Why is English the Universal Language of A.S.E.A.N?

[TuskegeeBen]

FACT ~ English is one, of several Teutonic languages, rooted in the precision based (Anglo-Saxon) form of the Germanic communication platform. It is a precise, (undiplomatic) direct-to-the-point language medium, utilized either in the written or oral expressionist form of one’s individual thoughts. English is also the (more easily pronounced than German) Hallmark version of precision-speaking languages (what you say, is precisely what you mean).

My hypothesis ~ It is for that very reason, why many people (worldwide, especially in China) have chosen English, as their preferred second language medium, for communicating cross-culturally.

English language proficiency eliminates the possibility of misunderstandings. It is also for that same reason, English is the universally preferred language of communication (among other SE Asian people), especially in preparation of the coming ASEAN Trade Agreement event, of 2016. That event has been 50-years, in the developmental process.

Unfortunately, The People of Thailand (in general), despite their ready availability to First World infrastructure, are neither academically prepared, nor sociologically adept, to meet the ASEAN event with either open arms,……and/or their usual smiling faces. The new generation of farangs will be Asians, many of whom sport the exact same physical characteristics, as do the Thais. Will the Thai people greet their regional neighbors, happily ? Indeed! It will definitely be an interesting event to observe, especially from the western farang spectator sidelines, of course.

Anyone, caring to share their considered opinion, as to the reasons why the Thais are not ready, and/or the aftermath probability factors, please do so? All opinions, are most welcomed.

Thank you, let's g ,

Edited November 5, 2015 by TuskegeeBen

[NativeSon360]

I like the body of your hypothesis. Very interesting topic of discussion. Indeed, it will be a very interesting turn of events to watch, as you say, from the sidelines. However the title of your OP seems to be dual pronged, in purpose. Was that a deliberate ploy to eliminate the possible trollers, or what? Just curious.

Edited November 5, 2015 by NativeSon360

[TuskegeeBen]

Exactamundo! I really don't expect much, in terms of reciprocal academic replies to my OP, all things considered of the average TVF mentality norm. Actually the fewer, the better. Thanks

Edited November 5, 2015 by TuskegeeBen

[slapout]

I think the biggest problem Thailand has is the country has so many dialets/ versions of the Thai language that the teachers teaching English in a provience school may/ likely come from the an area that their Thai is not fully understood by the students in the English class, much less their use of english.

It is my opinion the teachers are not assigned to teach in areas where they are familiar with local (not their home provience) language althought its all referred to as Thai.

So they are fighting 2 language barriers in many cases, thus a self infliicted hurddle that the ''brain trust'referred to as Ministery of Education seems to have overlooked .

I have listened to some aussies, Irish, Welsh, etc speaking English that I could only pick up on /understand about 1/3 of what they were saying, much less understand what they meant. Just my thought on the topic.

[gerry123]

I think the biggest problem Thailand has is the country has so many dialets/ versions of the Thai language that the teachers teaching English in a provience school may/ likely come from the an area that their Thai is not fully understood by the students in the English class, much less their use of english.

It is my opinion the teachers are not assigned to teach in areas where they are familiar with local (not their home provience) language althought its all referred to as Thai.

So they are fighting 2 language barriers in many cases, thus a self infliicted hurddle that the ''brain trust'referred to as Ministery of Education seems to have overlooked .

I have listened to some aussies, Irish, Welsh, etc speaking English that I could only pick up on /understand about 1/3 of what they were saying, much less understand what they meant. Just my thought on the topic.

hey don't leave out the Devonians /and our mates the Cornish

[NativeSon360]

I think the biggest problem Thailand has is the country has so many dialets/ versions of the Thai language that the teachers teaching English in a provience school may/ likely come from the an area that their Thai is not fully understood by the students in the English class, much less their use of english.

It is my opinion the teachers are not assigned to teach in areas where they are familiar with local (not their home provience) language althought its all referred to as Thai.

So they are fighting 2 language barriers in many cases, thus a self infliicted hurddle that the ''brain trust'referred to as Ministery of Education seems to have overlooked .

I have listened to some aussies, Irish, Welsh, etc speaking English that I could only pick up on /understand about 1/3 of what they were saying, much less understand what they meant. Just my thought on the topic.

I agree with your take on the matter 100%, especially regarding brain trust flaws within the MOE, and their attitude toward provincial Thai people. That is an internal Thai tragedy, of its own accord.

And, you are definitely spot-on, re: the many (thick-accented) so-called NES teachers, who themselves cannot speak discernibly clear English, yet are contracted to teach Phonics to Thai students. Go figure?

But what do you suppose will be the turn of events in Bangkok? A 100km radios of Metro Bangkok has got more government & private primary & secondary schools (in terms of the numbers) than the entire country of Malaysia, combined. Then, there is the collective network of colleges and universities (per capita), proliferated thu-out the whole of Thailand. Even in the Thai provinces, if you drive 20km. in any one direction, you're bound to drive past an educational institution, of some kind. Just my observations, of course.

I understand that Bangkok is the designation hub city for ASEAN. Bangkok is one of the top 20 most internationally recognized cities in the world, yet travelers are hard pressed to find Thai people who can speak even basic English, @ Suvarnabhumi Airport, or the downtown financial district of Bangkok. That is a major point of concern, in my opinion. The average Thai person is really getting a royal screwiing, especially when one considers the current, overall modern national infrastructure of The Kingdom.

I really do feel for the average Thai, who doesn't have the remotest clue. Heaven only knows, how the coming ASEAN event scenario will ultimately play-out, to the benefit of Thai people. Cheers, mate

Edited November 5, 2015 by NativeSon360

[TuskegeeBen]

I think the biggest problem Thailand has is the country has so many dialets/ versions of the Thai language that the teachers teaching English in a provience school may/ likely come from the an area that their Thai is not fully understood by the students in the English class, much less their use of english.

It is my opinion the teachers are not assigned to teach in areas where they are familiar with local (not their home provience) language althought its all referred to as Thai.

So they are fighting 2 language barriers in many cases, thus a self infliicted hurddle that the ''brain trust'referred to as Ministery of Education seems to have overlooked .

I have listened to some aussies, Irish, Welsh, etc speaking English that I could only pick up on /understand about 1/3 of what they were saying, much less understand what they meant. Just my thought on the topic.

I agree with your take on the matter 100%, especially regarding brain trust flaws within the MOE, and their attitude toward provincial Thai people. That is an internal Thai tragedy, of its own accord.

And, you are definitely spot-on, re: the many (thick-accented) so-called NES teachers, who themselves cannot speak discernibly clear English, yet are contracted to teach Phonics to Thai students. Go figure?

But what do you suppose will be the turn of events in Bangkok? A 100km radios of Metro Bangkok has got more government & private primary & secondary schools (in terms of the numbers) than the entire country of Malaysia, combined. Then, there is the collective network of colleges and universities (per capita), proliferated thu-out the whole of Thailand. Even in the Thai provinces, if you drive 20km. in any one direction, you're bound to drive past an educational institution, of some kind. Just my observations, of course.

I understand that Bangkok is the designation hub city for ASEAN. Bangkok is one of the top 20 most internationally recognized cities in the world, yet travelers are hard pressed to find Thai people who can speak even basic English, @ Suvarnabhumi Airport, or the downtown financial district of Bangkok. That is a major point of concern, in my opinion. The average Thai person is really getting a royal screwiing, especially when one considers the current, overall modern national infrastructure of The Kingdom.

I really do feel for the average Thai, who doesn't have the remotest clue. Heaven only knows, how the coming ASEAN event scenario will ultimately play-out, to the benefit of Thai people. Cheers, mate

Thank you both, for sharing your points of view. I agree wholeheartedly. I also feel for the average Thai person, who doesn't have the remotest clue of what is about to transpire, during the upcoming transitional event. I just watch, and keep my mouth shut about it, especially around Thai people. I don't try to wake anybody up. They're either awake, when I first meet them, or they're not. Ignorance definitely has a bliss factor. The prevailing wisdom dictates that we let sleeping dogs, continue to sleep,...........soundly!

I know exactly how the scenario will play-out. I watched a similar turn of events played out during the aftermath of the 1960's Civil Rights Movement, and during the Vietnam War (politically) polluted era of U.S.A. history. Governmants are the same world-wide. Thais, just like Americans(US), Aussies & Brits, are a distracted population of people. Thats the name of the game, and thus, the way of the world, I suppose.

Edited November 5, 2015 by TuskegeeBen

[DogNo1]

Well, before we work up too much pity for the ignorant Thais, what percentage of Americans do you think can speak another language with a fair degree of fluency? For that matter, how many Americans can speak correct English? During my years of teaching at a community college in California, 87% of incoming students failed the writing entrance test and had to take remedial English before they could take English 1. It seems that language is difficult for students the world over not to mention literacy across the curriculum.

[spiritrace]

I speak a little French, Spanish, Japanese and Chinese, just enough to get by and not starve or sleep in the cold. But I am having a lot of difficulty learning Thai. My wife is Thai so it's not a lack of exposure.

I have a small theory that speaking Thai creates a different brain wireing than most other languages. I have discussed with other foreigners who speak other languages and it is difficult for them as well. We all agree that learning conversational Thai would help greatly in learning Thai and the same for Thai people learning English.

Most Chinese kids I know refuse to speak Chinese when they learn English. I asked them why and they all said it is easy to convey a message.

It is a strange situation to see this difficulty for Thai people and not Thai trying to learn the Thai language.

Another factor is the facial and toungue muscles are trained differently than even Chinese. Seems a unique thing for the Thai language. Non Chinese speakers can practice and finally get the tonal and muscle changes but in Chinese but Thai is much more difficult.

[DogNo1]

Well, spiritrace, I'm sure that you know that learning a language becomes more difficult as your memory and other powers fade. You are already far ahead of the average American in your foreign language skills. Getting the tones correct is difficult for many students of Thai, but you dealt with tones when you learned Chinese, right? If you know Chinese characters, my hat's off to you. I just can't get them.

[masuk]

I remain amazed that the Thai decision makers don't use the free to air TV and radio more to encourage the use of English.

Countries such as the Philippines and Singapore and Malaysia have a good selection of English channels. I don't know what the Thais have on Kids' TV, but good ol' Sesame Street was a big help to our kids in Australia in their very early years. Are there English education programs shown on TV for school use?

It's interesting that many Burmese working around Chiang Mai seem to have a good grasp of English.

[ggt]

Business my man...business...English has been the go to language for international commerce and the language of choice for the tourist trade...change is a coming...ever so slowly...Chinese is gaining a foothold in the business arena...

Edited November 6, 2015 by ggt

[does]

Isn't the reason why English became the dominate global language because the US became the dominant global power ofter WWII? I think in some ways German is actually more precise.

Regarding learning Thai, I also find it inpossible. I lived in Japan 20 years ago for 7 years and never studied Japanese, but still understand more Japanese than Thai after living here for seven years.

Isn't Thai (like Chinese) a tonal language? That makes it so difficult for me to learn.

[cape]

It would be useful to introduce standard testing into schools and universities to get a measure of any problem here.

Very few Indians speak any English, in percentage terms, yet there is an educated elite that gets the country through communication problems.

By which I mean there is no need to attempt to train everyone. Just focus resources on a self-selctingood group of maybe 5% of the population in education.

[razer]

I have a Taiwanese friend who is a linguist and certified in simultaneous interpretation. He speaks 7 languages fluently. He explained that Chinese would never replace English as an international language because English is a fluid language as opposed to a fixed language meaning that English is always evolving and taking in new words. Example the word computer … in Chinese it is thinking machine. This is one reason English is the most precise language in the world. English adapts to new environments where other languages do not. English is comprised of several languages and is a natural stepping stone to learning other European languages.

I believeThailand has been kept poor and under educated primarily because of the overwhelming corruption in all levels of government leaving higher education for the children of the elite.

The elitist statement of a former Minister of Education a few years ago is a dead give-away of the elitist thinking to keep a cheap labor force of under educated people. Thailand does not need to have English as an official second language because it might give the impression that Thailand was colonized.

[Just1Voice]

My adopted Thai son teaches Advanced Thai Language. 7 years ago I asked him to teach me Thai. He laughed and told me: "Don't waist your time. Learn things you might need, but as for learning how to speak it fluently? Forget it, as 90% of Thai can't speak or write it correctly."

He also believes that the Thai government/elite don't want Thai to learn English, as it might "wake them up" to what's actually going on in the world.

[hugh2121]

My stepson has recently brought home an English text book from school for study. To my great surprise it is written in true English, not American. Americans masquerade by calling very many text books English when they are not written in English at all but American which is a bastardised version of the language much like pigeon English. If Americans want to produce language books please name them for what they are. They are not English but American. Both pronunciation and spelling are different. This is always going to be a problem for people trying to learn the language.

ASEAN have declared their official language to be English. I wonder if it really will be.

[GAZZPA]

I believe you are thinking too much about why English is the chosen language, I don't think it is anything to do with English being a precise language. I think it is quite simply that the USA has been, by far the biggest economy in the World for 40 or 50 years and of course the native language is English.

As the USA has been the target country for trade during Chinas rapid expansion they simply had to learn to communicate in English. This then spread to Europe where of course English was already widely spoken. Then Australia, New Zealand and finally India where the second language is English (for reasons I am sure I don't need to mention).

As more wealth was generated in the Far East more parents decided to send their children for Western Education, which of course is frequently English.

The huge challenge Thailand will face is that as English becomes more important in the Asean (which it already is) the Thai people will not be equipped to deal with it. In the office where i work in Bangkok my immediate subordinates speak English, as do the administrators to perhaps a lesser degree, but thats because I work in International sales and they have to speak English to communicate with other countries. Outside of my department very few of the people speak English to any reasonable standard and do not really care to learn.

Thailand will have to do one of 2 things, either play catch up as soon as possible and instigate an English language program in all schools now,, or in the future Thailand will simply lose jobs to other countries better equipped such as Malaysia.

[Foxy52]

Pretentious pseudo-academic twaddle

[GAZZPA]

My stepson has recently brought home an English text book from school for study. To my great surprise it is written in true English, not American. Americans masquerade by calling very many text books English when they are not written in English at all but American which is a bastardised version of the language much like pigeon English. If Americans want to produce language books please name them for what they are. They are not English but American. Both pronunciation and spelling are different. This is always going to be a problem for people trying to learn the language.

ASEAN have declared their official language to be English. I wonder if it really will be.

It doesn't really matter too much. I do agree that Americans speak English in a slightly different way but please don't forget the English accent varies enormously within the UK itself. If you are talking about "The Queens English" well it is only really spoken across London and the immediate surrounding counties, so actually English spoken that way is very rare, at least by global standards.

My accent is North London / Hertfordshire so I sit in that camp of the Queens English and I would love to hear it spoken, but unlikely I'm afraid.

Any English person can understand American and vice versa, the only exception being very heavy accents, but again this applies both ways. So it isn't too important at the end of the day, we can understand each other and communicate effectively.

[TKDfella]

I'm certainly no expert on languages. I speak a little Chinese, Korean and little bits of one or two ancient ones no longer spoken. When I came to Thailand my wife and her family refused to teach me Thai (won't go into detail) so depended most by exposure and my large Thai language library. What helped is that I was fascinated by Thai. I adopted a system of reading and writing each new word because I thought (rightly or wrongly) some of the Thai culture might be in the language. Many of my Thai students helped me as did many other Thai and corrected me as I went along. I started to Teach 'English conversation' at a 'vocational college' and that's when I found out what problems the students had with English. At that time, years ago, there were very few native English speakers around qualified to teach English Grammar/pronunciation so it was left to the Thai teachers. What really surprised me was that one top grade Thai teacher told me that English is a bad language for expressing emotions, beauty and the like. I replied that this sounded like the opinion of one who could not use the English language properly. To me this also sounded like a kind of reluctance to teach English properly. There was another problem. The difference between English UK and English US and some students found this difficult to cope with because it was almost like learning two languages instead of one. Another failure I found was that the student had little or no idea why English is such a rich and accurate language having a variety 'roots', Norse, French, Latin etc.

I am British, but that doesn't mean I would insist that ASEAN should use English UK because I do appreciate that, computers for example, basically use the US spelling etc. and if one wants something different then one has to install a dictionary of choice. I don't know whether ASEAN has chosen English US or UK to be standard (anyone here know?) but I think Thailand has to decide quickly how it is going to tackle this requirement because, from my experience, they haven't done a good job so far.

[houlicha]

Somewhat off topic, but related to accents and speaking Thai, I had a strange experience a few years back. I was visiting Thailand for business and made an acquaintanceship with a fellow American who has a strong southern drawl. I know only a few dozen words of Thai, but I have an excellent ear for languages, fluent in Mandarin and French. He suggested we take a taxi to dinner (my southern friend) and it was obvious he spoke extensive Thai, being married there for at least 10 years. But as I listened to him speaking to the driver, I was saying to myself his Thai is terrible, he didn't sound like any native Thai speaker or fluent farang I had ever heard. There was a complete lack of tones, just words. But the driver was leaning over and listening intently, and seemed to understand fully. They went back and forth for about 15 minutes, and never once did I hear the driver say "arai?" I had to assume the tonality in Thai is not nearly as important as it is in Chinese.

[rijit]

When i was a kid got told French was gonna be the universal language it ain't why? cos the English have created an industry around its language. No other country had the nouce to do it.nothing to do with.precision or easy to learn,, its just we've gone out to the world AND SOLD ENGLISH. vv simple .

Sent from my GT-I9000 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[sandrabbit]

My understanding is that English is two thirds a Latin language (Latin/French) and one third Germanic with smatterings of other languages due to the effects of colonisation. The Latin influence is from the Norman conquest of 1066 and I would also add that that English is not precise as we have no accents or additional letters like German in the written language to show how to pronounce words when reading so you have to learn by rote how to pronounce certain words. Take for example lead & lead - (leed & led), wallet & ballet is another good example. I'm Welsh so even though I come from a non Welsh speaking area there are a lot of Welsh words mixed in with our language and a similar thing occurs in the NE of England with Scandinavian influence due to the Viking invasion.

Edited November 6, 2015 by sandrabbit

[IAMHERE]

"Anyone, caring to share their considered opinion, as to the reasons why the Thais are not ready, and/or the aftermath probability factors, please do so? "

The rich Thai's are in charge. They are not going to become poor because the Thais are not ready. The aftermath will be that the rich Thais are still rich and the poor will still be poor. Not much downside for the Thai rich or poor.

To consider upside is not the Thai way.

[anon4546543]

English is the universal economic language. It is also the international transport language. Singapore, the economic leader of ASEAN has English as a second language as do the Philippines and Malaysia. It is widely spoken by the elite of all other ASEAN languages. His Royal Highness in Thailand was educated in England. There are about 20 different dialects in Thailand, many which have no similarities. The same with every other ASEAN country. The choice was probably between French and English. English was chosen because of its far reaching international spread.

[TuskegeeBen]

Well, before we work up too much pity for the ignorant Thais, what percentage of Americans do you think can speak another language with a fair degree of fluency? For that matter, how many Americans can speak correct English? During my years of teaching at a community college in California, 87% of incoming students failed the writing entrance test and had to take remedial English before they could take English 1. It seems that language is difficult for students the world over not to mention literacy across the curriculum.

Your point is well-made. However, the OP topic point, is the current comparative platform between Thais, and other citizens of the A.S.E.A.N. region of the globe. It is that specific group that Thais will ultimately compete against, not Americans (a totally different demographic).

Edited November 6, 2015 by TuskegeeBen

[TuskegeeBen]

Business my man...business...English has been the go to language for international commerce and the language of choice for the tourist trade...change is a coming...ever so slowly...Chinese is gaining a foothold in the business arena...

Actually, the Chinese language has long held a strong foothold in Thailand, all things considered, especially among the ethnic Chinese (if you get the drift). Again, English is the preferred (trade negotiations) language, among the very different Asians, mostly due to the preciseness of the English language.

[TuskegeeBen]

English is the universal economic language. It is also the international transport language. Singapore, the economic leader of ASEAN has English as a second language as do the Philippines and Malaysia. It is widely spoken by the elite of all other ASEAN languages. His Royal Highness in Thailand was educated in England. There are about 20 different dialects in Thailand, many which have no similarities. The same with every other ASEAN country. The choice was probably between French and English. English was chosen because of its far reaching international spread.

I believe that English was chosen, not due to the broader international spread, as much as the ease of learning a language devoid of the gender-based accentuations, commonly inherent with the romance languages.

[doneworking]

My Two Pennies worth .. English is regarded as the Language of the Sea ... All communications in ship to ship, ship to port, and ship to coast guard are conducted/ started in English... I also believe that this is the case with air traffic control...