Why do Thai people speak English similar to the way a deaf person speaks ?

**pattayardm** · 08-10-2012, 02:58 PM

It used to be the norm for Thais to sing to each other by way of conversation approximately 100 years ago.

I have always liked the way Thais speak English as it makes our languge sound more musical.

**aging one** · 08-10-2012, 03:06 PM

^ what are you talking about? More musical?

**draco888** · 08-10-2012, 03:54 PM

Originally Posted by aging one

^ what are you talking about? More musical?

Gotta remember there is a VERY wide range of tastes in music!

**bash street gang** · 08-10-2012, 08:51 PM

They tend to act like they're deaf.

**drawp** · 09-10-2012, 09:19 AM

Originally Posted by aging one

^ what are you talking about? More musical?

i sort of pick up the same from some of the Thais here in the US, at least with the women. They seem to speak it rhythmically, like an up and down sort of thing. They will start the sentence off high, then gradually go to a lower tone and then finish with a high tone, sort of like how they will enunciate "ka" when speaking.

**DrAndy** · 10-10-2012, 08:19 AM

Originally Posted by Wizard of Oz

But the lack of English spoken TV programs is the main reason.

so nobody could speak English 100 years ago?

the reason people speak different languages with an accent is that they are used to using their mouth for their own language

this involves a whole different set of muscle shapes and lip and tongue positions

**adzt1** · 10-10-2012, 08:48 AM

Originally Posted by DrAndy

this involves a whole different set of muscle shapes and lip and tongue positions

oh yeah. are you sure your posting in the right thread.?

**RickThai** · 20-01-2013, 11:44 AM

I think its the way Thai's hear sounds. They tend to listen to inflections and tones more than proper enunciation.

I imagine Thais often wonder why falongs are all tone deaf.

JMO.

RickThai

**Mister Fixit** · 21-01-2013, 07:55 PM

Originally Posted by adzt1

I used to know a tuk tuk driver who sounded Ozzie with that higher last syllable

The moronic interrogative, a term coined by British comedian Rory McGrath. Sounds dreadful.

**toddaniels** · 07-02-2013, 09:05 AM

Actually the reason most Thais speak English with a Thai accent and muted enunciation is that they first learned English from reading English words written in Thai script. Sort of like the way foreigners learn Thai via “karaoke” (a mixture of the roman alphabet, and other characters to represent Thai sounds).. There are also consonant clusters in English which can’t be rendered in Thai, so Thais have a tough time wrapping their tongues around them.

The down side to learning English when it’s represented in Thai characters is that ALL the words have to follow Thai pronunciation rules. This gives their English an “off sound” to it. It’s as bad as foreigners saying the word for “guava” as “falong” although in Thai it’s actually written with an “r” and has a short "a" vowel in it; ฝรั่ง.

If we compare the Thai accented English spoken here to the horrifically mangled off-toned Thai foreigners routinely spit out while alleging they’re fluent in Thai, it’s a no brainer, Thais speak far better English than foreigners speak Thai.

Dunno what demographic of Thai the O/P listens to but I sure don’t hear Marlee Matlin's version of English comin’ outta these peoples’ mouths. PLus the totally deaf people who have the shops around my Soi speak like a dolphin.

While off topic, perhaps of marginal interest;
Foreigners who say they’re “tone deaf” are just using it as an excuse NOT to learn Thai. No one speaks English without using tones, (not even Stephen Hawking and his computer generated voice). English speakers routinely use all 5 tones used in the Thai language, we just use them for different reasons. In English we;

Use a rising tone on the end of the last word in a question; Right?
Use a falling tone to express sympathy; Ohhh.
Use a high tone to express shock or surprise; What!
Use a low tone to express a noncommittal attitude; Sure…
Use the mid tone for almost everything else.

The difference is, we use tones in English to impart emotive value to what we’re saying and Thais use tones to delineate between different words. Any foreigner, who says they can’t hear the tones, just hasn’t trained their ears to listen to them for the right reasons.

**taxexile** · 07-02-2013, 09:23 AM

another difference that todd fails to mention, and i think is very important is to do with listening.

in english, the important sounds are at the beginning and at the end of the syllable, the middle part of the enunciated sound is not so relevant and so "english ears" are trained/have developed to pick up the start and end of the syllable.

in thai, and maybe other tonal languages too, the important part to listen out for is the middle of the syllable, and "thai ears" are trained/have developed to pick up the middle part more than the start or end.

when thai initially listen to english, they naturally pick up the middle part in preference to the start or finish, with consequent deficiencies in pronunciation, likewise when english people listen to thai, they naturally miss out on the important middle part.

constant exposure gradually retrains the receptive process.

**draco888** · 07-02-2013, 07:43 PM

I thought Thais spoke English with a Thai accent was because they are Thai

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