Why Learn Thai?

[Guest painai]

For the life of me I don't understand how someone retired, living in Thailand has no interest in learning Thai.  It's a lot of work, and something you must do all the time, but if you're retired--what else have you got to do? Nothing irks me more than when I here some Farang say, we would have had a good time, but he didn't speak English.  Why doesn't the Farang speak Thai?  You would be surprised how it makes living in Thailand easier when you can actually communicate in the language of the country.  Also, you can watch news, talk shows, etc.on Thai TV and read Thai newspapers intended for Thai audiences.  It certainly helps you feel part of the Thai culture. That's just my opinion and you will find many Farangs, especially in Pattaya, who have zero interest in learning anything other than English.  To each his own.

[Rogie]

For the life of me I don't understand how someone retired, living in Thailand has no interest in learning Thai.

 

I agree with most of your post Painai. But, the key word is retired. Retirement spans the whole spectrum nowadays. Where once a guy was knackered by his early to mid-sixties from a lifetime of heavy manual work down a coal mine or in a steel mill or whathaveyou, now most retirees in western countries are in pretty good shape. Good shape physically and medically. But the brain maybe's fared less well. In some it has already started the winding down process, so the guy is really happy getting together with his mates for a beer or a visit to the game or take off for a day's fishing. However, if rather than stay put in his home town he decides to up sticks for Thailand one might expect such a person to be more enterprising and ambitious. So,  learning the language might be in his in-tray. What with all the major things he has to sort out during and immediately after the move, it's only to be expected some things take a back seat. I would hazard a guess that a newly-retired guy might want to consider learning Thai within a year or two. Half-baked plans that kept getting put on the back shelf rarely assume enough urgency to overcome an obvious reluctance! Of course he may decide from the outset he doesn't want to learn the language in which case fair enough, he can get on and enjoy his retirement with one less thing to concern himself with. As Painai says, To each his own.

[kokopelli]

For the life of me I don't understand how someone retired, living in Thailand has no interest in learning Thai.

 

I know several farang who have studied Thai and are able to speak it but don't.  I have been with my bf when they don't even acknowledge him with a few words of Thai.  So, yes, why does't the farang speak Thai?

[Guest timmberty]

maybe they are scared to make themsleves look a bit silly koko or even to clever .. who can tell.

i cant get my head around the fact people dont want to be able to understand the world around them.

simple things like reading billboards etc ..

one off conversations with people.. a thai comes up to you with a big smile on his face and says something ... then walks off not so happy .. why did you upset him ?

i dont belive its that hard to learn when the language is around you 24/7

im sure most retired people who have moved from their own country to thailand, sit in a bar or coffee shop reading all about the country they left behind rather than the one they moved to because they love it so much.

[Bob]

I know several farang who have studied Thai and are able to speak it but don't.  I have been with my bf when they don't even acknowledge him with a few words of Thai.  So, yes, why does't the farang speak Thai?

 

What I'd be interested to know is how your bf would respond to the question: "Would you like the falang around you to speak to you in Thai or English?"  I think you might be surprised by the answer.

 

Like many other Thais, my bf of 12+ years won't speak Thai with me and, from what I've gathered over the years, he is puzzled why I would bother to learn to speak, read, and write Thai.  In a sense, he somewhat thinks his learning English was improving himself but that my learning Thai was somehow lowering myself.  And when I'm around other falang friends with their long-term (or even short-term) boyfriends, those boys too typically won't speak Thai to the falang around them and, even if I ask them a question in Thai, they'll respond in English.  Admittedly, most of them can speak English better than I can speak Thai. 

 

Regardless, there are a lot of reasons I continue to learn the language. But the notion that it's not hard to learn it (especially for a westerner over 50 and who has no prior experience with tonal languages) is simply dead wrong. 

 

Timmberty, your comment about what you're sure that retired people do or read here continues to reflect your ignorance of retired expats in Thailand.  Are comments like that based on experience or do you simply get a kick out of saying things you know nothing about? 

[Guest timmberty]

oh dear bob youre off and running now arent you .. my comments are my feeling.. am i not allowed to have feelings or think about things ?? or do you simply get a kick out of being an arsehole ?

altho to be fair when im sat talking to an expat or expats and they all have a copy of an english news paper or american newspaper, that could be called experiance could it not ? yep arsehole for sure !

[kokopelli]

 

What I'd be interested to know is how your bf would respond to the question: "Would you like the falang around you to speak to you in Thai or English?"  I think you might be surprised by the answer.

 

Like many other Thais, my bf of 12+ years won't speak Thai with me and, from what I've gathered over the years, he is puzzled why I would bother to learn to speak, read, and write Thai. 

 

I had asked my bf regarding farang speaking Thai or English. He said English. He said most farang cannot pronounce Thai correctly and sounded silly.. Like your bf he is puzzled why any farang would would to learn Thai.

 

[Bob]

Although irrelevant to the thread, all the retired falang I know occasionally read the Bangkok Post or The Nation.  Those, as most of us know, mainly provide coverage of events in Thailand and southeast Asia.  I've never seen any of my retired friends with a western newspaper and, to the extent that some falang do buy those few available here, I presume they're tourists.   

[Guest fountainhall]

How often have you been to Thailand, timmberty? And what little tourist phrases have you picked up?

 

I'm curious, because as Bob mentioned and you will know, Thai is a tonal language. Western languages generally use tone levels for emphasis. In Thailand, China and some other Asian countries, the tone level dictates the meaning of the word. I lived in Hong Kong for a long time. I mastered some Cantonese, but not a lot - but then English was and remains widely spoken. I can tell you, though, that Cantonese has 9 separate tone levels. So when you use the word 'gow' you can mean nine different things depending on the inflection you use when saying it - including 'nine', 'dog' and 'penis'. You therefore have to be very precise to avoid offending someone. Fly three hours up to Beijing and you have to use Mandarin which has only four different tone levels and is effectively a different spoken language.

 

Similarly in Japan where Japanese has yet more tone levels to master. When I lived in Tokyo, my experience was similar to Bob's and Koko's here in Thailand. I was the only foreigner working in an office with 48 Japanese. Since it was a branch of a company based in the USA, all the managers spoke pretty good English. When I started to learn Japanese, they just laughed at me. They loved hearing me make a lot of mistakes. Then they said they'd much rather I speak in English!

 

And I agree with Bob. Getting one's brain round a tonal language is far more complex when one is older. If you haven't already done so, you should try it and let us know how you get on.

[Guest fountainhall]

my comments are my feeling.. am i not allowed to have feelings or think about things ?? or do you simply get a kick out of being an arsehole ?

 

They may be your feeling, but expressing them here means adhering to the Posting Code of Conduct - as I'm sure you're aware.

[Bob]

Most Thais appreciate you're attempting to converse with them in their own language and quite often, at least with me, are liberal with their compliments when you do.  Yet, I typically respond to the compliments with a smile and say  "คุณพูดภาษาอังกฤษดีกว่าผมพูดภาษาไทยครับ." And it's always the truth given I'd rate my abilities at about the level of a somewhat dumb Thai first grader. 

[Guest timmberty]

ive been a few times, and have picks up a few things ... i am aware its a tonal language im also aware its not easy to learn.

but hey lets all take the attitude that if something is quite hard lets not bother, so much easier huh ?

if you work in an office where everyone speaks english as in most places in the world, english is the business language there is little need to learn.

i am surprised at you a bit i must admit FH a couple of put downs from the guys you worked with and you gave up.

if and when i come to live in thailand or elsewhere the one thing i do not want to do is hang around expats each and every day.

some people want to immerse themsleves in the local culture other are happy to eat egg and chips day after day .. what evers easier.

[Guest timmberty]

They may be your feeling, but expressing them here means adhering to the Posting Code of Conduct - as I'm sure you're aware.

i agee hole heartedly with you FH im sure being called ignorant is more upsetting for some people than being called an arsehole. or someones silly little snipping on every comment can get a little weary.

to save you the trouble i shall now let you all carry on without me being the big bad bully.

twas fun while it lasted but nothing lasts forever. i hope you will all be happy together ..

cheers timmberty

[Guest fountainhall]

a couple of put downs from the guys you worked with and you gave up. 

if and when i come to live in thailand or elsewhere the one thing i do not want to do is hang around expats each and every day. some people want to immerse themsleves in the local culture other are happy to eat egg and chips day after day .. what evers easier.

 

That's an assumption - and it's a wrong assumption! But I won't quibble about it as I did not provide all the facts. Trying to learn Japanese when your responsibilities are region-wide and you spend 7 months each year travelling outside Japan, sometimes trying to remember little bits of other tonal languages, ain't easy!

 

I totally agree with your comments about hanging around with expats all day. Whilst I have some close expat friends, I have more Thai friends, some going back 15 years - one whom I shall see tomorrow even 30 years! The fact that I am restricted to Thai phrases has not made it difficult to meet and have Thai friends. I just don't think it is right to tar everyone with the same brush.

[Guest painai]

I've heard it said that when you try to speak Thai and a Thai says you speak it well, it means you're terrible. No comments, you're fluent.

[Bob]

I've heard it said that when you try to speak Thai and a Thai says you speak it well, it means you're terrible. No comments, you're fluent.

 

Probably for the most part that's absolutely true; regardless, I contend they appreciate the effort.  And, if I make myself understood, at least I feel good about it.

[Guest thaiworthy]

At the beginning of this thread is a video that is the subject of this news item that appears on Thai Visa. The link no longer works, however I had captured it before YouTube pulled it.
 

Phuket: Govt wants Youtube sex spoof removed

BANGKOK: -- The government plans to ask YouTube to remove a video clip mocking the sex industry in Thailand.

The clip is a parody of a commercial for the Rosetta Stone foreign language learning programme. The spoof was produced by popular American late-night television show Saturday Night Live.

In the video, foreigners are interested in learning the Thai language so they know how to say things like, "How much?", "Is that for the whole night?" or "How can I take off your clothes?" in Thai.

Culture Minister Sonthaya Khunploem said on Monday that the Culture Watch Centre is working with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in an effort to have the video removed from the world's most popular video sharing website.

The government will also inform the United States embassy that the commercial spoof is tarnishing Thailand's image and will ask the embassy to explain the situation to the producer of Saturday Night Live, Mr Sonthaya said.

The parody has drawn many negative responses from both Thai and foreign netizens on YouTube.

Most Thai internet users were not impressed with the video, saying the joke is too harsh and not at all funny.

An internet user posted in Thai, "The Americans behave like this and this is why they're bombing their country."

"Even though it might be true, the producers should not offend Thailand this way," another Thai commented.

As for foreign netizens, some commented that people should not take the spoof too seriously but most were disappointed with it.

Source: The Phuket News/Agencies/BKK Post http://www.thephuket...moved-36805.php

-- 2013-02-04

 

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/616846-thai-govt-wants-youtube-sex-spoof-removed/

[Guest thaiworthy]

You're never too old to learn, or so they say. You're never too young, either-- apparently. Here's a video and a story of a 3-yr old, who can recite the Thai alphabet. Truly inspirational. The bf has just informed me, "Many Thai already forget. Sure."
 

Dylan Hall may be just three years old but he has already managed to become an internet sensation in his native Thailand. He now lives in Wales with his Welsh father and his Thai mother, who frequently sent YouTube clips of him to his far-flung grandparents in Thailand.

And one of those YouTube videos, in which he recited the Thai alphabet, has made Dylan a celebrity in Thailand.
Since being posted online the video has had over two million views - and Dylan himself now has over eighty-thousand followers on Facebook.

 

 
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-east-wales-21328613

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-21326147

[Rogie]

That kid's either cute or sheer torture, not sure which, maybe a bit of both!

 

Welsh eh? How about this?

 

 

[Rogie]

That was a bit unfair of me to tarnish all Welsh people with the same brush. 

 

The term Welsh Windbag was a 'popular' nickname for Neil Kinnock, a former leader of Britain's Labour Party, although it has been used for others such as David Lloyd George, Prime Minister in the early part of the last century. (Little-known fact: Lloyd George was actually born in Manchester of a Welsh family, but he and his mother moved back to Wales following the death of his father).

 

 

[Guest thaiworthy]

There are about 5,000 languages currently spoken around the world. It is impossible to give an exact count because even linguists don't always agree whether two languages are different or if one is a dialect of the other. About 4% of the languages are spoken by 96% of Earth's population.

[Guest thaiworthy]

It is widely believed that the word "farang" (caucasian, westerner) comes from the French word "francais." This is implausible on phonetic and historical grounds, but it is a popular misconception.

 

It is true, however, that these words have the same ultimate source.

 

The word "farang" exists in various forms in languages in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. It is clear that the word originated as "Frank" in Europe and spread eastwards along Muslin trade routes.

 

That most likely borrowed the word from influential Muslim, Persian or Indian traders in the 17th century or even earlier. The Persian word was "farangg." The term was probably used to refer to early Portuguese traders and subsequently to all Europeans (i.e., non-Muslims).

 

It is possible that the Thai word "farangset" (French) is a blend of the word "farang" and the French word "francais," i.e. is actually derived from "farang" and not vice versa. Certainly, the word "farang" existed prior to "farangset."

[Guest thaiworthy]

Like many languages, Thai days are named after planets: Sunday, the Sun; Monday, the Moon; Tuesday, Mars; Wednesday, Mercury; Thursday, Jupiter; Friday, Venus; Saturday, Saturn.

[kokopelli]

I thought Wednesday was named after Woden as in Woden's Day and Thursday was named after Thor, as in Thor's Day?

[kokopelli]

Does anyone know what/who the days of the week are named after in Thai?