Being Sensitive

[Scully]

I went out with a few ex-pats and I speak a little thai-laos, far from fluent but living on my own I try.

One expat says he doesn't know why I bother because a few don't understand me anyway which can be true in maybe 10% of the cases, It's usually with newly learnt words etc etc. The thing is he has been here 12 yeras and can only say naam,

Sorry it's mainly a rant because as you know it's not easy to learn and it's like he's saying youv'e waisted all your time, is this a common mentality.

[USNret]

I give you credit for trying, and the effort is not at all wasted. Your friend has a defeatist attitude, like "You can't be expert, so why try at all?" It's a loser attitude.

[Totster]

If you enjoy it and don't feel it's a waste of time then that is what is important, I learnt because I wanted to talk with those around me in the village, I was tired of wandering around clueless and just trying to smile my way through attempted conversations. He's probably a little jealous that you have made the effort and get enjoyment from something he can't do (or at least never tried).

totster

[Scully]

Thanks for the replies, I want and often need to communicate with the locals. To me it's a rant to like minded people, I speak quite a bit but can't read it. I am learning like a child, I know the alphabet and it scares me

I just hear so many why bother attitudes, mostly from retired people with 24 hours of the day to learn. Anyway thanks for replying to my little rant.

[rak sa_ngop]

He's probably a little jealous that you have made the effort and get enjoyment from something he can't do (or at least never tried).

totster

You've 'tooked' the nail on the 'hua' .

[JetsetBkk]

I know someone just like that. Makes no attempt to speak Thai, expects all Thais to know English, complains when documents and signs are only in Thai, complains when shop staff don't understand him. I won't say more because he might read this.

[bifftastic]

is this a common mentality?

Amongst the ignorant and stupid, yes.

Good luck to you learning what you want to learn.

One reason you might get the 'huh?' from people who you try to speak Thai with, is that they aren't expecting to hear it come out of your mouth.

Once they get used to your accent (we all have an accent) their ears will tune in a little to what you're saying.

Don't fear the Thai script either! Once you put the effort in and get past the daunting stage, it's great.

It opens up the language so much more if you can read it.

[Aforek]

is this a common mentality?

Amongst the ignorant and stupid, yes.

Good luck to you learning what you want to learn.

One reason you might get the 'huh?' from people who you try to speak Thai with, is that they aren't expecting to hear it come out of your mouth.

Once they get used to your accent (we all have an accent) their ears will tune in a little to what you're saying.

Don't fear the Thai script either! Once you put the effort in and get past the daunting stage, it's great.

It opens up the language so much more if you can read it.

I agree with this; don't listen to a farang who is here for 12 years and can say only "naam"; learning to read is hard at the beginning, but after you can realy profit of the language

[Rsquared]

Stick with it Scully, I myself am struggling but when I do put in some time, I can feel the benefits.

As mentioned before, I am getting bored wandering around not having a clue as to what people are talking about. I am not much of a conversationalist in the first place, so learning Thai is doubly harder for me.....but I'm not going to give up.

Cheers.

[4NDR345]

He has been here for 12 years, and can only say naam?

Heh...

[meadish_sweetball]

Stick with it Scully, I myself am struggling but when I do put in some time, I can feel the benefits.

As mentioned before, I am getting bored wandering around not having a clue as to what people are talking about. I am not much of a conversationalist in the first place, so learning Thai is doubly harder for me.....but I'm not going to give up.

Cheers.

Learn how the Thais do small talk and then keep doing it until you get over the self-view that you are not much of a conversationalist.

Eventually, with enough practice of small talk, you will be able to gradually advance to other subjects than where you have been, where you are going, what you have eaten / are/will be eating (and, since you are a foreigner) how long you have been in Thailand, whether you like Thai food, Thai women, whether your country is cold or not, whether it has snow, how long it takes to fly there, if Thai is difficult and the rest.

If you really want to learn, start by moving outside of the usual tourist/farang places, and make sure you are the one striking up conversations. That way you avoid touts and people who are just looking to get something out of you. I find old people are great to talk to. You can test your pronunciation on kids.

They have less cultural baggage and ideas about whether they will be able to understand you or not, so you may find it easier to communicate with them as well. If they don't understand you, you know you need to go back to the drawing board and fix something.

[DavidMavec]

Your friend's a hater. I recommend you find new friends because this probably extends to other areas of the friendship. This is probably disguised as "ball busting" but it is actually negative energy.

Good on you for trying and for making progress with a difficult language. Keep at it. My Thai is not great after almost a year of studying by any means, the language has a big learning curve. But I have made a lot of progress so it is better to surround myself with positive energy which keeps encouraging me to study more and get better.

Your intention is better than most foreigners who come and live in this part of the world. It is a bit shameful if you have been here for years and can not speak the language at all in my opinion, especially if you have the resources like many people who come here from overseas.

Good luck, just my opinion.

[DavidMavec]

I agree with bifftastic, learning to read helps a lot for pronunciation and self-study as well. Before I learned to read people could not understand me at all and now they do at least 90 or greater percent.