hotsoup Posted August 24, 2014 Share Posted August 24, 2014 What does your wife/gf actually speak with her friends and family? This not about the Thai language; it relates much more to the diversity and fragmentation of Thailand. Most people can, of course, speak Thai; but I have heard it asserted that more than 80 distinct languages/dialects are in use. And that in central Thailand more people use Teochew than Thai as their first language.In parts of Chiang Mai the road signs are in Passa Neua. Where we are the main languages are Passa Yor and Passa Pu Tai, with a lot of Lao and Vietnamese. As a consequence there is a great linguistic affinity between the speakers of those languages and to the local Jangwat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bunnydrops Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 Here north of Korat, it is mostly Korat and Lao. Makes it hard to learn Thai as I am trying to do. My neighbor understands Thai but only speaks Korat. I am not sure how close Korat is to Thai but I can understand most of what people are talking about in Thai but I can not understand a single word of what he says. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thanyaburi Mac Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 Hotsoup You be up in Sakhon Nakhon, perhaps, or NKP? At home my wife speaks the central dialect but I can sure tell when she's talking to family back in Sakeo, switches to Issan. Not familiar with "Yor." Lots of references to others here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thai_language and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thai_languages and more via a Google for: thailand yor dialect Mac Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willyumiii Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 Don't forget Tinglish, the language spoken and taught by most Thai English teachers! "Doe tink to mut!" 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schillaci Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 'yong' is spoken in her home province Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keestha Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 In the South, Krabi and to a lesser extend Nakhon Sri Thammarat have quite distinct dialects. When I go to Krabi, speaking Thai I often have to repeat what I have said, or ask people to say what they said once more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aree Wongwanlee Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 In the province of Songkhla, the locals pride themselves on 'lang tai' which translates roughly as 'speak southern Thai'. To my ears, this southern dialect appears, phonetically, to have roots in the Chinese dialect of Hainan Island aka Hailam. There is a tendency to end sentences on an upnote making every sentence sound like a question to people used to speaking English, like me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Estrada Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 My wife is from Surin province and speaks Khmer which is only 20% the same as the Cambodian language. It has no written language. In Surin province there are at least 5 languages spoken: Thai, Khmer, Essan (80% the same as Lao), Suay, Thai Chinese. The rest is available from Wikipedia. I speak Khmer to my wife and her family and friends. My Brother-In-Law is Kong Koey from the famous Khmer Rock Kantrum group "Rock Kong Koey". The songs are sung in Khmer but have to be transliterated into Thai phonetics for Karaoke. the Khmer people, along with the Mon, are the original in habitants of what is now called Thailand when the land was part of the Khmer Kingdom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thailiketoo Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 My wife is from Surin province and speaks Khmer which is only 20% the same as the Cambodian language. It has no written language. In Surin province there are at least 5 languages spoken: Thai, Khmer, Essan (80% the same as Lao), Suay, Thai Chinese. The rest is available from Wikipedia. I speak Khmer to my wife and her family and friends. My Brother-In-Law is Kong Koey from the famous Khmer Rock Kantrum group "Rock Kong Koey". The songs are sung in Khmer but have to be transliterated into Thai phonetics for Karaoke. the Khmer people, along with the Mon, are the original in habitants of what is now called Thailand when the land was part of the Khmer Kingdom. If Khmer is not the Cambodian language what language is? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulHamon Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 central thai. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thailiketoo Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 (edited) central thai. Central Thai is the Cambodian language? CIA Factbook says 96.3% speak Khmer? Edited August 25, 2014 by thailiketoo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post DoctorB Posted August 25, 2014 Popular Post Share Posted August 25, 2014 (edited) The definitive guide to the world's languages is 'Ethnologue'. It lists 73 languages for Thailand. See link here:- https://www.ethnologue.com/country/TH Click on the 'Languages' tab at the top for full list, with details of number of speakers, where spoken, current status etc Ethnologue is a great reference for all countries, but with rather particular motivation. It was started by an American outfit called the Summer Institue of Linguistics (SIL) for the purpose of Bible translation and Christian missionary work. It has been criticised for this mission, and a perceived negative impact on indigenous cultures, however its contribution to the documenting of the world's languages and speakers has been widely recognised. Also remember all listings are complicated by the distinction between languages and dialects. Basically, two forms of speech are dialects if they are mutually intelligible; they are separate languages if they are not. This can lead to much controversy over the number of languages spoken in any particular area. This is also relevant to the discussion here about Khmer. Ethnologue classifies Khmer of Cambodia and Khmer of Thailand separately. Thus they would be mutually unintelligible, essentially separate languages, though closely related. Edited August 25, 2014 by DoctorB 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henry15 Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 My wife is from Surin province and speaks Khmer which is only 20% the same as the Cambodian language. It has no written language. In Surin province there are at least 5 languages spoken: Thai, Khmer, Essan (80% the same as Lao), Suay, Thai Chinese. The rest is available from Wikipedia. I speak Khmer to my wife and her family and friends. My Brother-In-Law is Kong Koey from the famous Khmer Rock Kantrum group "Rock Kong Koey". The songs are sung in Khmer but have to be transliterated into Thai phonetics for Karaoke. the Khmer people, along with the Mon, are the original in habitants of what is now called Thailand when the land was part of the Khmer Kingdom. The Mong never belonged to the Khmer Empire. They had their own Mong Empire in the North and Birma. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hotsoup Posted August 25, 2014 Author Share Posted August 25, 2014 (edited) I think it was the American linguist William Gedney, who worked in Michigan was the genius behind this compilation..Anyway I think, for me, the really interesting thing is the languages your wife g/f speaks. As you all know Brits hardly speak another language, Americans pretty much the same, though I am told the Pentagon has'thousands of Arabic' speakers at its disposal/...wonder which dialect there??!! In Europe bilingualism at least and often multilingualism is more common. My wife speaks Yor, mainly, Pu Thai, Teochew, Central Lao, Vietnamese, Thai of course, and English. So Thanyaburi Mac not far from Sakhon Nakhon!! And my daughter don't want to learn French...but is working on the Japanese..to read Anime! Edited August 25, 2014 by hotsoup 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hotsoup Posted August 25, 2014 Author Share Posted August 25, 2014 One of the points being, naturally, if you meet a lady you like you might want to know, from her language, in which Nakhon Nowhere you might be likely to 'reside'! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wandasloan Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 Central Thai is the Cambodian language? CIA Factbook says 96.3% speak Khmer? It says no such thing. It does not mention Khmer. It says: Languages: Thai (official) 90.7%, Burmese 1.3%, other 8% Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hotsoup Posted August 25, 2014 Author Share Posted August 25, 2014 My wife is from Surin province and speaks Khmer which is only 20% the same as the Cambodian language. It has no written language. In Surin province there are at least 5 languages spoken: Thai, Khmer, Essan (80% the same as Lao), Suay, Thai Chinese. The rest is available from Wikipedia. I speak Khmer to my wife and her family and friends. My Brother-In-Law is Kong Koey from the famous Khmer Rock Kantrum group "Rock Kong Koey". The songs are sung in Khmer but have to be transliterated into Thai phonetics for Karaoke. the Khmer people, along with the Mon, are the original in habitants of what is now called Thailand when the land was part of the Khmer Kingdom. The Mong never belonged to the Khmer Empire. They had their own Mong Empire in the North and Birma. Quite. The Mon straddle the 'Thai' 'Burmese' border wherever that may or may not have been. And of course in the NW of 'Siam' there are a whole host of other 'speeches from Lisu' to 'Lahu'..to Akha and Shan.......Does one trust Ethnologue? Never sure about the Godbretheren...Interesting to know how many of these languages they wrote down or produced biblical writings for? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mosha Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 Wife speaks Southern Thai, nut the accent varies, she can tell a native from Nakhon her home province over a local Southern speaker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoctorB Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 (edited) I think it was the American linguist William Gedney, who worked in Michigan was the genius behind this compilation..Anyway I think, for me, the really interesting thing is the languages your wife g/f speaks. As you all know Brits hardly speak another language, Americans pretty much the same, though I am told the Pentagon has'thousands of Arabic' speakers at its disposal/...wonder which dialect there??!! In Europe bilingualism at least and often multilingualism is more common. My wife speaks Yor, mainly, Pu Thai, Teochew, Central Lao, Vietnamese, Thai of course, and English. So Thanyaburi Mac not far from Sakhon Nakhon!! And my daughter don't want to learn French...but is working on the Japanese..to read Anime! I'm fascinated by the linguistic competence of people like your wife, if you don't mind me saying so. The ablility to speak so many languages must be truly enriching. I'm also puzzled by the reference to 'Yor'. I've seen this before and have never been able to find any information on it. Is it the language Ethnologue lists as Yoi, Yooi, Yooy etc, spoken by by about 5,000 people in Sakon Nakhon Province? I would genuinely like to know. Ps, re Ethnologue in your later post, I'm not a great fan of God botherers myself but Wikipedia suggests that the linguistic community do take their work seriously. Edited August 25, 2014 by DoctorB 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thailiketoo Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 (edited) Central Thai is the Cambodian language? CIA Factbook says 96.3% speak Khmer? It says no such thing. It does not mention Khmer. It says: Languages: Thai (official) 90.7%, Burmese 1.3%, other 8% Only on Thai Visa could we be having this argument. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/cb.html Languages: Khmer (official) 96.3%, other 3.7% (2008 est.) https://www.ethnologue.com/country/KH Principal LanguagesCentral Khmer, English Edited August 25, 2014 by thailiketoo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hotsoup Posted August 25, 2014 Author Share Posted August 25, 2014 I am bewildered. Who said Cambodians spoke Thai, What I want to know is what language your wife/gf speaks...and can you understand her!!!!!....which I doubt!!! Should have headed this post as such!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duanebigsby Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 Don't forget Tinglish, the language spoken and taught by most Thai English teachers! "Doe tink to mut!" images.jpg That's a useful contribution. My Thai co-teachers don't use an iota of Tinglish. I doubt many do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thailiketoo Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 (edited) I am bewildered. Who said Cambodians spoke Thai, What I want to know is what language your wife/gf speaks...and can you understand her!!!!!....which I doubt!!! Should have headed this post as such!! Thailiketoo wrote, "Central Thai is the Cambodian language? CIA Factbook says 96.3% speak Khmer?" Wandasloan wrote, " It says no such thing. It does not mention Khmer. It says: Languages: Thai (official) 90.7%, Burmese 1.3%, other 8% And Estrada wrote, "My wife is from Surin province and speaks Khmer which is only 20% the same as the Cambodian language. It has no written language." Only on Thai Visa would we be having an argument about Khmer's speaking Khmer. Edited August 25, 2014 by thailiketoo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
connda Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 Lanna dialect is spoken in the North, as in my wife's village. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
troysantos Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 My wife is from Surin province and speaks Khmer which is only 20% the same as the Cambodian language. It has no written language. In Surin province there are at least 5 languages spoken: Thai, Khmer, Essan (80% the same as Lao), Suay, Thai Chinese. The rest is available from Wikipedia. I speak Khmer to my wife and her family and friends. My Brother-In-Law is Kong Koey from the famous Khmer Rock Kantrum group "Rock Kong Koey". The songs are sung in Khmer but have to be transliterated into Thai phonetics for Karaoke. the Khmer people, along with the Mon, are the original in habitants of what is now called Thailand when the land was part of the Khmer Kingdom. The Mong never belonged to the Khmer Empire. They had their own Mong Empire in the North and Birma. Mon and Mong are different groups. Mon (in Thai มอญ) are from Burma / Myanmar whereas the Mong (actual spelling is Hmong, in Thai ม้ง) are from China. Wikipedia on Mon: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mon_people Wikipedia on Hmong: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hmong_people Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orpheus454 Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 central thai. Central Thai is the Cambodian language? CIA Factbook says 96.3% speak Khmer? Yeah, what would they know? They couldn't even catch Jason Bourne! I whipped his arse one night in a Goa bar... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hotsoup Posted August 25, 2014 Author Share Posted August 25, 2014 Have quizzed Madame Looks like Passa Yor is the same as Passa Yo Probably in the category of Nyaw Now discovered another one Thai Saek!!! And then there is Passa So which she does not speak! I suspect there are a whole raft of intermingling languages and dialects! The critical concept is mutual 'intelligibility'? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hotsoup Posted August 25, 2014 Author Share Posted August 25, 2014 Don't forget Tinglish, the language spoken and taught by most Thai English teachers! "Doe tink to mut!" images.jpg I think you mean "Tosh" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seajae Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 wife is from the south so she can speak southern thai as well but uses thai for her work, when we go back to Phuttalung(home town) it is totally different as they all start with the southern dialect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neeranam Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 I am bewildered. Who said Cambodians spoke Thai, What I want to know is what language your wife/gf speaks...and can you understand her!!!!!....which I doubt!!! Should have headed this post as such!! Perhaps stick to English rather than "jangwat" "passa" etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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