Do thai girls want us to speak thai ?

[ilovepool]

i want to learn thai simply so i can listen.

in pattaya, where u can trust most of the girls, it equates to a superpower.

 

where is a good school in pattaya?

how much?

[Richmond72]

Interesting thread. Just today I bought a bunch of iPhone apps to learn some Thai before my trip this Xmas. Don't expect to get very far, but perhaps enough to be able to use some basic phrases and such. I have experience with a language with even more tones than Thai, so hopefully I won't butcher the language too terribly. I guess if I have any bad experiences with it while I'm there, I'll just stick with English.

 

I'd really love to learn enough of the Thai alphabet to be able to sound out a menu, but Thai script is intimidating as fuck.

[robthai]

Well this is my theory. The nasty ones don't want you to speak thai, cause then they fear that you'd know what they were talking about in thai, like talking behind your back. The friendly bar girls, dont mind. I think If you speak it very fluently it can be a turn on.

[belfastmatt]

Guys alot of stuff in this thread just doesnt make sense. Keep in mind the vast majority of bargirls DO NOT SPEAK THAI as their primary language. They converse in isan, which is effectively the Lao language. The idea a girl would be scared of you understanding her through too much Thai therefore doesnt really add up!

 

I have learnt a reasonable amount of Thai but when the girls start rabbiting on in Isan I am clueless.

Edited November 20, 2011 by belfastmatt

[MattL]

Guys alot of stuff in this thread just doesnt make sense. Keep in mind the vast majority of bargirls DO NOT SPEAK THAI as their primary language. They converse in isan, which is effectively the Lao language. The idea a girl would be scared of you understanding her through too much Thai therefore doesnt really add up!

 

I have learnt a reasonable amount of Thai but when the girls start rabbiting on in Isan I am clueless.

 

Do most of the BG speak Thai fluently though? Because the general theme of this thread seems to be that the scammers are going to be pissed you know Thai and the non-scammers will be happy you're speaking it. Well, if I speak Thai (which I don't) and a BG starts speaking to her friends in Isan, not Thai, then I still know she's saying something she doesn't want me to hear, even if I don't know the specifics. If she is speaking to her friends in Isan or Thai and I only speak English, then there's no reason to assume anything.

[JRooster]

I see it as a weeding tool. If the TG doesn't like the fact you speak thai, that just means that she has things she wants to hide. If they are happy and pep up, that means they are probably going to be more straight forward and honest with you. I think most respect the fact you took the time to learn their language. Also, sometimes it doesn;t hurt to just sit back and listen without them knowing what they are saying. BG's talk about some crazy sh#t.

It also puts you on a whole other level in the game as well, not too mention a nice price break

[DonTheJeweler]

I found on my last trip that most girls were very happy to speak with me in Thai. I would say my Thai is lower-intermediate now. I noticed that if my Thai was better than their English, they preferred to speak Thai, but preferred to speak English if their English was better than my Thai.

 

Met one girl in Insomnia who spoke Thai with me in Insomnia and then asked me to stop speaking Thai once we went for something to eat. Thought it was a bit strange, but she did speak perfect English, so maybe it was annoying her that my Thai wasn't as good as her English. Next morning she was back to talking to me in Thai. Also, she went to the toilet in Insomnia and asked me not to talk to any other girls in Thai while she was away. It did all seem a little strange to me, but I didn't let it discourage me for the rest of my trip.

 

I think in 90% of situations the girls like us to speak Thai, well, if your Thai is a reasonable standard.

[Micky2]

It varies. I speak Thai fairly fluently.

 

I met and lived with a TG (a visa overstayer) for a few months in my own country. She never spoke a word of English to me, mixed mainly with other Thai people, and still does not speak much English after living there for several years, and being in business in partnership (with a Thai who was married to a local).

 

I lived with a TG in Thailand for several years, and she would not speak a word of Thai to me, or even listen when I spoke Thai to someone else. Her English was good, and got better....... would still be with her if a relationship was just about sex, but other issues led to the demise of that one.

 

Neither was a BG. Most BGs I have come across, and many others, seem to prefer that a farang doesn't speak too much Thai. They say to me, "You know too much!"

Edited December 4, 2011 by Micky2

[rpbc]

Thai sounds like a difficult language to learn not being of the Indo-European language group but I still think it would be easier to learn than the language that they speak in Scotland.

[herds]

They speak English in Scotland don't they? at least that's what it sounds like they saying

 

Thai gets easier with time but it is pretty alien at first.

 

I can't really say how difficult it is compared to other languages as my other language is French which I learnt for 5 years in school where I must have averaged 1 new word a year.

 

There's some government grouping chart of language difficulty that has 4 groups, from memory languages like Spanish are in tier 1 (the easiest group for english speakers) at the bottom, which makes sense as many people say it's the easiest language and even though I've never learnt Spanish I can often get the gist of what they're saying as so many words sound the same. Thai is near the top of tier 3 along with Russian and Arabic if I remember right. Tier 4 (the highest tier) has but a few languages, i think they're Japanese, Korean, Chinese - Mandarin and Cantonese.

 

At least thai has 5 tones.. not 9(!) like Cantonese, hehe.

[Bruno Brasil]

Thai sounds like a difficult language to learn not being of the Indo-European language group but I still think it would be easier to learn than the language that they speak in Scotland.

 

Scotts English is just a different vocabulary. I recommend Robert Burns as an introduction. A country who's first son is a poet is a fine country indeed. Start here:

 

 

then check out this vocabulary lesson

 

 

As for Thai, I first studied it outside Thailand, and had an upper class Thai lass as a teacher. Even now, many years on, I'll use some turn of phrase that will shock the BGs. I love speaking Thai, I love using tones, I love shocking the reception girls in the hotel when, they are not looking at me, and I ask for my room key with crisp clear tones. They always jump when they turn around and see a farang.

 

I love Thai, I love to speak it, I love everything about it, even the annoyingly complicated script. (Want a beautifully written language? Try Korean. Hangul is the best writing system in the world.)

 

If you haven't learned Thai properly (as a tonal language), you should try it. It is the most fun you will ever have learning and using a language.

 

Do the Thai girls like me more or less for my language skills? Who cares? I love using this language, and my best barfines are girls who refuse to speak English with me. It is a totally incredible experience to have a girl use new words that I do not know, and, suddenly, mysteriously, the definition of those words just pops into my head.

[I Love all Thai Women]

they cant talk about you either if you know Thai. Its best to know some Thai but say you dont. That way when your BG is telling her friend shes got a fat stoopid farang with her who smells like a buffalo then you can make for an exit

lmao sometimes i think it would be better not to know they called you that. I'd be getting pissed and it wont turn out well

[Craig_ozz]

Yea you have a good point. Might cause a few problems if they are talking bad about u

[Ajay75]

I usually just listen now, but if you can speak at a pretty decent clear level it can help you get discounts on stuff. I've just come back from my trip and I got discounts on a taxi from the airport when my booked one didnt turn up, thai rates for beach chairs and drinks, cinema entry and even a barfine discount (which I nearly fell off my stool over) in Alcatraz.

 

I never spoke Thai with someone I either wanted to BF or spoke very good english. I'm not fluent by any means but in my 4th year now so feel comfortable speaking. I got asked a few times to speak Thai instead of english (even when their english was ok) which certainly boosted my confidence.

 

Need to push on this year studying as got a bit lazy last year and want to progress alot more.

[xmas]

most of the time the girls were happy with me knowing a little bit of thai as long i was respectful in the way that i used it

[extracta]

Guys alot of stuff in this thread just doesnt make sense. Keep in mind the vast majority of bargirls DO NOT SPEAK THAI as their primary language. They converse in isan, which is effectively the Lao language. The idea a girl would be scared of you understanding her through too much Thai therefore doesnt really add up!

 

I have learnt a reasonable amount of Thai but when the girls start rabbiting on in Isan I am clueless.

 

I agree with this,most of the girls converse in their own local dialects and although I speak a fair bit of Thai I generally do not understand what they are saying.

 

Once they know I can speak Thai they will talk to me in Thai and we can have a meaningful conversation, but as soon as they start talking with their friends again I am left behind.

[pubstud]

Guys alot of stuff in this thread just doesnt make sense. Keep in mind the vast majority of bargirls DO NOT SPEAK THAI as their primary language. They converse in isan, which is effectively the Lao language. The idea a girl would be scared of you understanding her through too much Thai therefore doesnt really add up!

 

I have learnt a reasonable amount of Thai but when the girls start rabbiting on in Isan I am clueless.

 

Apart from a few gals who are illiterate all the Isarn gals we meet in Pattaya bars have been taught central Thai at school. They speak in their regional dilects at home of course but they all know and fully understand central Thai, which is what we farang study. Apart from the main regional dilects there are also sub-dilects. A good example being with Surin, those gals speak central, Lao/Isarn and Kymer. There's also a sub dilect Suey, which is the language the elephant people speak, I had a Surin GF a few years ago who spoke in Suey with her sisters. Same goes down the Deep South, there are a few sub dilects and cocktails of Pak Tai and Basar.

[somjit]

Met one girl in Insomnia who spoke Thai with me in Insomnia and then asked me to stop speaking Thai once we went for something to eat.

 

If you learnt Thai from BGs every Thai will know that after your second sentence.

[Gambitt69]

the thing that baffles me is when u read on the internet how to say "no problem" for example it will say mai pen arai but when you are there the girls will say mai pen lie.

 

Is this a matter of formal vs informal ? or are my ears just perceieving them to use an L when they are actually using an R ?

[BluTraveller]

no

[somjit]

the thing that baffles me is when u read on the internet how to say "no problem" for example it will say mai pen arai but when you are there the girls will say mai pen lie.

 

Is this a matter of formal vs informal ? or are my ears just perceieving them to use an L when they are actually using an R ?

 

Your ears are ok, they are using L for R.

[Tommy204]

Some experienced girls are wary because you know thai you know their shenanigans.

New girls like it as their English is not so good.

I like it because i like new girls

 

Completely agree with Arwen here.

I too love the new girls, they -in general- treat you better, have more respect, and can be surprisingly entertaining.

While the 'hired guns' focus on bleeding you dry, when you throw in a couple words of thai, these little bitches tend to avoid you.

 

Therefore a win-win situation:

the veteran thai ladies will avoid you; and probably they are right: they can find a 'better $$$' customer

the farm-fresh girls will like you, because finally they don't have to nod an entire eveing to a customer they don't understand, and you'll get a girl that treats you like a king

Edited March 18, 2012 by Tommy204

[extracta]

Yes, the bad Thai your friend used with must be as annoying to listen to as bad English is to us. I think the turning point is when your Thai is better than their English, then your Thai is making communication easier rather than harder.

 

I agree with this, I am regularly asked to speak Thai instead of English.

 

BG's with little or no English also really britten up when they can actually communicate with a Farang.

[extracta]

This is from Wikipedia http://www.pattaya-addicts.com/forum/topic/66310-do-thai-girls-want-us-to-speak-thai/page__st__75

 

The main language of the region is Isan, which is a dialect of the Lao language. Northern Khmer, a dialect of the Khmer language of Cambodia, is also spoken in the southeast. Standard Thai is understood by everyone and is used for all official matters. The number of speakers of Isan has been estimated at between 15 million and 23 million, the majority of these being in Isan.

The Khorat dialect, spoken by around 400,000 people, occupies a linguistic position somewhere between Isan and standard Thai.

There is a substantial Khmer minority, concentrated in the southern provinces of Buriram, Surin, and Sisaket, and some Vietnamese refugees in Mukdahan and Nakhon Phanom.

Other languages spoken in Isan, mainly by tribal minorities, are as follows:

Language Family Speakers Distribution Aheu Mon–Khmer 750 Sakon Nakhon Eastern Bru Mon–Khmer 5000 Sakon Nakhon Western Bru Mon–Khmer 20,000 Mukdahan, Amnatcharoen, Ubon Khmer Surin Mon–Khmer 1,000,000 Surin, Sisaket, Buriram, Khorat Kuy Mon–Khmer 300,000 Buriram, Surin, Sisaket, Ubon, Roi Et Nyah Kur Mon–Khmer Unknown Khorat, Chaiyaphum Nyaw Tai–Kadai 50,000 Sakon Nakhon, Nong Khai, Nakhon Phanom Nyeu Mon–Khmer Unknown Sisaket Phu Thai Tai–Kadai 156,000 Nakhon Phanom, Ubon, Kalasin, Sakon Nakhon Phuan Tai–Kadai Unknown Udon, Loei Saek Tai–Kadai 11,000 Nakhon Phanom So Mon–Khmer 55,000 Nakhon Phanom, Sakon Nakhon, Nong Khai, Kalasin Tai Dam Tai–Kadai 20,000 Nong Khai, Khorat, Loei (plus Saraburi) Yoy Tai–Kadai 5,000 Sakon Nakhon

[jamesb]

Good thread. In support of a comment above, my original Thai teacher from 4 years ago immediately said you are speaking bar girl Thai. I have somewhat corrected that problem but not entirely I'm sure, due to my regular exposure. On the question of BG's liking customers who can speak Thai, I think It's more a question of do they like customers who can understand Thai. If you sit in a bar and listen to them talk amongst themselves you will quickly understand why they have concerns about us understanding Thai. We get slammed on a pretty regular basis (and not just in the bedroom).

Edited March 24, 2012 by jamesb