When speaking, if I can't remember the correct classifier for a physical object, I use อัน instead - my logic being that it's less bad than omitting the classifier altogether.

What about abstract things? Using อัน for those seems absurd.

For instance "I speak four languages"

ผมพูดภาษา4***ได้

(In this case the proper classifier happens to be ภาษา but suppose I didn't know that at the time.)

Is there a generic classifier word I could use here to be "less wrong" or should I just repeat the noun in that case?

There is a correct answer out there, and I look forward to hearing it.

....a less correct, but acceptable answer is to repeat the noun. ผมพูดภาษา4ภาษาได้

I don't know if it's correct for all abstract nouns, but ข้อ is used for questions, rules, choices, reasons, etc.

อย่าง could be an alternative in some cases, as it is a classifier meaning sort, type, kind...

There is a correct answer out there, and I look forward to hearing it.

....a less correct, but acceptable answer is to repeat the noun. ผมพูดภาษา4ภาษาได้

ภาษา 4 ภาษา is actually correct: the classifier for ภาษา is ภาษา. Anything else would sound quite odd!

Quite a few things have a classifier that is the same as the noun itself:

คน 2 คน

ตา 2 ตา

ประเทศ 2 ประเทศ

There really aren't any "generic one-size fits all" classifiers you can use for these things--you have to know the correct word.

There are handbooks of nouns/classifiers on sale at Thai-language bookstores (especially Chula). Presumably, similar lists might be found on the internet, but the hard copy versions are compact and cheap, at about 40 baht. As Peppy says, there are a many nouns for which the classifier is the same word.

You could also simply omit it by saying: ผมพูดได้4ภาษา

This would actually be the more common way to say it.

Or ผมพูด4ภาษาได้

ผมพูดภาษา4ภาษาได้ a Thai would not normally say it this way because of the "ภาษา - ภาษา".

So, I guess the answer to your question would be that for abstract things (or where the placeholder for that word is the word itself), you would rephrase the sentence so that you would not need to use any placeholder at all.

There is a correct answer out there, and I look forward to hearing it.

....a less correct, but acceptable answer is to repeat the noun. ผมพูดภาษา4ภาษาได้

ภาษา 4 ภาษา is actually correct: the classifier for ภาษา is ภาษา. Anything else would sound quite odd!

Quite a few things have a classifier that is the same as the noun itself:

คน 2 คน

ตา 2 ตา

ประเทศ 2 ประเทศ

There really aren't any "generic one-size fits all" classifiers you can use for these things--you have to know the correct word.

ตา 2 ตา ? Are you sure about this? doesn't sound right to me...

There are handbooks of nouns/classifiers on sale at Thai-language bookstores (especially Chula). Presumably, similar lists might be found on the internet, but the hard copy versions are compact and cheap, at about 40 baht. As Peppy says, there are a many nouns for which the classifier is the same word.

here's the Thai Royal Institute classifier listings:

http://www.royin.go.th/th/profile/index.php?SystemModuleKey=265&SystemMenuID=1&SystemMenuIDS=

There are handbooks of nouns/classifiers on sale at Thai-language bookstores (especially Chula). Presumably, similar lists might be found on the internet, but the hard copy versions are compact and cheap, at about 40 baht. As Peppy says, there are a many nouns for which the classifier is the same word.

here's the Thai Royal Institute classifier listings:

http://www.royin.go....&SystemMenuIDS=

thnx