Thai Speech Cd's And Books...

[kitty]

I'm sure this has been asked many a time but i was wondering from all of your experiences which one would be the best to purchase?

I had a french lingaphone years ago and i found that only taught me the "old fashioned/proper" way to say things.

I would like one in Thai that teaches the shorter,a more modern way, to say things as the Thai people nowaday speak, also with some slang words too maybe?

Any help would be appreciated...

[Spee]

I'm sure this has been asked many a time but i was wondering from all of your experiences which one would be the best to purchase?

For pronounciation, I can think of nothing better than "Proper Thai Pronounciation" by Benjawan Poomsan Becker. It is a CD/short book combo that has served me well so far.

[meadish_sweetball]

Someone may disagree with me on this, but I am writing from my own experience:

It is really a good idea to learn how to speak "proper" and "formal" Thai, the way it is taught in schools. My advice is that you should start from there, and move on to everyday language and slang afterwards.

Thai people, unlike Europeans, will compliment foreigners who speak proper, formal, and most importantly, POLITE Thai.

Polite language involves, for example, to use the word "phanrayaa" instead of "mia" for "wife", the word "saamii" instead of "phooa" for "husband" and using the polite particles, "kha" (used by females) and "khrap" (used by males). If you learn everyday speech and slang first, you will a.) risk being perceived as uneducated and impolite and b.) miss the bigger picture of expressions, as the formal expressions typically are the more elaborate base from which the vernacular starts.

As an example, it is better to learn the whole phrase "theung mae waa ... tae" (although) than just "theung ... tae" OR "mae ... tae" (which serve the same function in everyday spoken Thai).

You will find that once you start communicating with Thais in Thai, they will teach you a lot of slang and puns anyway. BUT they will be very unlikely to deliberately teach you how to curse or swear. I found this a bit strange at first - not that I was planning to swear a lot, I just wanted to know the expressions to look out for, but my Thai friends refused to teach me, because they thought it was improper and that the Thai language "is a beautiful language that should not be soiled with expressions like that".

[bkkbound04]

i bought a berlitz book & cd, good wee book for the money about £10

play.com etc stock it