mattwasp Posted May 29, 2006 Report Share Posted May 29, 2006 I've just been pondering this.. How hard is it to learn a grammatically correct Thai if one is submerged in the language? The real question is around the complexity of the language itself. I'm looking at this from the perspective of a native English speaker learning the language. Learning French, for instance, is a mixed bag - much of the language is either shared with English or from the same latin source, though the structure of grammer introduces the totally foreign notion of masculine or feminine nouns. It holds the same complex verb structure as English though (the verb changing depending on the tense), which is familiar to the student but slow to learn. Moving to Thai.. I'm a casual student - I try to beef up my vocabulary at home but most of my learning is done by soaking up usage and phrases while in Thailand. To me (and again, correct me if I'm wrong people!) there is no complexity to the verb structure of Thai; indeed, no tense structure to speak of outside the qualifiers used in the sentence (eg 'I go already' - infinitive and a qualifier indicating past tense) Listening to Thais speak English gives the same clues, though I have to wander if this is a simple thai used in conversation, or heavens forbid, just with non-native speakers for simplicity.... My question is this... Is this the REAL Thai, or am I sponge-learning a jumpy sounding foreigner Thai?? Do Thai people have a tendancy to speak simply with obvious foreigners or hear a few Thai words and assume native fluency? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WorldFun Posted May 29, 2006 Report Share Posted May 29, 2006 The hardest to learn is probably as you guessed not the grammar, but pronausation. Some people swear by AUA & their method aiming at achieving native speaker level! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted May 29, 2006 Report Share Posted May 29, 2006 << The hardest to learn is probably as you guessed not the grammar, but pronausation. >> If you say so ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dexi Posted May 29, 2006 Report Share Posted May 29, 2006 " Pronausation "...not so difficult,I usually find a bottle of 100 Pipers followed by too many beers does the trick... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Straycat Posted May 29, 2006 Report Share Posted May 29, 2006 I find spelling hard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samak Posted May 29, 2006 Report Share Posted May 29, 2006 shrollski your observations regarding grammar of thai language are partially correct. no tenses and conjugation of the verbs, no declensions of nouns and pronouns like in several western languages. however that does not mean that there is not a certain structure in thai sentences. but there are hardly any written rules that could help any further in this area. and yes, many thais dealing with foreigners who are obvious beginners in thai, try to at least slow down, but many also simplify the way they speak (like we simplify english when we speak to somebody not really proficient in it). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilAnders Posted May 31, 2006 Report Share Posted May 31, 2006 What is the best way to learn Thai? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samak Posted June 1, 2006 Report Share Posted June 1, 2006 very demanding (in particular on correct pronounciation) teacher; one to one regular lessons parallel practize talking and listening in all opportunities; don't mind obstacles, difficulties, misunderstandings and a lot of laughter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattwasp Posted June 1, 2006 Author Report Share Posted June 1, 2006 I met one fella very late night on Sukhumvit road last time I was there, who lives and works in bangers and has twice weekly thai lessons. I must say I was less than impressed with his fluency (comprehension and speaking wise I reckon I was a bit further ahead) . I think people either take to languages or they don't... you have to want to take it in I think! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilAnders Posted June 1, 2006 Report Share Posted June 1, 2006 How is the Chulalongkorn intensive program? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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