Is it worth learning Thai

[Cheops]

11 hours ago, Destiny1990 said:

The lady from hair salon says i can Phud Phassaa Thai Keng Maak.

Many Thai tell me: khun phud phassaa Thai chad maak muan khon Thai.

[Destiny1990]

25 minutes ago, Cheops said:

Many Thai tell me: khun phud phassaa Thai chad maak muan khon Thai.

Yes but do you believe her? Pom khid wah khaw kohhok nid noi.

[Cheops]

3 hours ago, Destiny1990 said:

Yes but do you believe her? Pom khid wah khaw kohhok nid noi.

Pokkatee khon Thai mai kohhok na 555

[Destiny1990]

39 minutes ago, Cheops said:

Pokkatee khon Thai mai kohhok na 555

Taa raw phud Phassaa Thai thie-nie bang-thie Khun Rimmer Moderator mai tjop? Prohwaa khian thie phassaa Engkrid pen mandatory. Pom mai aw phan haa  kawtjai mai krap? ????????

[myjawe]

On 5/11/2019 at 4:07 PM, edgarfriendly said:

no!!

 

20 yrs of actually understanding all the stupidity has been hell on earth

 

 

 

So true ! Understanding Thai is the best way to hate them more ! Until now you might be thinking that they have nothing smart to say, but if you learn Thai, you will KNOW that they have really nothing useful to say.

 

 

 

[BestB]

22 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

Indeed, not just my Wife, but the many Thai's within our mutual friendship groups who've heard those friends who speak fluent Thai.

 

It would appear that for some inexplicable reason you are unable to accept that there are Westerners in Thailand who speak Thai so well that by ear alone they cannot be recognized as foreigners. I'm not sure why this is, but you've also used flawed argument, there are plenty of migrants who speak fluently with a native tongue such that their foreign origins cannot be guessed upon by ear alone - I know some in the UK.

 

No one speaks fluently overnight - but for those of talented mind and ear, and willing to put in the effort achieving native ability takes perhaps a decade or so.

 

 

 

It would appear you failing to understand speaking fluent and having an accent is NOT the same thing.

 

indians or Filipino speak fluent English that does not mean they do not have an accent and people would “mistaken” them for being native speakers 

[robint]

hee baa 555 wow lao goh dai dee gwa. Cheu len mod pen muen gaan mung lia toot  555????

[richard_smith237]

2 hours ago, BestB said:

On 5/12/2019 at 9:32 PM, richard_smith237 said:

 

Indeed, not just my Wife, but the many Thai's within our mutual friendship groups who've heard those friends who speak fluent Thai.

 

It would appear that for some inexplicable reason you are unable to accept that there are Westerners in Thailand who speak Thai so well that by ear alone they cannot be recognized as foreigners. I'm not sure why this is, but you've also used flawed argument, there are plenty of migrants who speak fluently with a native tongue such that their foreign origins cannot be guessed upon by ear alone - I know some in the UK.

 

No one speaks fluently overnight - but for those of talented mind and ear, and willing to put in the effort achieving native ability takes perhaps a decade or so.

 

 

 

It would appear you failing to understand speaking fluent and having an accent is NOT the same thing.

 

indians or Filipino speak fluent English that does not mean they do not have an accent and people would “mistaken” them for being native speakers 

 

No, the failure is yours when attempting to argue for arguments sake - it would appear you just don't know when you are wrong. 

 

There are some who can speak a foreign language such that their foreign origins cannot be guessed upon by ear alone, I know Westerners who speak Thai to such a degree, I also know foreigners to the UK who speak English to such a degree. 

 

Perhaps English is not your first language and you are struggling to understand the concept of 'ear alone'... it means when listening only, not looking for visual cues.

 

 

[BestB]

3 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

No, the failure is yours when attempting to argue for arguments sake - it would appear you just don't know when you are wrong. 

 

There are some who can speak a foreign language such that their foreign origins cannot be guessed upon by ear alone, I know Westerners who speak Thai to such a degree, I also know foreigners to the UK who speak English to such a degree. 

 

Perhaps English is not your first language and you are struggling to understand the concept of 'ear alone'... it means when listening only, not looking for visual cues.

 

 

Yes you right , you know it all and I know nothing . I speak 4 languages, 3 fluent , English is my first language . 

 

But will let you carry on believing whatever makes you happy

[robint]

No shit sherlock batman, you guys remind me of two mufti's in tawbs slapping each other around so they dont get their dishdash dirty

 

flang baa jang loie

[Hanuman2547]

Yes and No

 

If you plan to live full time or spend quite a bit of time in Thailand it would probably be a good idea to have a fairly good grasp of the language.  

 

If you are just staying in Thailand as a retiree for 3-4 months over the winter then probably just a few basic words is good enough.

[LawrenceN]

8 hours ago, myjawe said:

 

So true ! Understanding Thai is the best way to hate them more ! Until now you might be thinking that they have nothing smart to say, but if you learn Thai, you will KNOW that they have really nothing useful to say.

 

Do you speak from experience? Aah, I didn't think so. I sounds like sour grapes to me at best, bigotry at worst. You tried for a while and gave it up, I'm guessing.

 

Speaking from 42 years in, I can tell you that speaking, reading, writing Thai fluently has opened doors for me. I text old friends in real Thai, not this silly phonetic junk seen above. I speak with my neighbors about our gardens, our families, our hobbies, our lives. I go to the market and share friendly banter with the fruit and veggie ladies.

 

That said, is my life free of conflict in Thailand? No. There can be misunderstandings over prices, or delivery times, or dogs barking. But I don't automatically presume monolithic Thai hatred of people like me. Conflicts happen between people everywhere.

 

I'm writing from a hospital where I have been receiving treatment for cancer. The nurses seem to feel they must speak English with me. Much of what they say is unintelligible, so I simply ask them to repeat it in Thai. They seem relieved to have that as a fallback position.

 

Much of what I have read in this thread seems to be written by people with no foreign language ability. I have observed people who become more frustrated and impatient when they can't make themselves understood. Frustration and impatience don't get you very far in Thailand. You might not think your behavior is poor, but it seems hostile in Thai culture, and the people withdraw.

 

OK, I have said enough, pointing out the failure of so many of you. You may begin your attacks on me now.

[faraday]

9 hours ago, myjawe said:

 

So true ! Understanding Thai is the best way to hate them more ! Until now you might be thinking that they have nothing smart to say, but if you learn Thai, you will KNOW that they have really nothing useful to say.

 

 

 

Spoken like a true bigot.

[Cheops]

14 hours ago, Destiny1990 said:

Taa raw phud Phassaa Thai thie-nie bang-thie Khun Rimmer Moderator mai tjop? Prohwaa khian thie phassaa Engkrid pen mandatory. Pom mai aw phan haa  kawtjai mai krap? ????????

Kawtjai krab 555

[robint]

10 hours ago, Hanuman2547 said:

Yes and No

 

If you plan to live full time or spend quite a bit of time in Thailand it would probably be a good idea to have a fairly good grasp of the language.  

 

If you are just staying in Thailand as a retiree for 3-4 months over the winter then probably just a few basic words is good enough.

do you know how to say **** off

[Cheops]

11 hours ago, BestB said:

Yes you right , you know it all and I know nothing . I speak 4 languages, 3 fluent , English is my first language . 

 

But will let you carry on believing whatever makes you happy

Richard is correct: you are arguing for the sake of arguing. 

 

From your posts it doesn't show that English is your first language, but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and say you are a lazy writer 555

 

I speak 4 languages as well of which Dutch being first.

 

I'm far from being fluent in Thai, BUT the Thai that I speak is according many Thais very clear. I do not say this from myself. This is what Thais tell to me. It is what it is. 

[ThaiBunny]

3 minutes ago, robint said:

do you know how to say **** off

I quickly learnt the Thai word for "bullsh**" and use it liberally

[poohy]

The bare necessities 

Hia

Hee roy kuay

 

Just to make peoples day!

 

 

 

[robint]

kuay la kap

[mlkik]

I speak Thai well but the more I learn the more I realise there is so much more to learn ,even after learning for 27 years.

 

I am amazed at the amount of people who declare themselves fluent in Thai ? Maybe some peoples idea of fluency is different to mine ?

[TKDfella]

10 hours ago, mlkik said:

I speak Thai well but the more I learn the more I realise there is so much more to learn ,even after learning for 27 years.

 

I am amazed at the amount of people who declare themselves fluent in Thai ? Maybe some peoples idea of fluency is different to mine ?

I agree. To be fluent in any language it isn't enough just to speak the national tongue but also the idioms, slang and some variations, that is variation on pronunciation not regional dialects. I would also include reading and writing skills too.

[robint]

On 5/15/2019 at 1:32 PM, TKDfella said:

I agree. To be fluent in any language it isn't enough just to speak the national tongue but also the idioms, slang and some variations, that is variation on pronunciation not regional dialects. I would also include reading and writing skills too.

no shit sherlock

[cmarshall]

On 5/14/2019 at 2:22 AM, Cheops said:

I speak 4 languages as well of which Dutch being first.

 

I'm far from being fluent in Thai, BUT the Thai that I speak is according many Thais very clear. I do not say this from myself. This is what Thais tell to me. It is what it is. 

Congratulations on your language achievements.  The Dutch do often seem to be especially good at learning languages.  However, when Thais praise us for speaking "clearly" they are usually referring just to getting the tones correct.  As it happens they have exceedingly low expectations of Westerners' ability ever to learn the Thai tones, so that it doesn't take much to impress them.  So, you should not take their praise too much to heart.  

[cmarshall]

Richard Feynman was once asked if the study of theoretical physics had practical benefits to which he replied, "Physics is like sex.  It has practical benefits, but that's not why we do it."  The same could be said of learning the Thai language or any other language.  In my opinion the Thai language is the best aspect of being in Thailand.  Better than the food, the weather, the temples, etc.  

 

For one reason, although many posters here seem to hold the Thais themselves in low regard, it cannot be denied that the Thais are masters of speaking Thai.  It is a pleasure to listen to them speak their own language.  So, the foreigners here who are not willing to make the (very considerable) effort to master the language are missing out on the ability the Thais are best at.  Also, the large linguistic distance from my mother tongue, English, which is what makes it especially hard for us to learn, nevertheless makes it all the more interesting.  

 

But the price of admission to competence is high.  It's more like a second career, than a hobby.  I have been studying Thai several hours a day with some excellent teachers for years now.  I don't feel that I have mastered the language by a long shot, but the more I learn the more I enjoy it.  My flash card deck has not quite 14,000 entries in it of which I probably actually know half.  I can read at a university level, write, and touch-type Thai.  Making oneself understood, in my experience, comes fairly early in language study, while understanding the spoken language takes the longest time.

 

The tones, by the way, which are the initial obstacle we all face, turn out to be the most fun part once you get it down.

 

So, I can appreciate that not every foreigner is willing to make such an effort particularly when it's certainly possible to live here without knowing Thai.  However, when they start praising ignorance and failure per se, they just make fools of themselves.

[ThaiBunny]

3 minutes ago, cmarshall said:

it cannot be denied that the Thais are masters of speaking Thai

I think that sums it up for me

[Cheops]

23 hours ago, cmarshall said:



23 hours ago, cmarshall said:

it doesn't take much to impress them. 

many posters here seem to hold the Thais themselves in low regard

Wow, your post contains a lot of bs. You accuse a lot of posters having a low regards of Thai, but you showed in your reply to me that YOU seem to have a low regard of Thais. Really? Quite bad to write things like this. 

 

Furthermore, also you don't believe that my Thai is really clear. How the f you know? Did you ever hear me speak Thai? I don't think so.

 

As I mentioned already, I'm not fluent in Thai and reading in your bragging post that you can read/write "university level" Thai (I'm pretty sure that my son in the 4th grade is far ahead of any Thai that you can speak read and write!), you can maybe speak more than me, BUT the Thai that I speak is very clear. I hear this all the time from Thai everywhere. Not just 1 or 2. And if people call me at work, many times they think that they are talking with a Thai. Even people who know me in person at work many times can't recognize me until I tell them.

 

You wrote:" it cannot be denied that the Thais are masters of speaking Thai"

 

That is correct, so if THEY (masters of the Thai language) tell me that my Thai is very clear, I believe them!

 

You don't believe me, fine, but don't write bs.

 

Oh, you wrote that the best aspect of Thailand is the language and not the food, the people and their culture. 5555 man, are you on weed or something, when you wrote stuff like thls? 5555, I can't stop laughing. I can never take you serious after you wrote this post LOL.

[cmarshall]

On 5/19/2019 at 2:24 AM, Cheops said:

Furthermore, also you don't believe that my Thai is really clear. How the f you know? Did you ever hear me speak Thai? I don't think so.

I don't have an opinion of how clear your Thai is, but I can tell you that your reading comprehension in English is not quite up to the mark.  My point is that most Thais seldom or never encounter a Westerner who can speak the Thai tones correctly.  So, when they do hear a Westerner manage actually to get out a few tones that they recognize they tend to overpraise.  As one does when encouraging a slow child.

 

You can judge that your Thai is actually getting pretty good when they stop complimenting you and just carry on a normal conversation.

[KC 71]

I can speak a few Thai words to get me by

But up here there are more than 12 different languages in the Rai [emoji846]

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect

 

[FruitPudding]

Once you have enough Thai to get by, there's no point in continuing.

 

But if you didnt want to study at all, I wouldn't condemn you. I can think of way more productive things to dk with your time....having a nap even.

 

[Cheops]

1 hour ago, cmarshall said:

I don't have an opinion of how clear your Thai is, but I can tell you that your reading comprehension in English is not quite up to the mark.  My point is that most Thais seldom or never encounter a Westerner who can speak the Thai tones correctly.  So, when they do hear a Westerner manage actually to get out a few tones that they recognize they tend to overpraise.  As one does when encouraging a slow child.

 

You can judge that your Thai is actually getting pretty good when they stop complimenting you and just carry on a normal conversation.

My English reading comprehension is more than enough, but it seems yours is lacking, since I previously wrote that quite a few Thai people don't recognize me being a foreigner when they call me at work. Those people do indeed not compliment me, but just carry on conversation as if they I'm a Thai.