Pescator Posted January 1, 2004 Author Report Share Posted January 1, 2004 Hi HT, but is totaly crucial in getting the best deal from a b/g. hehe. Well, you do forget to mention the ones who will have nothing to do with you for the very same reason :: But the best is pretending you know nothing, and then start speaking Thai. Spend an hour in a bar, and then ask the girl, "Khun aayu thao rai"? in perfect tone. Yeah, I have tried that one too. But the girls are not stupid. Somehow they nearly always seem able to figure it out :: Mayby due to one`s body language, mayby they notice you try to follow the conversation, hiding a smile whatever. "Why you not tell me you speak thai?" "Well, you never ask" Khun raakaa thao rai, khrap?.......raakaa lot noi dai mai" You intend to talk like this to gf`s grandmother? Wow, an icebreaker for sure. :: Cheers Hua Nguu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pescator Posted January 1, 2004 Author Report Share Posted January 1, 2004 Hi Markle, I think most falang would cotton on if you suddenly took off with a girl that they'd been talking with for hours, or everyone is laughing at a joke that seems to be at their expense. Yeah, examples like this was exactly what I was talking about. I recall an episode on Koh Phi Phi. I was standing at the line of a long queue in order to book a room for my 3 elderly relatives. It was high season and it seemed rather unlikely I would be able to get them decent accomodation. I thought to Hell with it, raised my voice and ask the manager in thai if he could find something for my elderly relatives. The crowd in the line was being very noisy and everybody was asking the manager all kinds of questions and he seemed very stressfull. So he seized the opportunity to deal with me since I spoke thai and we got our rooms. The rest didn`t understand the conversation, but they definitely knew what was going down and didn`t appreciate it one bit. Cheers Hua Nguu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 2, 2004 Report Share Posted January 2, 2004 I will not speak Thai with strangers except to save significant amounts of money or to help someone who is in trouble. I prefer to give Thai people a chance to demonstrate their character. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pattaya127 Posted January 2, 2004 Report Share Posted January 2, 2004 It's not too hard. My command of thai is passable, best way to put it. But i have found that some thais easily believe they got caught on their conversation if you mutter a few words, even easy words, as long as they are perfectly colloquial. "pen arai la krap?" for example (I bet i said it wrong , OK you know what i mean..... : Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crash999 Posted January 2, 2004 Report Share Posted January 2, 2004 suadum said:Absolutely, every chance I get. It is not taking advantage of a situation, just using all the tools at your disposal. It is great in business, but the opposite. I will not speak any of the languages I speak (Thai, Bahasa, bit o'Cantonese, Mandarin & Japanese) while in business meetings. Only English. Never fails that someone will tip their hand due to arrogance. This is a *classic* Japanese negotiation strategy and one I learned the hard way when living there I'm the same way... I make a point of never speaking Thai during our supplier meetings and don't speak much Thai around our staff, as I don't want them to know how much I know. The only time I have to speak up is if we're in negotiation and I can hear that something is being mistranslated. Outside of work I speak Thai as much as possible- and only switch to English when I'm in an environment where Thais speak excellent English such as certain hotels, restaurants, etc. As far as taking an advantage, it does happen sometimes. :: When I'm buying DVDs or shirts or whatnot I always negotiate in Thai, and have sometimes gotten one price while the stall owner has simultaneously negotiated a higher price in English for a tourist shopping at the same stall. Hey it's my price, not theirs! The girl situation has happened before. Some girls don't like farang who speak Thai as these farang 'know too much'... though of course those are the girls one wants to stay away from anyway. A year back a friend and I decided to speak only English for one evening and pretend that we were tourists. After a couple of bars where we got pressure for lady-drinks and barfines, 'where you staaay?', 'you like thai lady?' and somesuch we had our fill and switched back into Thai. Really learning Thai was super useful for me and I'm glad that I was forced to learn Thai when I first moved here. I'm at an intermediate level now whereby I can get along ok in Thai for virtually anything (for example I speak 90% Thai w/my girlfriend) but struggle when around only Thais to follow and participate in their conversations- that is if it's fairly sophisticated stuff and not bar banter. If I made the decision to stay here long-term then I'd ideally like to take off 6 months and become truly fluent. My GF thinks it's not necessary but honestly I can't see living here the rest of my life not being able to read and understand details of contracts, newspapers, and whatnot. Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pescator Posted January 2, 2004 Author Report Share Posted January 2, 2004 Hi Johny Pullman, I am sorry I don`t really understand your post. How do you give Thai people a chance to demonstrate their character by refraining from speaking thai to them? That would only give them a chance to demonstrate their ability of speaking english or am I missing something here :: Cheers Hua Nguu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pescator Posted January 2, 2004 Author Report Share Posted January 2, 2004 Hi P127, Yes, I have found that too. Say 4-5 words in thai and some believe like "Wow this farang guy is fluent" and they rattle on like they were talking to their best mate mayby even in an "exotic" dialect :: pen arai la krap?" for example (I bet i said it wrong Yes, I am sorry to say that you got the tone wrong on "La", it is with a falling tone :: Cheers Hua Nguu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markle Posted January 2, 2004 Report Share Posted January 2, 2004 I think Johnny was indicating that it was a good way of catching these sneaky Thai people ripping of unsuspecting falang. Because we all know that if they think you can't speak Thai they will certainly try to do something underhand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pescator Posted January 2, 2004 Author Report Share Posted January 2, 2004 Hi Crash999 The girl situation has happened before. Some girls don't like farang who speak Thai as these farang 'know too much'... though of course those are the girls one wants to stay away from anyway. Don`t I agree on that one. As soon as I hear anybody saying like that - also outside of bars - I automatically assume that they are from the "scene" or at least golddiggers. Incidentally I have been corresponding with a thai lady in my country recently and during our conversation this came up. She asked me if I had ever heard that thai women are disencouraged to pursue a relationship with farangs "who know too much". Guess I should let that one get away, according to my own definition above :: Outside of work I speak Thai as much as possible- and only switch to English when I'm in an environment where Thais speak excellent English such as certain hotels, restaurants, etc Right, I have found that there are quite a few thais who take great pride in their command of english and I certainly wouldn`t insist on talking thai with them if they prefer english although I know some who would, pretending they don`t know any english :: Sometimes, however, you run into thais who will insist on talking english although it is lousy, usually if someone is intoxicated. I have been in that situations several times upcountry. Many are too shy to speak english as they never get the opportunity but after a couple of shots of Lao Khao they somehow find that courage :: Cheers Hua Nguu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 3, 2004 Report Share Posted January 3, 2004 Hello again. Thank you, markle, for trying to put words into my mouth, but as I have quite enough of my own please pardon me if I decline your offer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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