Do you ever get any negativity from the locals when you attempt to speak Thai?

[ozimoron]

In my opinion, Thais do try to understand but it can be tiring for them. Sometimes farangs mangle the language so badly that Thais just can't understand.

 

Consider these 2 words,

 

near far ใกล้ ไกล

 

Type near far into google translate and hit the audio button. You will get the idea.

[Chris Daley]

The boring druggies and slum dwellers speak Thai and the really interesting people speak English.  So never need to speak Thai.  The basic Thai people seem to be incapable of intelligent discourse.

[simon43]

12 hours ago, ozimoron said:

 

Eventually it will come if you pay attention to the tones. I still have a LOT of trouble with the words for near and far which sound similar.

Here in Laos the locals decided that 'gly' and 'gly' were indeed too similar.  They use 'gy' (far) and 'mor' (near).

 

I speak/read/write Thai to a good level, and my Lao is fast catching up. One 'annoying' factor is that while many Lao words are the same as Thai, the tone is different!  So 'song' (number 2) in Thai with a rising tone is 'song' in Lao with a high tone!

[ozimoron]

1 hour ago, Chris Daley said:

The boring druggies and slum dwellers speak Thai and the really interesting people speak English.  So never need to speak Thai.  The basic Thai people seem to be incapable of intelligent discourse.

 

Did they charge you extra baggage when you brought your hegemony over with you?

[Gottfrid]

4 hours ago, bob smith said:

it's BMT man, show some respect! 

I will from today, also bow to BMT. 

[Reginald Prewster]

12 hours ago, Gecko123 said:

No they're not, Bob. They are keenly observant and able to size people up fairly quickly, but they are also cautious about gossiping about other people out of fear that it will get back to the person being talked about. This is especially true in small villages. One thing I love about Thai people is they don't sling psychobabble jargon back and forth at one another like they do in the West. You'll hear "he's selfish", "she's conceited", or "he's immature" or "he's irresponsible", but you're not likely to hear "he has narcissistic personality disorder,"  "she has a fear of intimacy", or "he's a friggin' sociopath." That psychological vocabulary has done a lot of damage to interpersonal relationships in the West, and I'm grateful it's not very prevalent here.

That's on the spot and I guess you have a well established Thai community around you as so do I.

 

Some of the answers here lets me stipulate, that here are many that pretend to make a real living in Thailand. thinking to know the real Thai culture, but their replies show clearly that these are actually not the brightest candles on the birthday cake.

They will stay outsiders for the rest of their lives...

[ozimoron]

5 minutes ago, Reginald Prewster said:

That's on the spot and I guess you have a well established Thai community around you as so do I.

 

Some of the answers here lets me stipulate, that here are many that pretend to make a real living in Thailand. thinking to know the real Thai culture, but their replies show clearly that these are actually not the brightest candles on the birthday cake.

They will stay outsiders for the rest of their lives...

 

He's just saying that small Thai villages are unsophisticated. No surprises there.

Edited December 22, 2023 by ozimoron

[Reginald Prewster]

2 minutes ago, ozimoron said:

 

He's just saying that small Thai villages are unsophisticated. No surprises there.

Go to any countryside in Europe and visit a small village. You will be watched with a good distance and it takes long that they locals approach you.

Beside endless gossip is going on about you and behind your back.

 

I live in a very small farm village between Khon Kaen and Kalasin.

They are Farmers there and very welcoming especially when you speak Thai (meanwhile after 22 years of living I speak fluent)

Off course you have to adapt to the culture and join the community events like Village or temple festivals.

4 weeks ago I had to visit even a village 15 kilometer away because this is the village of one of my farm workers. 

We represent our farm with a table were Ice creams are handed out, others make food, cakes and so on..

(all free)

The festivity went till 11 into the next morning and while my wife and house maid went with the village ladies I was never alone went from group to group not less drunk than any other man around me (Incl Eldest, Major, some from the Land department but also many other villagers...)

 

Speaking (real) Thai makes you a welcome part of the community.

[ozimoron]

25 minutes ago, Reginald Prewster said:

Go to any countryside in Europe and visit a small village. You will be watched with a good distance and it takes long that they locals approach you.

Beside endless gossip is going on about you and behind your back.

 

I live in a very small farm village between Khon Kaen and Kalasin.

They are Farmers there and very welcoming especially when you speak Thai (meanwhile after 22 years of living I speak fluent)

Off course you have to adapt to the culture and join the community events like Village or temple festivals.

4 weeks ago I had to visit even a village 15 kilometer away because this is the village of one of my farm workers. 

We represent our farm with a table were Ice creams are handed out, others make food, cakes and so on..

(all free)

The festivity went till 11 into the next morning and while my wife and house maid went with the village ladies I was never alone went from group to group not less drunk than any other man around me (Incl Eldest, Major, some from the Land department but also many other villagers...)

 

Speaking (real) Thai makes you a welcome part of the community.

 

Indeed. I always urge any farangs who live here to learn Thai and to not bother until they can read it. I initially went to AUA in BKK in 1982 for a semester in Thai and spent the next 12 years coming and going from Australia. I was also married twice to Thai women. After my last divorce I spent a couple of decades mosying around the Philippines until returning to Thailand so I lost a lot of it. I lived her for a couple of years before covid and for the past 2 years so I'm nowhere near fluent. I'd say my peak level was being able to read teenage girls magazines and reaching for the dictionary about once per page.

 

I speak basic Tagalog as well and I can say that Thai is far easier to learn than Tagalog or the Bahasa languages. For a start, Thais don't conjugate their verbs which is a big help. Once you can read a Thai word you instantly know how rto pronounce it, even if not capable of correct tonal pronunciation. And finally, Thais only use about 2/3 of their alphabet for day to day stuff so learning it isn't difficult. It's not like Chinese.

 

[bob smith]

7 hours ago, Reginald Prewster said:

That's on the spot and I guess you have a well established Thai community around you as so do I.

 

Some of the answers here lets me stipulate, that here are many that pretend to make a real living in Thailand. thinking to know the real Thai culture, but their replies show clearly that these are actually not the brightest candles on the birthday cake.

They will stay outsiders for the rest of their lives...

and you are just brimming with genius aren't you, Reg.

 

I wish I was just like you!

[Thingamabob]

All over the country Thais are happy, and very often relieved, if a foreigner can speak with them in Thai. 

[CygnusX1]

7 hours ago, ozimoron said:

I always urge any farangs who live here to learn Thai and to not bother until they can read it.

Speak some very basic Thai to a Thai lady and she’ll be moderately impressed. Show her that you can read Thai, however poorly, and she’ll be as astonished as if she’d just been introduced to a talking horse.

[JMT42]

I find the main problem is that they don't want to correct you when you get it wrong. So when you attain a certain level it's hard to improve.

[WDSmart]

I live in northeast Thailand, far from Bangkok. When I speak Thai up here, I get no sense that anyone is offended. I often have to repeat words, mainly because although they sound okay to me, I'm using the wrong tone (high, low, rising, falling). Other than that, I get along fine up here.

When I go to Bangkok, however, I get a lot of the opposite. When I'm in a store and try to talk to a Thai salesperson in Thai, they often seem offended, or at least bored, and start talking to me in English. Once, a particularly offensive Thai just flat-out replied to me in English, "You don't speak Thai good. I can't understand you. Can you speak English?" To which I replied (in my broken Thai), "Kuhn mai phut Anglit dee. Pom mai khao jai. Kuhn phut Thai, mai (with an accentuated rising tone). 

[Toby1947]

On 12/22/2023 at 7:45 AM, bob smith said:

im thinking about taking a Thai course in the new year to perfect my speaking and possibly reading.

 

These days I dont like to show off that I can speak thai,

especially in tourist ghettos as I have had many thais tell me in the past that foreigners who can speak thai are no good.

 

Has anyone else ever experienced this sort of negativity?

 

these days I am very cautious about using thai in front of thais,

many of them dont like the fact that a foreigner can speak their lingo.

 

bob.

My Thai lady friend says no falang should even attempt to speak Thai. "Cannot do" and making an fool of themselves but in your case that's par for the coarse. Don't kid yourself you can't do it your making a dick of yourself again 

[gunner1]

On 12/22/2023 at 7:54 AM, BritManToo said:

I don't bother, if you don't speak English with a Brit accent, I'm not interested in talking with you.

Did learn to read, write and speak central Thai, it wasn't worthwhile, Thais are generally really dull people with nothing to say that I want to hear.

"How spicy was my last meal' ....... discuss for 1hr ........... I think not.

I feel the same way about the Brit accent, can't understand half of what they are saying especially when they are excited so I just stay away from them. Boring anyway.

[georgegeorgia]

17 hours ago, FruitPudding said:

 

Could have been "gin kao leng" which is Isaan for dinner

Oh give it up you old fool 

Can just imagine you barely standing on ya walking stick blabbing off in tones ," Hin gin hinn gin gin " 😅

 

[bob smith]

11 minutes ago, Toby1947 said:

My Thai lady friend says no falang should even attempt to speak Thai. "Cannot do" and making an fool of themselves but in your case that's par for the coarse. Don't kid yourself you can't do it your making a dick of yourself again 

whats your problem mr. grumpy?

[Reginald Prewster]

1 hour ago, bob smith said:

and you are just brimming with genius aren't you, Reg.

 

I wish I was just like you!

Yes, I am.

I totally agree if you say compared to me you cannot think further than over the plate you eat from.

Can't be everyone so gifted than myself and your posts tell me you ain't any near to it.. 

 

Comprende?

[FruitPudding]

27 minutes ago, georgegeorgia said:

Oh give it up you old fool 

Can just imagine you barely standing on ya walking stick blabbing off in tones ," Hin gin hinn gin gin " 😅

 

 

Well,  I'm in my 30s. 😄 

 

What are you? In your 60s?

[actonion]

My (Thai) Mrs told me that Thai's dont like foreigners speaking Thai because they can then understand what Thai  ladies are saying about them

[Gecko123]

On 12/22/2023 at 7:45 AM, bob smith said:

im thinking about taking a Thai course in the new year to perfect my speaking and possibly reading.

Anyone who has progressed beyond the beginner level would know that in order to make further progress you have to master the alphabet and tonal system, and you can't do that without a lot of reading and writing practice. 

Edited December 23, 2023 by Gecko123

[Gecko123]

9 hours ago, ozimoron said:

 

He's just saying that small Thai villages are unsophisticated. No surprises there.

I think the phrase you were looking for was "down to earth."

[Gecko123]

11 hours ago, simon43 said:

Here in Laos the locals decided that 'gly' and 'gly' were indeed too similar.  They use 'gy' (far) and 'mor' (near).

 

I speak/read/write Thai to a good level, and my Lao is fast catching up. One 'annoying' factor is that while many Lao words are the same as Thai, the tone is different!  So 'song' (number 2) in Thai with a rising tone is 'song' in Lao with a high tone!

 

Very interesting. Thanks for sharing.

[bob smith]

31 minutes ago, Reginald Prewster said:

Yes, I am.

I totally agree if you say compared to me you cannot think further than over the plate you eat from.

Can't be everyone so gifted than myself and your posts tell me you ain't any near to it.. 

 

Comprende?

No.

 

Your English is woeful. 

[stix40]

No 

[Reginald Prewster]

43 minutes ago, WDSmart said:

"Kuhn mai phut Anglit dee. Pom mai khao jai. Kuhn phut Thai, mai (with an accentuated rising tone).

 I imagine you have relpied this in a Thai manner with a big laugh and both sides were laughing loud out... 

 

I am lucky that either my wife or our 34 years old house maid (a real house maid with the heart on the right spot - meaning on her tongue) will correct me immediately.

They also give me a strong reminder when a "krub" fits in and instead of using (in Isaan common) a "krub" as "Yes" a "Krapom" as "Yes" from time to time works real wonder and you are a highly respected Farang with very good manners...

 

It is also a honor for them to call you "Lung" (Uncle) then you can be sure you are part of the community..

 

A joke from a Farang goes miles and for years:

I went once with 12 Villagers fishing for Snakeheads.

As we passed a paddock with 4 Buffalos I shouted:

"Sawasdee krub Chao Luk" (Hello Children of the World) 

I have never seen 12 Thais breaking out in tears and couldn't stop laughing and as they just caught their breath again, I asked why the were laughing. 

My wife calls me "Quay" (Buffalo) many times when I do something wrong...

Even the tractor driver stopped incapable to drive further.

 

 

 

 

[Reginald Prewster]

51 minutes ago, bob smith said:

No.

 

Your English is woeful. 

My nativ language is Plattdeutsch

A lingo from the 14th century spoken along the coast lines between Novgorod, Lubeck, Hamburg, Stockholm, London, and Lisboa so the ship owners could trade without dictionary (Hanse aera) 

Based is this language on old German, Frisian, Scadinavian Languages centuries before

 

German as Motherlanguage came then at School to it as Plattdeutsch was for Farmers and not appreciated...

 

English during 42 years working abroad, 57 Countries in total and so I developed my own accent I like.

People with a basic school education understand me well all over the world.. 

 

Some talking pillows in countries I have been longer working added Spanish (Castellano), Dutch and Thai to it.

 

You see Bob, you are no match for me... but if it brightens your day go on,

I am alone on my work site and killing time, as all are in the holidays, whilst pocketing a fantastic day rate.. 

 

If you want to make money you can even do it with this forum like I do. Here a free tipp from me:

Log out and find a job. ...and why I edited this text see below 

Edited December 23, 2023 by Reginald Prewster
Most significant grammar errors corrected for Bob

[bob smith]

7 minutes ago, Reginald Prewster said:

am alone on my work site, all are in the holidays and killing time, whilst pocketing a fantastic day rate.

i’ll pay slip flip you if you want.

lets have a ‘who’s the richest’ , chirtmas special.. 

 

i make more in a day then you probapy do in a month!!

 

you have no idea who it is you are talking to!

Edited December 23, 2023 by bob smith

[Stevemercer]

No. My Thai is crap, but Thai people usually say how good my Thai is. I assume they are being polite or want to make a positive impression.

 

It's the same when Thai's speak English. I always encourage them. 

Edited December 23, 2023 by Stevemercer