Mekong Posted July 27, 2009 Report Share Posted July 27, 2009 Hi, Agree with simie's comment on speaking a little Thai and Thais thinking you are fluent Sanuk! Been there done it suffered the embarrasment, I have often been complimented on my spoken Thai (akin to Queens English?) but my vocabulary is rather limited so once the conversation goes away from what I initiated I am often fucked. One of the pleasures of this land we chose to live in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pescator Posted July 27, 2009 Report Share Posted July 27, 2009 In some establisments such as international hotels and the like, front desk clerks are employed and paid due to their command of english. I have often experienced their reluctance of speaking thai to farangs. I think they are expected of their management to live up to the reason why they were employed = capability of speaking english to farangs. I have no problem with that. I have experienced in shops and banks when I enter that even before I open my mouth, the shop attendant/banks assistant desperately wawe the hand while uttering: Moment, moment or something to that effect .... and then disappearing only to arrive shortly after dragging a colleague with them. When I explain my business, there is usually a pause. Aow, You speak thai, why didnt you say so? Laconic answer: Because you didnt ask me. Also tried with especially street vendors to order some of their grub, occasionally I have encountered some who just flap their hands in the air and shake their head as they don`t listen at all, just assuming I am speaking some foreign jibberish. It generally helps to raise the voice and repeat. The people who dont appreciate or dislike farangs knowing thai can go f*** themselves for all that I care. As vintage said, they usually have an agenda. Stuck-up people, scammers, hardcore hookers or a combination of the two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khunsanuk Posted July 27, 2009 Report Share Posted July 27, 2009 Hi, "The people who dont appreciate or dislike farangs knowing thai can go f*** themselves for all that I care." Fully agree. I'd say they are in the minority though. Sanuk! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dddave Posted July 27, 2009 Report Share Posted July 27, 2009 I think that sometimes people forget that it's not only the word pronunciation and tones; the pitch and register of Thai is very nasal and almost lispy. That is very difficult to master and that factor can make it more difficult for a Thai not used to hearing farangs speak Thai. Think about how difficult it is sometimes for us to understand a Thai who speaks English. Sometimes just a small variation in pronunciation can make a word elusive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted July 27, 2009 Report Share Posted July 27, 2009 << My mother-in-law tends to talk in the local dialect while chewing betelnut. Gets hard to understand her at times. >> Oh, Lord ... betelnut! I still remember the old women with their mouths half paralysed from betel when I lived up north. They always wanted to talk to the Farang, but everything they said sound to me like "num, num, num, num". I once asked a student what an old woman had just said to me. He replied, "I don't know, archan. It sounded like 'num, num, num, num'." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
preahko Posted July 28, 2009 Report Share Posted July 28, 2009 there are a lot of things that doom the foreigner to failure when trying to speak Thai, tones is only one feature...I've been in situations in markets up-country---years ago before I could speak that well---where I nailed the consonants, vowels and tone on the item I wanted to purchase, but didn't know the correct classifier, and was met with vacant stares...yes, even when pointing to the item. granted, YMMV, some Thais actually DO know how to adjust their interaction with the world according to context and situation, but sad to say, many are ROCK-DUMB when it comes to such things...i.e. anything that requires them to employ even the most minimal critical thinking skills and step outside the box even just a little... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
preahko Posted July 28, 2009 Report Share Posted July 28, 2009 the phenomenon of Asians "not understanding" a white devil speaking their language, even when said devil is pronouncing it perfectly, is well-known and wide-spread. I've heard that the Japanese even have a word for it, something akin to "the talking monkey"...I speak several SEAsian languages fluently (better than I speak Thai), and I can relate plenty of circumstances where I was speaking with two people, one of whom responded to me no problem, and the other one who "asked his friend for a translation," only to be whacked on the arm by the friend and told, "you fucking idiot, he's speaking our language already!!" I did come up with an effective retort to this attitude when it comes from Thais: once I was in a bar on Sukh 11 looking for a woman I knew worked there; the staff member I met just inside the door, whom I questioned at length, responded to my Thai in nothing but broken bar-girl English, despite the fact that my Thai was way better than her command of "the international language". when all attempts to get her to answer me in Thai failed, I turned to another staff member of the bar and said "jeez, this bitch can't speak Thai? ahhhhh...she's a Burmese refugee hiding out and pretending to be Thai, right?" haha, you've never seen someone assert their Thai-ness so fast as the numb-nut in question did, hahahaha... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted July 28, 2009 Report Share Posted July 28, 2009 Start speaking Lao to someone you know is a Central Thai and watch the reaction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MooNoi Posted July 28, 2009 Report Share Posted July 28, 2009 Can't win sometimes - some farangs get accused by Thai's of not respecting and learning about the local culture, and then when a farang tries to immerse themselves in it, (in this case by learning the language), they get chastised as well. I've met a few Thai people who, upon working out I can speak "reasonable" Thai, have said they don't like farang who can speak Thai. When I ask why, their answer is almost always: "Because then they know too much!" Too much WHAT exactly?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CTO Posted July 28, 2009 Report Share Posted July 28, 2009 how much they are ripping you off To be far the ave Thai when I make a effort to talk with him tends to appreciate it. Then talks far to much Thai Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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