Thai Language

[angkhim]

Hi,

To all expats, do you speak Thai? Is there a good teacher or language school in Chiang Rai where I can learn from? Or should i learn before i move there?

I believe it will be easier to adapt and blend in if one knows how to speak thai language.

How long will i need to be able to read, write and speak fluently?

Thanks.

[harrry]

One factor about learning Thai in Chiangrai is that most people here speak the local dialect. Schools teach in official Thai whih is very similar to Bangkok thai however in many cases they are taught with a local accent. It is much easier to learn in Bangkok as you are surrounded by people speaking the language as you are taught it and can much more easily notice words you have learned being used in real life.

[villagefarang]

Sorry but no one can tell you how long it will take you to be able to read, write and speak fluently but any effort you put into learning Thai will be rewarded.

[pomchop]

How long will I take to learn to read write and speak Thai is like asking how long is a piece of string.

Everyone has different learning abilities. Major factors will be HOW MUCH time and EFFORT are YOU willing to devote to Thai, what are your intellectual capabilities and your commitment?. Will you be living 24/7 with a Thai person? Is that person willing to speak ONLY Thai and help you? It is NOT an easy language for most to learn. At very minimium you should learn the numbers as well as the very basics of a hundred or more words/phrases to be able to combine that with a lot of sign language and pointing to just get by. Of course there are many expats who have lived in Thailand for years and probably don't know more than a dozen or two words.

I would recommend you start out with some of the online thai lessons (google it) and buy a good book or two to at least to start to get the basics. Then after you move to Thailand IF you are very very serious about becoming fluent plan on a LOT of effort with organized group or private lessons and a LOT of home study...or maybe you can find a thai person in your hometown to begin classes right away.

I do not know but i would venture to guess not 1 in 100 expats is actually anywhere close to being fluent read/write/speak.

Best advice is to buckle down and put in the effort and expense to learn as much as you can when you FIRST move to LOS as the dividends will last forever. Seems to me that most expats never get around to learning much at all as after a while you figure you can get by and you can but getting by and being fluent are totally different things.

I would define "fluent" as being able to understand most everyword said on TV/Radio/ or casual conversations among Thai's. NOT EASY to reach that level. As for reading and writing remember that it means nothing if you can read or write a word in Thai UNLESS you know what the word means....

Good luck.

[angkhim]

Thank you very much......hope everyone is enjoying living in chiang rai!

Cheers

[brianmarinus]

Nothing more to say,but here is a start:

http://www.iwanttolearnthai.com/adjective.html

[angkhim]

Brianmarinus

Thanks for the link, that's useful

[villagefarang]

Like many other aspects of life in Thailand, learning the language is not as straight forward as it might appear from the outside. Whichever option one chooses there will be drawbacks and limitations.

As Harrry suggests it is somewhat easier if you live in Bangkok as the majority of people speak Thai and not a regional variant. Dealing with officialdom and the class structured social life of Bangkok, proper Thai is always the best option.

Get outside of Bangkok, especially in a village setting and you will find people don’t speak what you learned in Bangkok. They may understand you but you will have difficulty finding words you recognize in their speech.

If you can speak the local version of Thai, or whatever else they may speak, it will help you fit in with that small community but not necessarily anywhere else. If you learn proper Thai you may have more options overall but feel out of place locally at times.

It is not easy and ones location can make things more difficult.

[eden8]

may i know will i be able to survive with very basic thai language?

[villagefarang]

That will depend on you and where you live. Not everyone speaks "Thai" around here.