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Speaking Thai - is it necessary these days for an expat ?


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4 hours ago, Mike Lister said:

Seems like an oldies bashing thread to me.....look at me, I'm fluent and have been here fraction of the time you have. Wow, aren't you good.

Yes, we were due one................:coffee1:

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4 hours ago, The Cobra said:

But nope, they're still stuck in English-only mode, like they've got some kind of linguistic force field keeping Thai at bay.

Is it laziness? Stubbornness?

 

Opportunity cost.

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I do not want to talk to my fellow countrymen why do I want to talk to anyone here?  Not everyone is talkative.  My spouse and I are fine together.  But living in a place where there are three different languages being spoken it is quite hard to pick up one dialect.  I do watch my mates who speak it quite fluently and most Thai's are put off by it.  

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I would not say I am fluent in Thai. However, I do find it useful to be able to communicate, such as if I have a flat tyre, I can explain the problem.

 

Some time ago, I played golf with three expats, none of whom had any Thai. I was able to ascertain the green fees, caddie fees and tips. Which was handy, as none of the golf course personnel spoke a word of English.

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1 hour ago, Mike Lister said:

I can vouch for Bob's statement, his written and spoken Thai is of a very high standard.

Do you mean you have actually spoken and written to Bob in Thai and that you are qualified to asses his proficiency?

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1 minute ago, scottiejohn said:

Do you mean you have actually spoken and written to Bob in Thai and that you are qualified to asses his proficiency?

Whilst working as a Moderator, yes, an issue arose that required us to communicate with a third party issue in Thai.

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2 minutes ago, scottiejohn said:

Do you mean you have actually spoken and written to Bob in Thai and that you are qualified to asses his proficiency?

 

A fair scoop of irony in you (of all people) asking that question!

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Just now, Mike Lister said:

Whilst working as a Moderator, yes, an issue arose that required us to communicate with a third party issue in Thai.

Why would two native English speakers communicate with each other on an English language only forum (outside Thai parts) in both written and spoken Thai?

Moderator or not!

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Been here 13 years, can speak the odd word and understand the same.

It can't be too difficult to learn as my 3 year old grandson jabbers on in Thai, and now in English.

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9 minutes ago, noobexpat said:

 

A fair scoop of irony in you (of all people) asking that question!

Please explain/expand on your comment as I do not understand either part of it!

Edited by scottiejohn
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10 minutes ago, Mike Lister said:

As I said, it involved a third party, I think that's all that needs to be said on this matter and that privacy should be respected.

A "cop out" answer with no substance!

 

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Translation apps are coming along nicely, a few years and we'll be all star trekked up if we need to communicate.

 

I suspect a lot of people will still turn it off though,  a lot of conversations are just ramblings or the difference in logic just triggers people so the feeling is probably best not to understand.

 

If people feel the need they will no doubt learn, a business need perhaps, a friendship need. For a lot of people though languages can be tough and that's a factor.

 

In most case you do not need a lot of the language to get by, being polite and being respectful likely trump language barriers anyway.

 

Consider sign language, have you learned that, if so how many variations do you know? 

 

If not, why not?, its likely similar reasons for any spoken language as well.

 

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1 minute ago, Gecko123 said:

I'll confess that I was flabbergasted by your testimonial as well, as Bob Smith's on line persona of being a heavy drinker, and harboring anti-social attitudes towards Thai people does not fit my profile of someone who is likely to have achieved a high level of proficiency in Thai. I too would like to hear more details of the nature of the interaction, and to know what your qualifications to access his proficiency are.

I'd like to win the lottery but that's not going to happen either!

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3 minutes ago, Mike Lister said:

I'd like to win the lottery but that's not going to happen either!

Should be no problem describing the complexity and nature of the translation help provided, and there should be absolutely no problem backing up your qualifications to make the assessment you made.

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Just now, Gecko123 said:

Should be no problem describing the complexity and nature of the translation help provided, and there should be absolutely no problem backing up your qualifications to make the assessment you made.

Nice weather we're having at present.

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7 minutes ago, Gecko123 said:

I'll confess that I was flabbergasted by your testimonial as well, as Bob Smith's on line persona of being a heavy drinker, and harboring anti-social attitudes towards Thai people does not fit my profile of someone who is likely to have achieved a high level of proficiency in Thai. I too would like to hear more details of the nature of the interaction, and to know what your qualifications to access his proficiency are.

As I said earlier I would love to know how (not what was discussed - not interested) a two posters can have both a written and verbal discussion on AN with a third party in Thai and certify the competency of the other party without disclosing how it happened and what their competency to make that statement is?

 

Edited by scottiejohn
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21 minutes ago, Mike Lister said:

Nice weather we're having at present.

Cute. But you're the one whose credibility is in question.

Edited by Gecko123
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