Quote Originally Posted by ChiangMai noon View Post
Quote Originally Posted by ray23
Remember I can't hear tones so that is the way it sounds to me
why not??

anyway, tones are fairly over rated.

so long as your context is correct, people will understand you. the tones will come in time just from listening and using.

sound advice re the Thai script.
doesn't take very long to learn, makes all the difference and for some reason impresses Thais no end.
Context . When i first started to speak thai i would (and still do) get the blank expression because i would try and just use one or two words to get my point across but i was saying the words with the wrong emphasis (tones). But i found that if i use 10 words in a sentence then i can leave the listerner in no doubt what i'm talking about because i have provided some context and plenty of clues.