Why can't foreigners in Thailand read and speak Thai?

[DrTuner]

Just found a good video about learning a tonal language.

It's a good one, but doesn't help if you're tone deaf like me. What worked was having a real-time spectrum analyzer connected to my headset and learning to produce and distinguish the tones visually with the aid of the screen. Can't find the website for the life of me .. but googling will eventually bring it up.

EDIT: got it, http://slice-of-thai.com/tones/ . I used another analyzer, but same same.

Edited December 13, 2013 by DrTuner

[TaoNow]

Just to answer OP's original question:

The sad fact is that most of the resident Thai-illiterate ex-pats have come here to die, in some sort of comfort.

Justifiable, but pathetic in its own way.

And with no real interest in the people, culture or the customs of the country of their deathbed.

[paz]

Thailand has been my home for 30 years and I do not read nor do I speak Thai. What business is it of yours?

OP come with a bit of attitude, and you are too - forums are to discuss, you are not asked personally.

My answer: because It's so damn difficult.

[tomta20012]

Just to answer OP's original question:

The sad fact is that most of the resident Thai-illiterate ex-pats have come here to die, in some sort of comfort.

Justifiable, but pathetic in its own way.

And with no real interest in the people, culture or the customs of the country of their deathbed.

I see it as more of a serious problem with the west.

This is most clear with japanese men. if you talk to some of the bar girls they absolutely adore older japanese men.

Japanese men are craving for some body to love them. they will not even have sex with a bar girl but lay together and cuddle. they will shower these girls with gifts and chat every day.

The bar girl I spoke to most hated american young men, they wanted cheap boom bam thank you maam sex.

thailand is a family and community orientated. the thai people i spent time with dont spend all day in the online world, or inbthe gaming world, or talking about sports and gambling with friends. thai people network all day with friends and family.

if you want my prediction. this problem will be addressed in the west by the following mechanism.

foreign currency coming into thailand and other asian countries that are being bought up by their central banks will take all the gold and silver out of the west.

the bar girl I talk to stores her money in gold like most thais, but the shocking thing is, this girl does not have the slightest clue about fractional bank lending, chart cycles, QE, helicopter ben or derivatives let alone the stuggle over the oil trade routes in the middle east.

she will buy and hold gold like all thais do for the future.

so basically when then paper coming into the east hits the point where thais cant buy any more gold internationally. then the central banks will have one more less reason to buy the currency inflows. thats when the east will have less patients to put up with the wests clown flips. they wont be laughing.

the asian currencies will rise. ex-pats will find out that their money is worth shit. then they will have to go home and produce a product to sell to the east or where ever. thats when women will have to start loving their husbands again...

something like that

[tomta20012]

Just to answer OP's original question:

The sad fact is that most of the resident Thai-illiterate ex-pats have come here to die, in some sort of comfort.

Justifiable, but pathetic in its own way.

And with no real interest in the people, culture or the customs of the country of their deathbed.

I see it as more of a serious problem with the west.

This is most clear with japanese men. if you talk to some of the bar girls they absolutely adore older japanese men.

Japanese men are craving for some body to love them. they will not even have sex with a bar girl but lay together and cuddle. they will shower these girls with gifts and chat every day.

The bar girl I spoke to most hated american young men, they wanted cheap boom bam thank you maam sex.

thailand is a family and community orientated. the thai people i spent time with dont spend all day in the online world, or inbthe gaming world, or talking about sports and gambling with friends. thai people network all day with friends and family.

if you want my prediction. this problem will be addressed in the west by the following mechanism.

foreign currency coming into thailand and other asian countries that are being bought up by their central banks will take all the gold and silver out of the west.

the bar girl I talk to stores her money in gold like most thais, but the shocking thing is, this girl does not have the slightest clue about fractional bank lending, chart cycles, QE, helicopter ben or derivatives let alone the stuggle over the oil trade routes in the middle east.

she will buy and hold gold like all thais do for the future.

so basically when then paper coming into the east hits the point where thais cant buy any more gold internationally. then the central banks will have one more less reason to buy the currency inflows. thats when the east will have less patients to put up with the wests clown flips. they wont be laughing.

the asian currencies will rise. ex-pats will find out that their money is worth shit. then they will have to go home and produce a product to sell to the east or where ever. thats when women will have to start loving their husbands again...

something like that

[bundoi]

the bar girl I talk to stores her money in gold like most thais, but the shocking thing is, this girl does not have the slightest clue about fractional bank lending, chart cycles, QE, helicopter ben or derivatives let alone the stuggle over the oil trade routes in the middle east.


lol

[paz]

Just to answer OP's original question:

<some sexual/socio/economic allucination tirade cut>

something like that

Do us a favor, place a smilery or some sing to show that it was ment as an fanny posting.

[GinBoy2]

Just to answer OP's original question:

The sad fact is that most of the resident Thai-illiterate ex-pats have come here to die, in some sort of comfort.

Justifiable, but pathetic in its own way.

And with no real interest in the people, culture or the customs of the country of their deathbed.

Ouch, thats a bit harsh....now where did I park my zimmer frame sonny??????

[lemoncake]

Just to answer OP's original question:

The sad fact is that most of the resident Thai-illiterate ex-pats have come here to die, in some sort of comfort.

Justifiable, but pathetic in its own way.

And with no real interest in the people, culture or the customs of the country of their deathbed.

Do you mind sharing how and where you gained your wisdom on this matters?

[Tokay]

Why would I want to read Thai? I can speak it well enough to know I have zero interest in reading the nonsense they speak about. It's bad enough I have to listen to their TV when my lady is watching her horrid shows. Last thing I want to do is read their literature. And by literature, I mean cartoons.

Tonal Asian languages are not easy to speak and even harder to read. It's not like Spanish or French. And besides, a country that thrives on tourism is easy to navigate without being fluent in their language. It makes life a easier, I'll give you that, but it is not really needed unless you live in the sticks or live alone.

[GinBoy2]

Why would I want to read Thai? I can speak it well enough to know I have zero interest in reading the nonsense they speak about. It's bad enough I have to listen to their TV when my lady is watching her horrid shows. Last thing I want to do is read their literature. And by literature, I mean cartoons.

Hey, what's not to like about Thai TV shows. Steely Stares, Perfect Hair, Evil Woman, Bad Men, all coupled with copious amounts of screaming and mass face slapping.

[StreetCowboy]

Just to answer OP's original question:

The sad fact is that most of the resident Thai-illiterate ex-pats have come here to die, in some sort of comfort.

Justifiable, but pathetic in its own way.

And with no real interest in the people, culture or the customs of the country of their deathbed.

Do you mind sharing how and where you gained your wisdom on this matters?

Some people use paper, some a water spray, and some post on the internet

[GinBoy2]

Just to answer OP's original question:

The sad fact is that most of the resident Thai-illiterate ex-pats have come here to die, in some sort of comfort.

Justifiable, but pathetic in its own way.

And with no real interest in the people, culture or the customs of the country of their deathbed.

Do you mind sharing how and where you gained your wisdom on this matters?

Some people use paper, some a water spray, and some post on the internet

I use both...done wonders for my colonic irrigation, played havoc with my hemorrhoids

[Neeranam]

Just found a good video about learning a tonal language.

It's a good one, but doesn't help if you're tone deaf like me. What worked was having a real-time spectrum analyzer connected to my headset and learning to produce and distinguish the tones visually with the aid of the screen. Can't find the website for the life of me .. but googling will eventually bring it up.

EDIT: got it, http://slice-of-thai.com/tones/ . I used another analyzer, but same same.

Good link - thanks.

I wish they had this 20 years ago, it would have saved a lot of time.

So, the I can't hear the tones is in fact just an excuse. Some people just WON"T try to learn. I bet some who claim to be tonal disadvantaged didn't even watch the video or check out your link.

[thailiketoo]

I see it as more of a serious problem with the west.

This is most clear with japanese men. if you talk to some of the bar girls they absolutely adore older japanese men.

Japanese men are craving for some body to love them. they will not even have sex with a bar girl but lay together and cuddle. they will shower these girls with gifts and chat every day.

The bar girl I spoke to most hated american young men, they wanted cheap boom bam thank you maam sex.

thailand is a family and community orientated. the thai people i spent time with dont spend all day in the online world, or inbthe gaming world, or talking about sports and gambling with friends. thai people network all day with friends and family.

if you want my prediction. this problem will be addressed in the west by the following mechanism.

foreign currency coming into thailand and other asian countries that are being bought up by their central banks will take all the gold and silver out of the west.

the bar girl I talk to stores her money in gold like most thais, but the shocking thing is, this girl does not have the slightest clue about fractional bank lending, chart cycles, QE, helicopter ben or derivatives let alone the stuggle over the oil trade routes in the middle east.

she will buy and hold gold like all thais do for the future.

so basically when then paper coming into the east hits the point where thais cant buy any more gold internationally. then the central banks will have one more less reason to buy the currency inflows. thats when the east will have less patients to put up with the wests clown flips. they wont be laughing.

the asian currencies will rise. ex-pats will find out that their money is worth shit. then they will have to go home and produce a product to sell to the east or where ever. thats when women will have to start loving their husbands again...

something like that

You wrote, "The bar girl I spoke to most hated american young men, they wanted cheap boom bam thank you maam sex."

So four young guys go walking down soi six. One is from Mumbai, one from Burma, one from Lagos and the fourth is a blonde young man from LA.

Or four young guys go walking down soi six. One is a red head from Edinburgh, another a blonde from Cambridge, another is a sandy haired bloke from Sidney and the fourth is a surfer from California.

I have been to 1396 bars in Thailand. I have never seen a young blonde man from anywhere have any trouble. And of those 1396 bars I have only seen three men of any age or any nationality have any trouble.

Mainly because of the bar girl national anthem.

[DrTuner]

Just found a good video about learning a tonal language.

It's a good one, but doesn't help if you're tone deaf like me. What worked was having a real-time spectrum analyzer connected to my headset and learning to produce and distinguish the tones visually with the aid of the screen. Can't find the website for the life of me .. but googling will eventually bring it up.

EDIT: got it, http://slice-of-thai.com/tones/ . I used another analyzer, but same same.

Good link - thanks.

I wish they had this 20 years ago, it would have saved a lot of time.

So, the I can't hear the tones is in fact just an excuse. Some people just WON"T try to learn. I bet some who claim to be tonal disadvantaged didn't even watch the video or check out your link.

I agree, it's an excuse. I imagine musically talented people have it easier with the tones, but after all Thais who can't play any instrument nor care about music still can speak and understand Thai.

It's just harder for some, in my case it was the way I learn things which was the culprit. I have to see with my own eyes. Same reason why I learned to read, it sticks to memory better once I can see it written as a word. Writing it down in Thai is even more effective. Some learn by listening, some by trial&error .. it's very individual. I for one could not stand any overly hyped up stupidly grinning teacher trying to repeat inane phrases, some will have it no other way. Whatever works.

[DavidMavec]

Just found a good video about learning a tonal language.

It's a good one, but doesn't help if you're tone deaf like me. What worked was having a real-time spectrum analyzer connected to my headset and learning to produce and distinguish the tones visually with the aid of the screen. Can't find the website for the life of me .. but googling will eventually bring it up.

EDIT: got it, http://slice-of-thai.com/tones/ . I used another analyzer, but same same.

I could classify myself as tone deaf too but I practiced reading an hour a day aloud for six months, having a Thai person correct me. Just learn to read, this will help immensely.

Mastering tones in Thai are not really about being tone deaf or not, it's more about finding the learning style that works for you... at first when my Thai teacher would pronounce words, I would repeat them back incorrectly... but once I learned to read Thai properly and could see the tones/vowels/consonants on paper exactly as they are pronounced, my pronunciation shot up fast and Thai people suddenly had no problem understanding me.

Edited December 14, 2013 by DavidMavec

[Tokay]

Why would I want to read Thai? I can speak it well enough to know I have zero interest in reading the nonsense they speak about. It's bad enough I have to listen to their TV when my lady is watching her horrid shows. Last thing I want to do is read their literature. And by literature, I mean cartoons.

Hey, what's not to like about Thai TV shows. Steely Stares, Perfect Hair, Evil Woman, Bad Men, all coupled with copious amounts of screaming and mass face slapping.

We play a drinking game where we have to down a beer every time someone gets their face slapped or punched. Some shows really leave us hammered.

[BuffaloRescue]

Cos most foreigners here are pr***s and dont give a monkeys about Thai people, or Thailand there are just here as its cheap and they can get laid.

Since Thailand is cheap. And many "poor" foreign people are nice. Why arent there more nice poor or rich foreigners here. Theres nothing wrong with getting laid either...I mean, its all about your attitude. I dont get it. Thailand is wonderful

Edited December 14, 2013 by BuffaloRescue

[GinBoy2]

Why would I want to read Thai? I can speak it well enough to know I have zero interest in reading the nonsense they speak about. It's bad enough I have to listen to their TV when my lady is watching her horrid shows. Last thing I want to do is read their literature. And by literature, I mean cartoons.

Hey, what's not to like about Thai TV shows. Steely Stares, Perfect Hair, Evil Woman, Bad Men, all coupled with copious amounts of screaming and mass face slapping.

We play a drinking game where we have to down a beer every time someone gets their face slapped or punched. Some shows really leave us hammered.

Jeez, if you watch TV all day, that adds up to helluva bar bill LOL