How To Remove Farang Accent In My Thai

[kikenyoy]

Those are the 3 most obvious areas. One more that I would include is rhythm, meaning which words you group together, where you pause, etc. I've heard a few farang speak that have decent pronunciation but are hard to listen to because they talk like this: pom, kuhy kit, wa khun ja. etc.

[bmore99]

I believe two different issues are getting mixed up here.

One is, words need to be pronounced with the correct tone and vowel length, which is needed to get to correct meaning of the words. Even Thai make mistakes here, yet they do so with a Thai accent.

Second is, and I believe that is the topic of the post, getting the correct accent. This is all about how you move your tongue, your lips, when to use vibration/ explosion / aspiration etc. And most importantly, where the sound comes from / resonates in other words how the air flows.

In my opinion, most Western men have a rather guttural voice, very contrary to Thai. This is the first thing that needs to be worked on.

Now depending on your native language, you have certain ways of making sounds. The only way to change them is, first of all, becoming aware of them.

So far I haven't met anybody yet without knowing immediately what his native language is, whichever language he is speaking at the time (this is limited to people I have actually met, so please don't come with all kind of examples to prove the contrary).

I'm fluent in 5 languages already, yet nobody ever knows what my native language is, even though my fellow countrymen have a very recognizable accent. How I achieved this, well, first of all by watching and listening very carefully. Then exercise over and over again trying to mimic the native speaker’s ways.

Having said this, I must add, it is impossible to get it right 100%, it will never be more than "near-native". But it is very well possible to, at least, get rid of the immediate native language recognition.

On the other hand, you must ask yourself, what is the correct native speaker's accent? Does it not depend a.o. on location, education and stature? So a choice needs to be made here: "which is the accent you want to achieve".

For those really serious in getting the desired accent, I advise them to consult a speech specialist, not a language specialist.

[sentinal33]

Very interesting posts.But just ask yourself.How many foreigners do you hear who can speak English without a trace of their native accent Not many Even the most educated ones.

Unless they have spent all their formative years being educated in English or American schools there is usually a trace of their native accent.I found that being able to mimic the various English or even American accents helps me with my Thai accent.But I accept the fact that I will always be identifiable as a foreigner by my accent..Learning the tone rules of Thai helps,as you know the correct tone to use by the spelling,there are a few anomalies, but they are few. It's interesting to see so many people making the effort to learn Thai,as I have met many people here who can't even be bothered learning to count in Thai let alone speak it.

[farangnahrak]

I've noticed there is a rough progression of compliments (both direct and indirect) Thais pay to foreigners who make an effort to speak the language. Obviously it's nothing hard and fast, and depends on how many different foreigners they've heard try to speak. Mostly it's just something I've amused myself with, noticing how the comments people make change over the years as the accent improves.

พูดไทยเก่ง - "You speak Thai well" (doesn't mean much)

พูดไทยชัด - "You speak Thai clearly"

พูดไทยชัดมาก/ชัดแจ๋ว/etc - "Your Thai is really good/clear"

พูดไทยคล่อง - "Your Thai is fluent"

พูดไทยเหมือนคนไทยเลย - "You speak just like a Thai"

เป็นลูกครึ่งเหรือเปล่า/เกิดเมืองไทยหรือเปล่า/อยู่เมืองไทยกี่ปีเนี่ยะ - "Are you a luuk-khrueng?" / "Were you born in Thailand?" / "Geez, how long you lived in Thailand?"

I've noticed this too . . . I'd swear these phrases are genetically programmed into every Thai on the planet!

I've been on level "พูดไทยชัดมาก" for about two years now . . . I'm guessing "พูดไทยคล่อง" is the next level? I think I'll hold a graduation party the first time i hear it =P

As for "เป็นลูกครึ่งเหรือเปล่า", I've been asked that a few times lately (I'm *very* white btw) . . . I'd argue it goes somewhere between "พูดไทยชัดมาก" and "พูดไทยคล่อง".

[keo]

Adopting a Thai accent is much like putting on a different accent from your own language.

For example, i am from the UK, oop norf, the have a totally different accent to those down south, in fact, there are loads of different accents in the UK.

Since i was a kid, i have had fun trying to master some of them. And the way to do it is to mimic. Take the p*ss, repeat parrot fashion.

Now i am not saying i am good at it, but i can do a London accent, a northern accent, an irish acccent, a scottish accent... etc...

I believe my Thai accent to be decent too, as i am often told i speak clearly.

All those years of watching Emmerdale, Eastenders, Coronation Street, the Bill and Byker Grove finally paid off!

Being told you speak clearly is but one step along the path. Thais are, by and large, very supportive and complimentary of foreigners who make an effort to speak Thai.

I've noticed there is a rough progression of compliments (both direct and indirect) Thais pay to foreigners who make an effort to speak the language. Obviously it's nothing hard and fast, and depends on how many different foreigners they've heard try to speak. Mostly it's just something I've amused myself with, noticing how the comments people make change over the years as the accent improves.

พูดไทยเก่ง - "You speak Thai well" (doesn't mean much)

พูดไทยชัด - "You speak Thai clearly"

พูดไทยชัดมาก/ชัดแจ๋ว/etc - "Your Thai is really good/clear"

พูดไทยคล่อง - "Your Thai is fluent"

พูดไทยเหมือนคนไทยเลย - "You speak just like a Thai"

เป็นลูกครึ่งเหรือเปล่า/เกิดเมืองไทยหรือเปล่า/อยู่เมืองไทยกี่ปีเนี่ยะ - "Are you a luuk-khrueng?" / "Were you born in Thailand?" / "Geez, how long you lived in Thailand?"

Maybe that can help us figure out where exactly we stand.

haha! I'm still waiting for พูดไทยคล่อง

Apparently I've got a northern accent. I guess that's what happens when you live in Chiang Mai, have a northern girlfriend, northern friends, and go to the market a lot!

Adam Bradshaw has a really funny video where he takes the piss, by speaking Thai with a strong American accent. Had a look for it but couldn't find it.

Edited February 21, 2011 by keo

[fredtitmus]

Very interesting posts.But just ask yourself.How many foreigners do you hear who can speak English without a trace of their native accent Not many Even the most educated ones.

Unless they have spent all their formative years being educated in English or American schools there is usually a trace of their native accent.I found that being able to mimic the various English or even American accents helps me with my Thai accent.But I accept the fact that I will always be identifiable as a foreigner by my accent..Learning the tone rules of Thai helps,as you know the correct tone to use by the spelling,there are a few anomalies, but they are few. It's interesting to see so many people making the effort to learn Thai,as I have met many people here who can't even be bothered learning to count in Thai let alone speak it.

I remember a football player in the 80's/90's called jan molby,he came from Denmark but played for Liverpool fc,when he came to england he had a very strong danish accent but after a few years at liverpool his accent had totally changed and was talking like a scouser or liverpudlian(liverpool accent),i was only young at the time but i remember being transfixed to the tv everytime he spoke because i found it amazing how his accent had changed so much. at the time there was alot of players from liverpool in the side and i guess he had been very good friends and picked the accent up mostly from them.

A couple of guys have talked about trying to mimic the thais and i would definetely agree with that, to get it right i would video tape your thai friends talking and do some homework,afterall this is all that impressionist's do,they just study the person for weeks and they normally get it right.Someone has said that its all to do with the front of the mouth and the use of the tongue and i would agree with that too,we need to get the tongue vibrating and if we get that right its not only the language we will of mastered.