Thai Language Seen as Vital National Symbol, Survey Shows

[cncltd1973]

English is the primary language of the Info Age, if you don't know it then you have to wait until your info is translated and trust the translation is accurate. Thai is useless as an international language. learn English or get left behind. same could be said about Latin or Greek some millenia ago

[2baht]

You can bet I won't be buying any of that rubbish, what ever the hell it is!

 

 

[Grusa]

I seem to recall "uncle" Prayut saying that Thai would become the international language of diplomacy...........

 

He failed to indicate exactly when........

[soalbundy]

12 hours ago, Tropicalevo said:

I agree with the heading.

It is very sad though that so many Thais cannot read and write.

This is thanks to the poor education system once Thais are outside of the major cities.

Then there are the folk who cannot afford the schooling.

That was true years ago but now it would be unusual to find a young person who can't read, in my Isaan village I know only of one young man who can't read, a tear away criminal who has already had a stint in prison. They even have informal classes to teach some old people who can't read. Thai is a difficult language to read, it took me about 5 years to master it and even my British/Thai son (17)says he finds reading English to be easier than Thai.

[ikke1959]

9 hours ago, connda said:

Thai Language Seen as Vital National Symbol, Survey Shows

 

Thais are extremely nationalistic.  That's considered to be a "bad thing" in the West and yet the same people saying Western nationalism is bad will approve of Thai nationalism.

From my perspective it explains why their education system is sub-par and Thai language skills with foreign languages are also sub-par. 

You are right. we even read a comment on the Olympics that Western countries could do sport as they were for the rich and not as Thailand  with poor people....What does it mean that Thailand is taking poor people to Games and take care of the poor or is it just jealous comment ?? I only know that the only thing Thai people is learned that Thailand is the best country in the world and is doing everything for its people, but for me .... I have quite opposite thoughts

[MalcolmB]

2 hours ago, thesetat2013 said:

I recall driving around with wife and asking where to find a place.

Where did you meet your wife?

Is she educated? 
Must be hard.

[IamNoone88]

I made a concerted effort not to waste the Covid years and spent it learning how to read Thai. This said, English is a critical language for Thai kids to learn fluently and until that happens to critical mass levels the choice to access broader local and international opportunities, be it business or personal is very limited. That is just the way it goes. Nations with a high level of English proficiency as a second language simply do better ..... as do English speaking natives who can converse in Thai.

[Purdey]

No one could argue that the Thai language is important for Thai people. But for some reason, whenever I ask young people which subject they disliked most at school, the answer is usually Thai (and also English). Partly it is the teaching method. Most kids hate ancient Thai poetry (I was asked to translate some of the poem Lilit Talaeng Pai and no Thai teachers could help with the really old vocabulary) but they have to learn it as part of their culture. As they should. However, most Thai literature is in poetic form. 

 

[brianthainess]

2 hours ago, thesetat2013 said:

Thais have many signs using bad Thai as well as bad English.

I second that.

[kingstonkid]

13 hours ago, Tropicalevo said:

I agree with the heading.

It is very sad though that so many Thais cannot read and write.

This is thanks to the poor education system once Thais are outside of the major cities.

Then there are the folk who cannot afford the schooling.

There's also the smartphone issue.  Just like English speaking kids are losing the ability so are Thai because they are on their phones all day.

 

As to pride in your native tongue look no further than french Canadian or native Americans.  Language is their culture 

[ChipButty]

I think a lot of Thai people have trouble writing Thai, and I know two Thai's who dont speak Thai properly, I dont know the reason for that but hey are good workers, 

[trainman34014]

According to my Thai Wife the majority of Thai's only use about half or less of the Language.  She used to say even Yingluck couldn't speak Thai properly !

[john donson]

free school? but not the books, uniforms, meals, no school bus, loooooooooooool.. songtaew or the old bus in the apple ad ...  

[bob smith]

13 hours ago, BobBKK said:

Fair and free survey right?  🤐

....sounds like another NIDA poll to me.

 

bob.

[mikeymike100]

11 hours ago, BangkokReady said:

 

Foreign language leads to foreign ideas... 😉

Is that bad????

[BangkokReady]

Just now, mikeymike100 said:

Is that bad????

 

Depends who you ask. Maybe good for average Thais but bad for those in charge.

[brianthainess]

53 minutes ago, soalbundy said:

They even have informal classes to teach some old people who can't read.

Not just for those who can not read, my wife had to leave school when she was twelve, Her mum died when she was Eight and her Father when she was Twelve, she also had to walk to school for an hour with no shoes, she can read and write (very neatly), but never got the School certificate, our local School does classes at weekends which she attends when they have them, quite funny to see her dressed in the compulsory school uniform though at her age 48yr......... 

[brianthainess]

I find most Thais can still only read Thai out loud, 'tis the standard of education, if you ask them a question or to phone someone for a simple answer of yes or no, it seems an impossibility, it takes 15 min. As with bank staff you are very lucky to find anyone that can speak English IME. 7/11 staff and bargirls are better at English, than any bank staff.

 

[brianthainess]

29 minutes ago, trainman34014 said:

According to my Thai Wife the majority of Thai's only use about half or less of the Language.  She used to say even Yingluck couldn't speak Thai properly !

But her English saying she had an Erection was hilarious. I passed that one on to our local schools English Teacher........................

[jesimps]

13 hours ago, MartinBangkok said:

What utter bull<deleted>. The lack of proficiency in English is one of the major problems holding this country back. Almost on par with corruption and the obsequious deference-behaviour brainwashed into 99% of Thai "children" from birth.

Before coming to Thailand I lived for two years in France and found it almost impossible to get around there without a good knowledge of French. Here however, I speak very little Thai, but have never had any trouble finding English speakers. I'm not criticising anyone here and realise I am quite lazy about leaning languages, just stating my observations.

[Jackbenimble]

4 hours ago, hotchilli said:

So why do many Thai children take years to master their own language, 

I've lived here almost 20 years and have 2 Thai kids and have subsequently met their friends and later on their girlfriends/boyfriends. Not once have I met a Thai kid (of speaking age) who couldn't speak Thai. 

Its totally understandable for them to be proud of their Language, I have never met anyone (Thai or foreigner) who thought they shouldn't be tbh. So the headline would be correct, the rest of the story though........just another BS story from AN?

[JTXR]

14 hours ago, MartinBangkok said:

What utter bull<deleted>. The lack of proficiency in English is one of the major problems holding this country back. Almost on par with corruption and the obsequious deference-behaviour brainwashed into 99% of Thai "children" from birth.

That may have been true in the past.  Today, any Thai that wants his/her children to learn English rather than Mandarin is foolish.

[Guderian]

5 hours ago, hotchilli said:

So why do many Thai children take years to master their own language, 

 

It might have something to do with memorising the tone rules, which also requires memorising the class of every consonant. Memorising the standard model of particle physics is much easier and far more logical! lol

[1happykamper]

Thai is a completely useless language outside of Thailand.

 

Get a grip on reality Thai people! 

[BigStar]

3 hours ago, brianthainess said:

I second that.

 

Incredible the losses to the Thai economy this has already caused. How could any English speaker be intelligent enough to figure the meanings of these signs.

 

Funny Thaiglish. Hee hee.

 

[Srikcir]

18 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

the ministry celebrates National Thai Language Day, honoring those who excel in the usage and preservation of the language, while urging all Thais to value and maintain their language legacy.

Thailand has the legacy of a developing nation in a world of about 194 countries, of which in 2023 an estimated 1.46 billion people speak English around the World or about 18% of the global population, almost 1 in 5 people. More people speak English than any other language. (wordsrated.com) Why does English extend beyond the borders of native English speaking nations?

Former PM Prayut knew - “The most common language is English for sure. If Thai was a world language, we would have been a powerful country,” ... “Is there a chance Thai will become a world language? Yes, if you do what I say! In the future, Thai may become a world language." ... as the entire room burst into laughter." Jan. 2017 (https://coconuts.co/bangkok/)

"Most people learn English as a second language so they can communicate with people from other countries." (medium.com)

"Commerce, science and technology, diplomacy, art, and formal education all contributed to English becoming the first truly global language." (wikipedia)

Apparently Thais did not advance on the world stage as Prayut envisioned. Could of, would of, might of but nationalism seems to stand in the way.

[BigStar]

4 hours ago, cncltd1973 said:

Thai is useless as an international language. learn English or get left behind. same could be said about Latin or Greek some millenia ago

 

The vast majority of Thais don't need to know English. Plenty of wealthy Thais don't, and you might wish you were so far behind as they are. Similarly, with the vast majority of Japanese. They do quite well w/o it. And better now that machine translations are getting so good. Was reading a comparison of translations and GPT-4 is pretty incredible. Those working in international fields need English, of course, to varying degrees, and they learn enough to get by.

 

To address the OP obliquely, however, it's well known among the best educated Thais that the written language needs reform. However, it seems unlikely to happen,.

 

[cowellandrew]

19 hours ago, kickstart said:

Education up to 15 years old in Thailand at government schools is free, the expensive things are school uniforms, which the government helps, with 320-baht, school meals and transport to and from the school.

As for the Thai language anyone who can learn the 44 consonant's and 22 valves plus tone marks of Thai language is doing well in my book. 

That's alot of taps 

22 valves

[MartinBangkok]

18 hours ago, BigStar said:

 

Japan has always had a low level of proficiency, and even today the level is barely above Thailand's. Perhaps you can think of other reasons Thailand didn't develop an economy on par with Japan's.

 

 

Common in Asia. Japan's been the same. China of course yet is the rising world power.

 

Tell you the truth, though, seeing the degeneration and decadence of Western countries, I think kids could do with a bit more deference and patriotism taught in schools over there.

 

 

Your last paragraph is on a different subject BigStar. But talking about that, I agree with you.

[Cracker2000]

21 hours ago, ikke1959 said:

Put it on the World Heritage List, as almost everything in Thailand

Ah the 'World Heritage List' full of other obsolete and outdated things doomed to fade away.