Do You Make An Effort To Learn Thai?

[teacup]

I can't stand watching the soap operas for more than 30 seconds - why would I want to understand them?

Well if you don't like this approach, then don't try.

It's just one way to learn the language that's all, and there are many simple and less annoying plots out there.

The main goal here is not whether you like watching soaps or not, it's all about learning the language in quick and easy way.

Well I cant stand math or physic either, but I do have to study them coz I can see the benefits of learning them.

Btw Miss Teacup

I am interested to know how you thought about learning English, especially things like consonant clusters and endings, which I know are difficult for many Asians. Maybe if you can share your experience I will have an easier time getting my head around the tones

Dearly mr. Hammer

Not from the thai education system, for sure……blah!!!

Seriously….I have been learning from……”my american beefcake”…haha

Well u know…….Things you will do for LOVE…lol

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Still constantly improving tho

“Nothing impossible ……until you try“, he said

[JetsetBkk]

...when i first started to learn to read, i found that "the car number plate" game was great for consonants, especially when stuck in traffic all the time

Yes, I do that - trying to work out what the province is that's written on the number plate. I didn't even know there was a place called "Phichit" (พิจิตร) until I read it on a number plate.

[kiakaha]

I can't imagine living anywhere without trying to learn the local language.. so far I have picked up Indo, Malay and some HK Chinese.. People telling me that 'They can't learn languages' is utter *ank... They are just too lazy to bother... nothing more to it..

Try to live in Japan and learn the lingo here.

You might learn up to bar girl level, but nothing you can take to the bank.

Me friend you, you friend me.

Japanese is simple...it doesn't have tones and only has 5 discrete vowel sounds. Any monkey can learn the Hirigana and Katakana charts.Admittedly though, Kanji is more of a long term endeavour.

Oh, we have a linguist here?

How would this character make his (and his family) living in Japan? He knows the tricks? No difference between learning useless and inferior languages like Thai or Japanese.

English does it all. The real language for real life. That language has not only educated, but has civilized many nations around the planet.

to answer your questions....

No, I'm not a linguist.

The time I did spend living in Japan was 2 fold..first time as a high school student for 1 year where the classes were held in Japanese.So my living costs were provided for.

The 2nd time , briefly for work a long time ago, I earned my living by drawing a salary.

I dont know what you mean by "he knows the tricks"...could you re-phrase the question ?

Thai/Japanese inferior languages ? That is entrirely relative to one's purpose for wanting to learn the language and the language of the environment in which you are surrounded in your day to day life.

[teacup]

Btw Miss Teacup

I am interested to know how you thought about learning English, especially things like consonant clusters and endings, which I know are difficult for many Asians. Maybe if you can share your experience I will have an easier time getting my head around the tones

Dearly mr. Hammer

Not from the thai education system, for sure……blah!!!

Seriously….I have been learning from……”my american beefcake”…haha

Well u know…….Things you will do for LOVE…lol

.

.

.

Still constantly improving tho

“Nothing impossible ……until you try“, he said

I mean.......for the verbal part of those consonant clusters and endings, that is

[livinthailandos]

An effort huh, I should at least point out 2 things, I'm from the US. so here goes

in school english class was extremely difficult for me, all those verbs, subjects, nouns, pronouns, etc, I had even a hard time just barely passing english class, I've gotten better over writing essays, but when I learned thai again guess what came along verbs, subjects, even algebra, history were easy for me. Anyway in thailand when i was trying to learn 2 things

1. verbs, subjects, nouns, pronouns came along, done messed me up again

2. Europeans, Americans, were lazy we don't use different tones

3. There are at least 5 different tones in the thai language, to this day I can't tell the difference ( deaf ear )

4. Reading & Writing more than 40 different symbols, yeah if i can't tell differences in tones, how can i expect to read or write

5. Good thing about thai everything is shorten like You go where.

6. I work with thai employee's so I just try to listen and copy, not a good thing but at least I try to be understood

being here for 3 years now I can at least say

all the months

time

number up to 999,999,999

today, tomorrow, tonight, morning

days of the week

bangkok in thai

even the weekend market in thai to

driving

ordering most of my foods

bargining on prices

and more i think my thai is about 10% maybe. People forget that learning a language is a life long process. You never stop learning. Even with thai sometimes hard I try to keep an open mind and ask questions.

[Groongthep]

I have to disagree.I have lived all my adult life in asai. And yet, cannot speak a word of any language other than my native english.

And to be perfectly honest with you I am quite happy to leave it that way.

(My greatgrandmother once told me when I was very young that one does not help the native's. (I know that sounds a tad racist nowaday's but we know what she meant) by leaning their language as much as one does when one teaches them english.

Your great grandmother's comment may not have been so out of step with the mainstream of thinking back in her day but anyone who believes this today is profoundly ignorant.

[Travel2003]

Good for you Neeranam. You have an ability to learn another language but you must accept that some others havent got that ability. Agreed though, that many do not even want to try.

I have been over here for four years now and am sorry (not ashamed but sorry in myself) that I dont use the Thai language. I went to a Thai school in Samui where I learnt a hel_l of a lot, constructing sentences etc as well as vocabulary, and I can say various things in Thai but my problem is when a Thai person speaks to me I cant make head or tail of it. I may pick out the odd word that I recognise but the rest just blends in and makes no sense, consequently I gave up a long time ago.

I have a son who also lives here and he taught himself the language and speaks fluently and has also taught himself to read and write which is invaluable to him as a teacher of Thai children and I am proud of his acheivement in doing so.

I am retired and therefore dont have the added impetus of needing to speak for employment purposes and therefore I admit the laziness aspect creeps in, after all I have come here to relax and have an easy time. But if I had managed to make any headway at all in being able to converse then I think I would have pushed myself further but all I hit was a brick wall.

As for your list:-

laziness I have covered / arrogance....certainly not / fear....certainly not / stupidity....well who knows?

Everybody is talented at something but not necessarily learning foreign languages.

HL

Thank you for that post Happylarry.

I am more or less where you are.

Kind of frustrating really, not being able to learn more.

Also frustrating to being sometimes accused of being too lazy to learn it.

Took me a life time to learn fairly good English.

Along comes my brother, 1-2 years ago, and he instantly picks up whatever is said.

He is one of those guys (we all know one of those), that already speaks several languages fluently.

Quite embaressing really.

But I try.

[villagefarang]

This is a great little snob thread. We have definitely establish the vast superiority, of farangs who speak Thai;) Might I also suggest learning very polite Thai, so we can feel superior to the villagers who struggle with Thai and speak only an unsophisticated country dialect.

As for those who are offended by not receiving a menu, I enjoy declining both the menu and the bill. It is much more fun to mix things up and point them in the direction of my wife. Sometimes things are more interesting if the locals don't suspect that you understand. But, that is just me.

[Arkady]

If you find Thai useful because you want to hear people talking bad about you, try learning Cantonese, including all the filthy language, and going to Hong Kong. You really get relatively few bad comments from Thais when going "undercover" but it's still nice to understand.

For those who say it's too hard for people not naturally gifted in language learning, how do explain how nearly everyone in Holland can speak English regardless of natural language learning ability? It does get harder with age but retired people have plenty of time and should be able learn basic Thai for the better enjoyment of their chosen country.

The menu thing can be a bit irritating but you have to ask the waiter in Thai immediately for another one and don't just sit there stewing in indignation. My other half also dislikes being asked questions that should be directed at me, that she sometimes can't even anwser, and just says, "I think it would be better if you asked him yourself".

For the poster who has to look up the spelling of every word. Keep practicing and your spelling will improve. Writing is a real help in recognizing and remembering words, even if reading is the main objective. Good luck.

Edited March 15, 2009 by Arkady

[andyc2006]

Of course I make an effort. And the more I study, the worse my accent gets.

Living here 11 months now, 4 months of study under the belt.

Before long, I'll likely sound like I'm fresh off the plane.

there are three distint branches of language learning in the known universe.

1. All the languages spoken by all the humans on Earth except Thailand.

2. Thai.

3. Whale-speak and dolphin-speak.

Since dolphinese is so much easier to pronounce, I think you should swap the order of those.

[Neeranam]

This is a great little snob thread. We have definitely establish the vast superiority, of farangs who speak Thai;) Might I also suggest learning very polite Thai, so we can feel superior to the villagers who struggle with Thai and speak only an unsophisticated country dialect.

As for those who are offended by not receiving a menu, I enjoy declining both the menu and the bill. It is much more fun to mix things up and point them in the direction of my wife. Sometimes things are more interesting if the locals don't suspect that you understand. But, that is just me.

Poor excuse. You're retired aren't you? Maybe you are American and expect them all to speak your language?

I have an American friend who has been here for ever(first came in 1958) - he speaks 7 languages fluently but at the age of 80 he can't say a word in Thai.

Despite working as First Secretary at the embassy, chose not to learn Thai.

It's not hard, I really can't understand some people.

[villagefarang]

This is a great little snob thread. We have definitely establish the vast superiority, of farangs who speak Thai;) Might I also suggest learning very polite Thai, so we can feel superior to the villagers who struggle with Thai and speak only an unsophisticated country dialect.

As for those who are offended by not receiving a menu, I enjoy declining both the menu and the bill. It is much more fun to mix things up and point them in the direction of my wife. Sometimes things are more interesting if the locals don't suspect that you understand. But, that is just me.

Poor excuse. You're retired aren't you? Maybe you are American and expect them all to speak your language?

I have an American friend who has been here for ever(first came in 1958) - he speaks 7 languages fluently but at the age of 80 he can't say a word in Thai.

Despite working as First Secretary at the embassy, chose not to learn Thai.

It's not hard, I really can't understand some people.

You are very good at getting all huffy and misunderstanding things, it seems. Take a look at my profile or even better, my blog. Your assumptions about me are wrong and I still say this is a snob thread. Pumping up yourself and putting down others who are different and make different choices from yours. Why should we care what other farangs do, or don't do? For you to assume "Laziness, arrogance, fear, stupidity?" as the reasons for others to not speak Thai, is in my opinion...well, I don't think I will go there today.

[Ave]

I've been in Thailand for the last 5 years or so and while I have been taking note of new words every day I have not had the confidence to practice speaking in shops and with strangers until after the first eight months or so. But with taxi drivers I had to really push myself since the beginning because I would regularly end up in the wrong place if I didn't..!

For most of the time I found myself in places and situations with no English speakers around which was great and sometimes difficult. Knowing how bad my memory has always been I've always preferred to work on the quality of my speaking rather than being too eager to succeed in learning far too many new words or expressions too quickly for my brain. This has happened in other languages I have been learning, slowly but steady. What happens, though, is that the person I speak to tends to over estimate my level and responds by speaking faster than I can cope with!

While I have been moving around the country learning to cope with different accents has made my comprehension become less and less of an issue, which is a relief.

Depending on the kind of vocabulary the speaker uses and their accent, my ability of interacting with them in Thai varies. I can spend an entire day with one person speaking clearly and understanding say 80-90% while with another person I have to guess what they are trying to say and end up feeling quite frustrated blaming my incapacity of focusing more.

Reading, remembering new words and finding an opportunity to practice has become the a bit of a quest for me because I don't get to use Thai unless I beg for my Thai friends and students not to use their English with me. I often spend a long time in markets so that I can at least have some contact with Thai only speakers.

I work in a place where English is a must which means slow improvement for me.

While my boyfriend lived wtih me for three months last year, my Thai was getting better and better. He was teaching me a lot of new words and expressions the translation of which are difficult to find in an ordinary phrasebook, though his southern pronunciation confused me a little bit sometimes. It was truly encouraging to notice how quickly I was progressing, just until the day he suddenly had to move back home.

The other day I lost my confidence all together when I was on the phone with him telling him that I ordered a dish at a restaurant, got an other that I couldn't eat because I'm allergic to meat and was charged for it. He told me that if I want to avoid misunderstandings in the future I should stick to English, that way I don't risk of getting food poisoning. I am now reluctant to speak Thai to him but I am determined to continue studying the language by myself and with others' support. I understand that was just a silly little incident but my strength usually lies in the clarity of my speaking and pronunciation because I have a good ear for sounds. After all I doubt that many wouldn't know the basic difference between 'phoo' and 'muu' after a few years spent in this country.

Not giving up but striving, instead, to achieve a reasonable level of Thai will certainly be more enriching culturally, personally, professionally, socially and even spiritually. Like others here I also cannot understand the concept of living in a country and not bother to at least try....harder..!

Edited March 15, 2009 by Ave

[Kaojai]

I am offended by people who make idiotic generalizations

And yet you feel free to make numerous idiotic generalizations about Thailand and Thais that are often offensive.

I think Thai is a pleasant language though.

What on earth could this mean?

However, I do not think the cultural treasures awaiting you if you are fluent compare to learning European languages. Yes, I realize that is Eurocentric thinking but I don't care. Become fluent in French, you can read Sartre in the original. What great literature can you read in Thai?

Anything worth reading in French or German is available in English translations and I doubt your ability in those languages would afford you any greater insight by reading them in the original language.

Your unwillingness to learn anything about Thailand beyond that available to tourists is indeed your choice. It's reflected in your numerous uninformed posts.

Claiming that learning Thai won't make you Thai is absurd. Will learning French make you French? Assimilation, even to a small degree, is a two-way street. Since you've erected offensive road blocks by declaring there is nothing worth learning about Thailand through a better understanding of the language, you are hardly in a position to keep claiming that Thais treat you as a second class resident. If you can't be bothered making any effort, why should they?

[Jingthing]

I am offended by people who make idiotic generalizations

And yet you feel free to make numerous idiotic generalizations about Thailand and Thais that are often offensive.

Hello old friend. It is your judgment they are idiotic, purely subjective.

I think Thai is a pleasant language though.

What on earth could this mean?

Just my subjective reaction. I enjoy the script. I like the musicality of it. I find it gentle. Compared to German and Vietnamese which I personally find offensive to my ear.

However, I do not think the cultural treasures awaiting you if you are fluent compare to learning European languages. Yes, I realize that is Eurocentric thinking but I don't care. Become fluent in French, you can read Sartre in the original. What great literature can you read in Thai?

Anything worth reading in French or German is available in English translations and I doubt your ability in those languages would afford you any greater insight by reading them in the original language.

Translated texts are second rate.

Thailand is an intellectual wasteland. The average Thai reads less than one book a year, and probably not a serious book at that. These are facts.

Your unwillingness to learn anything about Thailand beyond that available to tourists is indeed your choice. It's reflected in your numerous uninformed posts.

I am willing to learn a lot. Just not willing to invest the time in becoming any more than basic in the language. Yes, it is a free will choice, thank you very much.

Claiming that learning Thai won't make you Thai is absurd. Will learning French make you French? Assimilation, even to a small degree, is a two-way street. Since you've erected offensive road blocks by declaring there is nothing worth learning about Thailand through a better understanding of the language, you are hardly in a position to keep claiming that Thais treat you as a second class resident. If you can't be bothered making any effort, why should they?

Talking about visa/residencies, mate. I have no path available to improve my residency status here and being fluent would not help one wit.

Edited March 15, 2009 by Jingthing

[Ave]

I am offended by people who make idiotic generalizations

And yet you feel free to make numerous idiotic generalizations about Thailand and Thais that are often offensive.

I think Thai is a pleasant language though.

What on earth could this mean?

However, I do not think the cultural treasures awaiting you if you are fluent compare to learning European languages. Yes, I realize that is Eurocentric thinking but I don't care. Become fluent in French, you can read Sartre in the original. What great literature can you read in Thai?

Anything worth reading in French or German is available in English translations and I doubt your ability in those languages would afford you any greater insight by reading them in the original language.

Your unwillingness to learn anything about Thailand beyond that available to tourists is indeed your choice. It's reflected in your numerous uninformed posts.

Claiming that learning Thai won't make you Thai is absurd. Will learning French make you French? Assimilation, even to a small degree, is a two-way street. Since you've erected offensive road blocks by declaring there is nothing worth learning about Thailand through a better understanding of the language, you are hardly in a position to keep claiming that Thais treat you as a second class resident. If you can't be bothered making any effort, why should they?

Besides, learning european languages is a completely different matter to learning a tonal language like Thai or Chinese. I know several people who live a life in Thailand with a Thai partner, speak and use 3 or 5 european languages fluently and still struggle with Thai..

[mojaco]

My Background. Born raised with Kansas Englsh. Married to a native Japanese lady last 35 years, and both of us retired and living inThailand last 15 years.

Many many years ago I read an article called "Early Blur" which was some sort of language ability study associated with the first few years of a child's life. What that study showed was that by age 3 or 4, a child's mind had "processed" what was important in language it was raised in. For instance, in English, "tones" are to create mood in a sentence. In Thailand "tones" are to give meaning. The study showed that because one gets "locked in" to the type of language pattern/system at such an early age, that switching patterns later in life is very hard.

In my case, spoken Japanese was pretty easy because no tonal requirements, each of the 5 vowels only had ONE sound (easier than English), only 54 characters in the simple alphabet (54 for Katakana - like "printed" alphabet and 54 for Hiragana - like "cursive" alphabet). And good rules for how to conjugate verbs. So I picked up fair (not great) ability in spoken Japanese. But the "Chinese" characters!!!! At least 1,850 standard ones for newspapers, and another thousand or so in common usage! I gave up after memorizing 300 of them.

Then Thai! Full time for 9 months in a structures language school (ULS) in Bangkok. Took and passed the Thai government 6th grade equivalency test. But to this day I have to force myself to be careful about tones. For instance, the ending of a sentence like "Do you want to go or not?" in English the "or not?" usually is spoken with a rising tone. Thai requires a low tone ending. Try the English rising tone and no one understands you. So, the "Early Blur" is quite active in my case, although I do pretty good if I watch myself. And I can read and write OK in Thai.

At the language school, there was a young man who did his absolute best to learn Thai, but he was fairly tone deaf, and he had to give up and quit. He was very discouraged, but he simply could not even HEAR the difference in rising, falling, high, low tones. So there are natural abilities from "Early Blur" (the country language one is raised in), and other abilities or deficiencies (tone deaf) that come into play. Some try to learn Thai pretty hard, but simply cannot. Not everyone is lazy.

My 2 cents worth. This has been a pretty good, mostly flame-free discussion so far. I hope it continues on in the same vein.

Retired, fairly good spoken and written Thai. But still trying to improve.

[mojaco]

My Background. Born raised with Kansas English. Married to a native Japanese lady last 35 years, and both of us retired and living inThailand last 15 years.

Many many years ago I read an article called "Early Blur" which was some sort of language ability study associated with the first few years of a child's life. What that study showed was that by age 3 or 4, a child's mind had "processed" what was important in language it was raised in. For instance, in English, "tones" are to create mood in a sentence. In Thailand "tones" are to give meaning. The study showed that because one gets "locked in" to the type of language pattern/system at such an early age, that switching patterns later in life is very hard.

In my case, spoken Japanese was pretty easy because no tonal requirements, each of the 5 vowels only had ONE sound (easier than English), only 54 characters in the simple alphabet (54 for Katakana - like "printed" alphabet and 54 for Hiragana - like "cursive" alphabet). And good rules for how to conjugate verbs. So I picked up fair (not great) ability in spoken Japanese. But the "Chinese" characters!!!! At least 1,850 standard ones for newspapers, and another thousand or so in common usage! I gave up after memorizing 300 of them.

Then Thai! Full time for 9 months in a structured language school (ULS) in Bangkok. Took and passed the Thai government 6th grade equivalency test. But to this day I have to force myself to be careful about tones. For instance, the ending of a sentence like "Do you want to go or not?" in English the "or not?" usually is spoken with a rising tone. Thai requires a low tone ending. Try the English rising tone and no one understands you. So, the "Early Blur" is quite active in my case, although I do pretty good if I watch myself. And I can read and write OK in Thai.

At the language school, there was a young man who did his absolute best to learn Thai, but he was fairly tone deaf, and he had to give up and quit. He was very discouraged, but he simply could not even HEAR the difference in rising, falling, high, low tones. So there are natural abilities from "Early Blur" (the country language one is raised in), and other abilities or deficiencies (tone deaf) that come into play. Some try to learn Thai pretty hard, but simply cannot. Not everyone is lazy.

My 2 cents worth. This has been a pretty good, mostly flame-free discussion so far. I hope it continues on in the same vein.

Retired, fairly good spoken and written Thai. But still trying to improve.

Edited March 15, 2009 by mojaco

[Jingthing]

This is a two way street. I think most of us who don't speak much Thai fully realize that being fluent in Thai is a great accomplishment, we respect that accomplishment, we realize that without fluency we will never live here with the ease and greater understanding you can gain from that. But all of us who choose not to advance in Thai whether from choice, laziness, lack of ability, or any combination are not all idiots either. Yes, it is limiting. However so many such choices in life are similarly limiting. I choose not to work to develop big muscles, so I must accept I am not going to attract or impress people who place value on that. A little more tolerance would be in order and a little less cockiness from Thai-erati.

[villagefarang]

A little more tolerance would be in order and a little less cockiness from Thai-erati.

I speak Thai and I agree with you.

[henryalleman]

This is a great little snob thread. We have definitely establish the vast superiority, of farangs who speak Thai;) Might I also suggest learning very polite Thai, so we can feel superior to the villagers who struggle with Thai and speak only an unsophisticated country dialect.

Your remark could easily be regarded as reversed snobism. Speak polite Thai as you called it, is the most convenient when you make trips in the country. Its also the best way when you contact an airline, immigration and other civil servants, staying in hotels and dining out. When you only speak some Thai dialect and not able to speake (polite) they will look down on you, that of course you don't mind, but what is more worse they will look down on your wife also because she didn't teach you to speak (polite) Thai.

As for those who are offended by not receiving a menu, I enjoy declining both the menu and the bill. It is much more fun to mix things up and point them in the direction of my wife. Sometimes things are more interesting if the locals don't suspect that you understand. But, that is just me.

[villagefarang]

This is a great little snob thread. We have definitely establish the vast superiority, of farangs who speak Thai;) Might I also suggest learning very polite Thai, so we can feel superior to the villagers who struggle with Thai and speak only an unsophisticated country dialect.

Your remark could easily be regarded as reversed snobism. Speak polite Thai as you called it, is the most convenient when you make trips in the country. Its also the best way when you contact an airline, immigration and other civil servants, staying in hotels and dining out. When you only speak some Thai dialect and not able to speake (polite) they will look down on you, that of course you don't mind, but what is more worse they will look down on your wife also because she didn't teach you to speak (polite) Thai.

As for those who are offended by not receiving a menu, I enjoy declining both the menu and the bill. It is much more fun to mix things up and point them in the direction of my wife. Sometimes things are more interesting if the locals don't suspect that you understand. But, that is just me.

Not sure what you think I meant but I was clearly making fun of the OP and his ilk. Having lived here as long as I have, I'm well aware of all the angles. My personal situation is that I turn a deaf ear to those who give me a hard time about not speaking the local "farmer" dialect. Preferring to listen to those who lament that my Thai is better than theirs. For me, speaking a limited dialect is akin to haolies trying to speak pidgin English in Hawaii. I'm sure I would get points for speaking "farmer" but enjoy giving them a chance to work on their limited Thai. But, that is just me.

[Neeranam]

Not sure what you think I meant but I was clearly making fun of the OP and his ilk. Having lived here as long as I have, I'm well aware of all the angles. My personal situation is that I turn a deaf ear to those who give me a hard time about not speaking the local "farmer" dialect. Preferring to listen to those who lament that my Thai is better than theirs. For me, speaking a limited dialect is akin to haolies trying to speak pidgin English in Hawaii. I'm sure I would get points for speaking "farmer" but enjoy giving them a chance to work on their limited Thai. But, that is just me.

I don't know why you're making fun of me. I learned to speak Central Thai when I lived in Bangkok and I learned to spaek Isarn when in Khon Kaen.

I, unlike you, don't think I'm better than the locals and adapt accordingly. It's not just "farmers" that speak the Khon kaen dialect - far from it.

As for declining a menu to pretendyou don't understand - beyond my comprehension.

You somehow think you are superior to me or are trying to pretend to be. This usually means some sort of inferiority complex which I feel by your writing is because you can't even speak your "superior" Thai.

Why not just post something relevant to the thread - are you making an effort to improve your Thai or not? If not, why?

Edited March 15, 2009 by Neeranam

[Grumbles]

My belief has always been that if a foreigner who chooses to live in my country, makes no attempt to learn the basics of my language ( it doesn't matter how bad it is), then I will not bother to respond to that person. Therefore I feel morally obligated to attempt to learn to speak & read basic Thai as I wish to stay here for a long time.

Tourists/holidaymakers do not spend enough time to warrant the expense & effort of learning a new language, but it makes me wonder why people complain about never being accepted by Thai people, when at the same time displaying an arrogance toward those same people by expecting them to communicate in a foreign tongue in their own country.

We all know what the response would be if the situation was reversed.

[villagefarang]

Not sure what you think I meant but I was clearly making fun of the OP and his ilk. Having lived here as long as I have, I'm well aware of all the angles. My personal situation is that I turn a deaf ear to those who give me a hard time about not speaking the local "farmer" dialect. Preferring to listen to those who lament that my Thai is better than theirs. For me, speaking a limited dialect is akin to haolies trying to speak pidgin English in Hawaii. I'm sure I would get points for speaking "farmer" but enjoy giving them a chance to work on their limited Thai. But, that is just me.

I don't know why you're making fun of me. I learned to speak Central Thai when I lived in Bangkok and I learned to spaek Isarn when in Khon Kaen.

I, unlike you, don't think I'm better than the locals and adapt accordingly. It's not just "farmers" that speak the Khon kaen dialect - far from it.

As for declining a menu to pretendyou don't understand - beyond my comprehension.

You somehow think you are superior to me or are trying to pretend to be. This usually means some sort of inferiority complex which I feel by your writing is because you can't even speak your "superior" Thai.

Why not just post something relevant to the thread - are you making an effort to improve your Thai or not? If not, why?

I'm making fun because you were bragging about your own abilities while putting others down by making insulting judgements. "If you do nothing, why? Laziness, arrogance, fear, stupidity?"

Then when I didn't agree with you and didn't brag about my abilities, you made ridiculous assumptions about me. Those who start threads like this to brag about themselves and put down others for the choices they make, deserve a little ridicule.

I have friends who don't speak as much Thai as I do but I respect their choice or situation. It is not our place to be intolerant of those who don't speak Thai. Perhaps if you had been a little less arrogant to begin with...but then again that is a very big if in your case.

[Neeranam]

I'm making fun because you were bragging about your own abilities while putting others down by making insulting judgements. "If you do nothing, why? Laziness, arrogance, fear, stupidity?"

I wasn't bragging about anything.

Most of those that I know that haven't learned anything will openly admit to one of the above - I can't see how they are insulting. I certainly have someof these character flaws, don't you?

[tracer5050]

I still try to learn one word each day. But the more you learn the faster new ones come.

[villagefarang]

I'm making fun because you were bragging about your own abilities while putting others down by making insulting judgements. "If you do nothing, why? Laziness, arrogance, fear, stupidity?"

I wasn't bragging about anything.

Most of those that I know that haven't learned anything will openly admit to one of the above - I can't see how they are insulting. I certainly have someof these character flaws, don't you?

Your every post is designed to bolster your own ego and berate those who are different or disagree. In my book that makes you unworthy of respect or deference from others. Yes, perhaps you possess those character flaws, and that is why you project them upon others. If your goal is indeed to get others, to make more of an effort to speak Thai, then there are surely more productive ways of going about that. Granted life experiences will differ depending on ones ability to speak Thai, but it has little relationship to ones personal happiness. Echoing an earlier poster, a little tolerance please, for those who are not as fluent as some of us.

[sanook2me]

Reply to OP - I'm English and have learnt to read Thai I found my learning skills for Thai language increased dramatically as I can read signs / menus etc.

Also words in Thai that i hear but cannot quite get the sounds right are much easier to understand once i see them written in Thai

I also buy books which are in Thai and English and me and Thai wifey read them together to increase both our skills in each others language this is good fun as its more interesting for both of us than just trying to follow a language book.

Years ago i spent £250 on the Linguaphone kit (including a special tape machine which records and repeats your voice etc)

This course has travelled between the UK and Thailand numerous times but i dont think i could recommend it. Its too old and needs updating.

There are much better and cheaper books to buy in my opinion its more interesting to buy numerous books that I can pick up and read for a while then put them down and use a different book. Same words and sentences written slightly differently re inforces these top/skill words.

Before i could read one of my English friends was pretty good at cheaky Thai has he had alot of Thai g/f I could hardly speak Thai but once i learnt the alphabet things made alot more sense and i soon passed his level - which then i also realised he spoke slang / lo so / Isaan words as these were the girls he went with.

IMO - It depends on your life in Thailand and where you live and your level of Thai associates as to what Thai you need.

[Pakeha]

I used to learn 5 new words everyday. I used to have a lot of learning Thai books and hung out with Thai people. I've never been to a class but think it's necessay for some if they have the time/money. When learning to read and write I put aside 1 hour a day, which when you think about it is nothing.

The best way to learn is immersion, in MHO.

I think it's sad when someone who has been here for 20 years can't pick up the local newspaper or have a proper conversation. I'd be embarassed. I remember many years ago sitting in a Pat Pong bar not being able to ask for a knife and fork after being here for 18 months. Knowing then I'd probably be here fo a while, I made a huge effort and am so glad I did.

It's amazing the number of times I go to a new restaurant and the waitress gives a menu to only my wife and totally ignores me. Thailand must be the only country in the world that treats foreigners this way, probably due to the number who can't speak. Can you imagine a waiter in UK asking a Uk woman what her brown-skinned partner wanted to drink.

What do you do to improve your Thai?

If you do nothing, why?

Laziness, arrogance, fear, stupidity?

I learnt to speak some thai when I was a lot younger when I was single. I made a big effort in my first few (3 month long) visits to Thailand.

Nowadays I speak thai when I am in Thailand but when I'm in New Zealand I speak english to thai people. When I speak thai my daughter teases me and pretends she doesn't understand me which is a little off putting - I know she's my daughter - what am I thinking?

But my understanding of thai still improves all the time. My partner speaks thai to our daughter at home so I'm around it all the time. Also, when thai friends visit they all speak thai and I just sit and listen. It's always funny when a new thai visits us and chats away for a long time to my partner about all sorts of things assuming I do not understand. Then after witnessing me chuckle at various things said she will turn to my partner and ask (in thai) if I speak thai. My partner will tell her yes I do. The visitor will blush usually reflecting on what she has said now realising I have understood. Still not fully believing I really speak thai the visitor will then direct the question at me - "phut pasaat thai dai mai". "Yes" I will reply and then a few testing questions will be posed to me, and I will answer.

It plays out the same every time. Always makes me laugh. I do feel that there is a different level of respect from them once they are aware I understand thai.

I do need to put more effort into learning to read and write in thai - I'm hopeless on that front . Why? Laziness I guess. That, and time restraints - but that's just an excuse really!

Edited March 16, 2009 by byoung2