Thai language

[pggumtisong]

I am between level 2 and 3 (1 is fluent). Starts to be usefull when the girl is fresh from issaan, a real plus for "conversation" when her english level is very low. And I start to understand some stuff when thais speak between themselves.

My goal is not really to be fluent, but to be able to understand > 50% of conversations...At this level, I will pretend to be a complete noobs which can only say sawatdee krap and enjoy the show!

 

 

i think you can talk with another people soon

 

have many thai people take time and can talk to you .............

[pggumtisong]

i hope we can learn english more here

 

i just start for learning *-* when i have good english so we can know .......

[herds]

I've always wondered how 'fluent' is classified as well. I've thought of it as 2 stages of fluency, 1a being you can converse like a native using idioms, sayings, cultural references, slang etc and 1b being able to converse as well as what all the textbooks would teach you i.e. proper sentences etc.

 

I know a few thai that speak english well enough to be considered fluent but in my (south england, not cockney) accent they can't understand me if I talk as I would to an english person, for example using cultural references, cutting off sentences, english idioms, metaphors, historic references, slang and speaking at a regular pace etc. I don't think unless you live in the country for serious extended period of time you could become fluent enough to get to 1a.

[Aryan69]

I am making a must to start learnin thai....coz the language is unique n thai galz will find u unique speakin their lang...

[PartyHardy]

as of right now, I know a handful of phrases, but that's it

 

 

that will change as im downloading more lessons/books/mp3s...i might not be fluent because fluent means i will be able to read thai...i dont plan on that. i just want to learn all the possible functional phrases and know when to ask some questions, etc..

[teamthai]

I sound 100% thai when i speak, but i can't say i speak fluent. My vocabulary ain't as good as when i was a kid. Some of it dissaperd growing up, but are

beginning to come back in high pase. I have no trouble to start/understand a coversation but has forgotten completly how too read/write (was never really

good at that)

[Hua Ngoo]

So how do you fluent guys go when you hear the Thai girls come out with what they really think?

I speak a bit, but I was concerned when Bangkok mate, who has lived and worked here for a while gave me some insights.

I reckon, not to understand too much is the go, best let them have their Secrets.

I was fortunate (unfortunate?) to learn to speak Lao first. But in Pattaya it has proved to be an inhibitor (Phud Thai/Lao Khaeng)

Still, I suppose it screens out the bad girls.......?

[Dr.Winston]

So how do you fluent guys go when you hear the Thai girls come out with what they really think?

I speak a bit, but I was concerned when Bangkok mate, who has lived and worked here for a while gave me some insights.

I reckon, not to understand too much is the go, best let them have their secrets.

I was fortunate (unfortunate?) to learn to speak Lao first. But in Pattaya it has proved to be an inhibitor (Phud Thai/Lao Khaeng)

Still, I suppose it screens out the bad girls.......?

My experience is that they open up and will include you into their confidences, they're quite willing to tell you personal stuff. The number of guys who say to me "I wish I could understand what they're saying" but they're far more likely to be talking about shopping, their new dress or a reduction in their cut from lady drinks than speaking negatively about the customers (Unless they've done something specific to upset them). That's it, the boring truth as I've found it. As for the Thai/Laos language distinction, there are many similarities between them and once your Thai reaches a certain level it's pretty easy to learn the key differences and understand Laos. I studied Thai but have no problems following BG's when they speak Laos.

[Hua Ngoo]

Good to know, i spent my first year in S.E.Asia with Lao women and found them to be the pick of the bunch (or so I thought, and why not)

Still, I find, the ability to banter in, at least, some basic Lao (freaks them out - Paksida wow Lao) is a great ice breaker.

 

Cheers

[surfbug]

I have been visiting for a few years now, and can speak nit noi Thai. As one poster mentioned, my current TG speaks good English, so I guess I have gone a bit lazy...............

[THAJEC]

I can put thai nit noi. Only some phrases and abou 200 words for joking. I agree some thai girls do not like some farangs speak thai dee

[def1]

My Thai is fluent now (first studied in the 1980s). I can read it to a reasonable level (magazine articles) and write short notes in Thai script (I really should practice the script more as I haven't really practiced it for years).

 

I love speaking Thai, it opens doors that non-Thai speakers don't even know are there. Well worth learning if you intend to spend a lot of time there.

 

i will second this sentiment i spent the last couple of days in bangkok drinking in the beer garden with a great guy from Australia who spoke good thai then he sang some, fuck me half the girls came over to our table, talk about opening doors.

this has made me determined to try to learn more have started on pimsleurs thai and rosetta stone and struggling but im sure i will get a bit better before i return.

[LaughingBoy]

im tying to lean more but its hard when you learn most of it when your drunk.

somtimes i suprise my self tho

 

If you are learning Thai in Bars whilst drinking, then I am afraid it's Barglish.

[LaughingBoy]

It's always an advantage if your Thai is better than their English, maybe a hindrance for them if not, at least that's the way I prefer to view it. At the end of the day it's all about communication rather than wether somebody likes foreigners speaking Thai or not.

 

Friends usually ask me if my current bedfellow speaks English, which my normal reply is that I don't know.

[Goanna]

I am fingered. At the village, 10k from Cambodian border, everyone speaks khmer. They all speak thai as well, except the old people. So, they understand my little bit of thai, but I have no hope of following their conversations. They sound like chickens, bok, bok, bok, bokaw. Numbers seem to be the same. While learning thai, I dont want to confuse myself and think khmer is thai or some other confusing shit. But I know if I learn proper thai, they will understand me..............maybe.

[Dr.Winston]

I think that you are correct that Central Thai would not really help you to understand a Khmer dialect. I'd have thought that Thai would be pretty widely understood by them though. I still think that you're better off learning Thai as opposed to a dialect that woud be pretty useless in other parts of Thailand though.

I am fingered. At the village, 10k from Cambodian border, everyone speaks khmer. They all speak thai as well, except the old people. So, they understand my little bit of thai, but I have no hope of following their conversations. They sound like chickens, bok, bok, bok, bokaw. Numbers seem to be the same. While learning thai, I dont want to confuse myself and think khmer is thai or some other confusing shit. But I know if I learn proper thai, they will understand me..............maybe.

[OleKingCole]

Have just made enquiries about a lady - Mia - native speaker language teacher based in Chiang Mai who lived in US for a number of years, so has fluent English (well US anyway) who runs Thai language courses on 1 to 1 basis via Skype video. Should be a good way of learning - he says hopefully. Really need that face to face stuff to get the foundations in ready to build on it when I return and also to help me get on with the "book learning"

[td5855]

If you are learning Thai in Bars whilst drinking, then I am afraid it's Barglish.

 

No it is not.

Kuhn pood kee.

 

I learnt phrases in bars and my ex TGF parents would of known when I spoke if it was wrong.

Paw, Mae roo pom pood passa thai dee, mai pood barglish. Kao chi pom pood mak mak

 

Most guys if not all, experience their first knowledge of Thai in bars. Have never went to thai learning school so speak Thai as I would English so my words are "arse about face". But it was the Desire to learn, understand and speak that drove me and others.

 

But everyone knows what I am saying or attempting to put across.................. I THINK????

Even the Thai 'BIB' police when I called them out one night, because the Bluidy tourist police would not pick up the phone??.

[td5855]

i will second this sentiment i spent the last couple of days in bangkok drinking in the beer garden with a great guy from Australia who spoke good thai then he sang some, fuck me half the girls came over to our table, talk about opening doors.

this has made me determined to try to learn more have started on pimsleurs thai and rosetta stone and struggling but im sure i will get a bit better before i return.

 

Agree,

Took a while but can sing the Thai reggae song, sung by bob marley (I think) from start to finish.

Whenever I go in Sexy girls aGoGo soi 8, Thai boss puts it on and hands me the mike.

 

The expression on Thai girls faces when you sing the verses, let alone the chorus have their jaws dropping and accusing you of cheating on your Thai wife. Tell them "I live alone", "Why" they ask. Tell them I snore in Thai very loudly, that has them laughing with me..... or at me?

[Goanna]

Doo Ter Tam - By Job 2 Doo.?

[Oeshon]

trying to improve. I'm just at a basic level. I know enough to get around but I cannot hold a meaningful conversation. I understand bits and pieces.

 

I really thought I would be better by now but it is partially my own fault. I've spent too much time hanging around BKK girls who are fluent in english and they don't want to spend all day helping me learn thai. I'll make some big strides later in the year.

[joltme1313]

ive been studying thai hardcore for a little less then a year and a half and my skills are very good to this point.. i also have the benefit of having a thai girlfriend who lives with me here in america. there are a few things i noticed when practicing thai with thai people.

1. they are all excited and interested to know why you can speak thai so well.

2. that interest fades quickly.. they would rather talk with people that they dont have to concentrate on every word that they are trying to say. same for me too.. listening to foreigners butcher english is not something i like to do for long periods of time.

3. id say about 65 percent of thais that i speak thai with answer me in english.. then i ask them to speak thai and they do.

4. i feel sometimes they are protective of their language. like they are giving away a secret or letting you into a special club by helping you learn past simple pleasantries.. this isnt all thais but quite a few...

5. thais know right away when you can speak thai well or not just by the way you say sawat-dee khrap. if you are trying to keep it secret dont use any thai.. especially with bar girls.. if they dont want you to know what they are talking about they will switch dialect and talk fast and unclearly on purpose just so you dont know. i read this a few ways. mood and manner play a part in how i feel about it. first, if they are on there game and they arent laughing or smiling when they are talking around me i know its a bad sign. if im not included in the conversation that is also a bad sign. sometimes they out right give you the evil eye of song sai... doubt.. they dont trust you. but thats bar girls only.. regular thai either dont care or are whimsically amused that you speak there language.. kinda like a dog who can howl "i love you."

6. i feel that once you reach a certain level of understanding and ability to reply without talking to slow or incorrectly you are received much better and interest fades much slower.

7. i found that trying to practice everywhere is great. but sometimes the feedback you get is a little negative. well maybe not negative but not encouraging. for example. going to a restaurant and ordering your meal in thai with a waitress is a good thing. but when you order incorrectly or cant be understood is a an annoyance for the waitress so sometimes your thai is dismissed and they will only speak english with you and give you the awww aint that cute the farang can speak a little thai.. it can be discouraging at first, but you have to take it with a grain of salt.. because they are usually busy and dont have time to help and correct you. plus they think its rude to correct you. especially if you are older then them.

8. ive noticed most of the time thais wont correct you when you speak incorrectly. they will let you speak wrong and just take into consideration of what you mean. because they already know wht you were trying to say.. thats really frustrating because you think your speaking well and your not.

 

this was my rant.. thanks for listening.. over all opinion keep on practicing.

[na-rak86]

all looking for a good aid, get down to tesco south pattaya and buy an electronic translator 'cyberdict' 555+ good little plug there

[s0315]

Very interesting stories and personal feedbacks you have here.

Are there any people here who arrived in Thailand without knowing any Thai, and spend some months trying to learn the language ?

I'm very interesting about how does it takes to be able to read and understand (easy) conversations.

 

Do you think Thai is hared or easier to learn than Chinese, as they are two tonal language with non-latin writing system they are comparable in difficulty isn't it ?

 

cheers

[Lucky Misfit]

Can't speak a lick, so my TG better know some English!