Thread: Is it really necessary to learn a host country's language?

I can't believe the narrow-minded nature of some of you plebs, you seem to be proud of not being able to speak thai. You ought to be ashamed. So what if it's not the big bad language that English or Spanish is that everyone speaks of.

If you're living in Thailand no matter what your 'style' is if you make an effort to speak 'decent' thai, (not the hooker bar variant either) people will respect you much more and when you're up shit creek with a broken down car, lost or arrested etc you won't be panicking about whats going on around you.
Sorry Dr Bob is that too much 'Big Time' Player style to you. I'll get back to my UN meetings now

I had a taxi driver who said I was very polite the other day, and thanked me for trying to speak his language with courtesy and respect. Blimey!

Oh, for Christ's sake, I speak Thai better than most loser farangs. Why the insistence upon perferction? What is so shameful about speaking perfectly passable conversational Thai?'

Christ almightly, it's a country that is the smallest blemish on the buttocks of the earth!

Get some perspective people. This country means nothing in the greater scheme of things.

Originally Posted by ChiangMai noon

another troll.

You know thats not the case, I'm like Smeg in that i dont kiss ass Thailand and for good reasons. All you guys who wanna run around fitting in so much will be leaving the same day as me if they strike oil.

Originally Posted by Texpat

I'd be screwed without being able to communicate.

There is the key.
Language is a means to communicate. Most of how we communicate anyhow is by body language not by word. Just ask Marcel Marceau ( Well you could if he were still alive)
Being able to speak any language used where one is living has got to assist in this communication process as it will provide more tools.

It is possible to communicate at some level without speaking Thai.

As Texpat has said speaking Thai is perhaps less imperative in the larger or more cosmopolitan communities and that if you do live in the wilds the "local" language might not even be Thai

Originally Posted by chinthee

Get some perspective people. This country means nothing in the greater scheme of things.

What are you talking about?

Proficiency in the language becomes more relevant if you need to work or do business as an expat.

I live and work in Germany and although the language isn't much use outside Germany (even most of its neighbours don't want to hear it), I couldn't get through a day without it.

The same applies here as in Thailand:many people don't have much of interest to say but in any emergency or dispute you're up shit creek and seriously disadvantaged if you don't command the local lingo, not to mention the handicap of finding work if you can't read the want ads.

Originally Posted by Texpat

^Yes, good to have the option, but the farangs I am referring to are the smug, I-won't-stoop-to-learn-Thai types.

How do you know the difference between the smug type and those that, let's say, have learning difficulies. I have, I feel, a justified reason as to why I find learning Thai difficult. So I feel some what offended to be bracketed as 'I won't stoop to learn Thai types'. Perhaps I should wear a badge saying 'I'm not smug, I just have difficulty in learning' ?
We can't all be clever fuckers.

Originally Posted by ChiangMai noon

Originally Posted by slimboyfat

anyway this thread wasn't about speaking thai and is also in the indo/phils forum

oops.
sorry
I accidentally popped over to thaivisa

ok fair enough, but please bear in mind that this is a KW thread and may well make a ton.

Originally Posted by Ivor Biggun

How do you know the difference between the smug type and those that, let's say, have learning difficulies. I have, I feel, a justified reason as to why I find learning Thai difficult.

In which case you're not among the group to which I'm referring.

This thread is about pet peeves among farangs. It's not a witchhunt.

Originally Posted by slimboyfat

ok fair enough, but please bear in mind that this is a KW thread and may well make a ton.

it has indeed gone way off topic since the first reply but it's developed into one of willie's better threads.

maybe it should be moved to the Thailand forum, except for the OP.

Originally Posted by Ivor Biggun

Perhaps I should wear a badge saying 'I'm not smug, I just have difficulty in learning' ? We can't all be clever fuckers.

This is the same sort of arguement that people use when they cannot remember someones name, I think its a cop out!

yes it's hard, no you didnt make an effort!

Originally Posted by kingwilly

This is the same sort of arguement that people use when they cannot spell, I think its a cop out!

Yes, I agree heartily

^ rather sweeping generalisation there young fella!

Originally Posted by kingwilly

yes it's hard, no you didnt make an effort!

Originally Posted by kingwilly

This is the same sort of arguement that people use when they cannot remember someones name, I think its a cop out! yes it's hard, no you didnt make an effort!

Very easy to say if you don't have this affliction and I hope you never do. What I would give not to suffer from the above.

^ it is not an affliction nor a disease, it is simply nothing more than not giving it a real effort!

Originally Posted by kingwilly

rather sweeping generalisation there young fella!

I can only say what I see around me. They don't speak Thai here and as I've said learning to read aint going to make them better rice harvesters.

^ not all thais are rice harvesters, ignorant, monkeys nor unable to read written thai.

hence the reason I pointed out that such comments are rather sweeping generalisations!

Originally Posted by kingwilly

it is not an affliction nor a disease, it is simply nothing more than not giving it a real effort!

I suppose that comes from your medical training ? There are medical names for it and I'm sure someone will enlighten me to it's title.

Originally Posted by chinthee

But I stand by my point. (Thai) is a useless language. It relates to no other important world language, such as Mandarin. It gives you no foundation for any other important Asian language, such as Japanese or Bahasa.

Useless. Sorry.

Ooooh, Chinthee, I don't believe you said that.
Thai is very close to Mandarin in terms of grammar and there are no verb conjugations, it's tonal, and several words appear similar (OK, san/sam for three is pan-Asian, but even mai mee -- Mandarin mei yo) is not that much of a stretch. Also, for Westerners who have never heard tonal languages before, it's a good intro to Chinese.
Bahasa? WTF speaks Bahasa? There aren't that many Indonesians. If you're going for the biz angle, speak whatever lingo your partners are speaking. Oh, sorry, forgot this was the Indo forum. 55

I knew an old-school Brit in Thailand who just shouted in English. Embarrassing.

Originally Posted by Jet Gorgon

There aren't that many Indonesians.

erm, 220 million ppl or so.

Originally Posted by chinthee

Get some perspective people. This country means nothing in the greater scheme of things.

I think you just missed your plane to Darfur !!!

Originally Posted by Spin

Its no big deal, daily interaction with Thais has shown me that when you ask for directions they dont know.
Ask a shop assistant for some advice or information on some product, they dont know.
Just this evening in a restaraunt the cashier used a focking calculator to subtract 34 from 200.

I just dont see the point in integrating too much in this country, sorry but there aint much to be learned from these guys on any level higher that "have you eaten yet?" so thats the level I'm gonna stay at.

Brillant !!! Exactly. This is another reason why I don't want to learn more, you will just be another monkey speaking to another monkey. Fuck that. I have better things to do.