Should We Learn The Language?

[Neeranam]

If I like a country and the people who live there and their way of life. Why wouldn't I be interested in their language as well? If I moved to France I would learn to speak French (in my own good time). I guess everybody is different. I met one American way out in the country. He's been living and running a business there for over 5 years but he doesn't speak any Thai whatsoever. I thought this was a little strange at first but it works for him. Each to their own.

Sounds ideal - running a business in the wilderness and being linguistically challenged.

[Naam]

I would say most of them were attracted to the people and their way of life.

people yes, way of life = no way!

[Keith67]

I would say most of them were attracted to the people and their way of life.

What about the ones that move here to live in the tourist areas Phuket and pattaya?

Don't see a great deal of real Thai life there.

[Thakkar]

A brief guide to Thai learning (revised)

If they don't understand, SPEAK LOUDER.

If they still don't understand, it must be their inadequacy (by which I mean yours) and you should give up dispensing your expert (by which I mean lame) suggestions on improving the country.

Just as there are Westerners who sometimes miss the sarcasm, so there are Thais. So choose your words carefully.

Pronouncing Thai as it's spelt out in English will elicit giggles, but little comprehension. Learn to read Thai—it's the best way to get the tones right.

When you're just a beginer, do not attempt to buy bananas in the market verbally. Just point.

Enunciating the 'R' does NOT make you an elite Bangkokian tosser.

It takes a highly rare level of intellectual incuriosity to not even TRY to learn. If you're one of those, congratulations - you're a rare breed.

If after much effort, you are still at level one, do not despair: as my yoga, Thai, tennis, pottery, square dancing, calligraphy and nude painting instructors keep telling me, "level One is better than level Zero."

Happy learning.

T

[StreetCowboy]

A brief guide to Thai learning (revised)

If they don't understand, SPEAK LOUDER.

If they still don't understand, it must be their inadequacy (by which I mean yours) and you should give up dispensing your expert (by which I mean lame) suggestions on improving the country.

Just as there are Westerners who sometimes miss the sarcasm, so there are Thais. So choose your words carefully.

Pronouncing Thai as it's spelt out in English will elicit giggles, but little comprehension. Learn to read Thai—it's the best way to get the tones right.

When you're just a beginer, do not attempt to buy bananas in the market verbally. Just point.

Enunciating the 'R' does NOT make you an elite Bangkokian tosser.

It takes a highly rare level of intellectual incuriosity to not even TRY to learn. If you're one of those, congratulations - you're a rare breed.

If after much effort, you are still at level one, do not despair: as my yoga, Thai, tennis, pottery, square dancing, calligraphy and nude painting instructors keep telling me, "level One is better than level Zero."

Happy learning.

T

I'd like to look down on the intellectually lazy, but I struggle.

Perhaps you could consider rewriting the above, imagining that you were writing to a paranoid friend who had low self esteem.

Try not to mix sarcasm with common sense; I struggle to tell the difference, and your imaginary paranoid friend with low self esteem is probably struggling to differentiate as well, what with his intellectual limitations. (I'm assuming your imaginary friend is a man, to avoid fantastical romantic entanglments*)

* Crivvens, Cowboy, ye cannae be too prudent thair! Imagine gettin' emotionally embroiled wi' sombdyelse's imaginarypal

[StreetCowboy]

If I like a country and the people who live there and their way of life. Why wouldn't I be interested in their language as well? If I moved to France I would learn to speak French (in my own good time). I guess everybody is different. I met one American way out in the country. He's been living and running a business there for over 5 years but he doesn't speak any Thai whatsoever. I thought this was a little strange at first but it works for him. Each to their own.

Sounds ideal - running a business in the wilderness and being linguistically challenged.

Better than running a business in the city and being linguistically challenged, where he might have to deal with (potential) customers

Edited April 26, 2013 by StreetCowboy

[CaptHaddock]

This thread reminds me of the old saying, "Travel makes a good person better and a bad person worse."

[ABCer]

I think one should also learn the Thaiglish, because knowing Thai even fluently, may not help some times.

Went to buy Isuzu and was offered "eksilly" Struggled for a while to identify what "eksilly" was and eventually gave up.

Returned few days later and again was offered "eksilly", the headache was back but still no luck in decoding the message.

On third and final visit, decoding machine was used and "eksilly" turned out to be "X Series"

lemoncake, you get a cake from me!

90% of "English-speaking" Thais do not pronounce one single consonant. There are frequent and huge misunderstandings between my lady and myself.

The other 10% are lucky to have had Amerrrican teachers with dire consequences: each word is recognizable, but not the sentence.

All this is about 99% of country population, despite the fact that many kids 'study' English at school.

Being an educationalist I blamed only the education system here. My mistake, obviously. Now I know better...

[JLCrab]

The problem for LemonC is that the sales person was probably just as perplexed because every one of his/her other customers knows right off the bat exactly what eksilly is.

I had a similar one: I was asked years back if I like sell-ten-ja. Sell-ten-ja I said to myself a few times until I realized the query was: Do you like Sir Elton John?