack for learning languages. I certainly wouldn't bother, English gets you by - just - and with a mobile phone shopping for difficult to describe items is easily accomplished. If you are looking at potentially other places to live and retire post-60, learn a language that has more of a geographic spread.

You could extrapolate that to any topic. Why bother studying this & and that if you aren't going to use it. I might never use use the ancient Cuneiform script but that doesn't mean it isn't interesting. Learning Thai is also a route to the culture too.

[Neeranam]

On 6/3/2020 at 3:50 AM, HerbyJFlash said:

However, I have noticed that when I show her my newly learnt Thai she almost disapproves or shrugs it off. 
I get the feeling she doesn’t like me knowing it. 

Some Thais seem to go native in the UK and don't like talking Thai, especially to non-Thais. They like to show off their English. 

I overheard a woman in Primart talking on her phone saying she was scared of farang and it was too cold. I said no need to be scared, we don't bite, in Thai. She was shocked and tried to run away. I said I lived in Khon Kaen and where did she come from. She said Aberdeen and did run away! 

Sat next to some Thai women in the casino and shocked then when they were checking out the guys, but they took it very well and we had a good chat. They were really happy, and surprised a farang could understand them. However later when I took the wife, she didn't want to talk to my new lady friends. 

[Neeranam]

11 hours ago, elliss said:

 

        The thai ladies i have met have been mainly multi lingual .

        My thai lady , is teaching me to speak Chinese ..

 

           PS , i am three score and ten ..

           

 

I'm learning Chinese, its not easy. 

[Neeranam]

11 hours ago, umlungu2012 said:

I certainly wouldn't bother, English gets you by - just - and with a mobile phone shopping for difficult to describe items is easily accomplished

I find it strange that some are content getting by, whatever that means. 

Illiterate, deaf mutes get by, but would love to live a full life. 

[Neeranam]

 “You live a new life for every language you speak. If you know only one language, you live only once.” – Czech proverb

[Neeranam]

On 6/3/2020 at 1:36 AM, JohnBarleycorn said:

Learning Thai makes me feel more productive, and Thai language has become an important tool which helps me to be a better teacher.

 “Those who know nothing of foreign languages know nothing of their own.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

[umlungu2012]

10 hours ago, GinBoy2 said:

Dunno about that.

 

I learnt Mandarin while I was living in Shanghai, I subsequently lived in Singapore and Taiwan. 

 

I now don't use it in everyday life, but I like to be able to watch TV news, movies in Mandarin, and to some degree read news from Taiwan, although I will admit my traditional Mandarin is a little shakey.

 

So I'm always of the opinion that you learn the language that you are in. Even now I always when I go on vacation learn simple things; Hello, Thank You, Good Bye

Proves my point. You learnt a language that is useful elsewhere. Thai is not. Waste of effort unless you live in Thailand.