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ray23

First guys let me say this is not a rant just an observation:

Let’s learn the language; first we find the school something that as little as four years ago was almost impossible. Then if we are lucky we get a good teacher and I have been blessed with that, Miss Chuan included. I would say the first year I was just goofing around with it. But Chuan inspired me I spent a year with her as she was trying to learn to teach. Her patience and understanding always amazed me. I was spending two hours in calls four days a week. Six hours of study six days a week. Buddy I was serious. On my way to reading and writing.

Anyone seen the Picture of Chuan she is female and so were my other teachers. I learned to ask for noodles 18 different ways, I don’t like noodles.

Man I can go to the market and buy pineapples all day long. I’m married I don’t go to the market. My wife does, she prepares a meal gives it to me and I eat it. End of story

I can find the bus depot; I’ve never ridden a bus in Thailand.

Now the airport that does come in handy if I need to pick up a friend. But that might happen once a year and that is done in English.

Yes I can say I want to buy a short, even what color I want, I can bargain the price of that shirt. What really happens we go downtown by some cloth the housekeeper takes that to the village and I have tailor made shirt for about the same price as off the rack.

You live In Thailand you should speak Thai, only if you live in Bangkok or you’re going to spend a lot of time speaking to the elite. It’s been over three years since I have been to Bangkok.

You see in this area they don’t really speak Thai they speak Issan an inferior language in the eyes of the elite.

I have a friend who has lived here for twenty years, co owner of the longest existing English school in Udon. Certified translator by the Thai and US governments. He has really very little problem here or in Bangkok. But get him in the villages around here and even he has problems having a general conversation, in the villages.

What is my hobby Bike touring, that would get pretty boring if I stayed in Udon all the time.

Anyone remember the government complaining that students couldn’t speak Thai properly. Why slang every society has it.

So after two years I’m really prepared to be a tourist. But generally those things that are in my real life are not offered in class. So I’m really not prepared to live in Issan.

I think Chuan I offering a class in Issan seem like I read that somewhere. Ok I go and learn how to buy pineapple in Issan... Am I any further ahead?

No I need to know how to buy nuts bolts, hardware. I need to able to tell a guy I want a ground wire on an outlet. I need to tell a mechanic to adjust my brakes, change the brake pads. Change the oil, I want new tires.

Don’t get me wrong learning something is darn site better then nothing. The problem I see I’m not learning the local language, nor the things that I will use. You don’t use it, you lose it.

A year of hard studying and not being able to advance beyond basic Thai to an intermediate class. The end result of this is I want to speak to the locals, simply because they are my neighbors and for the most part very nice people.

I’m now at a point where I am very hesitant of returning to school, because I don’t think I can accomplish what I need to live here. I may become a very good tourist but

JoGeAr

Jaysus !!!!


You mean buck-nut ??

Marmite the Dog

Maybe should should brush up on your English first?

panama hat

I'd agree. You get your point across, but you use a very confusing style.

ray23

Well guys this is how it works, did the spell and garmmer check it was happy, good enough I'm not English LOL Now can we talk about the Issan Language

panama hat

I'm not English either . . . or Anglo . . . but I can't discuss the Isaan language . . . zero clue.

Sorry to interrupt your thread.

ChiangMai noon

In which case you write extremely well and have every right to tell the english twats that are both too arrogant and incapable of learning even a few phrases of another lingo, to 'go fukk themselves'.

ray23

Not a problem with my writing style I get paid exactly what it's worth, nothing. Just trying to get it back on track. Really a problem unique to Issan.

Texpat

Koi boh khau chai.

Wow Lao baw dai.

Koi cha ha laikan dai yoo sai?

ray23

Pom Ow putt Pasa Issan Geng Mak Mai Dai

Bon pom Uti Udon

ChiangMai noon

I think dropping the pronouns always helps.

you rarely hear a Thai saying Phom or khun when obvious from context.

think you should use yak instead of ao/ow too.

ray23

Good points thats what I mean by use it or lose it.

Marmite the Dog

Agreed. Funny, considering I'm an English twat with no language skills...

Texpat

^ Can someone please translate that?

Geeze sounds like you have a mouth full of marbles.

It's not a crime to move your tongue or lips. Oh yeah, the letter "r" has a sound. Honest.

Frankenstein

I here. You here too. We all here.

Marmite the Dog

Bullshit! You'll be telling me the letter "t" has too, next!

English Noodles

I disagree, possibly drop the personal pronoun 'phom' when refering to yourself with people you are close to, why drop 'khun' though? Also saying 'drop the personal pronouns (which are more or less in this context simply politening particals) but then change 'aow' for 'yaak'?

Perhaps a better way would be to include 'jaa' before 'yaak' as you are taking about something in the future anyway, why be encouraged to speak pidgin Thai when you can just as easy speak correctly?

__________________
Murder is not an unusual fate for wicked people.

Marmite the Dog

Maybe it's best not to show the natives up.

English Noodles

Actualy there is certainly some truth in that.

Texpat

The key term in the OP is useful.
Thai and Isaan are sometimes similar. Sometimes not.
Learning Thai doesn't automatically mean you'll be understood in the hinterland where the majority of language is a series of grunts, snorts and squeals.

I know what you're talking about Ray. You don't know this -- but you and I were classmates about a year and a half ago.