Johnniey Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 (edited) I saw in a thread recently how some guy's wife and kid said something that was not correct English. This is terrible IMHO that a kid is not corrected. It's bad enough the wives and girlfriends of those foreigners here in Thailand who have been together years and they still talk like when they first met. When I got married many years ago, my wife couldn't speak a word of English and I made a point of correcting everything she said wrong - it's the only way to go if you want them to speak properly. "I go market" for example. Why not say, "Stop right there, it's , I'm going to the market"? When I was learning Thai I would plead for others to correct me so as to improve. Up to you, as they say, but if you don't correct their English - is there any reason for it? Edited July 9, 2012 by Johnniey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Semper Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 How's your Thai? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canuckamuck Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 My wife speaks better English than some of the posters here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RabC Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 How's your Thai? I know we are not meant to comment on peoples English however, seeing as though the OP was commenting on the correct use of the language,maybe he needs a few more lessons in written English? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
utneflyte Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 "I go market" is acceptable to me... Thai people don't correct me when I simply say "hongnam?" toilet?, instead of saying "hongnam yoo tee nai khrap?" Where is the toilet? It would be rather annoying if everyone tried to correct Thai's English, especially since there's so many variants here (American, British, Australian, Canadian...) (where's the toilet / washroom / restroom / loo / comfort room etc.). Now, if they used the wrong word, as to confuse the whole meaning, its a different story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canuckamuck Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 I have taught my wife that it is proper to say eh, after every completed thought eh. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mca Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 If you're content with having a family of "snake snake fish fish" speakers so be it. Most Thais I know want to speak correct English the same as I wanted to speak completely correct Thai when I was studying it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NomadJoe Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 We're starting threads about threads now? Slow news day? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
transam Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 I failed English at school, l am English. Your opinion. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mca Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 (edited) I failed English at school, l am English. Your opinion. You're a complete cretin with a McDonalds burger monkey on your back. Edited July 9, 2012 by mca Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokie36 Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 I failed English at school, l am English. Your opinion. I am Scottish and passed, in spite of the senior hockey girls attempts to distract me every Friday afternoon. You're probably dyslexic or suffering from a poor background. I recommend marrying a Slovakian with 17 kids and returning home to a council castle with an Aga. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loong Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 I get what you are saying. It doesn't take too much effort to correct your other half or children. I don't always correct my step-daughter, she enjoys learning to speak some English and correcting all the time would mean that there's a danger of the fun disappearing. Mind you, don't you think that in many cases the English language is over-complicated? Your example- "I go market", as long as you know the context/tense, these 3 words do the trick, they convey what the other person wants to say. Where did you go yesterday? I went to the market Where are you going? I am going to the market Where will you go tomorrow? I will go to the market Language evolves and English could have evolved as Where you go yesterday? "I go market" Where you go? "I go market" Where you go tomorrow? "I go market" I think that there would be no confusion and the language would be much simpler to learn this way. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
transam Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 I failed English at school, l am English. Your opinion. I am Scottish and passed, in spite of the senior hockey girls attempts to distract me every Friday afternoon. You're probably dyslexic or suffering from a poor background. I recommend marrying a Slovakian with 17 kids and returning home to a council castle with an Aga. I did, didn't work out. Shouldn't understand what l was talking about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucidLucifer Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 "When I got married many years ago, my wife couldn't speak a word of English and I made a point of correcting everything she said wrong - it's the only way to go if you want them to speak properly." Not quite. You need to strike a balance between when you correct and when you leave it. You aquire language by using it, and to have someone correct every little error is just likely to stifle that person's will to speak. How would you like it if someone jumped on everything you said and gave you a grammar lesson? By correcting every little thing, you may have delayed her progress. I'm also a little surprised your relationship lasted beyond a few weeks, you must have been a joy to converse with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokie36 Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 I failed English at school, l am English. Your opinion. I am Scottish and passed, in spite of the senior hockey girls attempts to distract me every Friday afternoon. You're probably dyslexic or suffering from a poor background. I recommend marrying a Slovakian with 17 kids and returning home to a council castle with an Aga. I did, didn't work out. Shouldn't understand what l was talking about. I meant pissed of course. Sorry for the confusion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mca Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 Having a half Thai/Half English daughter I'm fortunate in that ( for her age ) she speaks both languages fluently. If i had a stepchild I'd like to have them speak as correctly as possible as a boost for them in the future over the other folks. When I worked in a Bangkok hotel I was part of the interview panel for the position of PR manager. It came down to 2 women. Both native Thais. Equally,qualified, equally experienced, equally good looking etc. Nothing to choose between them. One just spoke better grammatical English than the other. She got the job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnniey Posted July 9, 2012 Author Share Posted July 9, 2012 How's your Thai? Well, as I said, when I got married my wife couldn't speak a word of English - so take a guess. I started studying Thai 20 years ago, and as I said, I asked native speakers to correct me - so take a guess. Do you think I'd want to be living in a country for 2 decades and not be able to communicate in amy situation I find myself in? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
transam Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 I failed English at school, l am English. Your opinion. I am Scottish and passed, in spite of the senior hockey girls attempts to distract me every Friday afternoon. You're probably dyslexic or suffering from a poor background. I recommend marrying a Slovakian with 17 kids and returning home to a council castle with an Aga. I did, didn't work out. Shouldn't understand what l was talking about. I meant pissed of course. Sorry for the confusion. I meant, she didn't understand what l was talking about. Sorry, had a beer or two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mca Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 Do you think I'd want to be living in a country for 2 decades and not be able to communicate in amy situation I find myself in? +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
transam Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 Do you think I'd want to be living in a country for 2 decades and not be able to communicate in amy situation I find myself in? +1 Who's Amy ? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David48 Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 (edited) . Think you said it all with ...my wife couldn't speak a word of English and I made a point of correcting everything she said wrong ... You may now look forward to her correcting everything you say in the future. Oh ... I know it's a mute point but English Grammar is everything ... it's vital ... 'communication' really doesn't matter in the greater scheme of things. EDIT ... where is nocturn when you need him?. Edited July 9, 2012 by David48 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Semper Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 How's your Thai? Well, as I said, when I got married my wife couldn't speak a word of English - so take a guess. I started studying Thai 20 years ago, and as I said, I asked native speakers to correct me - so take a guess. Do you think I'd want to be living in a country for 2 decades and not be able to communicate in amy situation I find myself in? So, you're fluent in Thai and after 2 decades you met your wife and want to teach her English. What's your plan, want to 'export' her to the UK? What's wrong with speaking Thai with your wife? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnniey Posted July 9, 2012 Author Share Posted July 9, 2012 "I go market" is acceptable to me... Thai people don't correct me when I simply say "hongnam?" toilet?, instead of saying "hongnam yoo tee nai khrap?" Where is the toilet? It would be rather annoying if everyone tried to correct Thai's English, especially since there's so many variants here (American, British, Australian, Canadian...) (where's the toilet / washroom / restroom / loo / comfort room etc.). Now, if they used the wrong word, as to confuse the whole meaning, its a different story. It would be aceptable to me in the very beginning. I don't know if you are married but if after years of marriage and travelling abroad would you accept your wife speaking to your friends and relatives like that? Would you want to go out with old friends and talk all night without having to think about your wife's English difficulties? If you have kids, would you accept their mother saying, "I go market" or would you like her to help them with their English. If you're planning a long-term relationship and family, it would be foolish I think not correct the mistakes. I think I understand why some don't but would like to confirm. There are times when I didn't, and still don't through laziness. Funnily, as I have corrected my kids' English, my wife has also learnt on many occassions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Semper Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 Do you think I'd want to be living in a country for 2 decades and not be able to communicate in amy situation I find myself in? +1 Who's Amy ? Don't you read Thai news papers? She's a 'famous movie star'. Ask your wife, she'll know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David48 Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 Do you think I'd want to be living in a country for 2 decades and not be able to communicate in amy situation I find myself in? +1 Who's Amy ? transam , you're not correcting the OP's English are you? More then a touch of irony there ... . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnniey Posted July 9, 2012 Author Share Posted July 9, 2012 How's your Thai? I know we are not meant to comment on peoples English however, seeing as though the OP was commenting on the correct use of the language,maybe he needs a few more lessons in written English? Nothing makes a poster look more foolish than the above. Have you ever heard of an apostrophe and a space after a comma? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnniey Posted July 9, 2012 Author Share Posted July 9, 2012 (edited) How's your Thai? Well, as I said, when I got married my wife couldn't speak a word of English - so take a guess. I started studying Thai 20 years ago, and as I said, I asked native speakers to correct me - so take a guess. Do you think I'd want to be living in a country for 2 decades and not be able to communicate in amy situation I find myself in? So, you're fluent in Thai and after 2 decades you met your wife and want to teach her English. What's your plan, want to 'export' her to the UK? What's wrong with speaking Thai with your wife? I met my wife 15 years ago and she wanted to learn English. Actually, we might go to the UK in the future. We often speak in Thai but never when the kids are there. You just don't get the point of the thread - try reading it. Edited July 9, 2012 by Johnniey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David48 Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 How's your Thai? I know we are not meant to comment on peoples English however, seeing as though the OP was commenting on the correct use of the language,maybe he needs a few more lessons in written English? Nothing makes a poster look more foolish than the above ... OH ... I could think of a few things ... May I name you teacher? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Semper Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 How's your Thai? Well, as I said, when I got married my wife couldn't speak a word of English - so take a guess. I started studying Thai 20 years ago, and as I said, I asked native speakers to correct me - so take a guess. Do you think I'd want to be living in a country for 2 decades and not be able to communicate in amy situation I find myself in? Why not spend your time to teach the Scottish, Welsh, Irish or people from some parts of London, to speak so that everybody would understand them? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David48 Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 How's your Thai? Well, as I said, when I got married my wife couldn't speak a word of English - so take a guess. I started studying Thai 20 years ago, and as I said, I asked native speakers to correct me - so take a guess. Do you think I'd want to be living in a country for 2 decades and not be able to communicate in amy situation I find myself in? Why not spend your time to teach the Scottish, Welsh, Irish or people from some parts of London, to speak so that everybody would understand them? Semper, so narrow minded () ... really ... we Aussies could also do with a touch up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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