The perfect reason for NOT learning Thai.

[pieeyed]

The odd grunt, pointing of the finger or jerk of the head is usually sufficient.

[AnotherOneAmerican]

When living in thailand not knowing the language makes the most simples things sometimes a big mission.. Try explaining your destination to a moto taxi who doesnt know english before I knew thai often ended up going a way I didnt want too. Then there is food... Such a simple thing but my friends that dont know thai have fried rice for nearly every meal when ordering as its all they know or chicken rice.

Trivial reasons to learn Thai,

Moto taxi driver doesn't know where to go no matter what language you and he speak, that's why he is a motorcycle taxi driver.

Food, you don't need to know the language to order your favourite dish, unless you are a moron (or blind and can't point to the photo).

[AnotherOneAmerican]

I've heard this one a few times too. "All the talk about is food and you." I'll say this though: I once met a guy who couldn't speak Thai well, and his kids couldn't speak English; he said he couldn't talk to his children about anything important. That's really sad.

I can't talk to my kid about anything important, it's probably because he's 3 and has nothing important to say.

[swampdonkey]

Let me get this right...the wrong mattress went on the wrong bed.

Why don't you and the Missus move it yourselves.

Swallow the pride old son. Nobody will see you lose face - close all the curtains/blinds first.

I read the bit about it weighing 4 tons - come on lets get real!!

It might be awkward to handle but it's still only a mattress.

I agree how is it even possible for 4 people to carry the mattress

[micmichd]

If he's Farang, he might have failed to get out of the bed when they came up with the mattress.

[mikemac]

I've heard this one a few times too. "All the talk about is food and you." I'll say this though: I once met a guy who couldn't speak Thai well, and his kids couldn't speak English; he said he couldn't talk to his children about anything important. That's really sad.

I can't talk to my kid about anything important, it's probably because he's 3 and has nothing important to say.

My son is only 16 months old and is already making more sense than some of our fellow TVF members.

[Sirbergan]

Guess intelligence is more than "what is measured by IQ", and many manual workers in fact score a high IQ, without formal higher education.

Intelligence is the ability to cope with a situation, by learning about the situation and/or changing it.

I can solve formal mathematical or legal problems, but I'm too stupid to milk a cow.

Believe it or not, but there are many ways to become a good problem solver. Formal education is not a necessity at all in that regard, but it is always an advantage to have proof of the knowledge you possess.

Might not have been your intention, but your last sentence reeks of a sense of superiority.

[AnotherOneAmerican]

Guess intelligence is more than "what is measured by IQ", and many manual workers in fact score a high IQ, without formal higher education.

Intelligence is the ability to cope with a situation, by learning about the situation and/or changing it.

I can solve formal mathematical or legal problems, but I'm too stupid to milk a cow.

Come the zombie apocalypse, peak oil, extinction level event, alien invasion .........

They will survive and you will starve.

[ATF]

A high IQ without education is like a car without wheels. People with high IQ's usually figure this out or educate themselves.

The others usually end up as street smart hustlers working on the fringes of the law or out and out gangsters.

[wow64]

When living in thailand not knowing the language makes the most simples things sometimes a big mission.. Try explaining your destination to a moto taxi who doesnt know english before I knew thai often ended up going a way I didnt want too. Then there is food... Such a simple thing but my friends that dont know thai have fried rice for nearly every meal when ordering as its all they know or chicken rice.

Trivial reasons to learn Thai,

Moto taxi driver doesn't know where to go no matter what language you and he speak, that's why he is a motorcycle taxi driver.

Food, you don't need to know the language to order your favourite dish, unless you are a moron (or blind and can't point to the photo).

Yes I know this is trivial.. But not every resturant has pictures.. And you cant always tell if something is not to your taste just by pictures. These are just 2 examples.. There are many. If you dont want to learn thai that is fine but I do think it makes things easier.. Also helps me not get ripped off.

What do you think of people that live in America and cannot speak English? There are many.

Sent from my c64

[wow64]

A high IQ without education is like a car without wheels. People with high IQ's usually figure this out or educate themselves.

The others usually end up as street smart hustlers working on the fringes of the law or out and out gangsters.

Awesome... If you have a high IQ but no formal education you end up as a gangster.. Umm anything to base this off?

Sent from my c64

[Luxfare]

Well those are 3 minutes of my life I'll never get back. Living in a nation for 18 years and not learning the language is simply laziness and lacking respect. I'd love to know what your wife says behind your back.

[micmichd]

Not so easy if you're a qualified social researcher and do field research (participant observation) with the marginalized, eg immigrants, criminals and mentally sick. You have to change sides for a while, and it's really hard to return.

Latinos in USA should of course learn the language, but their teachers should learn non-verbal communication, too. Don't know if this is compulsory for US English teachers.

[garrya]

Never have I understood how the one can live in a country not speaking the local language. The mind boggles.

[brewsterbudgen]

Never have I understood how the one can live in a country not speaking the local language. The mind boggles.

What do you mean by "not speaking"? I don't want to unduly boggle your mind, but living in Bangkok is perfectly feasible without much Thai.

[manarak]

Many Thais are 'shy' and don't want to cause displeasure to others.

Especially working class Thais behave like that.

On the other hand, some Thais have no qualms about talking, asking and demanding. Usually they get rich pretty quickly if this is paired with intelligence.

[ATF]

wow64, on 18 Jan 2015 - 16:57, said:

ATF, on 18 Jan 2015 - 16:25, said:

A high IQ without education is like a car without wheels. People with high IQ's usually figure this out or educate themselves.

The others usually end up as street smart hustlers working on the fringes of the law or out and out gangsters.

Awesome... If you have a high IQ but no formal education you end up as a gangster.. Umm anything to base this off?

Sent from my c64

Running a criminal organization is no different from running a legitimate one except it's illegal. Seems it's mostly people with low IQ's in prison while their masters are living the high life. Pablo Escobar, Bernie Madoff plus many others were and are geniuses the list is endless.

[MiKT]

IMHO anybody who has lived in Thailand for an extended period of time(lets say a few years)and refuses to learn the language is either bone lazy,stupid,immature or has an superior complex. Try and learn and you will get an entire new outlook on Thailand and the Thai people. Big advantage.

I was a teenage idol, irredeemably immature and incredibly superior, but I am not stupid enough to make a blanket statement like that.

[micmichd]

wow64, on 18 Jan 2015 - 16:57, said:

ATF, on 18 Jan 2015 - 16:25, said:

A high IQ without education is like a car without wheels. People with high IQ's usually figure this out or educate themselves.

The others usually end up as street smart hustlers working on the fringes of the law or out and out gangsters.

Awesome... If you have a high IQ but no formal education you end up as a gangster.. Umm anything to base this off?

Sent from my c64

Running a criminal organization is no different from running a legitimate one except it's illegal. Seems it's mostly people with low IQ's in prison while their masters are living the high life. Pablo Escobar, Bernie Madoff plus many others were and are geniuses the list is endless.

Precisely. It's only different labels applied to an identical organization.

[nisakiman]

Downside of learning Thai is that you get to hear what the majority of Thai people talk about on a daily basis: the most inane, trivial conversations and gossip that I've ever heard in my life. Yes, you can become totally fluent in Thai with a lot of work, but then what are you going to talk about? When I reached a level where I could understand 75% or so of what I heard around me, I completely lost interest in the language.

It's not the first time I've heard this feedback. I met a few British expats (age mid 50s onwards) living on Crete this year and spent a few hours hearing about their experience of living there. All but one of them was now fluent in Greek. Many positives from them about living there, but their main complaint echos what you say here, that on the whole the local conversation is inane and predictable.

Yeah, the Greeks like to talk about all sorts of inane things. A particular favourite is the weather. And whether Panathinaikos are going to beat Olimpiakos this year. And how tourism is down - again - this year.

Pretty much like the Brits, really. And I would guess most other nations. It's not often you go into a pub in the UK and hear a couple of beer swillers discussing the merits of 'Hamlet' as opposed to 'King Lear', or the finer points of Plato's philosophies.

And I imagine the Thais are pretty similar. Small talk is the grease that oils the wheels. Don't knock it.

[tifino]

in the car almost to the temple, and a back seat full of stuff for making merit with the Ajan.

Now, getting the stuff out, I asked wifey let me speak first when greeting Ajan for 'sanga thaan'

Now I know I got the pronounciation correct, but wifey is looking at me like a 3 yrr old as she winces, grimaces and repeats 'sanga thaan' at my face as we walk closer to the temple.

I accelerate and get to the door first. Ajan opens the door and I sabaidee him (he's actually lao), and follow on with the words we are returning today for Sanga Thaan.

He now looks at me silly and says he doesn't know what I am trying to say. He repeats this to me back in English, still confused he is...

... we both turn and walk back towards car and wifey.

I say to her I have said it correctly, but he don't understand, and I follow on that it may be because he is Lao and can't get the accent?

wifey repeats the greeting and 'sanga thaan',and he instantly smiling clasping his hands and nodding.

I don't get it. Why do we try so hard? I've heard of this all before that when a thai etc hears a farang say something, that it cannot be absorbed unless a Thai etc is actually saying it.

And yes, wifey did finally admit I was saying it correctly...

Thai...Lao...Pali - all the same universal problem for a farang who is trying to do the right thing

[SoiBiker]

Ah, the old 'i speak Thai perfectly, so why can't the locals understand me?' delusion.

[AnotherOneAmerican]

Ah, the old 'i speak Thai perfectly, so why can't the locals understand me?' delusion.

You don't speak Thai at all, what's your excuse?

[SoiBiker]

Ah, the old 'i speak Thai perfectly, so why can't the locals understand me?' delusion.

You don't speak Thai at all, what's your excuse?

What makes you assume I can't speak Thai at all?

[Showbags]

The perfect reason not to speak thai....inlaws

[The Deerhunter]

Almost everyone on TVF is fluent in Thai...................

................until you meet them.

Even those who have been in Thailand a month.

Well it does go with the half Chinese wifey toooooo..............

You mean the half Chinese hi-so wifey with doctorates from Harvard and Oxford

Well, that describes my wife to a tee. Also a stunning looker, a 100,000B a month career job, a cordon bleu French chef, a monogamist nymphomaniac and a member of Mensa

[Lammbock]

My wife speaks Thai and if I want something I do tell her to make it clear to the clerks.

If she is not around I use my smartphone to translate or Google a picture of what I want.

[The Deerhunter]

Let me get this right...the wrong mattress went on the wrong bed.

Why don't you and the Missus move it yourselves.

Swallow the pride old son. Nobody will see you lose face - close all the curtains/blinds first.

I read the bit about it weighing 4 tons - come on lets get real!!

It might be awkward to handle but it's still only a mattress.

But you didn't (get it right). The mattress story is not the actual problem; it's only the context. And even if it had been quickly and easily solved, it would still be the context for a deeper—and apparently intractable—problem. Of course, if anybody thinks my interpretation is invalid, please feel free to let the flaming continue! Lmao

Wrongly made mattress: You failed to explain adequately in whichever language. They did not understand & did not want to lose face by admitting they did not understand, (or to save you from losing face for the same reason.) They wanted the job (money) so made something anyway. Of course you pay for their mistakes. You are a farang in Thailand so firstly you are always wrong, and secondly, as a farang, you are a millionaire anyway so why worry?

[ggt]

I have never found the inability of being able to speak the language a problem,

I suppose if you do not know what is being said by Thais...there is less chance for you to become pissed at how you are being perceived...

Knowing the Thai language is important if you do not want to live in isolation...never immersing one's self in Thai culture...how boring...

Tell me, what do you mean by Thai 'culture'?

I'm here for my partner. I've lost any interest I ever had in Thai 'culture' long ago. But do go on and enlighten us about what it is and how you have gone about immersing yourself in it.

Ignorance they say...is bliss...you make my point exactly...enjoy your stay...in this foreign country...

[micmichd]

Guess intelligence is more than "what is measured by IQ", and many manual workers in fact score a high IQ, without formal higher education.

Intelligence is the ability to cope with a situation, by learning about the situation and/or changing it.

I can solve formal mathematical or legal problems, but I'm too stupid to milk a cow.

Believe it or not, but there are many ways to become a good problem solver. Formal education is not a necessity at all in that regard, but it is always an advantage to have proof of the knowledge you possess.

Might not have been your intention, but your last sentence reeks of a sense of superiority.

Sorry, too long ago I saw a cow being milked in Europe, and I never saw one in Thailand. But looking on Google images, I guess I know what you mean. No comment