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Best PC or Online program for learning Thai?


kamui

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I love it! I've been saying this for years! :D

 

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Stickie: In the decade or so I have been floating around Thailand the country has undergone massive change, some changes for the better, some perhaps not. What changes have you seen in your homeland, and what do you make of them?

 

[color:red]Benjawan: Now the bargirls are fat![/color]

 

Stickie: Thank you so much for saying that. Now, hopefully, some readers will believe me when I say it!

 

 

Benjawan: Actually, Thai people in general are a lot more overweight than they used to be. I believe that in their desire to emulate the Western world Thai people are giving up their healthy eating habits and value systems.

 

I find Thais, in general, more materialistic and less happy than they used to be. The people in the Land of Smiles were much happier before they were taught that they needed that new cellphone or Mercedes. Good old Western advertising works just as well on Thais to make them feel inadequate without the hottest car or motorcycle. And do we really need whitening deodorant? >>

 

Exactly where did you come across this. I'm semi-advanced speaker and I've used her books along with Courage. I haven't seen this fascinating bit of dialogue before.

 

Gaw Guy

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Here ya go ... good interview by the Stick. Crick da rink:

 

Fat bargirls

 

 

Stick: Much is made of what is sometimes termed "bargirl Thai", what those who spend a lot of time with the girls in the bar industry pick up - a lot of words from Isaan and terms not commonly heard outside the industry. Do you think this is a problem for these guys and do you think everyday Thais would work out where these words were picked up?

 

Benjie: In general most Thais are very forgiving and also very appreciative when a Westerner speaks or even attempts to speak some Thai. Therefore, I would encourage all Westerners to learn to speak Thai. How a Thai person will interpret the language spoken by the Westerner will depend a lot on the social status of that Thai person.

 

[color:red]Thais are quite judgmental plus our society is very structured and stratified. So to a Thai person that is more educated, the "bargirl Thai" spoken by a Westerner would not be appreciated the same as a Thai that works within the industry.[/color]

 

And that brings up another issue. How are Westerners able to associate and make friends with Thais that are in a higher social and educational class than the typical service industry worker?

 

Our publication Thailand Fever, although a very good expose of Thai society, only shines a light on a small segment of Thai women; the segment that most Westerners will be able to meet in the service industry. Westerners will typically only be able to interact with hotel staff, restaurant workers, taxi drivers and other service industry Thais.

 

Unfortunately, without the ability to speak Thai properly, access to all the other levels of Thai society are almost closed to Westerners. Therefore, a major segment of the population is inaccessible to many Westerners. This also has a major impact on the Westerners' perceived notion of who and what Thai people are. If one can only associate with a segment of the population that view might be quite limited.

 

To answer your question, yes, Thai people will easily determine where the Westerner spent time learning their Thai and they will develop an opinion. The exact opinion will depend on the particular background of the Thai person.

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

An alternative for learning is to watch one of the soaps (lakorns)on Thai tv.During the 3 or 4 weeks its on the magazine stalls sell a printed version complete with pics.The narrative follows the storyline very closely with even some of the dialogue copied word for word.Once its finished,if its been a hit a boxed set of dvds can be purchased with all the episodes,so you have the video and printed version that can be used for study.

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  • 2 weeks later...
An alternative for learning is to watch one of the soaps (lakorns)on Thai tv.During the 3 or 4 weeks its on the magazine stalls sell a printed version complete with pics.The narrative follows the storyline very closely with even some of the dialogue copied word for word.Once its finished,if its been a hit a boxed set of dvds can be purchased with all the episodes,so you have the video and printed version that can be used for study.

 

Wouldn't the magazines be written in Thai? How do you match them up, with the shows. I don't get your method. But I'll ask a girl about this.

 

I love some of the soaps, especially if Ann Tongprason is in it. She's so beautiful and has a wide range of facial expressions, and cries, on cue. I hope to meet her or at least see her in person, someday. Some hot babes on those shows.

 

I used to rent video tapes of shows and now buy the DVDs, but you can watch Thai TV, on the computer, in US, somehow.

 

I learned a lot of colloquial phrases that you probably won't get from a course. Like My Roo Ja Poot, Youngai (I don't know what to say.) Laew Ja Gun. (See you later.) Mai Chai phom pit (it's not my fault.)

 

Anyway, I'll try to do that.

 

The other way is to learn to sing pop songs. Have them translated or get translations from the Thaimusic site. You will learn words and phrases. Thai people think you're very clever if you can sing a Thai song. I like Thai pop music better than most of the recent Western crap, anyway, and go to Thai concerts, as often as I can. Bird is a great showman.

 

Thai's are extremely good singers, producers and musicians. Probably, since The King is a musician himself.

 

Thai guitarists are the best in the world. I love their style.

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Yes,the mags are in Thai,but the language used is fairly common place (easy for the average soap watcher to read ).If you have a decent Thai-english dictionary its a good way of improving reading skills,plus if you know the story line and characters its more interesting.........Yep,there are some real cuties on the soaps- "Nam Peung" and "Gik" are two of my favourites.

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