Why would a foreigner want to learn the Thai language?

[jacky54]

1. Understanding the culture.

2. Girls who can't speak English.

3. I want to live here and it's helpful for all kinds of things.

In that order.

You don't really need to be able to speak Thai to understand the culture and I find I can understand Thai pretty well, but can hardly speak it myself. This is down to the dreaded tones, when I try to speak it Thais often have no idea what I am saying, even numbers and ordering a beer, so after 20 years I gave up trying.

[laolover88]

When some 25 years ago I expressed the desire to learn Thai, my european friends said Why?

The Thai friends: There are only two things in which Thai people are interested. a. Money. b.Food You need enough language competence to deal with these two areas of life!

[Colabamumbai]

Because I want to be able to speak the language so I can live here and not have to depend on others. The same reason I learned Spanish when I lived in Mexico. I think that you owe it to yourself and the people where ever, to try and speak their language.

[AnotherOneAmerican]

Because I want to be able to speak the language so I can live here and not have to depend on others. The same reason I learned Spanish when I lived in Mexico. I think that you owe it to yourself and the people where ever, to try and speak their language.

Spanish is useful in many countries, Thai isn't.

Now one of the big problems with learning Thai, is nobody wants to help you.

In most countries of the world, you ask someone to repeat what they just said, they will happily do that.

Not in Thailand, they absolutely won't repeat what they just said, so most foreigners will never learn.

Are Thais unable to remember what they just said, or just unco-operative? Beats me!

Don't believe me, just try it yourself.

(Family members may do it, depending on if you have a fake or real family)

[jacky54]

The big myth is that Thais will be happy to hear you try Thai and will help you, where is that then? I very rarely came across it, might as well learn Welsh!

[Marcel1]

The big myth is that Thais will be happy to hear you try Thai and will help you, where is that then? I very rarely came across it, might as well learn Welsh!

I think it depends of the area where you are, when I go to more local areas on the bike then many Thais are happy to have a chat with me, surprised I can speak it and ask many more questions which is my reason to learn Thai, to be able to can talk with anyone here and so have lots more fun.

When going to touristy areas I feel they care less when you speak it which gives me the time to play the stupid tourist sometimes which is fun too

[thailiketoo]

The same reason as Miriam Makeba. She sings the click song with such enthusiasm because the colonizers of her country find it difficult to say. I speak Thai because they don't think I can and because it's fun to speak Thai to Thai people. It's my contribution anti-colonial sentiment the world over. Notice how happy Miriam is when she sings in her own language as a retort to the insult of her ex colonial masters who considered her language a sound and not a communication.

[jacky54]

Anti colonial? don't you know Thailand was never colonised so your 'contribution' means nothing here

[A1Str8]

Coz he drank the kool aid that he can fully integrate into Thai society.

[gomangosteen]

The big myth is that Thais will be happy to hear you try Thai and will help you, where is that then? I very rarely came across it, might as well learn Welsh!

depends very much on your lifestyle; I'm involved in two social cycling groups, the only non-Thai; it'd be a lonely old time if I couldn't say anything on a 3hr ride - not that anyone talks much but rest/meal breaks are chatty (as best i can)

Also help coach sports; communicating, especially giving instructions, in English wouldn't work at all. I learn from the coaches and students, one word at a time.

[jacky54]

Never ridden a bike in my life so have to take your word for it

[Sena Dave]

Not a hope of me speaking Thai or any other language with my accent.

[AnotherOneAmerican]

Never ridden a bike in my life so have to take your word for it

What's funny is all these guys who think it's worthwhile to learn Thai, have totally failed so far.

I guess they are all thinking, in another ten years if I work really hard ........

While those of us that can do it, feel we have wasted our time.

[jacky54]

It's a crude language anyway and even Thais seem to have a hard time understanding each other at times.

[billd766]

Yea, I speak Thai. Lived and worked in Thailand for several years. Married a Thai girl. So I learned the language, needed to, it was necessary to communicate with our Thai workforce and, of course, with my wife who at the time did not speak a word of English.

AnotherOneAmerican "I can speak Thai, pointless waste of your time, most of the Thais will pretend not to understand even if you can." I disagree on the pointless waste of time (to a point). My Thai language skills developed over 20 years very slowly and with almost continuous study, yet, I am not fluent. As far as "them not understanding" When I see this I force them into English and then, amazingly, my Thai becomes clearer. For me, was learning Thai worth the effort, possibly, the vast amount of hours I have invested, versus my language skills, worth it? - a most definite Maybe.

I started this thread asking why others desire to learn Thai, arguably, but in my opinion a rare, difficult, tonal language spoken by a small minority of the people of the world.

Very few of us are daft enough to stay here 20 years.

If you gonna waste that much of your life, Chinese (Mandarin) is much more worthwhile.

So after 20 years you aren't fluent and you still aren't Thai?

Bit of a waste of a life, EH!

Well I have been coming to, working and living in Thailand for some 21 years, am married to a Thai and cannot speak much Thai at all.

I certainly don't consider it a waste of my life at all.

Of course being partly deaf and more tone deaf doesn't make life that easy or even that hard.

Why would I need to learn Mandarin as I have never been to China, Hong Kong for 10 days ago back in 1970 so for me and for most of the TV posters Mandaring is a waste of our lives, but Thai isn't.

[billd766]

Are you kidding me?

If you are too lazy or do not care to learn the language in the country where you live,

GO HOME!!

Thailand IS my home. Where is yours?

[Sena Dave]

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The same reason as Miriam Makeba. She sings the click song with such enthusiasm because the colonizers of her country find it difficult to say. I speak Thai because they don't think I can and because it's fun to speak Thai to Thai people. It's my contribution anti-colonial sentiment the world over. Notice how happy Miriam is when she sings in her own language as a retort to the insult of her ex colonial masters who considered her language a sound and not a communication.

Getting a tad mixed up here arent we, Go vietnam and learn Vietnamese of Malaysia and learn Malay

[thailiketoo]

Anti colonial? don't you know Thailand was never colonised so your 'contribution' means nothing here

Actually I was writing about the posters on Thai Visa who still have the Bwana complex. It is a recurrent thought on Thai Visa that Thais would have been better off if they had been colonized like Burma and

Yemen.

My point was that many Thais refuse to speak English just because they like remind Farang of their limited linguistic ability.

[thailiketoo]

The same reason as Miriam Makeba. She sings the click song with such enthusiasm because the colonizers of her country find it difficult to say. I speak Thai because they don't think I can and because it's fun to speak Thai to Thai people. It's my contribution anti-colonial sentiment the world over. Notice how happy Miriam is when she sings in her own language as a retort to the insult of her ex colonial masters who considered her language a sound and not a communication.

Getting a tad mixed up here arent we, Go vietnam and learn Vietnamese of Malaysia and learn Malay

No, I speak Thai because most Farang can't. The same reason Miriam enjoys singing in her language so much because most foreigners in her country can't.

[sirineou]

Why would foreigners want to learn any language?

grunting worked for the caveman so well it help them become the predominant species on this planet, IMO grunting could help foreigners become dominant in Thailand also.

[Sena Dave]

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Anti colonial? don't you know Thailand was never colonised so your 'contribution' means nothing here

Actually I was writing about the posters on Thai Visa who still have the Bwana complex. It is a recurrent thought on Thai Visa that Thais would have been better off if they had been colonized like Burma and

Yemen.

My point was that many Thais refuse to speak English just because they like remind Farang of their limited linguistic ability.

It has nothing to do with Linguistic ability . British people on the whole can go anywhere in the world and people will speak their language. Can't say for the Thais and every other nation in the world . You sound like you don't like Brits , are you a Paddy ?

[thailiketoo]

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Anti colonial? don't you know Thailand was never colonised so your 'contribution' means nothing here

Actually I was writing about the posters on Thai Visa who still have the Bwana complex. It is a recurrent thought on Thai Visa that Thais would have been better off if they had been colonized like Burma and

Yemen.

My point was that many Thais refuse to speak English just because they like remind Farang of their limited linguistic ability.

It has nothing to do with Linguistic ability . British people on the whole can go anywhere in the world and people will speak their language. Can't say for the Thais and every other nation in the world . You sound like you don't like Brits , are you a Paddy ?

I wrote, Farangs not Brits. Better get some Thai person to help you with your posting it seems you don't know how to post quotes.

[canuckamuck]

Because I want to be able to speak the language so I can live here and not have to depend on others. The same reason I learned Spanish when I lived in Mexico. I think that you owe it to yourself and the people where ever, to try and speak their language.

Spanish is useful in many countries, Thai isn't.

Now one of the big problems with learning Thai, is nobody wants to help you.

In most countries of the world, you ask someone to repeat what they just said, they will happily do that.

Not in Thailand, they absolutely won't repeat what they just said, so most foreigners will never learn.

Are Thais unable to remember what they just said, or just unco-operative? Beats me!

Don't believe me, just try it yourself.

(Family members may do it, depending on if you have a fake or real family)

Very frustrating when you ask them to say something again and they don't, or even more likely they say something different. Which confuses you. So they run to the back and giggle and force someone else up there to talk with you. But at this point you have another chance and when you speak Thai to the new person and they understand, it is fun to watch them react to the first person who now looks like an idiot.

[Sena Dave]

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Anti colonial? don't you know Thailand was never colonised so your 'contribution' means nothing here

Actually I was writing about the posters on Thai Visa who still have the Bwana complex. It is a recurrent thought on Thai Visa that Thais would have been better off if they had been colonized like Burma and

Yemen.

My point was that many Thais refuse to speak English just because they like remind Farang of their limited linguistic ability.

It has nothing to do with Linguistic ability . British people on the whole can go anywhere in the world and people will speak their language. Can't say for the Thais and every other nation in the world . You sound like you don't like Brits , are you a Paddy ?

I wrote, Farangs not Brits. Better get some Thai person to help you with your posting it seems you don't know how to post quotes.

I wasnt refering to you use of the word "Farang" it was your reference to "Colonized like Burma" which was by the British

[thailiketoo]

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Anti colonial? don't you know Thailand was never colonised so your 'contribution' means nothing here

Actually I was writing about the posters on Thai Visa who still have the Bwana complex. It is a recurrent thought on Thai Visa that Thais would have been better off if they had been colonized like Burma and

Yemen.

My point was that many Thais refuse to speak English just because they like remind Farang of their limited linguistic ability.

It has nothing to do with Linguistic ability . British people on the whole can go anywhere in the world and people will speak their language. Can't say for the Thais and every other nation in the world . You sound like you don't like Brits , are you a Paddy ?

I wrote, Farangs not Brits. Better get some Thai person to help you with your posting it seems you don't know how to post quotes.

I wasnt refering to you use of the word "Farang" it was your reference to "Colonized like Burma" which was by the British

I wrote colonized like Burma and Yemen. Two examples of typical colonization. I could have said Laos and Cambodia. I tend to lump all people with a Bwana complex into one group. British people can't go anywhere in the world and be understood. But it's a symptom of the Bwana complex to think that's true and a good example of why Thai people don't like Farangs.

[jacky54]

I would have thought it was Thais who cannot go anywhere in the world and be understood, a quick flight and nobody understands Thai in the world, in a few hundred years Thai will probably die out just like other very minor languages have, or are already dying.

[thailiketoo]

I would have thought it was Thais who cannot go anywhere in the world and be understood, a quick flight and nobody understands Thai in the world, in a few hundred years Thai will probably die out just like other very minor languages have, or are already dying.

Is the subject what languages will be spoken all over the world in 200 years? Or, how many other countries speak Thai? No. The topic is "why would a foreigner want to learn Thai." I learned how to speak Thai to make people people with Bwana complexes feel inadequate.

[gerry1011]

You don't know what you are missing by not understating and speaking fluent Thai.

It's funny to read all the "excuses" given by some posters for not learning Thai.

Grumpy farangs can only get grumpier because they don't understand the people they live with, and don't have a clue of what is actually happening around them.

Of course, not all the foreigners who can't speak Thai are grumpy. Lucky for the rest of us. But reading this forum, it looks like most are...

I guess everyone would love to speak Thai, understand the people, chat on Line in Thai, be better assimilated in the local society, and make lots of good local friends.

There are those who make the effort to learn the language and claim they get a lot out of it.

And those who don't want to make the effort who stay bitter, negative, try to convince themselves that it is a waste of time anyway, ... and are stuck in the farang world (and the bar scene).

Up to you... But to be happier here you need the local language (as it would be the case in Spain, Togo, Brazil or the UK).

(To come back to the ED visa, I don't think any farang wants that visa to come to learn Thai from abroad. The Farangs who want an ED visa want it because it is a cheap way to stay in Thailand (for a while)).

[jacky54]

You don't know what you are missing by not understating and speaking fluent Thai.

Nothing to do with being grumpy and I do understand it, just think of all those riveting conversations about food, last nights lakorn and who the woman over the road is having it off with I am missing out on, I can do without contributing to 99% of 'conversation' here thank you.

[brewsterbudgen]

The principle advantage of being "fluent" in Thai seems to be so you can patronise those who aren't!