#  >  > Living And Legal Affairs In Thailand >  >  > Learn Thai Language >  >  How Long Did It Take You To Learn Thai

## LX18

Enough To Communicate Well.

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## poolcleaner

It never happened and I died a man unsatisfied with his ability to rise to the challenge and find out how to ask for 'fried rice, with pork, chilies and an egg on top' instead of pointing to a dish full of bitter vegies and fish with bones and saying "Ao Ni, Kap!"

The dream of one day boarding a busy skytrain and finding myself pushed all to close to a very sexy officer worker and murmuring into her ear, in my very best Thai, "Honey, I'd like to put my hand inside your blouse and caress your nipples while I gently bite the back of your neck and then slowly run my fingers down to your panties but I have to get off at Chit Lom! Can I call you tomorrow?" is slowly but surely eroding itself from my Things to do before I die list!

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## LX18

How Old Are You Dude?

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## Marmite the Dog

3 months. Thai is a piece of piss to learn.

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## dirtydog

Took me a couple of years to be able to hold an intelligent conversation in Thai, I then found that there was no one to hold that conversation with  :Sad:

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## colourful-era

I can speak the basics - have been here around 6 months now.

 I took a 20 hour 1 to 1 course plus have done some self study on and off.

 Can't have a conversation though but CAN get by in Thai.

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## Fstop

Can any of you write Thai? I might be able to speak it one day, but the written form looks bloody impossible.

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## Dougal

> I took a 20 hour 1 to 1 course plus have done some self study on and off.


How much did your lessons cost, CE?

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## colourful-era

5000B for 20 hours.  (ie:250 / hr)

 it was very useful - I may do another 20hrs again at some point

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## Dougal

^ Thanks CE

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## MeMock

I did four months and can still only have a very basic converation. Can read slowly and can write badly.

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## NickA

Learning the basics is easy, but as everyone else as said, there comes a point when you wonder if there is any need to learn the more complex stuff and you hit a block.

I can read and listen to Thai, but don't find much time or need to practice speaking and writing.

If you stay on your own in Thailand for a year or so, I would imagine you'd get pretty good. If, however, you link up with a long haired dictionary (as a Thai friend calls them) it might slow you down.

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## poolcleaner

> Learning the basics is easy, but as everyone else as said, there comes a point when you wonder if there is any need to learn the more complex stuff and you hit a block.
> 
> I can read and listen to Thai, but don't find much time or need to practice speaking and writing.
> 
> If you stay on your own in Thailand for a year or so, I would imagine you'd get pretty good. If, however, you link up with a long haired dictionary (as a Thai friend calls them) it might slow you down.


long haired dictionary being the gay cutie boy type, most of us will have a 'sleeping dictionary'.

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## NickA

You calling me a poove!!!!  :lam: 

Ermmm, what about an eating dictionary or a TV watching dictionary.

Anyway thery're not really very good dictionaries, cos if you ask 'em what sommit means they just wave their hands around and same "same, same......." alot.

But they're quite good at ordering food and shit like that and sometimes can point the taxi in the right direction, as long as you live next to the 7-11.

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## friscofrankie

Can read slowly, was taking dictation in private classes, and doing quite well at it; getting the tone/consonant combinations right 90% of the time.  haven;t used that part much can understand and have pretty good vocabulary.  Speak better when drunk actually.  less self-concious.
But I really don't consider having learned the language yet.
As DD said you work at being able to hold an intelligent conversation then look around one day and wonder; Why?

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## Goddess of Whatever

> Can any of you write Thai? I might be able to speak it one day, but the written form looks bloody impossible.


I'm not sure about writing but Marmite can read Thai.












 :saythat:

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## NickA

Weeeel, if yeast extract can do it, we all can, I suppose.

Didn't know you were a veggie, Marmite :Smile:

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## HAMILTON

I also took a 20 hour course at ULC in pattaya.  It was good in that it helped to clear up some misunderstandins that I had.  it also confimed that some of the "Bar-Thai" that I had learnt was in fact correct.  I even learnt how to say "Can I shave your Pubic hair?"   Well worth while and came in useful.

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## Bobcock

Started learning 16 years ago....very lazy I put no real effort into it for the last 10.....half of what i ask i forget.

I can write probably 200 words, read a lot that I don't understand, gain the plaudits and admiring coo's, but really I'm a fraud.....

report Card....all the ability...could do better.

story of my Life

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## Eliminator

I find it hard as I can't hear the tone differences, it's all moo to me. I spend virtually no time in the study area and rely on just picking up stuff here and there. I guess I would say my Thai is: pak chee roi nah

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## Smeg

> Can any of you write Thai? I might be able to speak it one day, but the written form looks bloody impossible.


The reading is easy, its just a case of learning the script and rules. 

I can read an entire page of a newspaper out, but I haven't got a bloody clue what I'm saying.

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## ChiangMai noon

I can read well enough, writing is a different story. 
I guess it comes with practice but my spelling is shocking.

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## NickA

> I can read well enough, writing is a different story. I guess it comes with practice but my spelling is shocking.


Yes, CMN, but they are talking about Thai, not English :Smile:

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## DrAndy

I am ashamed to say my Thai is crap

everytime I return to Thailand I seem to have forgotten everything I learnt before, so have to start again

depending on which country I have been staying in, those foreign words seem to pop out of my brain rather than the correct Thai ones

I wish I could be like an air hostess and just change easily from language to language

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## danbo

I've been learning off and on for a couple of years and can hold my own in the standard 'where you from - ooh, nice shoes' conversation. Getting past this stage is a real problem though. I try expanding my vocab, but find it very hard to retain the info unless I use the words. This isn't always that easy and can become very forced: _'I like holding binoculars.  Especially when I am embroidering my goat's handkerchiefs.'_.....Depends on the taxi driver of course.

Reading is getting better. Quikte fast now and I am able to guess words from context quite a lot (I think so at least). As for writing, it is all memory based. There seems no pattern or rules to the letters to use, e.g. for word endings - I write in a phonetic way.

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## friscofrankie

Writing has quite a few rules and if you get it 'em down and can decipher the tones correctly, you can write from what folks speak.  i did it but did nt stick with the practice.  All the rules fit on piece of paper.
Albeit a very large piece of paper in very small type.

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## buadhai

I keep trying, but nothing really seems to work. I guess it comes down to attitude and shyness. I've been visiting Thailand for nearly 30 years now and have lived here for a year. Internally, I know a lot of Thai, but putting that to any practical use has proved next to impossible. One problem is that Ms. B is quite fluent in English so I don't have a great incentive to learn Thai. 

I guess the other problem is that I'm just plain dumb.

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## friscofrankie

Them tones can feel kinda wierd comin' out at first; get out more and use your thai with the neighborhood shop keepers.   I dont use it enough.  But when i'm out and about I am getting pretty decent at barkin' orders and makin' small talk.  Still not all that confident, but You really gotta use it.  
The other day I asked a dude to pass me the 9/16" wrench before I even knew what i was doin.
Where the hell that come from?

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## Marmite the Dog

> Them tones can feel kinda wierd comin' out at first; get out more and use your thai with the neighborhood shop keepers.   I dont use it enough.  But when i'm out and about I am getting pretty decent at barkin' orders and makin' small talk.  Still not all that confident, but You really gotta use it.  
> The other day I asked a dude to pass me the 9/16" wrench before I even knew what i was doin.
> Where the hell that come from?


I think tones and vowel lengths are a bit over rated. When you listen to a Thai speak, they speak too quickly to accent a tone or a lengthen a vowel. The problem many of us have when speaking Thai is that we try too hard to accomodate them. Just babble quickly, and the Thais will understand you well enough. Overdo it, and you'll get the infamous "alai wah" in return for your efforts.

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## friscofrankie

You're gonna get thatany way lot of Thais can;t engafe the brain quickly when you come off in Thai if they're expectin' English.  Confuses the shit out of 'em.  Don;t let that phase you.  I get folks I've had pefect conversations on one day turn and look at the little woman and ask Arai na? when she present.  When she's not all goes good.  I know enough to knwo when I'm speaking clearly, finally got he ol' lady trained to defer them to me.   :Smile:   hard thing to do when it involves money.  I hand them the money they start talkin to ol' lady and invariably hand her the change. 
It's a conspiracy

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## HAMILTON

> I wish I could be like an air hostess and just change easily from language to language


Those gals can sure get their tongue round it!!!

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## mad_dog

I had a 30 min getting to know you chat with a Thai language teacher (a friend, not my teacher) the other day 100% in Thai and I walked away thinking WOW I am getting somewhere with this.... then I get home and swtich on the Thai news and don't have a fucking clue what they are on about.
Anyone else find this?

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## Ice Maiden

It takes time Mad_dog. I go to school and I can speak a fair amount now, just basic convos but I find speaking with my brother (who can speak excellent Thai) and my Stepmum helps me a lot because I learn a few new words a day.

And also in the classroom the teacher tends to speak slower Thai and he/she is more careful when speaking Thai with you, you need to socialise with some of the locals mate.

In answer to the OP's question, I haven't learnt yet. I'm learning everyday!

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## mad_dog

> And also in the classroom the teacher tends to speak slower Thai and he/she is more careful when speaking Thai with you, you need to socialise with some of the locals mate.


 Hey Ice, didn't make it clear in my earlier post the person I was talking to is a teacher freind of mine, not my teacher. I know what you mean about getting out amongst the locals. I went to the Drs the other day and managed the entire 15 min appointment in Thai! But then other situations like ... getting the roof of my house fixed or trying to explain the a problem with a computer in the internet shop fu.ck me over big time.

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## Ice Maiden

Sorry about that.

Yes I see what you mean! I can have convos with the family but now and again I'll ask them to please speak slower or repeat that last word. And sometimes I have to ask my brother what certain words mean! But learning a new word eveyday helps me out.

Although I dont fully understand all the words I can understand the main meaning of what the person is trying say.

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## mad_dog

Did you find getting proper lessons worthwhile ice?

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## Ice Maiden

Definatley!

My younger brother didn't take any lessons he just hung with his Thai mates everyday. My brother is fully English but we all call him a Thai kid because he eats like a Thai, speaks Thai and looks Thai. On Christmas day he wanted to sit on the floor outside and eat spicy fish instead of being with us eating farang food!

So he speaks amazing Thai. I would rather have a teacher explaining to me rather than learning the way my brother did, he speaks mostly slang too.

But lessons have certainly helped me.

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## friscofrankie

> Thai news and don't have a fucking clue what they are on about.
> Anyone else find this?


My ol' lady can;t keep up with 'em most times!  They seem to think talkn realfastswthouttakingabreath makes them sound iportant or give urgency to what they say..
Sadly, I am starting to understand the new just a tiny bit now..

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## Marmite the Dog

> I had a 30 min getting to know you chat with a Thai language teacher (a friend, not my teacher) the other day 100% in Thai and I walked away thinking WOW I am getting somewhere with this.... then I get home and swtich on the Thai news and don't have a fucking clue what they are on about.
> Anyone else find this?


Yes. The sad thing is that most Thais don't have anything worth saying, but it would be nice to be able to understand the news. Ironic, eh?

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## ceburat

> Can any of you write Thai? I might be able to speak it one day, but the written form looks bloody impossible.


 Writting Thai is easy.  It's not hard like it looks to be. After you learn to write you learn to speak Thai much faster and easier.

    Thai for Beginners - Benjawan Poomsan Becker - a great book for learning the language and the writting system.

    Thai-English English-Thai Dictionary by the same arthur.

    Se-ed's modern eng-thai thai-eng dictionary, desk reference edition

Take childrens stories, or songs, or what ever you like.  Translate it from Thai to English looking the words up in Se-ed's dictionary, using the Thai section.  Hard at first, however, becomes easy to use, very fast, if you work at it and study the characters at the same time using the above language book.

Most important study guide is my wife(thai).  I have been in Bangkok almost 2 years.  I can read most anything and understand a lot. However, I never practice so I will never learn to speak beyond hello, how are you, etc. 

If you really want to have fun, go to your keyboard in Thai - it's just plain wild.

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## insideleft

Mmmmmm, been chiseling away for around the last 1 and half years...very slowly...but that is the best way for me to learn...

picked up the alphabet reasonalbly quickly...reading and writing...

Practicing saying the words with correct tones has helped me to improve my spelling...and so, my writing also...

my problem has been limited access to another speaking Thai and so, my comprehension skills are less developed...I live in London and am seeing a Thai national every saturday to improve my listening, comprehension and speaking....


I have been using the Benjawan Beginners Book...just taking my time...I will begin the Intermediate Book in a couple of months...

I only seem to learn after I work at it...dunno...

To use a trite analogy "If you want to bend it like Beckham...you will need at least as much choice in girls as Beckham has in helping him to bend it."  

or work at bending it on your own...

Insideleft

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## Bobk_nyc

I have been trying to learn a bit, for 6 months. I haave a bunch of words, but have a hell of a time understanding when someone says even the simplest thing. being in the states, I do not have anyone to practice with, and have to depend on books and tapes. I want to spend a few months in LOS later this year, I hope to improve then......Thai text????Hahaha looks like greek to me.

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## mikesch4ever

i just started learning thai. i think i got one big clue: if you learn to read and write u understand what the language is about. i mean the logic and the principles. if you only think in romanised transcriptions u wont get it done, because all of them dont come to the point. but i just started....

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## hillbilly

First time I have said shit on this thread. This is the rule at the hillbilly home. Engkish M-F. Thai on the weekends.

Holidays are always confusing as my daughter likes to play with the dates.

Okay, I can speak conversational Thai. However, not going to talk about nuclear war.

Speaking about Thai culture, forget it...

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## JoGeAr

I moved to Thailand in early 1991 after over 10 years of regular visits (3-4 times per year - I worked for an airline - cheap flights) and having decided to live there for the rest of my life (that has now changed courtesy of my four-year-old son) I made a concerted effort to learn Thai. Never had lessons but taught myself to read and write. I originally learnt shitloads of vocabulary prior to moving to Thailand, but found my pronunciation mostly incomprehensible to the Thais. Threw it all out and started from scratch, listening to the way the Thais spoke. It took a couple of years to be able to discern and feel confident using the different tones. 
Stringing sentences together is very easy once you understand the (very simple) Thai grammar and sentence structure. 
Vocabulary is the hardest part as you must learn and REMEMBER it and there are often several different Thai words for one English word. 
After 16 years of using (and still learning) Thai almost every day, I can (and often do) hold intelligent(??) conversations in most situations. 
Being able to read Thai is handy at times (no English menus!!) and it's nice to read the Thai newspapers occasionally albeit slowly and sometimes having to skip a few words (bloody vocabulary!!), but the only times I've actually written Thai in sixteen years was to show pronunciation of English words !!
I found that after about 8 (or 9 or 10) years I reached a 'plateau' in my ability and enthusiasm in learning Thai. Basically, sheer bloody laziness!! I could get by well enough and that was good enough for me. This is the barrier you must break through !       
Having said that, I would thoroughly recommend any person planning a long stay in Thailand to learn (and continue to learn) Thai. It opens up a whole new world (especially upcountry) if you can sit down and chat with the locals.

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## buad hai

I'm way too shy to ever learn to speak Thai. I barely speak English to anyone. That said, my reading ability continues to improve daily. I like that. Now, if I could just get rid of all the people and just read stuff I'd be fine....

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## Ban Saray

14 years here and can speak passable Thai, I have manage Thai tradespeople for over 10 years and that has helped.
Just started to learn to read and write, and is does help youunderstand the tones better, but a nightmare to learn when you are over 50.
Was shamed into it by my 6 y.o. daughter.
After about 3 months I can read number plates and short phrases, get a kick out of it actually.
I agree with a few posts here, better to learn using the Thai script then a phonetic (spelling?) one.

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## William

> First time I have said shit on this thread. This is the rule at the hillbilly home. Engkish M-F. Thai on the weekends.
> 
> Holidays are always confusing as my daughter likes to play with the dates.
> 
> Okay, I can speak conversational Thai. However, not going to talk about nuclear war.
> 
> Speaking about Thai culture, forget it...


^ :Very Happy: 

I've lived here about 10 years.  In that time I have learnt two things: (1) you'll speak pretty good Thai if you join the monks; and (2) less than 1% of foreigners' speak even close to pass-able Thai.

I'm neither, so I just let the cab driver know where home is...

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## qwerty

Thai's always tell me that I speak Thai 'Geng Mak!', but I really don't think I do.  I can communicate the basics without any problem, but when Thai's have a regular conversation with each other I'm lost! :Confused:  

For instance, if I heard a Thai say the above sentences, this is what I would understand:

_Thai's **** tell me *** I speak Thai 'Geng Mak!', but I really *** think I ***.  I can ****** the **** without any *****, but when Thai's have a regular ******* with **** other I'm ***

_So, you can see that even understanding up to 50&#37; of the words isn't enough to really understand what people are talking about.

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## njdesi

Now that I know I am marrying a Thai, I finally have the motivation to learn how to read and write. The script is similar to Devanagri, so some letters like jaw jaan,gor kai, naw nuu, etc. are easy to remember. I have been studying for about two weeks and it is gratifying to finally be able to read a few words in Thai. And the astonishment from Thais when you read the English equivalent of "See Spot Run" is always good for a laugh. 

I never had a problem with tones and I can understand my g/f when she talks to me on the phone. I can't understand Thai TV shows, however. 

My speaking skills, though, are atrocious because I can never remember the tones for most words. Hopefully, associating the words with the Thai script will help.

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## buad hai

I've been studying Thai for about ten years now and have been living here in Korat for the last two. I have now reached the point where no one understand what I'm trying to say and I don't understand much of anything anyone else says. I've not given up, but I've resigned myself to never being able to communicate in Thai even as well as the two year old girl or lives across the soi from us.

That said, my reading is getting better all the time. This really helps in restaurants, at the supermarket, on the road, etc. But, I think I've learned to read the same way a deaf person learns to read. They can recognize and understand words without knowing how they sound or how to pronounce them. For example, I can read a menu, but I cannot order because the waitress will never understand what food I want. 

End the end, this is OK with me. I rarely have anyone I want to speak with and I almost never have anything to say.

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## Wayne Kerr

For me its a case of the more Thai I know, the more I realise I don't know. I've also found that the better I've gotten at speaking and listening, the more reluctant I am to speak because I realise I sound like a complete dipstick.

Anyway, these days I liken my use of Thai to the mangling of words by Officer Crabtree in that old English sitcom 'Allo 'Allo! He was the undercover British agent masquerading as a gendarme. I'm sure the 'Allo 'Allo! fans amongst us will remember his:




> "Good Moaning" for "Good Morning" "I was pissing by the door, when I heard two shats. You are holding in your hand a smoking goon; you are clearly the guilty potty." for "I was passing by the door, when I heard two shots. You are holding in your hand a smoking gun; you are clearly the guilty party." "Do you have the long-distance dick?" for "Do you have the long-distance duck?" "And who is peeing for the ponsoir?" for "And who is paying for the pissoire?" after it was damaged by an overriding tank.


Here are some more beauties:




> There was a wetness at the bonk.  Darly belivid. We are gothered here todee to jine thus min and thus women in highly mitriminy.  I am disgeesed as poloceman so I am oble to move aboot with complate frodom.  I am wicking this wa because my poloceman's troosers are full of deenamote.  We will goo oot the bock wee.





> Crabtree: Good Moaning, I have come to arost your mither
> Edith: Arrest her, why?
> Crabtree: She has been pissing fudged bink notes in the hit shop.
> Edith: What does Crabtree say Vyette?
> Yvette: I think he said "she has been passing forged bank notes in the hat shop.
> Crabtree: Presoasly
> Ren&#233; (Dressed like Fanny, doing a poor impression of her): Edith, remind him he is supposed to be on our side.
> Crabtree: Who is the ugly old bog in the bid with your mither?
> Fanny: I have been asking the same question.
> ...

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## Katana

a good website to start with is Learning Thai the Easy Way it gives an integrated verbal and written serries of lessons with usefull tests to gauge your progress.

Mark

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## Sir Burr

80&#37; of what I know in a month. The other 20% over 20 years.

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