Best Linguist Around And Best Farang Thai Speaker I Have Heard!

[vedantafx]

I don't know if this has been posted before, or if anyone knows or has seen this guy. He lives in Thailand and is a business consultant helping companys understand the culture in the country they are setting up in.

Anyway on the Tom Minster show it was said he can speak at native level in 15 languages meaning he can speak, read and write, and he can converse in up to 30 languages!!! Which is just mind boggling to say the least. However, I think we who are learning Thai may find this inspirational.

Here is a few vdo's of him on a Thai chat show, demonstrating his language skills. I cannot find part one, but the other 3 parts are here.

He also has a blog where he has some vdo lessons on learning thai which some may find useful...

His Blog

Enjoy!

[Boycie]

He is one clever guy. Got to give him 10 out of 10

I have enough trouble with my first language of English

Please find Part 1 of the 5 video's

Boycie.

[meadish_sweetball]

Don't know if you've noticed, but he has been posting now and then here on the Thaivisa Thai language forum as well. Very impressive Thai skills indeed.

[keo]

incredible!

Thanks for the link, truly inspiring.

Where does he teach Thai, and where can I sign up!?

[aanon]

Great example of natural talent + creative learning approach + plenty of effort.

However, I remember seeing some of his interviews in which he rated his own ability in a number of languages and I don't think the "15 languages at native level" mentioned in the OP sounds quite right. Even in Thai, a language in with he has been immersed for a number of years, I remember him rating himself below native ability in at least speaking and writing. Fair enough, too. One can get to a very high level -- even appear to be completely fluent -- but "native speaker" level is another thing.

He's a real high achiever in any case. The particular numbers and levels probably don't matter.

[fabianfred]

Yes... I thought his Thai was very good too.... and his techniques for learning/teaching... and his typing ability.

I was able to follow all his Thai and that of the interviewers no problem.... but listening is easier than speaking.

[desi]

Where does he teach Thai, and where can I sign up!?

Stu is now doing a seminar/workshop called Mnidcraft

I haven't been, but I have attended his Cracking Thai Fundamentals workshop and it was great fun.

-->> I will have video clips, articles, books and forums about all these topics with the goal of really harnessing the energy of all of you out there who have supported me over the past couple of years, to see if we can start to break new ground in language learning and general usage of our grey matter.

Whatever Stu comes up with will be energetic.

[RickBradford]

What a great learning resource -- he speaks Thai much more clearly than any Thai I've ever met.......

[Johpa]

Mr. Raj is indeed a gifted polyglot, but I can find nothing that would indicate that he has any significant standing in the linguistic community. I would tend to ascribe his truly exceptional language skills to genetics rather than to any particular methodology. He also appears to be a gifted motivational speaker, and motivation is of course a key ingredient to learning another language.

[desi]

How do you find out if someone has a standing in the linguistic community?

[aanon]

Although imprecise, people do use 'linguist' to mean either a multilingual person or a person knowledgeable in the field of linguistics. I believe Johpa was seeking to make the distinction clear with 'polyglot' and 'linguist'.

[Rikker]

Right, Johpa's using it in the sense of "a specialist in linguistics" -- typically meaning someone who holds a degree (especially an advanced degree) in linguistics and/or works within the academic discipline of linguistics. And the typical way to gauge standing in academia is through publication, or through citation of one's publications.

The meaning of linguist that applies to Stu is the popularly used definition of "a person who speaks many languages" (i.e. polyglot) or is otherwise skilled with language (as aanon points out).

This doesn't denigrate his prowess with language acquisition and teaching, however. I have yet to meet the man, but his Thai is quite good, as is his apparent ability to soak up so much in so many languages.

[keo]

What does he say in part 5 at 7.25...

subtitles say... "make your entire life become that language"

ทำให้ชีวิตใกล้เป็นภาษานั่นไปเลย

"I won't give up until I'm better than the next person"

ผมจะไม่ยอมจนเก่งกว่าเจ้า???

"If I put my mind to learning a language"

???

cheers!

[Rikker]

Here's how it matches up with the subtitles. The subtitles are written to reflect the overall message, what he meant, rather than be a literal translation of the Thai.

"make your entire life become that language"

ทำให้ชีวิตกลายเป็นภาษานั้นไปเลย

"I won't give up until I'm better than the next person"

ผมจะไม่ยอมจนเก่งกว่าชาวบ้าน

"If I put my mind to learning a language"

ถ้าทำ

And then he goes on from there with "If I'm not a native speaker..." ในเมื่อไม่ได้เป็นเจ้าของภาษา...

[BugJackBaron]

I don't know if this has been posted before, or if anyone knows or has seen this guy. He lives in Thailand and is a business consultant helping companys understand the culture in the country they are setting up in.

Anyway on the Tom Minster show it was said he can speak at native level in 15 languages meaning he can speak, read and write, and he can converse in up to 30 languages!!! Which is just mind boggling to say the least. However, I think we who are learning Thai may find this inspirational.

Here is a few vdo's of him on a Thai chat show, demonstrating his language skills. I cannot find part one, but the other 3 parts are here.

He also has a blog where he has some vdo lessons on learning thai which some may find useful...

His Blog

Enjoy!

No, No, No. What can I say? Well, first the right word for such a person is "polyglot" and not "linguist". Linguists are professional scientists.

15 languages at native levels? Very doubtful. The maximum is thought to be about 6 - this is just common sense as it takes much more than just vocabulary and grammar to be fluent. Cultural immersion for 10 years is about minimum.

By fluency I mean would pass a level 6 National language exam(as many countries offer). Level 6 being the most advanced.

Even the linguist and polyglot Krashen - who speaks 10 languages at DIFFERENT levels - acknowledges this.

Sounds like some hype though I have no doubt the guy is talented.

Edited July 22, 2009 by BugJackBaron

[babuhavas]

great skill

[keo]

Here's how it matches up with the subtitles. The subtitles are written to reflect the overall message, what he meant, rather than be a literal translation of the Thai.

"make your entire life become that language"

ทำให้ชีวิตกลายเป็นภาษานั้นไปเลย

"I won't give up until I'm better than the next person"

ผมจะไม่ยอมจนเก่งกว่าชาวบ้าน

"If I put my mind to learning a language"

ถ้าทำ

And then he goes on from there with "If I'm not a native speaker..." ในเมื่อไม่ได้เป็นเจ้าของภาษา...

cheers!

[Rikker]

No, No, No. What can I say? Well, first the right word for such a person is "polyglot" and not "linguist". Linguists are professional scientists.

15 languages at native levels? Very doubtful. The maximum is thought to be about 6 - this is just common sense as it takes much more than just vocabulary and grammar to be fluent. Cultural immersion for 10 years is about minimum.

By fluency I mean would pass a level 6 National language exam(as many countries offer). Level 6 being the most advanced.

Even the linguist and polyglot Krashen - who speaks 10 languages at DIFFERENT levels - acknowledges this.

Sounds like some hype though I have no doubt the guy is talented.

I think it's clear the OP overstated Stu's abilities, but from all I've seen he is in fact a talented polyglot and dynamic teacher. There's the part in the interview where he pulls out the chart and goes over his ability in each language. I forget which part it's in.

As also mentioned, Stu posts on ThaiVisa not infrequently, so perhaps he'll chime in at some point, too.

And to retread this ground, "linguist" has more than one meaning.

Remember, linguistics as "the scientific study of language" has only existed for 50+ years (and in fact some do not accept it as a scientific discipline). So the use of "linguist" in the sense, "a specialist in the academic discipline of linguistics" is newish, too. But the word "linguist" has been around in English much longer (400+ years).

Merriam-Webster says it well, I think:

linguist

1: a person accomplished in languages ; especially : one who speaks several languages

2: a person who specializes in linguistics

Stu is definitely a person accomplished in languages, and does in fact speak several. So while it may cause confusion with the modern usage, he has more than fair claim to the term linguist, as I see it.

[calibanjr.]

I've spent most of this workday, reading his blog and making flashcards from his videos. The blog alone is pretty interesting, as well as clearly and entertainingly written.

[wasabi]

Quite strangely a day after watching these videos. I saw this guy at Starbucks at MBK. I heard a Farang talking in pretty good Thai on the phone and to my surprise it was Stuart. I would say his self appraisal is correct. He by no means sounded like a native speaker nor would I say he is fluent, but he definitely was very advanced and had a good command of Thai. This in conjunction with his other language skills is definitely impressive.

[kriswillems]

I think Stuart is a very gifted speaker and salesman with an exceptional talent for languages. He knows how to motivate people. I think the question whether he's a linguist or not is irrelevant. People don't need to have a university degree or write complicated articles (that nobody reads) to mean something in this world.

Edited July 26, 2009 by kriswillems

[mangkorn]

This thread (not the first of its kind) borders on hagiography.

Anticipating some response - or โฟนอิน - from Stuart Jay himself seems a bit much.

"ต้องมีสักวันฉันจะกลับมา

มาตามสัญญาด้วยศรัทธาและเยื่อใย....."

Carry on.

[klons]

"I think we who are learning Thai may find this inspirational."

Three cheers for Stu, amazing, etc.

Just because he can do it, doesn't mean I can. Gifted people should not count as inspiration except to other geniuses. Is there a youtube of a senior citizen farang speaking just decent Thai who learned in 10 years or less, and started after age 50 ? That would be an inspiration for me. Just the inspiration part, for instruction I would prefer the talented gifted person.

[DavidHouston]

Hey, Mangkorn,

What's wrong with a little hagiography when it is richly deserved? I can think of several more foreigners (not to exclude others) with respect to whom I would wax hagiographic about their Thai language ability. Take, for example, Andrew Biggs, the late Michael Wright, and our own Mr. Rikker.

[Rikker]

There are many talented second-language speakers of Thai. We just rarely run into each other, I guess. But I not infrequently meet or overhear foreigners with good Thai, though it's difficult to gauge actual ability from brief encounters.

I've never had the chance to speak with most people on this message board, let alone in Thai, but in addition to our many helpful native contributors, there are several regular posters here whose input is always insightful and educational.

I'd say that that mental list I keep includes mangkorn, but then he'd accuse me of further idolizing.

[SoftWater]

Hmm, i thought this thread would have died a long time ago - are we sure the OP is not just a doing a bit of 'gureilla marketing' here?

Anyway, let's not waste the opportunity to pick up some new vocab. Following this thread gave me this new word (from the Oxford River Press dictionary):

hagiography = การเขียนชีวประวัตินักบุญ

[aanon]

Hey, Mangkorn,

What's wrong with a little hagiography when it is richly deserved? I can think of several more foreigners (not to exclude others) with respect to whom I would wax hagiographic about their Thai language ability. Take, for example, Andrew Biggs, the late Michael Wright, and our own Mr. Rikker.

Wow. Somehow I hadn't realised that Michael Wright had passed away. I was just reading one of his columns in a recent magazine the other day. A reprint I guess.

It's good, I suppose, that others have responded to Mangkorn's post in a light-hearted way. Still, I'd like to invite him to contribute some counter-points to the thread if he sees an imbalance, rather than merely sticking a dismissive label on the contributions of others.

[BugJackBaron]

There are many talented second-language speakers of Thai. We just rarely run into each other, I guess. But I not infrequently meet or overhear foreigners with good Thai, though it's difficult to gauge actual ability from brief encounters.

I've never had the chance to speak with most people on this message board, let alone in Thai, but in addition to our many helpful native contributors, there are several regular posters here whose input is always insightful and educational.

I'd say that that mental list I keep includes mangkorn, but then he'd accuse me of further idolizing.

Those who have worked in Korea or Japan probably remember what happens to a small percentage

of foreigners who get good at the local tongue - they become TV celebrities. Wow a farang(or in Korea wai gook) who can speak our language! Whopee! Think Yi han woo or Robert Halley.

 I don't know about China.

How about in Thailand?

So far all I have seen is this  Andrew Biggs guy and he is a royal bore. Just howmany make the "TV scene"?

[vedantafx]

Hmm, i thought this thread would have died a long time ago - are we sure the OP is not just a doing a bit of 'gureilla marketing' here?

Anyway, let's not waste the opportunity to pick up some new vocab. Following this thread gave me this new word (from the Oxford River Press dictionary):

hagiography = การเขียนชีวประวัตินักบุญ

No certainly not. I was just impressed by this guys language abilities. Maybe it is not so impressive if you can speak Thai, but as someone who at the earlier stages of David Smiths book on Thai grammar, and learning from my personal perspective I was impressed. His way to learn the vowels is quite innovative(again from my perspective)as I have picked them up pretty quickly from a couple of watches of the vdo. I don't know this guy, and only found the videos by accident. The great thing about youtube is you end up on things totally unrelated to what you were originally looking for...It is quite cynical to suggest I am marketing for this guy, when it seems other people on here have found it useful.

[SoftWater]

Hmm, i thought this thread would have died a long time ago - are we sure the OP is not just a doing a bit of 'gureilla marketing' here?

Anyway, let's not waste the opportunity to pick up some new vocab. Following this thread gave me this new word (from the Oxford River Press dictionary):

hagiography = การเขียนชีวประวัตินักบุญ

No certainly not. I was just impressed by this guys language abilities. Maybe it is not so impressive if you can speak Thai, but as someone who at the earlier stages of David Smiths book on Thai grammar, and learning from my personal perspective I was impressed. His way to learn the vowels is quite innovative(again from my perspective)as I have picked them up pretty quickly from a couple of watches of the vdo. I don't know this guy, and only found the videos by accident. The great thing about youtube is you end up on things totally unrelated to what you were originally looking for...It is quite cynical to suggest I am marketing for this guy, when it seems other people on here have found it useful.

I worked in marketing for many years and I don't think the suggestion is cynical - you can buy books on how to do this kind of marketing, its going on all over the net. In an open forum nobody knows anybody, so don't take it as a personal attack on YOU - its more a reflection of how a forum on thai langauge seems to have turned into an advertising campaign.

I agree with you that there has been some useful posts as a result, so i'm not knocking the whole thread, - i guess i was just hoping it might bet back to something more useful. I'd be the first to agree that the twists and turns in a thread oftne lead to more useful results than the original intention...

I'd also agree with you that SJs video's are helpful - that was never the issue.