Learn Thai and Shut Up

[Neeranam]

I seems to start from the farang learning 'aroi' and worse in this part of the country 'sep ee lee'. I've never seen a foreigner in my country walk into a restaurant and shout out, 'is it delicious' to strangers. I'm sick of eating in restaurants and the staff treating me like a farang with a mental age of 7. I aint playing their stupid game - seb baw?" "Seb ee lee ". Try learning "it's not especially good or I've had bettr". Sure, when you learn a new word try it out but.. We've all seen the idiot in the bar speaking one word in odd contexts, the last I saw was some guy speaking English and throwing "chai mai" at the end of every sentence. I wonder why we do it - I have been guilty too. When I moved to Isarn I went up to every somtam seller and said "sep ee lee baw?" If it some sort of thing to make you 'fit in' then learn the language properly. I know a guy who sticks "na" on the end of every English sentence. I used to speak Thaiglish to my wife but stopped and it's so much better for both to not and find out the English or Thai word that is missing.

Just because you speak Thai doesn't mean you have to speak when staying silent i perfectly fine. Does the waitress really need to know that you are "poom pui"? This also tells her that you learned it from a bargirl.

[Seastallion]

Funny the words used by farang that are obviously learned from a bar girl. My GF is quite fastidious in what I should and should not learn. Occasionally I use a word I've picked up here on TV and she is usually shocked. we've got an understanding too...whenever she says a word that I don't know and it has an "L" or and "R" sound, I ask "Ror rua or lor ling?" She doesn't want me saying things like "aloi" it has to be "aroi" with a fair amount of rolling the "r".

[bkkjames]

i know a few of these book Thai farangs that haven't a clue when to use the language in real life scenarios.

The best / worst one was this guy who would walk into 711 and without anyone saying anything to him, he would announce Krap Pom.

I have no idea who he was talking to.

[Neeranam]

Funny the words used by farang that are obviously learned from a bar girl. My GF is quite fastidious in what I should and should not learn. Occasionally I use a word I've picked up here on TV and she is usually shocked. we've got an understanding too...whenever she says a word that I don't know and it has an "L" or and "R" sound, I ask "Ror rua or lor ling?" She doesn't want me saying things like "aloi" it has to be "aroi" with a fair amount of rolling the "r".

Is she Chinese Thai? In many situations Thais don't recognize words that are pronunced with a rolling 'raw rua'. Not all people from Isarn are prostitutes btw.

[Sigurris]

Anyone who has a go at learning is ok with me. And trying out words is a way to consolidate your learning. I make mistakes all the time and even when I don't I find 50% of Thais don't or won't understand.

Last night in a restaurant I spoke to the waiter in Thai. He then looked at the girl who I was with. I said (in Thai), "Don't look at her look at me, I am the one speaking and I am speaking to you in Thai". He suddenly understood everything I said.

It is a tough language and Thai's don't seem to be able to extrapolate what you mean unless you are word and tone perfect. So you have to keep making mistakes and it does get better. Especially now I can read and write (badly) the tones are getting better.

[Bluetongue]

I find the English words that have slipped into Thai sometimes hard to understand. I learned a new one yesterday. I knew that some Thais call 2 stroke oil autolube but I was asking my nephew why he couldn't use petrol in a plastic bottle (aka stic) and he said mai dai sy talube lao I finally worked it out. I took me ages to work out that yar para was actually paracetamol because I thought it was being pronounced with an l ie yar pala. I still learn new words nearly every day, trouble is if I don't use them often they go out the back door

I get sick of saying Australia the second time after they always say ahh Austria

[Seastallion]

Funny the words used by farang that are obviously learned from a bar girl. My GF is quite fastidious in what I should and should not learn. Occasionally I use a word I've picked up here on TV and she is usually shocked. we've got an understanding too...whenever she says a word that I don't know and it has an "L" or and "R" sound, I ask "Ror rua or lor ling?" She doesn't want me saying things like "aloi" it has to be "aroi" with a fair amount of rolling the "r".

Is she Chinese Thai? In many situations Thais don't recognize words that are pronunced with a rolling 'raw rua'. Not all people from Isarn are prostitutes btw.

Not Chinese but highly educated.

I have no doubt whatsoever that many many Isaan girls are not prossys......did anyone mention Isaan? You seem to imply that all bargirls are Isaan, which I'm sure is not the case either.

[Neeranam]

Funny the words used by farang that are obviously learned from a bar girl. My GF is quite fastidious in what I should and should not learn. Occasionally I use a word I've picked up here on TV and she is usually shocked. we've got an understanding too...whenever she says a word that I don't know and it has an "L" or and "R" sound, I ask "Ror rua or lor ling?" She doesn't want me saying things like "aloi" it has to be "aroi" with a fair amount of rolling the "r".

Is she Chinese Thai? In many situations Thais don't recognize words that are pronunced with a rolling 'raw rua'. Not all people from Isarn are prostitutes btw.

Not Chinese but highly educated.

I have no doubt whatsoever that many many Isaan girls are not prossys......did anyone mention Isaan? You seem to imply that all bargirls are Isaan, which I'm sure is not the case either.

I never implied that all bgs are from Isarn at all.

I've known some 'educated' women(even some from Isarn) make fun of Isarn womens' way of talking. Rather sad I think but it's the way a caste system works.

[Showbags]

Thai is such a universal language, we should all immerse ourselves in it and spend every waking hour learning it....if for nothing else but our Thainess levels.

[weegee]

I find the English words that have slipped into Thai sometimes hard to understand. I learned a new one yesterday. I knew that some Thais call 2 stroke oil autolube but I was asking my nephew why he couldn't use petrol in a plastic bottle (aka stic) and he said mai dai sy talube lao I finally worked it out. I took me ages to work out that yar para was actually paracetamol because I thought it was being pronounced with an l ie yar pala. I still learn new words nearly every day, trouble is if I don't use them often they go out the back door

I get sick of saying Australia the second time after they always say ahh Austria

It take it , you mean, when ever you go somewhere, someone always asks...."where you from"....I got so sick of them trying to pronounce Australia in many different ways, I just reply now...."up the road"...job done

[kurnell]

I've found "oh hoooiiieeee!" fits in every situation in Thai society

[Neeranam]

I've found "oh hoooiiieeee!" fits in every situation in Thai society

Have you been learning from football commentators?

[Gsxrnz]

I find the English words that have slipped into Thai sometimes hard to understand. I learned a new one yesterday. I knew that some Thais call 2 stroke oil autolube but I was asking my nephew why he couldn't use petrol in a plastic bottle (aka stic) and he said mai dai sy talube lao I finally worked it out. I took me ages to work out that yar para was actually paracetamol because I thought it was being pronounced with an l ie yar pala. I still learn new words nearly every day, trouble is if I don't use them often they go out the back door

I get sick of saying Australia the second time after they always say ahh Austria

It take it , you mean, when ever you go somewhere, someone always asks...."where you from"....I got so sick of them trying to pronounce Australia in many different ways, I just reply now...."up the road"...job done

Tell 'em you come from New Zealand. The reply is invariably "ah......sa-wizzerlan".

No!...... Noo SeeLaaan.

"Ah, close Austria, na? Hab kangaloo, na?"

[Neeranam]

I find the English words that have slipped into Thai sometimes hard to understand. I learned a new one yesterday. I knew that some Thais call 2 stroke oil autolube but I was asking my nephew why he couldn't use petrol in a plastic bottle (aka stic) and he said mai dai sy talube lao I finally worked it out. I took me ages to work out that yar para was actually paracetamol because I thought it was being pronounced with an l ie yar pala. I still learn new words nearly every day, trouble is if I don't use them often they go out the back door

I get sick of saying Australia the second time after they always say ahh Austria

It take it , you mean, when ever you go somewhere, someone always asks...."where you from"....I got so sick of them trying to pronounce Australia in many different ways, I just reply now...."up the road"...job done

Tell 'em you come from New Zealand. The reply is invariably "ah......sa-wizzerlan".

No!...... Noo SeeLaaan.

"Ah, close Austria, na? Hab kangaloo, na?"

Sitzerland must be where Thais think we're all from as when I say Scotland, they say "ah Sawitz.."

[Costas2008]

I find the English words that have slipped into Thai sometimes hard to understand. I learned a new one yesterday. I knew that some Thais call 2 stroke oil autolube but I was asking my nephew why he couldn't use petrol in a plastic bottle (aka stic) and he said mai dai sy talube lao I finally worked it out. I took me ages to work out that yar para was actually paracetamol because I thought it was being pronounced with an l ie yar pala. I still learn new words nearly every day, trouble is if I don't use them often they go out the back door

I get sick of saying Australia the second time after they always say ahh Austria

It take it , you mean, when ever you go somewhere, someone always asks...."where you from"....I got so sick of them trying to pronounce Australia in many different ways, I just reply now...."up the road"...job done

Ha....try to tell them you come from Greece.

None of them have a clue where this is.

Although, I have to admit, a few know that Greece won the European cup in 2004.

Amazing Thailand.

[toybits]

It seems like there is no end to complaining about anything and everything. Perhaps someone forgot to take his medication?

[Nautilus05]

I don't really get it. How are you supposed to learn then? We're not supposed to use any Thai words whatsoever, until we're 100% fluent in the language? What happens when I'm somewhere that nobody speaks English, and I need / want something? Should I start up a game of charades on the spot, and start acting out what I want / need without speaking any words, with hopes they'll figure it out?

I think one of the problems is there's alot of expats who are like me. Learned hard at first, until I got to a level where I'm comfortable going anywhere, and doing anything, while still being able to get whatever I want done. I live alone now, so there's no Thai here to help translate anything for me, and I'm on my own when I need to call a repairman, or whatever.

However, once I got to that level, I got lazy and stopped learning. I think alot of expats do that, which probably isn't the right thing to do. Thinking about that, I should really start learning Thai again.

[lovelomsak]

I think first a guy should get to know the difference between Thai and Loas. "sep ee lee" is Loas for delicious not thai but is uised in Thailand by isaan people and others in northeren thailand. Why would someone speak loas and then tell someone to else to learn to speak thai?

[Morakot]

[namdocmai]

I get sick of Thai who can't speak Thai. Klab baan, alloi, tao lai klab, nung loi, loi nung, mai loe klab.

When i speak like that they understand me, if i use the R they don't. They all are to lazy to speak the R instead of the L.

My wife is getting a course about how to do business with farang at work. Now she understands how important everything i taught her is. Also the teacher taught her to never be lazy with english language, like not pronouncing the last letters of a word. I 'm happy she hears it from a Thai teacher this time (who is married with a farang).

Even the Thai on the radio and tv can't speak proper engrit so how should they ever learn it?

[Seastallion]

I find the English words that have slipped into Thai sometimes hard to understand. I learned a new one yesterday. I knew that some Thais call 2 stroke oil autolube but I was asking my nephew why he couldn't use petrol in a plastic bottle (aka stic) and he said mai dai sy talube lao I finally worked it out. I took me ages to work out that yar para was actually paracetamol because I thought it was being pronounced with an l ie yar pala. I still learn new words nearly every day, trouble is if I don't use them often they go out the back door

I get sick of saying Australia the second time after they always say ahh Austria

It take it , you mean, when ever you go somewhere, someone always asks...."where you from"....I got so sick of them trying to pronounce Australia in many different ways, I just reply now...."up the road"...job done

Tell 'em you come from New Zealand. The reply is invariably "ah......sa-wizzerlan".

No!...... Noo SeeLaaan.

"Ah, close Austria, na? Hab kangaloo, na?"

My reactions have been, "Ahhh niew seelaaaan, kiwi bird".

[duanebigsby]

Learning Thai is hard, especially with all the dialects and completely alien alphabet.

But Neeranam, your OP, in almost incoherent English, is hypocritical of the headline "Learn Thai or shut up"

[Neeranam]

I find the English words that have slipped into Thai sometimes hard to understand. I learned a new one yesterday. I knew that some Thais call 2 stroke oil autolube but I was asking my nephew why he couldn't use petrol in a plastic bottle (aka stic) and he said mai dai sy talube lao I finally worked it out. I took me ages to work out that yar para was actually paracetamol because I thought it was being pronounced with an l ie yar pala. I still learn new words nearly every day, trouble is if I don't use them often they go out the back door

I get sick of saying Australia the second time after they always say ahh Austria

It take it , you mean, when ever you go somewhere, someone always asks...."where you from"....I got so sick of them trying to pronounce Australia in many different ways, I just reply now...."up the road"...job done

Ha....try to tell them you come from Greece.

None of them have a clue where this is.

Although, I have to admit, a few know that Greece won the European cup in 2004.

Amazing Thailand.

I found they do if you say 'Greek' instead of Greece.

[Neeranam]

Learning Thai is hard, especially with all the dialects and completely alien alphabet.

But Neeranam, your OP, in almost incoherent English, is hypocritical of the headline "Learn Thai or shut up"

The headline isn't "Learn Thai or shut up".

[StreetCowboy]

 

I find the English words that have slipped into Thai sometimes hard to understand. I learned a new one yesterday. I knew that some Thais call 2 stroke oil autolube but I was asking my nephew why he couldn't use petrol in a plastic bottle (aka stic) and he said mai dai sy talube lao I finally worked it out. I took me ages to work out that yar para was actually paracetamol because I thought it was being pronounced with an l ie yar pala. I still learn new words nearly every day, trouble is if I don't use them often they go out the back door

I get sick of saying Australia the second time after they always say ahh Austria

It take it , you mean, when ever you go somewhere, someone always asks...."where you from"....I got so sick of them trying to pronounce Australia in many different ways, I just reply now...."up the road"...job done

Ha....try to tell them you come from Greece.

None of them have a clue where this is.

Although, I have to admit, a few know that Greece won the European cup in 2004.

Amazing Thailand.

 

resoundingly beat Thailand in rugby league a few months back, as well, if I recall correctly.

[bkkjames]

Learning Thai is hard, especially with all the dialects and completely alien alphabet.

But Neeranam, your OP, in almost incoherent English, is hypocritical of the headline "Learn Thai or shut up"

The headline isn't "Learn Thai or shut up".

Seems he can't understand the difference between and / or. No wonder he didn't understand your first post.

[Neeranam]

I get sick of Thai who can't speak Thai. Klab baan, alloi, tao lai klab, nung loi, loi nung, mai loe klab.

When i speak like that they understand me, if i use the R they don't. They all are to lazy to speak the R instead of the L.

My wife is getting a course about how to do business with farang at work. Now she understands how important everything i taught her is. Also the teacher taught her to never be lazy with english language, like not pronouncing the last letters of a word. I 'm happy she hears it from a Thai teacher this time (who is married with a farang).

Even the Thai on the radio and tv can't speak proper engrit so how should they ever learn it?

Learn to transliterate or transcribe dude.

I wonder what a Thai would think if you told them that you are sick of their Thai language abilities.

[Suradit69]

"...doesn't mean you have to speak when staying silent i perfectly fine."

I agree with your thoughts in general, especially that silence almost always trumps babbling on and on, but, aside from weirdos who speak when entering 7-Elevens and some Tower of Babel types on bar stools, very few people can be 100% up to speed when first speaking a new language.

For most things I, and the Thai people with whom I speak the most, do not use Thainglish, but a smattering of one language and the other, and usually both become more proficient in the other's language and gain some new vocabulary in doing so. And, I find most Thais appreciate the effort to pick up the language, especially when compared to the morons who think speaking English at a shout will make them more understandable.

Edited March 19, 2014 by Suradit69

[Neeranam]

Learning Thai is hard, especially with all the dialects and completely alien alphabet.

But Neeranam, your OP, in almost incoherent English, is hypocritical of the headline "Learn Thai or shut up"

The headline isn't "Learn Thai or shut up".

Seems he can't understand the difference between and / or. No wonder he didn't understand your first post.

I think Duane is a Welsh name so it's understandable if he can't read English like a native.

[Suradit69]

Anyone who has a go at learning is ok with me. And trying out words is a way to consolidate your learning. I make mistakes all the time and even when I don't I find 50% of Thais don't or won't understand.

Last night in a restaurant I spoke to the waiter in Thai. He then looked at the girl who I was with. I said (in Thai), "Don't look at her look at me, I am the one speaking and I am speaking to you in Thai". He suddenly understood everything I said.

It is a tough language and Thai's don't seem to be able to extrapolate what you mean unless you are word and tone perfect. So you have to keep making mistakes and it does get better. Especially now I can read and write (badly) the tones are getting better.

It is a tough language and Thai's don't seem to be able to extrapolate what you mean unless you are word and tone perfect.

That's a bit of an over-generalization. Thais who have spent most of their lives listening to Thai spoken only by friends and relatives and then find themselves in Pattaya or Bangkok, will probably have some problems understanding Thai spoken by farang or even other Thais, just as I can't always understand English spoken by someone in, for example, parts of Louisiana or when it's spoken by someone with a German accent even if the speaker is getting all the words exactly right. I find that the longer a Thai person is exposed to Thai spoken by foreigners and Thais from various parts of the country, the more flexible they become in their listening.

Edited March 19, 2014 by Suradit69