gerry123 Posted December 11, 2014 Share Posted December 11, 2014 i would if i could but i don't so i wont Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asdecas Posted December 11, 2014 Share Posted December 11, 2014 We tried it a few times but since my wife is also English it was hard going, even with two dictionaries open between us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
azaazo9 Posted December 11, 2014 Share Posted December 11, 2014 (edited) The question is - expats do you speak Thai at home...? But are men, who came to Thailand to marry and settle down with their Thai partners, real expats? I don't think so. Edited December 11, 2014 by azaazo9 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elliottm Posted December 11, 2014 Share Posted December 11, 2014 Speak Thinglish, intermingling Thai words/phrases, wife speaks good English & there's only us two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ATF Posted December 11, 2014 Share Posted December 11, 2014 Speak both depends who starts speaking seem to flip back and forth all the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elliottm Posted December 11, 2014 Share Posted December 11, 2014 The question is - expats do you speak Thai at home...? But are men, who came to Thailand to marry and settle down with their Thai partners, real expats? I don't think so. Yes, I wondered if OP was loading the term. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simon43 Posted December 11, 2014 Author Share Posted December 11, 2014 I understood from previous posts you had spat the dummy and was going to Myanmar? Please try to keep up I was working for 18 months in Myanmar a couple of years ago, then 6 months in Laos, then back home to Phuket In Myanmar, I had to speak/write in Myanmar sa (Burmese) with the younger locals, because although the older folks spoke good English, the younger generation did not. In Laos, I spoke/wrote in Lao as was required by the job.. In Phuket, I avoid speaking any 'southern Thai', in case folks mistake me for a taxi driver... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simon43 Posted December 11, 2014 Author Share Posted December 11, 2014 We tried it a few times but since my wife is also English it was hard going, even with two dictionaries open between us. Totally off-topic, but can't resist adding this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6D1YI-41ao Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJcm Posted December 11, 2014 Share Posted December 11, 2014 I dream in Spanish, speak Thai to the family and for best results with bar girls always speak English. Me hansome man money big big Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Aleman Posted December 11, 2014 Share Posted December 11, 2014 In my 10 years here I have never : Removed my shoes Worn sandals Bowed to anyone Eaten any Thai...................... dishes ? Worn anything but a regular shirt - with short/long sleeves Additionally when you cross my threshold -- you are in Chicago - the small, sane part remaining and women are encouraged to remove ALL clothing ! We eat meat/potatoes/all identifiable veggies/hamburgers/hotdogs/jello/ peanut butter/pizza, ( no Ka Ka seafood/Hawaiian krap), drink anything containing alcohol, tell whoppers, ( lies not burgers), & laugh a lot, ( not the Thais who simply have no sense of Western humor). More than you wished to know but I am sick to death of learning/teaching diversity & if someone doesn't understand me - to hell with them ! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdinasia Posted December 11, 2014 Share Posted December 11, 2014 I never speak Thai with my husband. He is fluent in English. I speak Thai at work, outside the house, on the phone etc. But not at home Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gecko123 Posted December 11, 2014 Share Posted December 11, 2014 (edited) The question is - expats do you speak Thai at home...? But are men, who came to Thailand to marry and settle down with their Thai partners, real expats? I don't think so. Huh??? This makes absolutely no sense to me. Please explain. Edited December 11, 2014 by Gecko123 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdinasia Posted December 11, 2014 Share Posted December 11, 2014 The question is - expats do you speak Thai at home...? But are men, who came to Thailand to marry and settle down with their Thai partners, real expats? I don't think so. The definition of expatriate is someone living outside of their country. So married or not, expatriate until naturalized. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
azaazo9 Posted December 11, 2014 Share Posted December 11, 2014 By definition they are expats, but most of them want to be naturalized and stay in Thailand for a long period. So, by mentality they are not expats. In fact, Thailand is not a real expat environment like for example Singapore or Dubai. . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gecko123 Posted December 11, 2014 Share Posted December 11, 2014 By definition they are expats, but most of them want to be naturalized and stay in Thailand for a long period. So, by mentality they are not expats. In fact, Thailand is not a real expat environment like for example Singapore or Dubai. . azaazo9: You're making up your own private dictionary definitions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tutsiwarrior Posted December 11, 2014 Share Posted December 11, 2014 (edited) I speak pidgin with my wife as that's the way that we've always communicated...I speak in limited thai with the rest of the family, mostly with the MiL and the kids...most of the men pretend to not understand what I'm saying... and I'm quite sure that my 21 y.o. step daughter understands english but she does't reveal this to anyone...she is a smart cookie and a sneaky little wench and I can't help but love her... Edited December 11, 2014 by tutsiwarrior 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canuckamuck Posted December 11, 2014 Share Posted December 11, 2014 I speak Thai with the relatives and the help, I speak English to my kids. My wife refuses to speak Thai to me so it's English with her too. But nearly all of them speak Karen and I don't, so I usually don't have a clue what is going on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tchooptip Posted December 11, 2014 Share Posted December 11, 2014 Ha sip Ha sip for the moment my Thai is improving so I hope I will be able to speak only Thai in the future, but my wife insist we'll always speak English for her practicing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lucifer666 Posted December 11, 2014 Share Posted December 11, 2014 Myself and my better half speak a mixture of Thai and English at home. She helps my Thai and i help her English Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bikerlou47 Posted December 11, 2014 Share Posted December 11, 2014 Thai not allowed in the home! EVER! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmsally Posted December 11, 2014 Share Posted December 11, 2014 I find Thai good for the basics in life but for most kind of intellectual conversations it falls short. Even after many years it has to be a good dose of English to stop me slipping into early Alzheimers ! Although English can be too analytical for many Thais and drive them slowly mental, so you have to strike a balance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carter1882 Posted December 11, 2014 Share Posted December 11, 2014 Before my toddler went on a seven week trip with mum to Loei her favourite word was ' mai' (no) . Since she came back her new favourite is 'bor' (no in isaan). Oh well; my children, the grown up ones and toddler are the only Thais i speak English with almost exclusively. With everybody else at home or out it is nearly always Thai. I learnt to speak , read and write Thai when i was first here in the early eighties and it has helped to make my life fulfilled and happy in so many ways. It also directly helped to make me a rather tidy sum of money. Just call me retired, 53 and happy in Thailand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThaiSanookGuy Posted December 11, 2014 Share Posted December 11, 2014 This language being one of the unclear that I know I would never use it at home... The more I speak fluently and understand them the more it explains the way they are... English has always been the best and will always be (sorry for the French) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThaiSanookGuy Posted December 11, 2014 Share Posted December 11, 2014 I find Thai good for the basics in life but for most kind of intellectual conversations it falls short. Even after many years it has to be a good dose of English to stop me slipping into early Alzheimers ! Although English can be too analytical for many Thais and drive them slowly mental, so you have to strike a balance. Totally agree, and people who do not understand this just understand nothing and for sure not Thai and Thai language. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luangtom Posted December 11, 2014 Share Posted December 11, 2014 I sit and read all of these posts and smile. We live in the USA most of the time, staying in Thailand but a month or so annually. We live an hour and a half Northeast of Atlanta within an enclave of Lao and Lao-Isaan immigrants. Some have been here since the fall of Laos in 1975. A majority of those immigrants speak no English, yet they survive and get by. If a need arises, they find a next-generation family-member or someone like me to get them through their dilemma. People adapt and problem-solve as their needs change. So, if you get along without speaking Thai while living in Thailand, go for it. Basics and survival mode occur everywhere. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdinasia Posted December 11, 2014 Share Posted December 11, 2014 By definition they are expats, but most of them want to be naturalized and stay in Thailand for a long period. So, by mentality they are not expats. In fact, Thailand is not a real expat environment like for example Singapore or Dubai. . Desire to be naturalized has no bearing on the definition. Your fact has no relation to reality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chonburiram Posted December 11, 2014 Share Posted December 11, 2014 At home, after nearly 20 years, communication works nonverbal... looks and facial impression is all we need. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoiBiker Posted December 11, 2014 Share Posted December 11, 2014 No, we don't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misterphil Posted December 11, 2014 Share Posted December 11, 2014 50/50 English/Thai in our house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ggt Posted December 11, 2014 Share Posted December 11, 2014 I like to try to speak Thai everywhere...it helps me to learn new words and gives me more confidence to use the language... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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