Thai language

[pattayaisheaven]

i have been learning to speak thai with a set of audio sessions called pimsleurs thai, the only problem is there are some things that it doesnt explain and i am very aware that if i where to speak to a thai person using it i would probably sound stupid and pompous.

 

just wondering if the krup needs to be used at the end of every sentence and also any other little bits of advice you guys might have when speaking thai.

 

thankz alot.

[yamabthere]

i have been learning to speak thai with a set of audio sessions called pimsleurs thai, the only problem is there are some things that it doesnt explain and i am very aware that if i where to speak to a thai person using it i would probably sound stupid and pompous.

 

just wondering if the krup needs to be used at the end of every sentence and also any other little bits of advice you guys might have when speaking Thai.

 

thankz alot.

 

Using Khrap at the end of a sentence is correct for people you don't know. I tend to drop it (mostly) when I know someone.

 

It's like formal English, there are situations when you would use it but mostly we use informal English.

 

Keep practicing I studied it for 6 months then picked up a lot more when I went back to los.

[Skallagrim]

i have been learning to speak thai with a set of audio sessions called pimsleurs thai, the only problem is there are some things that it doesnt explain and i am very aware that if i where to speak to a thai person using it i would probably sound stupid and pompous.

 

just wondering if the krup needs to be used at the end of every sentence and also any other little bits of advice you guys might have when speaking thai.

 

thankz alot.

 

 

Yes the Khraps need to be there if you want to be polite. I guess when and if you really learn to speak enough to carry a conversation, you will also know when it's not necessary.

But you will probably just speak a sentence or two at a time for now, so use it.

 

I am am learning by that same course myself. And asked the same question to some Thai girls and they all agreed that the Khrap should be there...

 

Else, just throw yourself into it. You will get a lot of laughs and smiles, and the girls will love to help you with your pronunciation when you mess it up :-)

 

And yeah, some more advice would be welcome :-)

[pattayaisheaven]

thankz for the replies guys, and yeh maybe we can turn this into a bit of an advise thread for people wanting to learn thai

[BigChief]

There was a really great thread on another forum where some member was posting some really cool links to things that would help you learn Thai.....5555! I wonder if that same board member is a member here.....5555!

 

Poodt lin krup!

[LaaMok]

There was a really great thread on another forum where some member was posting some really cool links to things that would help you learn Thai.....5555! I wonder if that same board member is a member here.....5555!

 

Poodt lin krup!

 

haha i havent done that thread here!! i wonder why i got put off!! lol

[Mark]

I am trying to learn some Thai with Pimsleurs. I find the CDs intresting

and challanging I think that was money well spent. But for some reson

(Most likley that I as stupid as F---) My learning rate is WAY less than

the 30 minets that are given in a lesson. To learn the firts lesson I had

to listen to the lesson.. pratice all day at work (Walking around making

strange sounds all day) For five days before I could clame 100% recall

on the first lesson. I was just woundering if anyone had any comment

about the time it took them to go through a lesson with 100% recall

(The disks ask for 80% but I am kind of a stickler)

 

PS, If anyones answer is that I am an idiot thats fine two LOL.

[BassGod]

Asian languages are tough, don't beat yopurself up over it. Also don't worry too much about sounding stupid, Thai's generally appreciate the effort.

[Mark]

khorb koon BassGod krup

 

http://www.learningthai.com/useful_phrases.html

[fake_name]

Thanks for the link Mark, That will be good for me to know some usefull words in Thai...

[mick]

still learning thai for beginners by benjawan poomsan becker good for the basics , will start on pimsleurs when i return from my holiday , will be in pattaya in 3 weeks so hope to pick up a few more lessons over there

[Skygod]

I am trying to learn some Thai with Pimsleurs. I find the CDs intresting

and challanging I think that was money well spent. But for some reson

(Most likley that I as stupid as F---) My learning rate is WAY less than

the 30 minets that are given in a lesson. To learn the firts lesson I had

to listen to the lesson.. pratice all day at work (Walking around making

strange sounds all day) For five days before I could clame 100% recall

on the first lesson. I was just woundering if anyone had any comment

about the time it took them to go through a lesson with 100% recall

(The disks ask for 80% but I am kind of a stickler)

 

PS, If anyones answer is that I am an idiot thats fine two LOL.

 

After three attempts at lesson 1, I sort of gave up and thought I'm never going to make it. Maybe I'll get the CD out and have another go.

[BigChief]

I learned Thai without studying any books at all. All you need to do is marry a "black haired dictionary" that doesn't speak English. 5555!

 

We were married still using phrase books and pointing to things in the books. After about 1 year of marriage, I could speak Thai fairly well, and after 6 years (our anniversary is during Songkran) I can speak Thai pretty well. Although I don't speak Thai "proper", I speak Thai like normal Thai people. Not the cocked up upper class fucks.

 

Some claim they can speak Thai better than most (aka BHY or LocalYokul same same) because they speak Thai like cocked up upper class people. FUCK THAT!

 

 

 

BigChief

[George66]

Learn from the dictionary in my sig. The accent is proper and now I can say almost by heart "they call me Dr. Love!" LOL.

[lebond]

I have the pimsleur cd's and remember finding them very had work when I started listening to them. But it does get easier, just keep listening as many times as it takes.

 

When I met my TG's family a couple of months ago, speaking a little thai proved VERY usefull after completeing the first 10 cd's.

[wolfy]

Also using Pimsleurs Thai. I found that if you try to do it in 30 mins you miss way to much. As I have lots of time before my return, I spend 3 days on each lesson and it is really helping. However when I was there last fall I found that most of the people you talk to want to use English for their own practice. Cheers T

[LaaMok]

I am trying to learn some Thai with Pimsleurs. I find the CDs intresting

and challanging I think that was money well spent. But for some reson

(Most likley that I as stupid as F---) My learning rate is WAY less than

the 30 minets that are given in a lesson. To learn the firts lesson I had

to listen to the lesson.. pratice all day at work (Walking around making

strange sounds all day) For five days before I could clame 100% recall

on the first lesson. I was just woundering if anyone had any comment

about the time it took them to go through a lesson with 100% recall

(The disks ask for 80% but I am kind of a stickler)

 

PS, If anyones answer is that I am an idiot thats fine two LOL.

 

same same here. I listen to them all day at work everyday (sometimes)

 

edit.. i meant i have to listen to them about 10-15 times each

 

JUST UPLOADING THE LESSONS NOW

[Midgard]

I am going to Thailand (Pattaya) for the first time this summer and want to learn to speak Thai.

I have gone through the first five free lessons of the learning program ThaiTrainer111 that is available on internet. To get access to all 83 lessons, I will have to pay 60 Euro. My impression of the program so far is very good.

I just wonder if anyone else here have tried it .

Perhaps I should go for the learning program most of you are referring to (Pimsleur) instead ?

[LocalYokul]

because they speak Thai like cocked up upper class people. FUCK THAT!

yeah, some of us would like to sound like we didn't learn our Thai from the uneducated class

 

fuck that ?, you mean fuck sounding intelligent ?

 

or do you mean fuck that when they are laughing at how you sound ?

 

[rockhard]

lol. Yeah I wish I could speak like a Issan bar girl too. The reason LY can speak Thai well is because he knows how to read & write it.

 

For all you Aussie's out there. Your thick accents are the biggest impediment to speaking Thai well. Aussie ear not connected to Aussie tongue. LOL.

[Eneukman]

lol. Yeah I wish I could speak like a Issan bar girl too. The reason LY can speak Thai well is because he knows how to read & write it.

 

For all you Aussie's out there. Your thick accents are the biggest impediment to speaking Thai well. Aussie ear not connected to Aussie tongue. LOL.

 

Learning to read Thai is a geat help and it will also help you understand why certain words have the tones they do. I can now read basic Thai, albeit very slowly - and can even write some words in Thai from memory.

 

My biggest problem is that my memory is truly awful - and I can forget something 2 minutes after repeating it umpteen times!

 

Alan

[George66]

Poorly pronounced but it's a start.

 

[timmieacer]

On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being very important, how important is it to learn Thia before making a first trip?

 

Thanks

[LaaMok]

I would say 1.

 

But its nice to at least be able to say thanks and hello.. also "mai ow khrap" is the most useful "not want"

[timmieacer]

I would say 1.

 

But its nice to at least be able to say thanks and hello.. also "mai ow khrap" is the most useful "not want"

 

Good to know...Even I can learn 5 words