Thread: Thai speaking Farangs - how very odd!

Originally Posted by Goddess of Whatever

Originally Posted by William

In my 10 years of living in Thailand I have only ever met 1 person (foreigner) whom I would consider "fluent" in Thai. And he lives in a temple.

William, you are the second foreigner in Thailand I've ever met that can speak Thai pretty good and polite (as needed).

Thanks a million GoW, but I'm nowhere near fluent. Hell, I'm not even fluent in English

Originally Posted by Donna

well i (shamefully) dont read and write thai. i really wish i had learnt right at the beginning of my time here. it would help my pronounciation SO much i am sure.

sure, the compliments are very funny at times.

often, i have been in a taxi and the driver asks why i speak thai so well. i just say 'mai geng, kha'.

ไม่ เก่ง ค่ะ

he then normally goes on to ask how long i have been in thailand and i usually say 'sawng arthit'.

สอง อาทิตย์

'arai wah! puut geng maak. thammai put geng maak?'

อะไร ! พูด เก่ง มาก. ทำไม พูด เก่ง มาก?

my classic answer to that is 'farang chalart maak'

ฝรั่ง ฉลาด มาก

which usually gets a laugh out of them.

It's never too late to learn!

thanks RDN. (i think)

reading and writing is next on my list of things to do. but i fear that my brain is getting too old for it. the good thing is i have a few years to do it in i guess.

It really isn't that difficult donna - honestly. It appears daunting but with a little application you will be reading simple words quicker than you can say shuzbuttmacphersonatemysoup. You'll have a real sense of a achievement when you read and understand your first 'new' word in Thai.

i know i will. its just a matter of finding the time.....i guess, however, if i got off of these forums for an hour a day i would have it, hey......

Originally Posted by danbo

You'll have a real sense of a achievement when you read and understand your first 'new' word in Thai.

Absolutely Danbo. All of a sudden, what looked gobbldygook (sp) before, now starts to mean something. It is worth the time and effort. Go for it Donna

Originally Posted by William

Hell, I'm not even fluent in English

Keep practising and you'll soon be speaking English fluently like that which what I does.

Originally Posted by Marmite the Dog

I must admit, I hate hearing Honkys speaking Thai. I just doesn't seem right.

Originally Posted by Goddess of Whatever

William, you are the second foreigner in Thailand I've ever met that can speak Thai pretty good and polite (as needed).

What about Xzyte? He's pretty good.

Yes, I forgot him! Ok, William! You are down to no.3.

I continue to get better and one day hope to speak like a native but until then I still get the smiles and the stares

Originally Posted by bbigman21

I continue to get better and one day hope to speak like a native but until then I still get the smiles and the stares

It's the giggles from the young kids that make my day! "Ooh, farang puut Thai! Farang puut Thai!"

Originally Posted by billynomates

... All of a sudden, what looked gobbldygook (sp) before, now starts to mean something. It is worth the time and effort. Go for it Donna

I remember the very first time I looked at the BTS sign for "Nana" and understood it! Wow! What a great feeling!

Originally Posted by RDN

Originally Posted by bbigman21

I continue to get better and one day hope to speak like a native but until then I still get the smiles and the stares

It's the giggles from the young kids that make my day! "Ooh, farang puut Thai! Farang puut Thai!"

Originally Posted by billynomates

... All of a sudden, what looked gobbldygook (sp) before, now starts to mean something. It is worth the time and effort. Go for it Donna

I remember the very first time I looked at the BTS sign for "Nana" and understood it! Wow! What a great feeling!

Yeah I understand you on the first one. But no chance for a long time on the reading

Originally Posted by bbigman21

Originally Posted by RDN

Originally Posted by bbigman21

I continue to get better and one day hope to speak like a native but until then I still get the smiles and the stares

It's the giggles from the young kids that make my day! "Ooh, farang puut Thai! Farang puut Thai!"

Originally Posted by billynomates

... All of a sudden, what looked gobbldygook (sp) before, now starts to mean something. It is worth the time and effort. Go for it Donna

I remember the very first time I looked at the BTS sign for "Nana" and understood it! Wow! What a great feeling!

Yeah I understand you on the first one. But no chance for a long time on the reading

นานา = Nana

น = N

า = a

น = n

า = a


It can't get any easier than that! Come on guys and gals, it's not that hard!

Until you get into them Silent leading consonants, Them "understood" but unwritten vowels, The the middle consonant follwed by a long vowel ending in a sonorant consonant rules.

The rules of phonetics all fit on one page but they are a bit convoluted....

Thanks to my having to translate Thai texts before teaching maths and computing for a couple of years, I am in the unusual position of being able to read and write considerably better than I can speak and listen.

I am lousy on the tones...both picking them up when spoken and when speaking myself.

Puts me in silly situations where I often have to ask Thais to write down what they are saying.

They first of all look confused until they realise I can read their written Thai, but are then completely bewildered why I can't speak/listen.

Having said that, while I can read, it certainly doesn't mean I understand all I read...obviously it is still limited to the extent of my vocabularly, but I do recognise words in the written form that I just don't pick up when listening.

(And my spelling sucks when I write.)

Pisses me off that my kids learned to speak it, read it and write it, in only 4 months, one damn term in first grade. Damn over 20 years and I am still muddling along.

Sure I can read my students names in Thai, and get by, but when push comes to shove its heh you kid you tell them what I want!!

Did you take lessons in CM, Frankie.

Do you consider it worthwhile?
I've gotten lazy of late and don't think my Thai has improved a jot in the last year or so.

Originally Posted by colourful-era

(even though my pronunciation is 100% perfect).

how long u been in thailand ? - i thought it was 2 stints of less than a year each?

but i'm sure you've learnt PERFECT thai and PERFECT pronouciation in that time!

Originally Posted by colourful-era

What is it with these people..?

Yeah - thai's are just so stoopid - if only the foreign countries were more like britain it woudl be so much easier .... blah blah blah

Originally Posted by ChiangMai noon

Did you take lessons in CM, Frankie.

Do you consider it worthwhile?
I've gotten lazy of late and don't think my Thai has improved a jot in the last year or so.

I took private lessons at AUA for writing. The reading is easily learned. But writing I needed help. you also spend a good deal of time shootin' the shit so you get a bit of speech practice.
I was very specific about my goals when signing up and at the beginning of the lessons The teacher built a curriculum arond that, quite good actually. Was 260 an hour I think. They can make a schedule to fit yours. Thinkin about goin back for some more advanced training. I'll specify a male teacher next time just to get more experience shootin the shit with an educated man.
I still need to revert to english for complex thoughts. The Thai just doesn;t allow me to express myself fully. The language is ambiguous and imprecise to my way of thinking. sometimes find I cannot derive the same meaning that a Thai can from the language.
I know I overuse the words like "Ben" and such. Thais would just say "Kii klong," the verb "ben" understood, when talkin about vendor you gotta keep an eye on. Me I still don't feel comfortable leaving 'em off I need my little "glue" words. Gettin over it, not so much a speech or tonal thing any more, just mindset.

Originally Posted by kingwillyhggtb

Originally Posted by colourful-era (even though my pronunciation is 100% perfect).

Originally Posted by kingwillyhggtb

how long u been in thailand ? - i thought it was 2 stints of less than a year each? but i'm sure you've learnt PERFECT thai and PERFECT pronouciation in that time!

Like I've already said at least twice on this thread - that comment was tongue in cheek - ie: a joke.

my Thai sucks!

Originally Posted by colourful-era

Like I've already said at least twice on this thread - that comment was tongue in cheek - ie: a joke. my Thai sucks!

Perhaps thats why nobody understands you!!

^Do you mean Thais or some of the people on this board?

If it's Thais you mean then that's not the case. My Thai is generally good enough to be understood - it's the hillbilly types I'm refering to -

like: 'oh my God it's a white man speaking Thai -I refuse to understand!'

dumbfucks

Originally Posted by Torbek

... I am in the unusual position of being able to read and write considerably better than I can speak and listen....

Same here - I can recognise or work out what a written word is, but I couldn't spell it correctly if it is spoken to me, unless I know it from memory.

Just the other day I was talking to my landlord in English and had to use the word "oil". So I said "oil" and he had a puzzled look on his face. So I said "oil" again, really clearly. Still got a puzzled look on his face. Then I said "oy" and he immediately understood.

So not only do they not understand Thai from farangs, they also don't accept English unless it's the bastardised version that they speak themselves.

Originally Posted by colourful-era

^or how about when farang speak 'Pidgin' Angrit to supposedly help the Thais to understand....or speak English with a silly voice/accent - that's majorly cringeworthy!

So you would have a lot to cringe about my accent when I speak english. Even worse, me and my wife have conversation in a mixture of thai/english/german which noone else is able to understand.

Originally Posted by William

Thanks a million GoW, but I'm nowhere near fluent. Hell, I'm not even fluent in English

Are you joking or are you speaking Afrikaans?