Is it really better to learn Thai rather than staying "clueless"?

[Henderson]

Do you think that Thailand is a better place when you don't understand the language, are not exposed to silly tv advertisements, telenovelas, news, useless gossip from the people around you etc. and just see & know the "good things in life" that Thailand has to offer?

Ofcours that this is a question which is valid for every country and not just Thailand.

I would love to hear the opinions of people who speak fluent Thai (before & after

Thx.

[rocketboybkk]

Or the OP could kill himself if he's that fed up.

Why not? Nothing to live for, friends getting on his nerves, no future.

Best to be dead for everyone's sake.

I suggest that or finding new friends who don't winge so much

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[surangw]

you'll be able to understand the insults said behind your back ( or to your face while smiling)

[CharlieH]

MOVED to Expat forum

[Henderson]

Or the OP could kill himself if he's that fed up.

Why not? Nothing to live for, friends getting on his nerves, no future.

Best to be dead for everyone's sake.

I suggest that or finding new friends who don't winge so much

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I have no idea why you think that I don't like my friends lol, and I have plenty to live for thank you very much

You got this all wrong man.

"you'll be able to understand the insults said behind your back ( or to your face while smiling)" you see? someone did understood my point.

[SoiBiker]

Is willful ignorance a good thing?

No.

[Henderson]

Is willful ignorance a good thing?

No.

Well, assuming a person only have English speaking falangs & Thai friends, wouldn't it be better without the understanding of the "complex" lyrics of the Thai songs in the radio? wouldn't it be nicer to enjoy these songs? and do you really want to understand what they say in those Thai tv shows that your girl watches when you read your emails?

What about the woman in the market who just sold you tomatoes but must comment on the fact you have a big head/small/big ears/ugly/fat wife/gf/shoes or something of this sort.

You know what I mean... you know she probably said something nasty but you don't care as you don't understand what she said and you still got cheap tomatoes and a smile

I wouldn't call it willful ignorance, I'd call it putting a mosquito net to avoid the bites (you know the mosquitoes are there, you care less

[JLCrab]

Sometimes when you don't speak the language, and you hear two persons conversing in a language that you do not understand, you think 'So what are they saying about me?' when they really could care less about you and are saying:

What'd you have for dinner last night? Meatloaf. I hate meat loaf . Yeah -- me too.

[smokie36]

Arai na?

[Gecko123]

OP:

I can't help but wonder if there isn't an element of racism in the very posing of your question.

If you asked if it was worth learning French on a French expat website, you'd be laughed off the stage for even asking.

Of course learning the language will richly increase your understanding of the culture and people and enrich your experience here.

[JLCrab]

Learning a language is in some ways like math, or music, or some sports. For some it comes easy; for others, they can try diligently and it never works. So can someone make a life for themselves in Thailand and never learn the language? I guess so. Is there any great advantage to NOT learning the language? I din't think so.

[ramrod45]

I think the Op has a point. When you can't read or speak Thai, basically you just tend to pay less attention to things that could annoy you otherwise. All those garish big billboards I hardly glance at, since I can't read them anyways. I don't care about overhearing a conversation, so I just tune it out. And I've gotten along fine for three years here with bare minimum Thai. I don't care if my girlfriend watches Thai soaps or sits on her phone all day, because I don't want a Thai girlfriend. I really wouldn't want to listen anyways. I don't even watch TV over here. I'm sure it's nice to speak Thai. I took many lessons, but I didn't relocate here to do homework, study for hours, and get frustrated. I would say that not knowing Thai affects my life by maybe 10%. Maybe if you live more in the village, or have a bunch of Thai friends it is nice, but I don't, so the need is much more minimal. As another Op said, learning a language may be easy for some, more difficult for others. I don't think living here means you need to learn the language (beyond some minimal words/phrases), but I don't think it's a requirement anywhere you live. I know Thai people in the US that speak no English, so it's not just one way.

[umbanda]

You are not living in Thailand if you cannot speak Thai.....You will be living in a world you invented....until facing the truth.

I know that..because I am stupid....

[richard_smith237]

Speaking Thai hasn't enriched my experience of Thailand... it has however made my experience and life in Thailand much more normal.

When you can get around in a taxi, order food in any restaurant and simply exist without relying on someone else to translate for you or without having to remain solely in area's with a high tourist footfall life can become more relaxing.

Is it really better to learn Thai? if you plan on staying here for a year or two then perhaps not, if however, you plan on remaining in Thailand not learning Thai would seem daft.

If people are honest with themselves, regardless of the multitude of excuses they can come up with the only real reason for not learning Thai when living in Thailand is laziness.

Laziness is my excuse for not being more proficient in Speaking Thai (I can't read) although I could list more excuses such as my Wife and Thai friends who all speak English fluently, little exposure to non-English speaking Thais and the little exposure I do have involves relatively simple conversations I can readily handle.

[CaptHaddock]

Ignorance has always found many champions at TV.

[MisterTee]

Some people have an aptitude for learning languages - some don't.

I was born without one, but overcame it to learn Thai.

I didn't want my Thai family and children to see me as an illiterate who couldn't speak the language.

[CaptHaddock]

Some people have an aptitude for learning languages - some don't.

I was born without one, but overcame it to learn Thai.

I didn't want my Thai family and children to see me as an illiterate who couldn't speak the language.

It's more the case that some people have the motivation and others don't. Of course, some are better at it than others, but that is true of every field of study and not a reason to excuse some students from learning to read, play a sport, or learn another language.

[JLCrab]

For me, one of the joys of living in Thailand is meeting Thai women who speak no English and have maybe never before even met a farang.

So to those who prefer not to learn the language, that's just fine by me.

[tigerfish]

learn Thai, let them think farang no understand and then............................ the expression on their face is priceless !

[MaeJoMTB]

What Thai language are you talking about?

Thai news often has video with Central Thai subtitles, cos there are so many (mutually incomprehensible) variants.

I speak central Thai quite well, so all the Thais around me instantly switch to Lanna, Issan, Southern or one of the village variants, once they can see me following their conversations.

[Aforek]

For me, one of the joys of living in Thailand is meeting Thai women who speak no English and have maybe never before even met a farang.

So to those who prefer not to learn the language, that's just fine by me.

Same for me, I have a relationship with Thai women I woudn't have if I spoke English with them ( first, my GF ) l

not seen yet on this thread : when I am outside, I love to read ( and understand ) the writing on boards, signs on shops , road signs etc

priceless for me , I am not blind in Thailand !

[Henderson]

You are not living in Thailand if you cannot speak Thai.....You will be living in a world you invented....until facing the truth.

I know that..because I am stupid....

People who are living in Pattaya, Phuket, Samui etc. live in an "invented" place which is in no means considered normal according to western standard but it's still the REAL world, it's simply the world which they and others have created/custom built in order to experience the experiences which they want to have and remove the unwanted experiences from their lives (as much as they can)

"You Don't learn the Thai language, the story ends. You wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe.

You learn the Thai language, you stay in wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes...

[JLCrab]

What Thai language are you talking about?

Thai news often has video with Central Thai subtitles, cos there are so many (mutually incomprehensible) variants.

I speak central Thai quite well, so all the Thais around me instantly switch to Lanna, Issan, Southern or one of the village variants, once they can see me following their conversations.

I learned years ago in PRChina to look -- when the above happens -- that you don't have the slightest bit of interest in what they are saying and, if it is important that you do understand what was said at some later point, someone will then inform of what was said in a language/dialect that you understand.

[KhunBENQ]

Not much to add, basically all said.

So getting back to the opening post:

Do you think that Thailand is a better place when you don't understand the language

No.

[Berkshire]

For me, one of the joys of living in Thailand is meeting Thai women who speak no English and have maybe never before even met a farang.

So to those who prefer not to learn the language, that's just fine by me.

Agree. I prefer Thai women who cannot speak English. These "normal" Thai women--who represent the majority by the way--are much less likely to be "in the business" and don't have "fleece the farang" as their number one goal in life. Yes, there are some English-speaking Thai women who are not on the take. But I'd rather take my chances with the non-English speaking ones. There's also many more attractive ones to choose from.

[rgs2001uk]

^^^^, you forgot to mention that in adition to the Thai women, there are the Burmese and Laos women who speak no English, but speak Thai.

[richard_smith237]

For me, one of the joys of living in Thailand is meeting Thai women who speak no English and have maybe never before even met a farang.

So to those who prefer not to learn the language, that's just fine by me.

Agree. I prefer Thai women who cannot speak English. These "normal" Thai women--who represent the majority by the way--are much less likely to be "in the business" and don't have "fleece the farang" as their number one goal in life. Yes, there are some English-speaking Thai women who are not on the take. But I'd rather take my chances with the non-English speaking ones. There's also many more attractive ones to choose from.

This comment is just a bit silly... Unless you are intent on mediocrity.....not to suggest that all non-English speaking respectable ladies are mediocre, but why limit yourself?

There are a multitude of respectable, educated and economically independent ladies who speak English... flight attendants, lawyers, designers, Managing Directors... all open minded enough to become friends when introduced and perhaps after a handful of meetings a relationship develops. This is my experience and that of many of my friends

Meeting ladies of a similar age when we were in our late 20's and early 30's may have also been a factor in meeting ladies who are not so 'fiscally fierce' and greedy.

Of course, avoid the 'occupational farang hunters'.... but this group of English speaking ladies are fairly easy to recognise and avoid.

If you speak Thai you will have the benefit of meeting people who both do and don't speak English, you'll also get a greater understanding of who you are dealing with and how to gauge them and their attitudes.

[Stan42]

I speak Thai fluently without even an accent, and I can say from personal experience that it gives you a huge advantage (Knowing the language of the country you're actually living in, duh).

Sure, you know what people are saying behind your back, good for you, but it also helps me a lot when dealing with:

-Police

-Doctors

-Authorities

-Bargaining

-Ordering food

-Asking for directions

The list goes on. If you plan on living here, learn the language. It becomes harder the older you get, but it's totally worth it.

[shaggy851]

What Thai language are you talking about?

Thai news often has video with Central Thai subtitles, cos there are so many (mutually incomprehensible) variants.

I speak central Thai quite well, so all the Thais around me instantly switch to Lanna, Issan, Southern or one of the village variants, once they can see me following their conversations.

Thats annoying. Or rapid thai or issan. I was in a minivan in phuket and they were shocked when i asked if they mind stopping at big4 for 5min in (central) thai. They completely stopped talking until i put them at ease and said i only understand if they speak really slow

[richard_smith237]

I speak Thai fluently without even an accent, and I can say from personal experience that it gives you a huge advantage (Knowing the language of the country you're actually living in, duh).

Sure, you know what people are saying behind your back, good for you, but it also helps me a lot when dealing with:

-Police

-Doctors

-Authorities

-Bargaining

-Ordering food

-Asking for directions

The list goes on. If you plan on living here, learn the language. It becomes harder the older you get, but it's totally worth it.

Impressive... I'm far from fluent and consider that I can 'get by'...

Asking for Directions, Ordering food, Bargaining etc... all involve a fairly simple level of Thai.

I can get by dealing with the Police but would much prefer to be fluent when doing so... That said, when facing an issue I have RTP friends I would call if things are getting sticky.

Authorities - Speaking Thai definitely helps - The level of Thai needs to be advanced to understand the dialogue involved.

Doctors - I only speak English with Doctors - I expect them to be fluent in English, this avoids any misunderstanding or ambiguity on my part (English is a far more specific language).

Addition:

In-Laws: I'd like to be more fluent so that when I'm at dinner with my In Laws (who are not fluent in English) we don't have to switch back and forth between Thai and English.

Edited June 29, 2015 by richard_smith237