KhorTose Posted February 10, 2013 Posted February 10, 2013 In light of the OP's opening, which got sidetracked early on. I give the the official names with the real meanings added. OFFICIAL NAME/ MEANING REAL MEANING Monday วันจันทร์wan jan The moon , Great day for massage with happy ending จันทร์ jan Tuesday วันอังคารwan ang-kaan Mars , Pick up boy at host bar อังคาร ang-kaan Wednesday วันพุธwan pút Mercury , Time for a quickie near the palace พุธ pút Thursday วันพฤหัสบดี wan pá-réu-hàt-sà-bor-dee Jupiter , Go to Disco and try for a freebee พฤหัสบดี pá-réu-hàt-sà-bor-dee Friday วันศุกร์wan sùk Venus , Go-go day ศุกร์ suk Saturday วันเสาร์wan săo Saturn , Three or four way day เสาร์ sao Sunday วันอาทิตย์wan aa-tít The sun , Day of rest--please I am only human.อาทิตย์ aa-tít Rogie and kokopelli 2 Quote
Guest thaiworthy Posted February 10, 2013 Posted February 10, 2013 Day of rest . . . Don't you mean day of arrest, for all those 6 days of mischief? Quote
ChristianPFC Posted February 16, 2013 Posted February 16, 2013 Similarly in Japan where Japanese has yet more tone levels to master. As far as I know, there are not tones in Japanese. After 2 years of study (on average 1 hour per day, the first 3 months in a class in Bangkok, the rest in Europe), I can read and understand general documents (my work contract, electricity bill, announcements in railway stations and so on) to 50%, guess another 25% correctly and the rest is insignificant or can be looked up in a dictionary. This proves very helpful in many cases. At that level, I could switch to reading books that are intended to teach English to Thais (mostly by Pailin publishing house, book stores often have a selection of books reduced to 29 Baht (from originally about 100 Baht). Listening and speaking are a bit more difficult, when I am with a Thai I let him/her deal with other Thais, I can follow partially. I have a few Thai friends whose English is on a similar level als my Thai, with them it is very helpful to switch between English and Thai if necessary. As many of you know, even in the tourism industry or in universities, little English is spoken or understood. Those who do not speak Thai and are looking for a boyfriend who speaks English have at least a positive selection intellect-wise (i.e. if their boyfriend speaks English his education and status is above average). I recently noticed in a Se-ed bookshop that there is plenty of travel literature about Thailand in Thai language aimed at Thai readers (who would have thought?) with subjects/places not covered in English (internet or books), so far I bought three books and I can undestand about 50% (see above). In my neighborhood (Lak Si Bangkok) close to no English is spoken and my Thai is received positively and will surely be the key element to chat up local boys and lure them into my room under the pretext of helping me study Thai. For ordering food in places without a menu in English (most places I eat at don't have a menu in English) like street stalls it is essential to read Thai. (incomplete, just a short visit to gaythailand after long absence) Quote
Guest fountainhall Posted February 16, 2013 Posted February 16, 2013 As far as I know, there are not tones in Japanese. I am aware if your considerable language skills, but was not aware that Japanese was one of them. Japanese does indeed have a tonal system, although it may not be as strict as Thai and the various Chinese dialects, for example. Some East Asian languages, such as Burmese, Korean, and Japanese have simpler tone systems, which are sometimes called 'register' or 'pitch accent' systems http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tone_(linguistics) Quote
williewillie Posted February 16, 2013 Posted February 16, 2013 TW, UTL is a good school and well worth the experience. I believe it was founded for Christian missionaries needing to learn the language to spread the gospel. The trick is you need to do a lot of homework, as each session builds on the preceding ones. It is overwhelming to those who have zero knowledge of the language and many repeat the sessions until they get it down pat. I enjoyed the experience many years ago and while I have forgotten much of what I learned, I am pleased to be able to make myself understood to the Thai guys. I have been asked to speak English instead of torturing some of them with my Thai. It is necessary to overcome shyness and to speak Thai even if you are hurting their ears and giving them headaches. Keep your expections in check and don't expect miracles. If you have a good ear for music, it seems to help with the tones. The trick is to do lots of homework and spend many hours practicing and don't give up. Easier said than done. Quote
Guest Posted February 16, 2013 Posted February 16, 2013 I am aware if your considerable language skills, but was not aware that Japanese was one of them. Japanese does indeed have a tonal system, although it may not be as strict as Thai and the various Chinese dialects, for example.I've not yet encountered evidence of a tonal system in Japanese. Open any textbook for Chinese and the 4 tones get introduced almost immediately. After numerous Japanese lessons, I've still not seen any evidence to show the use of tones. Quote
