There's a distinction between speaking Thai and speaking Thai. Language is layered. There are registers - legal, technical, scientific - that most of us rarely encounter. We could beleive we are completely fluent, fully confident, until confronted with Thai legal language or medical language. There are times when fluency reveals its limits. Even among native English speakers, I've known some to lack comprehension of certain words and phrases - I see it enough on this forum alone and there are plenty of examples... Poor comma placement: "I love cooking, my family, and my dog” vs “I love cooking my family and my dog” “Let’s eat, Dad” vs “Let’s eat Dad" Poor word placement: “Only I said he was wrong” (no one else said it) “I only said he was wrong” (I didn’t do anything else) “I said only he was wrong” (no one else was wrong) “I said he was only wrong" (he wasn’t terrible - just wrong) Words that get switched about. “I need to loose weight” vs “I need to lose weight.” “Please bare with me” vs “Please bear with me.” “I’ll meet you their” vs “I’ll meet you there.” “Your going to regret this” vs “You’re going to regret this.” And then there's full on sentence ambiguity: “He saw the man with the telescope” (who has the telescope?) "Visiting relatives can be annoying" (are you visiting them, or are they visiting you?) “Flying planes can be dangerous” (piloting or being a passenger?) Thus, it follows, quite reasonably, that a non-native speaker may not possess complete command of specialised medical terminology when consulting a doctor and even mix up critical grammar. In medicine - the stakes are higher. Misunderstandings might not be not trivial - they can carry consequences. So, when faced with something potentially more serious, I don't want to engage with a Dr. unless their English is genuinely fluent. This serves two purposes: - First, it indicates that the Dr has trained or completed a fellowship abroad, bringing broader exposure and experience. - Second, and more critically, it minimises the risk of miscommunication - something that matters when the issue at hand is important. When the potential consequences are serious, clarity is not a luxury - it is essential and our Wife as a translator no matter how well educated won't help matters much there either. That said, a medical check-up for a driving licence is hardly complex. Even if I don’t know the Thai word for elephantiasis, we can manage perfectly well. Getting a bunch of Benzo's on prescription ?... Perhaps its better the Dr wasn't trained overseas anyway !!
