Thread: How did you manage to learn the Thai language?

How did you manage to learn the Thai language? Perhaps you haven't yet.

Images came to mind of my time spent wandering around my Thai condo in Bangkok, a Linguaphone cassette-player dangling around my neck and a set of flash-cards in my back pocket.

Sure, I might now be able to ask the way to the train station, or where the tourist information office is, but to have learn sufficient Thai to deal with the government officials & scammers is momentarily beyond me. And anyway, why should I waste my time talking to people who are clearly less intelligent than me.

Originally Posted by friscofrankie

Originally Posted by Property

why should I waste my time talking to people who are clearly less intelligent than me.

Could say the same of any language
If you're gonna live here learn the language. We speak Thai in the home about 80% of the time. When the ol lady pisses me off or I get frustrated I'll slip into English, but, I'm learning; it's only been a few years . Lose the cassettes & flash cards or leave 'em at home. You learn the language by using it.

BINGO! Frisco nails it on the head. learning a language requires speaking it everyday in a cultural context. language and culture go hand in hand. you can spend hours in a practice room practicing the piano, guitar, what have you. but until you're in a real situation with other musicians, you'll never understand how your instrument really works. same goes for learning to speak any foreign language. just gotta get out there and do it.

Bourbon.

I couldn't imagine living here without getting up to speed with Thai to at least survival/low-level conversational ability, but given the investment in time and effort involved, I am not sure that it is really necessary for most farangs to become really fluent- in fact, I am not even sure that there is much payoff in terms of quality of life, unless a strong knowledge of Thai is useful in one's profession. Of course one should be able to order food, ask directions, barter prices, say the right things to the cops, and tell the ambulance attendant where it hurts, but while it is enjoyable to engage in chit-chat with taxi drivers, masseuses, and the full spectrum of waitresses, do I really need to be able to explain my political views or investment strategy in detail in Thai? Or more importantly, is it worth it to attempt to bring my Thai to that level when the majority of people with a degree of education allowing them to understand my take on topics ranging from the Cambodia border crisis to the collected works of David Foster Wallace will by and large already speak English better than a farang learner in his 40's can ever hope to speak Thai?

Moreover, I find that a lot of Thais with even a modicum of English study look forward to the opportunity to speak English with farangs; in fact, for some Thais their ability to speak English is a part of their job description, and the farang who insists on speaking Thai with them is liable to be resented as one treading on their usefulness at their job. As to reading, while it is useful to be able decipher Thai script so as to read a road sign, the kind of diligent study required to get to the level of reading a daily newspaper does not strike me as worth the effort unless it really brings one joy, Thailand not having produced too many hard-hitting investigative journalists, let alone Dostoevskys or Kawabatas, so far as I know. Just by way of pointing out that my position is not based on my being a lazy git, I speak, read and write two of the "hard" languages fluently- Russian and Japanese. A major difference between Thai and those languages is that the rewards of attaining fluency are demonstrably greater; in my case, Russian because it opens the door to one of the world's great literatures and cultures, and Japanese largely because the professional opportunities it avails. I do know some guys here fluent in Thai and making a lot of money, but there is a grain of truth in this amusing Not the Nation article: "Scientists Discover Inverse Relationship Between Expats’ Income and Thai Fluency" Not The Nation.Com :: The Website you can trust ::

I don't intend to disparage the achievements of those farangs who have mastered Thai (although I do find amusing the delusionary pride some guys seem to have in their ability to engage in broad Thai conversation with bar girls), but for most of us I think that in learning Thai the law of diminishing returns kicks in at a certain point. Curious to know what others think.

Originally Posted by robuzo

the majority of people with a degree of education allowing them to understand my take on topics ranging from the Cambodia border crisis to the collected works of David Foster Wallace will by and large already speak English

Spot on. A friend who completed a 6-month intensive course (20 hours of class time a week) commented that for most purposes taking your Thai to a stratospheric level is basically useless. You'll be having those convos in English, if you have them at all.

Originally Posted by Property

why should I waste my time talking to people who are clearly less intelligent than me.

That's what Marcel Marceau said.

Originally Posted by mackayae

Originally Posted by Property

why should I waste my time talking to people who are clearly less intelligent than me.

That's what Marcel Marceau said.

Descartes speculated that Monkeys have the capacity for human speech, but choose to remain silent in order to avoid having to converse with Man.


There are some things we may never discover.

Originally Posted by Property

. And anyway, why should I waste my time talking to people who are clearly less intelligent than me.

So why would an intelligent, sophisticated scholar like you lower yourself to live in Thailand with all of these dumbasses???

I hate to hear people make statements like that, yet choose to live here.

Originally Posted by chitown

Originally Posted by Property

. And anyway, why should I waste my time talking to people who are clearly less intelligent than me.

So why would an intelligent, sophisticated scholar like you lower yourself to live in Thailand with all of these dumbasses???

I hate to hear people make statements like that, yet choose to live here.

They can speak the language, you can't!

Reminds me of the story of the traveller who is lost and asks a farmer working in the fields, "what is the name of the nearest town?", to which the farmer replies, "I don't know". "Then, where does this road go to"?, "I don't know". You're a real idiot aren't you? "You're the one who's lost".

I learned to communicate in Thai by hanging out in bars/snooker halls and having girlfriends that couldn't speak English.

Originally Posted by chitown

Originally Posted by Property

. And anyway, why should I waste my time talking to people who are clearly less intelligent than me.

So why would an intelligent, sophisticated scholar like you lower yourself to live in Thailand with all of these dumbasses???

I only have to live with one of them, fortunately.

Originally Posted by Property

Originally Posted by chitown

Originally Posted by Property

. And anyway, why should I waste my time talking to people who are clearly less intelligent than me.

So why would an intelligent, sophisticated scholar like you lower yourself to live in Thailand with all of these dumbasses???

I only have to live with one of them, fortunately.

But you do live in Thailand.......right??

Surely that's part of why we choose to live here. Living among complete and utter imbeciles really makes me feel great - just laugh at them, you'll have the time of yer life.

OP, ^^

You learn the language by using it.

Correct. Keep on using what you know, build new vocab every day, use it at every chance you get and you'll be fine. Also doing a lacguage course can be useful.

But practice practice practice.

Originally Posted by Megahorn

Surely that's part of why we choose to live here. Living among complete and utter imbeciles really makes me feel great - just laugh at them, you'll have the time of yer life....

Hopefully that was meant in the right vein, otherwise make sure you don't happen to laugh at the wrong one in a wrong way.

Also doing a lacguage course can be useful.

Is he doing car resprays or what - lacguage - something to do with the final finish

Originally Posted by Texpat

If you listen carefully to Thais speak, they scream over tones like a fighter at the treetops. The clues are in the context.

Exactly. When you try to overdo the tones, that's when the confusion starts. If you make an effort to speak confidently, and don't over emphasise the tones, you will be understood a lot better.

As much as my wife tries to teach me I'm fcuked. I've a memory like a sieve. Have trouble remembering peoples names as well.

I had no choice but to learn it due to our workers poorly English-skills, I never took a class or any lesson, picked it up by listen and use it on daily basis. Its tough in the beginning, but dont give up.

Originally Posted by Dalton

poorly English-skills

Have you thought about taking them to the doctor's?

^ Arent we funny todays...

First I concluded living in a country and not knowing the language would make life very difficult and frustrating. From there listening, asking and practicing was the key. Trust me, I am half deaf and far from a cunning linguist so if I can do it so can you.

^W.C. Fields and Mae West. I know I nailed that one - Avatar game for those who don't know.

Originally Posted by chinthee

^W.C. Fields and Mae West. I know I nailed that one - Avatar game for those who don't know.

Yes, My Little Chickadee. Not you the movie! New one coming soon.

Originally Posted by chitown

I hate to hear people make statements like that, yet choose to live here.

Yep, not very intelligent at all...