5 hours ago, Logosone said:

Do Thai people have this phobia, is that why they don't teach English at schools here? Because let's face it, Thais' English is frankly shocking.

 

How come Indonesians and Malaysians can speak such good English but when Thais do you can't understand a word?

Because you are LISTENING wrong. Doh!

17 hours ago, Yinn said:

I see that the guys who speak thai well are positive attitude and have Thai freinds a lot. High knowledge.

Generally speaking,

the guys with negative and paranoia attitude not want to learn to speak Thai. Low knowledge.

 

lol - low knowledge, nice try. Yeah all the farangs that have the slightest issue with anything here must just be dumb as rocks. 

High/low knowledge of what exactly @Yinn? Knowledge of the workings of the country? One can have high knowledge about something and find it utterly distasteful.

 

I'd argue it's very much a chicken-or-egg situation. Were the expats with limited Thai language abilities disgusted with the country and chose not to engage with the local community (thereby limiting their language ability to basic/nonexistent levels) - and the opposite for the well adjusted expats?

 

I speak 3 languages fluently, all from very different cultures. When I first moved here I spent a year going to Thai language school before I gave up - not because it was too difficult but because of two main reasons: 1 - as I became proficient in the language I also became prone to speaking my mind about certain issues (which in Thailand gets you in all sorts of trouble) and 2 - the more I understood the less sense everything made. I suspect many other "low knowledge" expats are in a similar position.

 

These days I find it safer and less stressful not to engage with any Thais anyway. The ones who are worth talking to in my experience are well traveled/educated and coincidentally have a good grasp of English. They're exceptionally rare but are a pleasure to talk with.

14 hours ago, Genmai said:

Were the expats with limited Thai language abilities disgusted with the country and chose not to engage with the local community (thereby limiting their language ability to basic/nonexistent levels)

 

14 hours ago, Genmai said:

I spent a year going to Thai language school before I gave up -

 

14 hours ago, Genmai said:

These days I find it safer and less stressful not to engage with any Thais anyway. The ones who are worth talking to in my experience are well traveled/educated and coincidentally have a good grasp of English.

 

Yes, they the symptoms.

Thankyou share that.

I don’t have it when I’m pished up and babbling away with a Taxi driver... 

I do have it when I’m hungover and have to speak with the in-laws !!! 

 

 

23 minutes ago, Yinn said:

 

 

 

Yes, they the symptoms.

Thankyou share that.

In your answer I think you were using the infundibular tense when you should have been using the third person corpuscular imprecation.

Just now, toofarnorth said:

25 minutes ago, Yinn said:

Yes, they the symptoms.

Thankyou share that.

In your answer I think you were using the infundibular tense when you should have been using the third person corpuscular imprecation.

 

I’m loving how a Thai Poster starts a thread about language and some of the Westerns who are responding have had their noses placed so far out of joint they are ‘googling’ words, phrases and grammatical rules they had no idea existed !!!  

On 7/12/2020 at 10:24 AM, transam said:

Nooooooo, have a good memory.....????

Hi @ Checkered flag, you seem to be following me around, are you bored today....? ????

3 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

I’m loving how a Thai Poster starts a thread about language and some of the Westerns who are responding have had their noses placed so far out of joint they are ‘googling’ words, phrases and grammatical rules they had no idea existed !!!  

Yes, I can not understand.

i feeling xenoglossophobia a lot now.

xenoglossophobia.. I thought it was a fear of chilled out places decorated with glossy paint... 

 

Xen - gloss - phobia.....

On 7/11/2020 at 5:46 PM, Yinn said:

Yes.

 

Echolalia is the unsolicited repetition of vocalizations made by another person (when repeated by the same person, it is called palilalia). In its profound form it is automatic and effortless. It is one of the echophenomena, closely related to echopraxia, the automatic repetition of movements made by another person; both are "subsets of imitative behavior" whereby sounds or actions are imitated "without explicit awareness". 

Echolalia may be an immediate reaction to a stimulus or may be delayed.

Wow, the local troll learned to copy and paste.

I see you've awarded me 4 confused emojis on here, are you stalking me?

 

Edit: Not four emojis, but five....my my, you are a busy boy.

 

I'm beginning to think that you're just a lonely young lad, sitting in his bedroom.

 

If you're lost, I'm sure one of the mods can guide you.

 

@checkered flag

31 minutes ago, faraday said:

I see you've awarded me 4 confused emojis on here, are you stalking me?

 

Edit: Not four emojis, but five....my my, you are a busy boy.

 

I'm beginning to think that you're just a lonely young lad, sitting in his bedroom.

 

If you're lost, I'm sure one of the mods can guide you.

 

@checkered flag

How old you?

 

why care about that? 

 

I get so many. Pffffft

1 hour ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

I’m loving how a Thai Poster starts a thread about language and some of the Westerns who are responding have had their noses placed so far out of joint they are ‘googling’ words, phrases and grammatical rules they had no idea existed !!!  

Same 15 members.

other 220 vote for me.

democracy 

1 minute ago, Yinn said:

Same 15 members.

other 220 vote for me.

democracy 

Please name them all so we others can put on ignore. 

On 7/12/2020 at 12:02 PM, Logosone said:

I literally can not understand a word when Thais try to speak English. 

 

 

BS

It's true!

 

Only the other day I was trying to buy a pair of Raybans in a Central. 

 

I asked the shop assistant "Can these frames take graded glasses? A very simple question.

 

You'd think I was asking a summary of the Upanishads. The girl started babbling in some incoherent way, whatever it was it was not English.

 

I just had to walk away, no point. And this happens all the time, some Thai person tries to say something in English and you can't understand a single word!

On 7/12/2020 at 11:31 AM, Logosone said:

 

How come Indonesians and Malaysians can speak such good English but when Thais do you can't understand a word?

Colonized by farangs.

X2

6 minutes ago, Yinn said:

Colonized by farangs.

Better education and schools more like.

 

Though I guess the very original Thai alphabet-equivalent makes learning English harder than for Indonesians or Malays. 

38 minutes ago, Yinn said:

I get so many

Gosh, that really surprises me, I just cannot imagine for one minute why that might be - can you?

????

39 minutes ago, Yinn said:

How old you?

Older than my teeth.

 

????

34 minutes ago, Logosone said:

The girl started babbling in some incoherent way

Probably baffled, shocked & surprised, by your good looks.

 

On 7/12/2020 at 5:01 PM, Logosone said:

Education in Malaysia and Indonesia is better. The English level in Indonesia and Malaysia is significantly higher than in Thailand. 

 

They have real problems with speaking other languages in Thailand, even an easy one like English.

and consider that Malaysia in many ways is a country of 'immigrants' ... Or people who 'came to help the British' ... Strong tradition of English ...  I have not much personal experience with Indonesia. But I understand have very many local dialect.  Hence again English become a a very 'practical alternative' ..  Many also want to work abroad to earn more money ....  ????. 

49 minutes ago, Logosone said:

It's true!

 

Only the other day I was trying to buy a pair of Raybans in a Central. 

 

I asked the shop assistant "Can these frames take graded glasses? A very simple question.

 

You'd think I was asking a summary of the Upanishads. The girl started babbling in some incoherent way, whatever it was it was not English.

 

I just had to walk away, no point. And this happens all the time, some Thai person tries to say something in English and you can't understand a single word!

The shop assistant are trained to know the words Prescription, Aviator, Round , Colored and Tinted. When you used the word Graded she was confused. I know , my exGF worked at KT Optic in Patong. ????

32 minutes ago, Logosone said:

Better education and schools more like.

 

Though I guess the very original Thai alphabet-equivalent makes learning English harder than for Indonesians or Malays. 

Yes agree that the Roman Alphabet makes it easier ... One less thing to learn when you have to learn a new language ... I am determined to 'understand' more Thai .. both written and spoken ... but its hard work ???? ...

 

Malay and 'Indo' is easy to pronounce ...  Just look at what Singapore did when they got kicked out of Malaysia after independence  - They all spoke Chinese ... But they knew that to make anything out of that little speck of land they had (Island) .. They had to go for quality and not quantity - Hence education and 'law and order' was top of the agenda.  Then being practical they made English the official language.  But Singapore is just 'work work' .. 'eat' 'eat' ... ????    .....  I take Thailand any day over Singapore for 'living' ... But I have to say that Malaysia is a very close second ....

My God Bahasa is so much easier than Thai. 

 

I'd still prefer Thailand over Singapore, but Bali is no hell, nor is KL of course.

1 hour ago, Logosone said:

It's true!

 

Only the other day I was trying to buy a pair of Raybans in a Central. 

 

I asked the shop assistant "Can these frames take graded glasses? A very simple question.

 

You'd think I was asking a summary of the Upanishads. The girl started babbling in some incoherent way, whatever it was it was not English.

 

I just had to walk away, no point. And this happens all the time, some Thai person tries to say something in English and you can't understand a single word!

She can not understand you.

Then you complain because you not understand her. 

 

And still complain, ? days later.

i think she forget you already.

 

The shop in Thailand. Official language is Thai. 

 

But...

 

You have xenoglossophobia ?

5 minutes ago, Yinn said:

She can not understand you.

Then you complain because you not understand her. 

 

And still complain, ? days later.

i think she forget you already.

 

The shop in Thailand. Official language is Thai. 

 

But...

 

You have xenoglossophobia ?

Google Translate seems to work in most cases for me.

1 hour ago, Logosone said:

It's true!

 

Only the other day I was trying to buy a pair of Raybans in a Central. 

 

I asked the shop assistant "Can these frames take graded glasses? A very simple question.

 

You'd think I was asking a summary of the Upanishads. The girl started babbling in some incoherent way, whatever it was it was not English.

 

I just had to walk away, no point. And this happens all the time, some Thai person tries to say something in English and you can't understand a single word!

I usually start with - do you speak english & go from there.....Most often somebody nearby is found that does and can answer or translate.....Next in line is Google Translate.....

If it's really important I'll have my wife or one of my daughters come along with me.....

I find the Thais that cannot speak english go out off their way to accommodate me......To be in a foreign land & expect sales clerks that deal with Thais (199 to 1 english) & to expect them (basically in any country) & expect english is unrealistic....

Unfortunately, to my deficit, learning a foreign language has always been a gift I don't possess.....In reality, if Thais are trying their best to speak english for my benefit it's because of my lack - not theirs....

1 hour ago, faraday said:

Gosh, that really surprises me, I just cannot imagine for one minute why that might be - can you?

????

Yes, is the same 15 guys do it since November. 

No problem. Minority.

 

i never do it, IMO is immature.

 

can not mention reason. Is still sensitive.

 

ps *actually 14 now.

@Assurancetourix

 

He very old. About 2/3 month ago he complain have no energy.

He was from France, live in Sakon Nakhon.

He got one vote POTY.

 

He not post since long time already.

i hope he not die.

14 minutes ago, Yinn said:

She can not understand you.

Then you complain because you not understand her. 

 

And still complain, ? days later.

i think she forget you already.

 

The shop in Thailand. Official language is Thai. 

 

But...

 

You have xenoglossophobia ?

Hey, I'm learning Thai, but this language is so infernally difficult I may be getting xenoglossopeia.

 

Who does not speak English nowadays? Thais have xenoglossophobia?