Language. Understanding Me. Understanding You. Understanding Them.

[pattayadingo]

Some people on here say they are good at speaking and understanding the Thai language. Some slag others off for not learning or understanding Thai. Yet in another post it was said by a poster that he learned Thai so his g/f spoke in an Issan dialect with her friends so he could not understand her - or words to that effect.

I had a woman from Central Thailand who I learned some Thai from and I was understood in those circles. Yet she - being a Thai - had difficulty understanding some Issan or some other heavy dialects.

In the same way I will teach a Thai woman English with a broad North of England accent and many other people cannot understand her English. Hell, I even have English friends here who sometimes have a problem with my English accent. Aussies and Americans can also really struggle, but I speak English !! Oddly enough I can understand Aussies, Americans, Kiwis, Canadians and many others, including Germans and Dutch people who speak English.

The point being that we all have our foibles with languages be it Thai on Thai or English speakers on English speakers. Never mind a broad Scots accent !! (No offence to the Scots).

So in future when you are having a go at some of us for not learning or understanding the Thai language remember you might also not even be able to understand English from a native Englishman

What do you think? Let rip guys n gals ( Though let rip where I come from means have a good fart ).

[Rsquared]

Correct me if I am wrong, but are you confusing dialect with accent?

I have had the same problem trying to understand "what is dialect" and why can't Thais understand each other from different regions even though they are both speaking Thai.

Yet you PD, Americans, Aussies, Kiwis, Scots and me, all speak English.......I can understand the different accents,,,,,but what would be the equivalent in English to a different dialect?

[edwinclapham]

This is a list of dialects of the English language. Dialects are linguistic varieties which differ in pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar from each other and from Standard English (which is itself a dialect).

Dialects can be usefully defined as "sub-forms of languages which are, in general, mutually comprehensible".^[1] British linguists distinguish dialect from accent, which refers only to pronunciation. Thus, any educated English speaker can use the vocabulary and grammar of Standard English, but different speakers use their own local words for everyday objects or actions, regional accent, or Received Pronunciation, which within the U.K. is considered an accent distinguished by class rather than by region. American linguists, however, include pronunciation differences as part of the definition of regional or social dialects. The combination of differences in pronunciation and use of local words may make some English dialects almost unintelligible to speakers from other regions. The major native dialects of English are often divided by linguists into the three general categories of the British Isles dialects, those of North America and those of Australasia.

Well the Geordies have a great dialect/ accent, but I still cannot fathom out a word they say.. this applies to many parts of the UK. The same applies for Scousers ..Cockneys arent that much of a problem for me being a Londoner .. the list is endless!

Edited July 8, 2012 by edwinclapham

[Rsquared]

Thanks Eddie......I am now more confused than ever. Think I'll just stick to good ol' plain Aussie.

Didjahavagoodweegend?

[edwinclapham]

Thanks Eddie......I am now more confused than ever. Think I'll just stick to good ol' plain Aussie.

Didjahavagoodweegend?

she'll be right mate! Apart from the usual state to state colloquialisms, I cant tell here in Australia where people come from.. Back home its there in an instant.. weird the old accent/dialect situation is isnt it lol.

[Rsquared]

Thanks Eddie......I am now more confused than ever. Think I'll just stick to good ol' plain Aussie.

Didjahavagoodweegend?

she'll be right mate! Apart from the usual state to state colloquialisms, I cant tell here in Australia where people come from.. Back home its there in an instant.. weird the old accent/dialect situation is isnt it lol.

Have to agree with you there mate.

But you owe me a beer.......my head is still spinning after trying to follow your #3 post.

[DowntownAl]

I met a Burmese lady who speaks Burmese, Issan and Central Thai (as well as nearly perfect English and Czech). I met her on a trip to Vientiane where we/she discovered that Thai and Lao, for her, were interchangeable. She found she could read Lao easily as well but, when she showed one of the touts at the Thai consul office a note she had written down, he could not read it. After reading the post concerning dialect and accent, I looked up the connection between Thai, Issan, Burmese and Lao. Linguistically they are known as mutually intelligible. Interestingly enough, it can be a one way street ie. you can understand them while they can't understand you, or vice versa.

“In linguistics, mutual intelligibility is a relationship between languages or dialects in which speakers of different but related languages can readily understand each other without intentional study or special effort. It is sometimes used as a criterion for distinguishing languages from dialects, though sociolinguistic factors are also important.

Intelligibility between languages can be asymmetric, with speakers of one understanding more of the other than speakers of the other understand of the first. It is when it is relatively symmetric that it is characterized as 'mutual'. It exists in differing degrees among many related or geographically proximate languages of the world, often in the context of a dialect continuum.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mutual_intelligibility

I know that in Canada some east coast dialects are not mutually intelligible as are some deep south American ones to my ears. And yet I have little trouble with an Aussie accent or most (a qualified most) British accents since mom was from Wembley but, she sounded very much like the Queen when talking to the colonials (my dad's family).

[Kilgore Trout]

I met a Burmese lady who speaks Burmese, Issan and Central Thai (as well as nearly perfect English and Czech). I met her on a trip to Vientiane where we/she discovered that Thai and Lao, for her, were interchangeable. She found she could read Lao easily as well but, when she showed one of the touts at the Thai consul office a note she had written down, he could not read it. After reading the post concerning dialect and accent, I looked up the connection between Thai, Issan, Burmese and Lao. Linguistically they are known as mutually intelligible. Interestingly enough, it can be a one way street ie. you can understand them while they can't understand you, or vice versa.

“In linguistics, mutual intelligibility is a relationship between languages or dialects in which speakers of different but related languages can readily understand each other without intentional study or special effort. It is sometimes used as a criterion for distinguishing languages from dialects, though sociolinguistic factors are also important.

Intelligibility between languages can be asymmetric, with speakers of one understanding more of the other than speakers of the other understand of the first. It is when it is relatively symmetric that it is characterized as 'mutual'. It exists in differing degrees among many related or geographically proximate languages of the world, often in the context of a dialect continuum.” http://en.wikipedia....intelligibility

I know that in Canada some east coast dialects are not mutually intelligible as are some deep south American ones to my ears. And yet I have little trouble with an Aussie accent or most (a qualified most) British accents since mom was from Wembley but, she sounded very much like the Queen when talking to the colonials (my dad's family).

Interesting examples are Chinese and Scandinavian.

A Chinese person from Beijing could not have a conversation with someone from the far west of China, but they can both read the same newspaper.

A person from Denmark could speak with someone from Sweden, but they would have a problem reading each other;s newspapers (or so I've been told).

Interesting phenonenom

[DowntownAl]

Interesting examples are Chinese and Scandinavian.

A Chinese person from Beijing could not have a conversation with someone from the far west of China, but they can both read the same newspaper.

A person from Denmark could speak with someone from Sweden, but they would have a problem reading each other;s newspapers (or so I've been told).

Interesting phenonenom

I have read that Thai script crosses over many of the differences in dialect (language) as in Lanna, Central Thai, as well as Lao, Kymer etc. That matches the example of someone from Beijing not understanding someone from western China.

[PattayaParent]

Interesting examples are Chinese and Scandinavian.

A Chinese person from Beijing could not have a conversation with someone from the far west of China, but they can both read the same newspaper.

A person from Denmark could speak with someone from Sweden, but they would have a problem reading each other;s newspapers (or so I've been told).

Interesting phenonenom

Same with Arabic. All Arabs can understand Egyptian Arabic but cannot understand other countries Arabic.

I once had an amusing experience translating the saudi Arabic into English so an Egyptian mate could understand what the Saudi was saying, and replied in Arabic that the Saudi understood.

Didn't someone famous once say that Britain and USA are 2 countries divided by a common language?

Add in Australia and you have 3 countries divided by a common language.

[Morakot]

I met a Burmese lady who speaks Burmese, Issan and Central Thai (as well as nearly perfect English and Czech). I met her on a trip to Vientiane where we/she discovered that Thai and Lao, for her, were interchangeable. She found she could read Lao easily as well but, when she showed one of the touts at the Thai consul office a note she had written down, he could not read it. After reading the post concerning dialect and accent, I looked up the connection between Thai, Issan, Burmese and Lao. Linguistically they are known as mutually intelligible. Interestingly enough, it can be a one way street ie. you can understand them while they can't understand you, or vice versa.

[...]

Burmese mutually intelligible with either Thai, Issan, or Lao? I'd say as mutually intelligible as with Czech...

Edited July 9, 2012 by Morakot

[Kilgore Trout]

Interesting examples are Chinese and Scandinavian.

A Chinese person from Beijing could not have a conversation with someone from the far west of China, but they can both read the same newspaper.

A person from Denmark could speak with someone from Sweden, but they would have a problem reading each other;s newspapers (or so I've been told).

Interesting phenonenom

I have read that Thai script crosses over many of the differences in dialect (language) as in Lanna, Central Thai, as well as Lao, Kymer etc. That matches the example of someone from Beijing not understanding someone from western China.

China is very diverse (despite the Hans ruling) so having a non-phonetic language unites those with different spoken languages together. Same images on paper but different words for them.