WHY!! Most Expats Don't Speak 'Good' Thai ? Is Thai Difficult to learn?
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 16 มิ.ย. 2024
- I get many questions about the Thai language. Why is it most expats don't speak good Thai? Is Thai difficult to learn? Well I'm kind of in that group and I try to highlight the difficulties. I also try to find reasons why you should start speaking Thai and not be so overwhelmed. So, if you're thinking of living in Pattaya, Phuket or anywhere else in this fantastic country try the Thai learning links below.
Thai with Mod - / thaiwithmod
Speak Thai Easy - / @speakthaieasy
Lets learn Thai & English - / geniusgenasia
Remember to Keep comments clean and respectful chaps. You can Subscribe to my 4K walking tour Thailand channel for more content. th-cam.com/channels/0sBz_iXmYWDB9Y9u4xEghA.html
Thoroughly enjoyed this video James! Definitely 100% agree with what you said about using the language to better understand the sense of humour / idiosyncrasies
Cheers Paddy. Certainly opens your eyes to the culture. Just by making YT videos, interacting and speaking more Thai has made me see things in a different way. Hope all's well mate.🍺👍🙏
Awesome vlogg James.. Very informative and we'll explained.. alot of information I haven't seen in any other vloggs of this kind,...👌
Cheers mate. Hopefully helps a few people out who want to start learning. All the best.👍🍺
Hi James... Great information mate. I have struggled with Thai language for years. It's hard to keep the language alive when most off my year I spend in Ireland but when I'm back in the country it comes back to me. You're right about the tones I always get the wrong but the Thai people do help me with this and we do have a laugh.
Cheers David. Your right, Thais love it when you give it a go. I've called people all sorts by accident, but they just laugh and joke. All the best.👍🍺
Great vlog mate as always. Watching this has given me a kick up the backside to learn more.
Cheers Wayne. Keep at it. I still need to give myself a kick up the backside after 20 years trying to learn.😁 👍🍺
Dude this totally changed my understanding and going to start learning the easy stuff now...….. awesome thanks !
No worries. Getting by is quite easy but developing from that point takes a bit of time. Good luck.👍🍻
Such a clear video explaining the simplicity and challenges of Thai language. Nice James!
Cheers, appreciate the kind words. 👍🙏
Thanks mate, great advice.
Cheers. 🍺👍🙏
What an encouraging video. Thanks!
Cheers appreciate it.👍
Some good tips...thanks!
Cheers, appreciate it.🍺👍
Great vid mate. Reading Thai is the key to success.
Cheers mate. Appreciate it.👍🍺
Well i think you are pretty good james, some good points to work on for me i need to improve for all the reasons you mentioned
Cheers fella.
Thanks Liam. A Leo or 2 usually improves the Thai skills a bit.🍺👍😁
Excellent, you nailed it. Language certainly does allow the layers of culture to be peeled back. My Thai skills are very average but I still give it a go. I must admit my confidence has been knocked a couple of times. I remember one incident when I was buying bananas at the market, got the tone wrong and about 20 people fell over laughing. Oh well, I still try. Great presentation
I heard you after a few whiskies mate, you're Thai is good and should do more in your vids. I still use a good bit of mime. My local shop have no clue what I'm saying but we have a good laugh. 😁🙏👍
@@jamesabroad8589 Ah yes alcohol increases my confidence to speak lol
@@jamesabroad8589 :
Worry not their English is abdominal ruining everything they with each breath they take !!
They cant figure out what you say is no worse than you not understand there gibberish for English !!
My first Thai wife enjoyed taking me to the local market and having me say the "Who sells Chicken eggs" Thai tongue twister. ใครขายไข่ไก่ The Thai would all laugh at the way I slaughtered it. (In my defense it was only my 2nd year in Thailand.)
Thanks James. That has laid things out nice a simply. As you say, some of the online are certainly easier on the eye ;-) I'm going to start practicing a little more with Yisa while I'm still in the UK. Best from us both. Nick & Yisa.
Yes Nick, good channels and makes the Thai learning experience a very pleasant one.😁👍 All the best to you both. 👍🍺
Always a pleasure to watch your stuff. I also think Thai is rather simple :D but I'm not as far as you - yet!
Thanks a lot. It's simple to pick up but u have to put the work in to get proficient. Still a way to go for me. All the best.👍🙏
Your Thai s a lot better than mine !! Great video again as always !!
Cheers. Will keep working at it. A little every day is the way to go.👍🍺
Well done ajarn James that has given me a few ideas .
Cheers Ronan. Hope all's well your end.👍🍺
@@jamesabroad8589 all good James still holding out for July :)
Brilliant. Great help thanks 🇹🇭👍🏼🇹🇭
Cheers Jay, glad u liked it.🍺👍
Very well explained in terms we can understand. I'm glad people ask those questions to prompt you to put this together. Takes a lot of work to manage a vlog like this. Well done mate
Cheers TTT. Kept me out of trouble for a couple of days but fun to do. Hope all's well mate.🍺👍
Thanks for this info James. There's hope for me yet 🤓 going to book a tutor when I get back. It's so true, you get way more from a country when you can speak it's language. I can't wait to speak at an intermediate level.
You're welcome Andrew. Just have fun with it, a bit of confidence and you'll be fine.👍🙏
True bro. Was in Japan for 3 years. Excited in the beginning to learn Japanese, but because of poor study techniques and lack of progress, I eventually became miserable living there. I do feel watching tv and listening to music in the language you wish to learn is probably the best way
Hi James, great once again. I more so wanted to touch base just to say I am so glad you touched on your experience hearing what you heard and what happened next. (For a couple of years) I know and understand what you mean although for me it didn't come to that. However very nearly did. I understand its private but glad you mentioned it. The difference of language and meaning to me is very important as i think it is for you. Again, random but great all the same. Love your work.👍
Cheers Glenn. Knowing what's going on can get one into trouble.😁 Yes last few videos are a bit all over the place. Keeps things interesting.😁👍🍺
@@jamesabroad8589 just do what you do. All good.
I found it very hard to learn and remember when I lived there. The way that you have explained it makes me think differently if I ever come back to stay. Cheers 🍻
I’ve been here a year and finally decided I’d try a Reading and Writing formal class to learn Thai. I think in the long run, for me, it will probably help me to actually be able to speak and understand the language eventually. I’m definitely not the sharpest tack in the box when it comes to learning languages. “Speak Thai Possible with Khruu Naam” is an excellent teacher, that I’m using now.
I think it's good as long as you don't get overwhelmed and balance it with going out, interacting and practicing to speak. Doing both ways is the best in my opinion, good luck with it Steve.👍🍻
I cant seem to remember anything, my age I think James, but I get by lol, great video your phrase of the day helps me a lot
Cheers Tony. Know the feeling mate. I spend half the day looking for the car keys.😁 All the best.🍺👍
@@jamesabroad8589 I have a basket which I put all the keys in, automatic now as I come in, bang the keys get put in
I think that is a big part of it. I can still sing 100s of songs, even the ones I didn't like, from by teens and 20s. Can't remember anything other than the chorus of my favourite new songs.
The best way to endear yourself to local people is to try to speak their language, eat their food and show an interest in their culture. No one is hoping for perfection but just effort....my Thai book that I use says that a "foreign accent is a sign of bravery,"....it also says that "You can never understand one language until you understand at least two." Good words of encouragement along the sometimes bumpy and windy road of language learning. Great video...enjoyed it very much.
Glad you enjoyed it mate. Completely agree and I like your Thai book. It has some very profound statements. 🙏👍
It’s actually a very goode video, your take on things are spot on. I ‘just get by’ so to speak with very basic Thai language skills. My aim was to be able to buy food, drinks and where to find the toilet haha.
Cheers Martin, appreciate it.🍺👍
Thanks, James! I'm going to check out those channels. I would like to learn enough Thai to one day teach fitness classes here.
Don't know about other areas, but most of the Expats around Pattaya seem to think a workout consists of the number of steps from the baht bus to the bar.
Yes mate, I like speak Thai easy channel. She does YT shorts daily. Little bit everyday is the best way.🍻👍
nice vid, inspired me to restart :) thanks
That's great. I'm glad you found it useful. Hope it all goes well.👍😲
Great video mate. Where I live in Sisaket, they speak a combination of Laos/Thai and Khmer/Thai, which complicates thing for me even further ;)
Cheers mate. Sounds like a right nightmare. Quite a lot of Burmese spoken this way but not quite ready for that yet.😁👍🍺
I also made that point. Here in Udon Thani everybody speaks Lao apart from in official government capacity so it certainly adds another difficulty to the equation 😄
@@jamesabroad8589 Indeed 555
Great video James. Re: speaking Thai - I'm no where near as fluent as you. I found it useful to learn to read Thai but this means that I can read words and not understand their meaning! Not sure if that's useful?! I consider speaking Thai to be essential if living there. All it takes is an unplanned trip to the ER or a run in with the police and non-speakers (as they might do in any country) face an uphill battle plus possible prejudice or disdain from the person asking the questions.
Cheers Andy. Try to find what works for you. My way is a bit lazy to be honest but works for me. Speaking the language certainly helps when dealing with authorities. All the best.👍👍🍺
I think the best way to learn speaking Thai is practicing with the locals like going to a local market, the vendors at a local market love to speak with foreigners, or practicing with a taxi driver, for example. Some (locals) might laugh at or feel fun with your Thai but they don't mean to humiliate you...and don't give up.
My Thai is very basic but I find that when I attempt to speak Thai it seems to be appreciated. I enjoy learning but being in Canada for a year and a half is not helping me much. Thanks for this as usual I really enjoy your videos.
Cheers mate. Hope all's going well with your new home.👍🙏
James, Your explanation was so good. For me knowing the pharses and word association would work. I am married to a Thai for 11 years but cannot speak Thai. We never talk Thai as we live in Canada. When we move to Thailand my goal is to learn. One of the times we were visiting family in the village l was trying to be polite and called a cousin madame apparently my Thai was so bad l called her a dog. James you do an awesome jobs with your videos always top notch. Thanks, Ron
Cheers Ron. I've called people all sorts of things by mistake.😁Thais laugh it off and are glad you're trying to speak the language. Keep at it Ron next time you're over.
Nice simple explanation James. I would just add to keep an ear out for cognates - words in Thai which are the same or very similar to English as a quick way to increase your vocab e.g. LIF(T) GO(L)F
Yes good point Paul, this is a good way to start and build from there.👍🙏
Very reassuring video mate. I also struggle with the tonal aspect of Thai and am a basic speaker at best, so I was stalling alot with my confidence as I felt a little silly not hitting the correct tone, even though I know how to string a few sentences together and understand a reply. That is another thing, how well do you understand the response from the person you are speaking with. I sometimes will ask a question but struggling to understand the response.
It's difficult, but you have to try every day. Some days go well and others not so lol. Perserverance is key. Good luck👍
The most difficult for me would probably be the way we pronounce it, since some words could actually sound and mean the same at the same time in some words bt, if u cn do it we may do it as well, just takes time and practice bt getting socialize wth the locals there makes it alot easier thanks james for the vlog... Stay safe bro
Cheers William. Yes many words sound similar and you need to really listen to hear the differences. Hope you're well mate.👍🍺
Thanks james for someone that struggles by with very limited thai I would love to understand and talk more thai as you have said would be good to communicate with my partners family and friends I know they what to talk with me
Keep at it mate. The YT channels in the description are good. You have to go through the playlists etc. to find your level. Impress the family.🍺👍🙏
great advice! ....i need to get busy. (been saying that for awhile now) knowing words and a few phases only gets you so far. :) getting the tone right is what kills me! and if the tone isn't right...it's not the correct word. and some words our farang tongues just cannot do. haha but need to stop making excuses and get busy! (but it's easier to just be lazy) ;)
True Daz, I'm in the same boat. Can easily get by here without speaking Thai, so have to put some effort in. Hope you're well mate.🍺👍
I really enjoyed your video. I live in Cambodia and have learned the language Khmer and agree 100% the effect it has on locals when you make an effort to speak to them in their language. I never get Farang pricing now either, ha ha.
Very true, opens up things in ways you don't expect for sure.🍻👍
Well done James, as I've said before, I've been going to Thailand since 2004 and never really picked up the thai language. I did go once for 5 months, I was self employed. So I did pick up a lot of thai language, I could sort of know what they were talking about but couldn't react quickly enough. I was once in a bar and this farang came in and could speak thai really well, within seconds the girls realised he could speak good thai,they changed their language in a flash. To issan speak or Lao or Cambodian. These girls are so very intelligent so never underestimate them ! Or they just walk out. Bri and frei east Yorkshire.
Cheers Brian. There are many regional variations that are difficult to understand. Hope you're both well.👍🍺
Thanks for sharing my friend
From Indonesia 🇲🇨
You're welcome kapas.👍🙏
good vlog thanks
Cheers Chonthicha. Appreciate it.👍🙏
Hi mate that was very helpful I'm in same place as you where , but my wife switches too Isan then back 😩 but I will try . Stay safe 🍺
Cheers Chris. Sometimes better not knowing what the wife's saying.😁 Take care mate.👍🍺
You speak Thai pretty good. Can't wait to come visit thailand after all this pandemic over.....Hopefully after everyone recieve their vaccines then international border will be open up. I remembered before we enter our first refugee camp my dad took us to visit aunty and uncle in Nan and norther part of Thailand. I just remembered little bit like wake up from a dream. Since when we enter the refugee camp and nobody allow to go out anymore until we came to United State.
Wow quite a story. Hopefully when the vaccines roll out there'll be no more state quarantine here.🍺👍
Admitted that I laughed when you nonchalantly said "and we ended up having a huge argument and separated for a few years"
Very Good James! I agree 101% with all you said & learned Thai basically the same way as you described. It was better that way & made it enjoyable. Plus as you said the big benefit is being able to function in Thai society whether that is ordering noodles or buying items etc etc. I did learn to read & write later at a Uni course & that helped too...but still like you I still consider myself average but functional for the most part :) Funny thing about tones is you notice Thai kids don't learn via tones...Instead they are told Maa is horse....Maa is Dog...Maa is come.. & they just hear the different words & now know those words. Perhaps we as falangs just try too hard initially & instead should do as you suggest & have fun & find what is useful to us at the moment we are in eh? :) Thanks again!
Cheers mate. Glad it worked out for you too. I'm sure learning to read and write would improve things but I'm getting lazy in my old age.😁 All the best.👍🙏
Great video on an interesting topic. I’m tone deaf so have lots of trouble with tones .. which is my biggest worry & does put me off trying if I’m honest. My father in law was near fluent plus able to read Thai by his mid 20s, I’m far behind even now. Great advice and certainly one to refer people back to 🙏😎👍🏻
Don't worry too much about tones at first Simo. You'll be fine with a few phrases and vocab under your belt. Hope all's well.👍🙏
@@jamesabroad8589 I usually pick up the phase book once the holiday is booked ... might be a while 😜
50 years ago I attended Thai lessons but really got little out of that. It was the total immersion in Thai society that allowed me to pick up enough Thai (actually Issan) to manage my life. Now, over 50 years later and living in Bangkok my Thai family tend to speak English around me even among themselves, making it difficult to remember much. I do volunteer work in the slum area in an effort to keep as much Thai as possible at my old age. Without constant communication in Thai it is difficult to stay fluent enough to carry a good conversation so I use written Thai a lot to get my meaning across.
Very true, if you don't use it you lose it. Making videos has helped me practice more, but still a long way to go.👍🍻
I really think learning to read and write Thai script is the key as all the tonal rules are intrinsic within the alphabet and word construction. I'm so glad that I never tried to skip this part.
Yes I've heard your Thai and it's much better than mine. Certainly the way to go. Laziness and depending on the Thai partner is the culprit in most cases (mine anyway). All the best.👍🍺
@@jamesabroad8589 I think the tendency is that if you put in more, by learning Thai in this instance you will get more from your Thailand experience. I recently did a video about just this.
I started learning the script right after learning some basic, vocab sentence structure and phrases. It really helps. For the tones rote learning was the way to go for me. I repeated maa maa maa maa maa, hee hee hee hee hee, moo moo moo moo moo and so on hundreds of times a day, with people correcting me, when I got it wrong for about two weeks. After that I had the tones hammered in to by brain and vocal cords. Like that it took me only half a year to become quite fluent. That was in 2008. I lived in Bangkok until 2015 and got quite natural within those 7 years. Now I'm back in Germany since 6 years and still use Thai everyday with my wife, my bilingual kids, Thai friends and some Thai co-workers. I love it when I talk to some random Thai at my work at the airport, and they are surprised me speaking Thai. Sometimes they don't get it for the first couple of sentences until they realize that I'm talking Thai to them, and sometimes they don't realize for the first couple of sentences that a Farang is talking to them, and suddenly they realize it, after they already replied a couple of times.
Writing actually contributes little to learning tones…reading is what allows for this.
Yes but then writing Thai does mean that you can read it too
Hey did James quit for a while? I was just getting into the chanel, one of the best out there in my opinion. Hope you are well, if you see this :)
Hello mate. All good, just out of action for a while. Pulled a back muscle, pc died and now my camera's on the blink. Will be uploading in the near future. Hope all's well mate. 👍🍺
@@maniastrat Cheers mate. Will be visiting my old massage lady more often and the painkillers have definitely got quite a kick. All the best.😁👍
Simple answer: the tonal system is extremely difficult to nail down, and most Thais don't seem to make a phonetic connection with what you're saying.
Well, another great video (I have now watched about 50% of them), but it is not your Thai accent that I do not understand. What I have trouble with is your working-class accent, frankly. I am not a snob, but I often need to use the TH-cam translate function to understand what you are saying, although your accent is better than if you had been born in Wales, I guess. You are correct that learning to read Thai script is a major help for any serious Thai language learner. Lastly, watching this video has given me impetus to move forward with Thai language learning after having stopped almost all speaking, English, Thai and Chinese, due to the lockdowns of the pandemic. Time to get started again....
Cheers, yes my London accent can be difficult to understand.👍🍺
Speak confidently and enjoy the humour. The Thai restaurant in Newport Pagnell has got used to me ordering grilled dog "ຂ້ອຍຢາກກິນປີ້ງ ໝາ" "ฉันอยากกินหมาย่าง".
Sometimes I get a "boh mii maa" or "Ohhh! a banquet for falang!"
That's the way Nick. I've called people all sorts by accident but end up having a laugh with it. Take care mate.👍🍺
Great video mate, to which I would like to add a couple of points. Firstly native English speakers are often very reluctant (to the point of arrogance) to learn any other language. Secondly, if you live in Isaan or have a partner from Isaan then they will for the mostpart not speak Thai regularly but will speak Lao or in Southern Isaan Khmer. Here in Udon Thani, you rarely here Thai spoken apart from in government offices as Lao is tge lingua franca. My Lao is much better than my Thai especially as far as vocabulary is concerned but I am focused on Lao as that is the local language and also my wife's mother tongue. However, I have come across many farangs who seem to be oblivious to this. Living in a Thai speaking part of Thailand obviously makes it a lot easier as you only hear one language and only need to try to learn and understand one language. Anyway, enough of that. Great video as always mate 🙏👍🍻
Cheers mate. I couldn't handle that. One language is enough to try and get my head around. Hope all's well.👍🍺
I like to learn it with you 🙌
Yes, I will be doing more phrase of the day.👍🍺
As a native Thai, I think the Thai writing system is a huge barrier to learners. The transliteration system into the latin alphabet isn’t very consistent, unlike Chinese pinyin or Japanese romaji. And the ways tones work in writing is really complicated. Different classes of consonants interact differently with different tone markers. I think Thai is really hard in the beginning, but gets easier at the intermediate level.
Piripat, you are spot on. Myself I do speak quite good Thai, I am told "phut thai khong" often. My German mothertongue helps with the pronounciation. English native speakers do have a disadvantage here.
Actually beeing able to read Thai helps a lot in learning the language better.
I have asked many people, local Thai and foreign Thai speakers why there is no blanks between words. It makes readind unnecesarily difficult.
No one could give me a sufficient good answer.
I have thought about the reasons and came to my conclusion that it is there to make the command of the language deliberately difficult to people of lower class. So they will be barred from competing with the better educated.
Same with the language used in high class, royalty and law i.e.
That is why the ruling class is not changing it.
@@Paulaner50230 Your conclusion could be true, but I think Thai doesn’t use spaces mainly because it’s easier to read without spaces.
There are three reasons why Thai is read easily without spaces
1. Thai doesn’t use compound consonant endings. We can only say one consonant ending in each word. For example, shelf becomes shel, fridge becomes frid, and importance becomes importan. Because of this, we always know where a word ends.
2. Thai vowels and consonants use different sets of letters. We always know what is a consonant and what is vowel. Because of this, we always know where a word begins. European languages require spaces because you don’t know where one word ends and another begins, since A E I O U Y are part of the alphabet.
3. Thai writing isn’t linear. Thai vowels can be in all four directions of the consonant, this pattern makes it easy to read words in syllable blocks without the use of spaces. This is different from European languages that write everything linearly.
And instead of using full stops between sentences, we use spaces instead.
As a Thai, it’s actually harder for me to read Thai with spaces. It’s like reading English with a full stop after every word.
If you learn the sounds, and tone rules, Thai is actually much more consistent, phonetically, than English, which is a real mongrel-language.
When I first started to learn the Thai language, I used to put poster note labels written in English on everything around the house, if the word was tonal I would put marks above the word showing how it was spoken, everybody learned Thai when they visited.
Nice method Murray. Might well try it out.🙏👍
My first Thai wife's mother spoke the far northern dialect. (Phayao area.) My Thai was learned in Bangkok. She and I could not converse at all.
My second Thai wife was from Isan (Udonthani.) She was a Teacher so learned standard Thai and was also fluent in the Lao / Isan dialect. I had no trouble up there speaking to the locals, as I'd picked up a lot of Isan/Lao while stationed in Bangkok. (Most of the bar girls were from Isan.) It helped having taken Thai in Bangkok, including reading. If you know the written language, you can say the word, even if you don't know what it means yet. My third almost Thai wife was from 30 minutes west of Nongbualamphu. Her mother was a retired Teacher. The family all understood my Thai, they had little to no English. They spoke mostly standard Thai with just a bit of Isan.
Wow, you've experienced quite a lot in terms of relationships and the different dialects here. I find I can get by most of the time, but not sure if I'd be understood so much in Isaan.👍🙏
@@jamesabroad8589 They'd understand you, as the TV programs are in standard (BKK) Thai. The local up there radio stations tend to be Isan. If you're far enough NE, you'll hear actually Lao radio stations.
I started traveling to Thailand for work and took Thai lessons at a Thai temple in my home town. After several months of once a week, I became proficient enough to get around. Since I was only there 2-3 weeks at time for work I didn't need anything more in depth. But every trip I my Thai would improve while in country and then degrade once I got back to the US. Overall I found that expats tended to be either lazy or arrogant in their need to learn the language. I plan to retire there and will most definitely strive to become fluent. Immersion makes a huge difference in learning.
Yep agree, I was one of the lazy ones and still not that good but it opened things up in everyway after I started learning.👍👍
I’m n ASQ in Bangkok trying to learn. I’m good with languages so I am confident I’ll get it. BTW if I couldn’t stop staring at the open drawer on your island does that mean I have OCD? Haha
Nothing wrong with a bit of OCD Anthony. 👍😁
I was born in Thailand but I’m not Thai citizen because I’m not Thai. I came to the USA in the early 90s when I was about 9. I haven’t speak Thai since then. I’ve been watching a ton of Thai movies growing up and I still do. I understand Thai well and for me to speak it, I’m shy and nervous. If I ever travel back to Thailand, I can pickup Thai language within a few months I will speak as good as the local.
Having learned Thai up until 9 years old you will certainly speak fluently again in no time. Hopefully you can come back and try it out. Good luck.👍🙏
My oldest two son's had dual citizenship until they were 21. The eldest was born in Bkk, but left at 6 weeks of age. The only Thai my three sons know are related to simple foods such as ข้าวผัด fried rice.
A lot of the time the Thai people also don't obey the tonal rules, but of course they get away with it because of the sentence structure and also because of the everyday subject
Yea, honestly, unless it’s the first or last word, the totally don’t enunciate the tone..
James good vlog mate, but your dancing around is a little disconcerting. By the way how's the wall going?
Yes ants in my pants when I talk I'm afraid. The wall seems okay, will be speaking to Wicharn some time this month. Probably won't see much movement until the rains come.🙏👍
I know plenty of words and just make my own sentences up. It works sometimes but I usually get by. Doubt I could be like Lassie or Skippy and describe an accident scene, different casualty status and call in helicopter rescue lol.
got to be careful with the tones, you might be calling in a lady boy service by accident. 😁👍🍺
I used the audio lessons of Pimsleur's Thai to master Thai in the beginning. Had to drive 1 hour to work and the same time to get back home again, so that was a great opportunity to do it in the car. I wrote down the words in phonetic and use pronunciation markers which will tell me in a limited way which tone to use. Thai music (not Isaan) is also a good way to hear how words are pronounced, because the R doesn't become a letter L. When I'm in Thailand my girlfriend doesn't have to translate for me and I talk Thai as much as possible. The only thing I find difficult during conversations that the Thai you are talking with might replace the R with L. So every time you hear the letter L you have to figure out if they do mean L or if they meant R. I do very well understand that it is difficult for them to say that letter correct as I have received private lessons myself when I was very young, because I had exactly the same issue (maybe it is because I'm partial Thai). The great thing is that Thai people try very hard to understand your Thai, but from time to time they will hide their mouth behind their hand because you said something really funny. facebook.com/Learn-Thai-with-%E0%B8%9E%E0%B8%A3-920136824736982/ gives free lessons in reading and speaking on her facebook page.
Yes R sound is difficult for Thais. My wife wanted a 'red roof' when building the house and I would try to teach her to pronounce, but not easy. Will check out that page.👍🍺
@@jamesabroad8589 One of the radio calls signs we used was Red Rover for that very reason. Another was simplex serpent. Have a Thai try those.
I think in many aspects, people who are trying to learn, get hung up not using the correct tone and give up trying to speak. When you listen to Thais speak, it's often only the first or final word that is spoken CLEARLY in any particular tone...now, if you speak each word individually, tones are of course clearly emphasized and of course they are important, but I have met many foreigners who speak generally monotone Thai at very fluid levels and are understood by everyone. Not saying tone doesn't matter, just start trying to speak and go for it without worrying too much. It's all about practice. Plus, so many falang talk up how important tones are and then proceed to either not use them or use them incorrectly..
Yes, daily practice and confidence is key. Thais are very forgiving when you're trying to learn. 👍
Yes, it's something I explain also in the Rapid Method. But it's important to be able to say the tones right so that you can know when they can be dispensed with. Thais actually speak in a monotone more than in English simply because in fast speach there isn't time to dwell on the tone for every single word. We rarely speak in a monotone in English (we tend to speak in "iambic pentameter") so it's difficult to do so when speaking Thai (correctly?)... :o
I found that tones tend to be enunciated at the end of each sentence or "cadence". And sometimes for words that can be ambiguous in the current context. One useful trick is to always say "ca!" or "ca?" for a woman (rhymes with "pizza") or "crub?" for a man (rhymes with "cub") at the end of each sentence; and the rest of the sentence can be rattled off in a monotone! :)
("ca!" with an emphatic tone is used by women to make a statement, think "assertive"; "ca?" with a question tone is used by women when asking a question; "crub?" with a questioning tone is used by men always.)
@@LearnThaiRapidMethod so true.
Hi James , as you know live with the family ...at first I used to point to anything and Thai GF would say the word , tones and vowels as you know Thais have 32 English has 5 vowels ...learn the basics ...but it is fun learning ...if you drink Leo apparently after 6 you can speak perfect Thai when you are drunk ...5555555
After 3 leos I think I can speak the same as a local.😁 Certainly is easier, more confidence and less fear of things coming out backwards. All the best mate.👍🍺
I'm going to get a piece of electronics so I can divert the blame.
Ive been in England for 20 years and I think you speaks better Thai than I do and I'm a Thai lol
Oh no, My Thai is not so good. Better after 2 beers.😁👍🍺
Great video mate. My Thai is virtually none existent embarrassingly. My girlfriends name is Pimolmas and all her friends, family and work colleagues call her Mas but without pronouncing the final consonant of course so like Ma but every time I try it they laugh as I say dog which is also Ma but different tone. I gave up so just call her Minny, her nickname. I really need to find a way to learn more. You're right living with a partner they tend to do all the communication with Thai people and we don't live inside a village (just outside) so I am not hanging out with locals and family all day either. I know I have only lived here for 1.5 years and other farang I know here have been for much longer and still speak nothing so I shouldn't be so hard on myself but I am. I would like to be able to read Thai also one day and one of my friends here, a 31 year old Australian guy who lives near me (married with child and he makes money online) he has learnt to speak and read Thai really well within the past 8 years since arriving here.
I couldn't speak anything after 1.5 years mate. Wife didn't want me speaking to other ladies which didn't help.😁 Try Thai speaking days or mornings. Your GF can help out with mistakes etc. Can be hard at first but makes you work things out. I used to do with Annie. Hope all's well.👍🍺
@@jamesabroad8589 doesn't help me with my gf at work in the day as a teacher and then comes home and sleeps a while so not much time for her to help me but I will slowly improve I'm sure. All good here thanks.... we are expecting a baby this year :-)
The trickiest thing to master are the tones, if you don't pronounce the word with the correct tone, Thai people won't understand what you are trying to say unless they are very used to dealing with tourists attempts at speaking their language. The grammar and structure of the Thai language are very easy to pick up. I have noticed some people just cannot distinguish the tones even when you repeatedly say them over and over, they are unable to reproduce the tone too.
Yes , although I get through with little mastery of tones you really need to learn Thai script to become proficient. Some have a natural ear and can pick it up easily but not very common.👍🙏
I served in the US ARMY Special Forces. Was sent to Spanish and Korean language courses during my career. It never really stuck. I sucked. But I always did try to at least be polite in the host country language. I consider it as a matter of respect for my hosts. I like your phrases and am trying to work with them Thanks.
Cheers Daniel. A little every day is the way to go. Did u serve in SE Asia at all?
I knew many SF guys in Bkk. I don't know any of them who spoke Thai well.
If you are struggling you can use a Translate app for Smartphones and Windows
Yes Tim, when you can't remember something, for sure.🍺👍
You explain things well .
If your married to a Thai or live in Thailand , one should learn Thai imo .
If your a tourist , English in international and more important imo , you can use it everywhere .
Seeing Thailand is a tourist focused country more Thais should learn English , help the industry along in their country .
Having said that, anything you learn , pick up store in your brain is a bonus , knowledge is power .
True mate. Knowledge certainly is power. Better Chinese and English skills would help the tourist sector.👍🍺
@@jamesabroad8589 thank you James .
I have been going Thailand since 2012 , and been very lazy to learn thai, as my gf speaks English very well , but next year I'm actually going to language school for 12 months in hua hin to try and get better, I would love to have a real conversation with thai's instead of just the odd sentence and then not knowing what they have replied lol
Yes know what you mean. I kind of understand 80% of what's going on. language school combined with getting out there and practicing what you've learned everyday will have you speaking Thai in no time.👍🍺
went to Amazon Cafe, aske for Moka Frapp after 2 minutes walked around and touched sign. AHHHHH... Mokaaaa. same with Toyota , still learning.
Games of charades and sign language are still needed myself on occasion. All part of the fun mate.😁🍺👍
The big barrier for me in learning to read Thai is that all the sentences are written with no spaces between words, no capital letters, no periods, and no commas! If a Thai person were learning to read English, imagine if a sentence were written like this: themanwalkedtothegrocerystorepassingtherestaurantandthebarbershoponthewayandhemethisfriendwhomhehadntseeninyears
True mate, I haven't even attempted it myself, so good luck.🍻👍
And reading an earlier comment, while they are laughing at you, they are not laughing at someone else. And making people laugh has to be one of the best things any one can do.
Thai is certainly one of the easiest languages to learn, at least for french people. Way easier than english and german and a bit more difficult than spanish and italian. I am fluent in thai and can also write and read. Currently in the process of learning russian and I can tell you this way tougher than thai.
LOLL,,,One of the reasons I do not speak read or write Chinese( aside from the fact that its damn hard) is that i would soon learn what my wife and son are saying about me.
True, it did start a few more arguments once I could understand what my wife was saying about me at family gatherings lol.👍🙏
speaking is one thing, but then understanding the response can be quite another story.
Yes, but gets easier the more you do. Certainly difficult at first.👍🙏
Difficult vlog to watch in a visual sense. Overhead camera whilst you were teaching Thai gave me a sickly feeling. Try to get out more James. 😂
Well Bill, my toe is still hurting from last video. Hope you didn't throw up.😁🍺👍
My experience: when you learn to read Thai, you will understand how to pronounce words as they are written in Thai and will pronounce them correctly. If I remember rightly there 44 consonants and 32 vowels. Another way is just pure mimicry: copy exactly as Thais speak words, but it still comes back to learning the script and how words are put together. Interestingly if I go to Laos I can also read their script which is very similar to Thai.
I first learn Sukhothai Thai (not far from Tak btw), and then I changed wives (as you do) and ended up in Khon Kaen province where they speak Issan, another dialect; now I do remember some of local boys muttering under their breath that the Farang spoke Pasar Siam, and then we start getting is the subtle racial tensions that exist in Thailand between the different regions, etc. Just like you get in UK with regional differences I suppose.
Interesting about the regional variation. Certainly 50 years ago, there was similar regional prejudice in the UK. One variation of the Thai language is certainly enough for me to handle. 😁🙏👍
The flip side is, if you are learning Thai from bar girls, you're probably learning either Issan Thai, or at least Thai from someone who speaks Central/Bangkok Thai as a second language.
Speaking that was with other Thai's, and they will be able to pick you as someone who frequents the girlie bars. :D
76 Letters in the Thai alphabet. The good thing is the vowels are mostly just combinations of the 8 main vowels. In English would wouldn't call combining A and E as a new vowel, but in Thai they do. A long 'ee', and a short 'e' are 2 different vowels. That is how they get to 32.
If you're what ' lower intermediate ' sounds like James I think I'm going to need my own special category😬
😆 Will have to think of one Andrew. I'm one up from the 'I haven't got a clue what they just said' level. 😁👍🍺
Many Asian langues like Thai or Chinese are tonal, just different tone makes total different meaning. If you travel to those countries often, leaning new languages are a good way to exercise your brain.
Certainly is a good brain exercise, especially as you get older.👍🙏
@@jamesabroad8589 I've moved my interest to the Philippines for the last 13 years. I did not attempt to pick up their language as my girls all speak English better than me. My Thai ability is of course waning as I don't use it on a daily basis anymore.
I've been trying to learn Thai for the last 3 years. I know enough to get by, but I want to better at conversational Thai.
Learn to read first and you'll be surprised at how quickly (and better) you will be able to speak conversationally! :)
I think if we can speak Thai then it's a defrend world, I can not sadly as it is speak Thai, I can speak maybe 50 words, but I remember there was a defrence from 0 to 15-20 words, so to speak more it must be so nice...
Just keep adding 1 or 2 words a day Mike. Soon builds up.👍🍺
@@jamesabroad8589 sawardee krab
Chai krab phom kau jai khun, its so true, more and more the problem is to remember..
Study and practice. That's the way the Thais do it. Some people are better linguists than others but at the end of the day, you need to put in the effort and make the commitment. Learning a new language when you are older is much harder.
Certainly is a commitment. Making YT videos and getting out there to practice has helped me a lot. All the best.🍺👍
i speak perfect thai, problem is no one understands me and thats not a jokeand i think sometimes they dont want to understand
Blimey. Asian languages are sooo freaking intense. The tonal nature and tongue placement of Thai is really daunting for me😨😨 it seems almost impossible to mouth out some of the sounds they produce. Moving there soon to teach English. Thanks for the tips man🙇
Brilliant 555
Cheers Scott.👍🍺
In order to speak Thai, you need to be living in Isaan. Any other place you can forget about learning it. You also need to have a partner who only speaks Thai to you and be surrounded by Thais. I spent 4 years in Isaan then moved to Bangkok and have not progressed one bit since I moved here 7 years ago. It is an easy language grammatically. But the tonal part can take a long time to master. You can't just learn it overnight. Also recommend learning to read first, it's easier than it looks.
Yes agree about the tones. My ear is quite good but still have major issues. The wife didn't want me to learn Thai at first to stop me flirting. Only cows around this way so not sure why she was so worried. 😁🙏👍
Dont most Isaan people speak a different language more related to Lao or Khmer depending on which part of Isaan? I know many people from Isaan switch to their own language as soon as they are among themselves and dont want proper speaking Thai to understand, can anybdoy elaborate on that?
@@suchasin Yep they do. They speak both languages Thai and Isaan and even some places have their own city language like Korat.
@@jamesabroad8589 It doesn't matter if there are only cows or pigs or old women. Thai wives/girl friends will always be jealous to the point of paranoia. They don't change even if you've been faithful for 30 years. I think it's in the genes.
👍😎
Your English sounds pretty standard RP. Am I correct?
Yes, I'm pretty standard.👍🙏
Even just 20 words and Thailand is another world, atleast for me it was, i think thais like if we try to speak pasa thai.
Stay safe
Rak Thais RAk Thailand samer
you are different another people make TH-cam and tell people to not come to Thailand because they cannot speak English I am come to Japan people in Japan also don't use English I also learning Japanese 😍nice to see you learn Thai language
🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰😘😘😘😘😍😍😍😍😍
Yes trying but so easy to be lazy. Good luck with learning Japanese.👍🙏
@@jamesabroad8589 😅😆😍😘🙏
Sadly I'm tone death and have struggled for years with the language I think my pronunciation is ok but sadly it isn't i can understand people speaking Thai but they struggle to understand me
Just keep trying a little each day. I don't find pronunciation easy at all but manage to get by. All the best.👍🍻
When I first came to live here, I was keen to learn about customs and culture and, of course, the language. But I very quickly realized that because I don't have much money, I'm not really wanted here. It has been made increasingly difficult to stay here with my wife and family over the last 20 years so I've just not bothered to learn Thai.
Did you find your “ value” diminishing because of your being more frugal and thrifty over the years Russel?
Shouldn't matter how much you have Russell as long as you can live ok. Your wife's family don't sound very supportive. Hope everything turns out ok.👍🙏🍺
@@OneLifeTwoLive I've never been frugal or thrifty.
That's mainly native english speakers who struggle speaking thai and the reason is thai language simply doesn't fit english language.
Native french speakers are way better in speaking thai because thai language fits french language.
I was able to speak fluent thai after less than one year and on the phone, thai people simply wouldn't figure out I am a farang.
Good to hear. That's a short time to pick up Thai. Well done.👍
Hi james. You’ve been very quiet. Hope all is well.
It has been quiet, I'm with you on hoping all's well. I miss his vlogs.
Yes all good mate. Run of bad luck. Pulled a back muscle, pc packed in and now camera has died while making a video this week. Hopefully up and running soon. All the best Kieran.👍🍺
@@jamesabroad8589 hope the auld back gets better soon. Similar back issues myself too. Anyway glad you are ok. Have a great day.
What you say your thai is not so good, man if i was speaking like you i will be so so happy
Stay safe
Rak Thais RAk Thailand samer
Cheers Mike, need to try and speak every day.🙏👍