wonderlust Posted August 18, 2003 Report Share Posted August 18, 2003 I was thinking of doing a course in Thai to make my visits to Thailand more enjoyable but then someone told me they speak Lao in Isaan. Seeing as most bar girls are Isaan girls, do they speak Thai or Lao or what? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racha Posted August 18, 2003 Report Share Posted August 18, 2003 Learn some Thai you will find it more useful and all the girls can speak Thai as well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lusty Posted August 18, 2003 Report Share Posted August 18, 2003 They can speak Thai as well Lao BUT if they know you can speak and understand Thai they will speak amoungst themselves in Lao as they"dont want falange know to mut". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brink15 Posted August 18, 2003 Report Share Posted August 18, 2003 Which is a good reason not to let them know you speak Thai in the first place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rickfarang Posted August 19, 2003 Report Share Posted August 19, 2003 Thailand has several regional dialects, but since all television originates in Bangkok people all over Thailand understand "Central Thai", that which is spoken in Bangkok. It is a good idea not to pick up too much Thai by listening to those outside Bangkok -its hard enough for a Thai to understand a farang learning Thai without having to decode the dialect as well! Koa Jai Bwa? :: RickF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khwaimaisabai Posted August 19, 2003 Report Share Posted August 19, 2003 Says Brink15: Which is a good reason not to let them know you speak Thai in the first place. Hi brink, I agree - very good point. Khwai Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samak Posted August 19, 2003 Report Share Posted August 19, 2003 yep; most BG's are from Isaan and speak Isaan, which is close to Lao. this is however close to Thai as well; a lot of words are the same, tones and sentence structures are also the same. latest at school they also have to learn thai, as it is spoken in central thailand. i would certainly not focus on learning Isaan/Lao, but knowing a couple of sentences can be fun in Bars or with the lot of migrants (taxi drivers, maids, factory worker, foodstall keeper etc.etc.) on the street. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lazyphil Posted August 19, 2003 Report Share Posted August 19, 2003 My mrs is part mon from Pakkret area, I wouldn't have a clue if she was speaking Thai or some other tounge if in fact they do??...they make nice garden pots no matter what they speak! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Hippie Posted August 19, 2003 Report Share Posted August 19, 2003 Funny, but awhile back, I was in a cab with 2 Issaan Girls, who were chatting away as they took me to the hospital for a SARS test...anyway, I suddenly chimed in with Oh you want to open a coffe and pastry shop on Soi Asok when the subway opens...? and they were shocked an astounded, thiought they were speaking Thai, turns out, they were speaking Lao...thus blew my hand right there...after that, she now leaves the area when she wants to tell someone something, fearing I will understand it...this is how I know there is something up...I do agree it is best to not let on that you speak Thai, and usually even a small amount indicates you are "fluent" as far as they are concerned... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pescator Posted August 19, 2003 Report Share Posted August 19, 2003 Hi Samak, a lot of words are the same, tones and sentence structures are also the same. I dont mean to be nitpicking but the tones are not necessarily the same. Words like for instance Khao for Rice, fifty and ninety are pronounced not with a falling tone as in central thai but with a rising one. There are probably plenty more. Cheers Hua Nguu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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