Translating common "desires"

[zazzu]

Hi guys

I like to have some standard "go to" requests, questions, likes and wishes translated into the local language before my trip. Traveling to places like Mexico or Japan, that's pretty straight forward - one choice for a language based on the country. However with Bangkok, it seems that many of the boys working in the massage spas or boy bars can be from surrounding countries. Do a lot of these boys from the surrounding countries understand Thai?? Are the languages similar enough that they can read something translated into Thai? I can translate into the Thai language but it's a bit cumbersome to translate everything into 2-3 additional languages.

I'm sure I'll be relying on gestures/body language for a lot of situations but having something translated sets the tone at the beginning. 

[reader]

Boys from countries that border Thailand seem more familiar with Thai. Others who been there a while usually pick it up.

Thai is among the world's tonal languages. This explanation from Babbel provides an overview.

While the many varieties of Chinese get the most coverage, there are lots of tonal languages out there. Other tonal languages include Thai, Igbo, Yòrúba, Punjabi, Zulu and Navajo. All told, there are over 1.5 billion people who speak a tonal language.

There are also a number of pitch-accent languages. These include Norwegian, Serbo-Croatian, Japanese, Filipino, Swedish and Ancient Greek. These languages generally have two tone distinctions, say a high and a low.

https://www.babbel.com/en/magazine/tonal-languages

[zazzu]

9 minutes ago, reader said:

Boys from countries that border Thailand seem more familiar with Thai. Others who been there a while usually pick it up.

Thai is among the world's tonal languages. This explanation from Babbel provides an overview.

While the many varieties of Chinese get the most coverage, there are lots of tonal languages out there. Other tonal languages include Thai, Igbo, Yòrúba, Punjabi, Zulu and Navajo. All told, there are over 1.5 billion people who speak a tonal language.

There are also a number of pitch-accent languages. These include Norwegian, Serbo-Croatian, Japanese, Filipino, Swedish and Ancient Greek. These languages generally have two tone distinctions, say a high and a low.

https://www.babbel.com/en/magazine/tonal-languages

Great! Thank you. 😎

[bkkmfj2648]

I would add that many of the Myanmar guys that I have met in  Pattaya and also on Koh Tao, did not speak Thai - but instead could speak almost perfect English.

Up north in the Chiang Mai area many of the Myanmar guys could speak Thai and their English capabilities were limited.

I cannot speak about the Myanmar guys found in Bangkok as to what languages that they are fluent in.

 

[zazzu]

Yes, there's definitely hope that some will speak at least some basic English but I like to be prepared. I'm not terribly worried as I have enough experience communicating through language barriers. I just don't want to be the "rude American" who expects everyone to speak English. Having some questions translated into the local language usually helps breaks the ice.

[Raposa]

In Bangkok, Myanmar guys speak good enough English. Laotian is closely related to Thai so people from Laos often understand Thai quite well after staying in Thailand for a short while. Incidentally some Myanmar guys are from the Shan states and their language is closely related to Thai as well. It is often referred to as Tai-Yai in Thailand.

I will let others speak about their experiences with Cambodian guys.

[vinapu]

3 hours ago, zazzu said:

Yes, there's definitely hope that some will speak at least some basic English but I like to be prepared. I'm not terribly worried as I have enough experience communicating through language barriers. I just don't want to be the "rude American" who expects everyone to speak English. Having some questions translated into the local language usually helps breaks the ice.

Google Translate  or any such program is your friend and if you don't know how to use it , any boy will instruct you. Speaking from personal experience.

[vinapu]

1 hour ago, Raposa said:

I will let others speak about their experiences with Cambodian guys.

I'm under impression Cambodian guys speak better English than Thais or I just got lucky

[a-447]

I find most non -Thai guys working in Bangkok bars can speak Thai but, in my experience, few can read it. 

I use the google translate app which allows you to speak in English. It appears on the screen written in the target language and you can also click on the speaker icon and it will read it out aloud. This helps if the guy can't read.

BTW, you can always tell if a foreigner has leant Japanese from a textbook, because he gets the pitch wrong. For example, SHIro means 'white' but shiRO means 'castle'. Context is everything, so it's never really a problem. Just sounds funny, that's all.

[Keithambrose]

13 hours ago, zazzu said:

Hi guys

I like to have some standard "go to" requests, questions, likes and wishes translated into the local language before my trip. Traveling to places like Mexico or Japan, that's pretty straight forward - one choice for a language based on the country. However with Bangkok, it seems that many of the boys working in the massage spas or boy bars can be from surrounding countries. Do a lot of these boys from the surrounding countries understand Thai?? Are the languages similar enough that they can read something translated into Thai? I can translate into the Thai language but it's a bit cumbersome to translate everything into 2-3 additional languages.

I'm sure I'll be relying on gestures/body language for a lot of situations but having something translated sets the tone at the beginning. 

I have found that a lot of non Thai boys do not speak Thai,  but, as set out below, often speak good English. My last 2 encounters here, recently, were a Vietnamese boy, and Cambodian boy. Neither spoke Thai, but both spoke reasonable English. 

[siriusBE]

4 hours ago, vinapu said:

I'm under impression Cambodian guys speak better English than Thais

I can confirm that...

[ichigo]

7 hours ago, vinapu said:

I'm under impression Cambodian guys speak better English than Thais or I just got lucky

I’ve also noticed this. Not all the time, but quite often.

[vinapu]

3 hours ago, ichigo said:

I’ve also noticed this. Not all the time, but quite often.

lets face it , plenty of English or Americans may have problems with English as well

[jason1975]

I feel Cambodians and Myanmar speak best English.

Followed by Laos and Vietnam.

Thai standard of English is unfortunately the worst among the 5 countries.

[zazzu]

20 hours ago, vinapu said:

Google Translate  or any such program is your friend and if you don't know how to use it , any boy will instruct you. Speaking from personal experience.

 

I'm very comfortable with Google Translate. I just don't want to type out the same questions every time I meet a new guy (or speech to text). lol 

 

19 hours ago, a-447 said:

I find most non -Thai guys working in Bangkok bars can speak Thai but, in my experience, few can read it. 

I use the google translate app which allows you to speak in English. It appears on the screen written in the target language and you can also click on the speaker icon and it will read it out aloud. This helps if the guy can't read.

BTW, you can always tell if a foreigner has leant Japanese from a textbook, because he gets the pitch wrong. For example, SHIro means 'white' but shiRO means 'castle'. Context is everything, so it's never really a problem. Just sounds funny, that's all.

 

Mmmm, beer/building and chicken/gate are some other words that sound similar in Japanese. Like I'm going to order a "building" at a bar in ni-chome though. 😝

[a-447]

2 hours ago, zazzu said:

Mmmm, beer/building and chicken/gate are some other words that sound similar in Japanese. Like I'm going to order a "building" at a bar in ni-chome though. 😝

Actually, they are not similar at all.

But context will tell the listener which word you mean, unlike in Thai where they listen for the tone. 

I've stood in front of Thais and repeated a word with each different tone and they still don't understand! 😂

It's why I didn't put too much effort into learning Thai, as I knew I'd never get the tones correct. It's too confusing. For example, take the word glai. Depending on the tone, it can mean 'near' or 'far'! So when I tell the taxi driver that the hotel is near a certain landmark, I could be telling him it's a long way from it.

With the google translate app, I don't need to bother any more.

 

 

[zazzu]

6 minutes ago, a-447 said:

Actually, they are not similar at all.

Really? 

• ビル (biru): This is the Japanese word for building.
• ビール (bīru): This is the Japanese word for beer.

[a-447]

3 minutes ago, zazzu said:

Really? 

• ビル (biru): This is the Japanese word for building.
• ビール (bīru): This is the Japanese word for beer.

It all comes down to the length of the vowels - a bit like 'hit' and 'heat' in English.