sky brow Posted January 3, 2003 Report Share Posted January 3, 2003 Sid, I agree with your take on the subject.Look,learn, listen and try to imitate.All good points.Its pretty well what I try to do to get a good hold on speach and how it is used.I also agree on your point on being able to communicate a lot better after a few beers.My Thai always seems to improve after a couple.Your relaxed and can basically talk to anyone ,no matter what the language, Cheers from down under. :: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 4, 2003 Report Share Posted January 4, 2003 Being in Thailand certainly helps when trying to study conversational Thai. I recommend a proper private teacher. Hiring unexperienced Thai University students or so called "bar girls" may leave you speaking "cute Thai" or some kind of uneducated Lao-Thai variation, respectively. If you speak proper Thai language as opposed to street slang, the thai people will think you are "thee maak," and that's a good thing. When practicing conversation with your teacher, employ as much new vocab as you can. Don't get stuck using the same phrases and words over and over. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samak Posted January 4, 2003 Report Share Posted January 4, 2003 <<the thai people will think you are "thee maak,">> what you mean by that? dee mak ´ÕÃÒ¡ or ·ÕèÃÒ¡ if latter maybe better ·Õè˹Öè§ thee nung??? :: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markle Posted January 5, 2003 Report Share Posted January 5, 2003 "Don't get stuck using the same phrases and words over and over." While expanding your vocab is a good thing, repetion (using the same word/phrases over and over) is an effective (if tedious) way of imprving pronunciation. A balance is probably best. On thing to avoid (which Chai might have been getting at) is using basic words when there are other words that are more effective. For example 'mai dee' can be substituted by 'sia', 'leow', 'tooret' etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pescator Posted January 7, 2003 Report Share Posted January 7, 2003 For example 'mai dee' can be substituted by 'sia', 'leow', 'tooret' etc Well, I wouldn`t say that mai dee can be substituted by "tooret" or "nahgliat" for that matter. These expressions are much more negative than the more neutral mai dee. Wouldn`t you agree? Cheers Hua Nguu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pescator Posted January 7, 2003 Report Share Posted January 7, 2003 Hi Sidsanuk Kind of funny I sure recognize your observations about the benefits of being slightly intoxicated when speaking a language you are not familiar with. But did you ever notice how your command of this language deteriorate the next morning when you are nursing your hangover? :: I sure did. I learnt german in school and have quite a few german friends so I`ve been speaking german on a regular basis. During the first 5 minutes of a conversation people have been mistaken me for a german, because my pronounciation is pretty good. (I`m danish and our 2 languages are not that different.) However, although my thai vocabulary is larger, noone (or at least no thai) has ever mistaken me for a thai for as much as a second, not only due to my appearance but also due to my accent. I guess it all comes down to that most european languages basically have a lot in common. And if you belong to one of these language groups it is definitely much easier to pick up both vocab as well as the accent. However, with a very different and tonal language as thai this is not so easy. Besides, how many thais do you meet who speak english without sounding like thais speaking english? cheers Hua Nguu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gobbledonk Posted January 8, 2003 Report Share Posted January 8, 2003 HN, I've noticed that many people from Western Europe speak English, German and their native language. I know that English is taught in schools throughout Europe, but I can only put the prevalence of German down to the strength of their economy and the vast body of scientific and technical work that is only published in German. I was surprised to hear a Polish twenty-something tell me her opinion of the Germans recently : 'cool'. Time truly heals all wounds - maybe there is hope for the planet yet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markle Posted January 8, 2003 Report Share Posted January 8, 2003 "Well, I wouldn`t say that mai dee can be substituted by "tooret" or "nahgliat" for that matter. These expressions are much more negative than the more neutral mai dee. Wouldn`t you agree?" I most certainly do. My point was that ofen people will often use 'mai dee' in every situation when another word would be more accurate or discriptive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 8, 2003 Report Share Posted January 8, 2003 At the very beginning, I started by trying to build a simple vocabulary before tackling the tones. I think this worked out well since it is more useful to be able to say 50 things rather than 10 clearly. Even if Thai's don't always understand, they love you for trying. The below site you can learn the language online and is very interactive where you can listen to wave files, practice thai characters, get tests, etc. It is designed for exchange students who will go to Chiang Mai University. You can also learn other SE Asian languages here: http://www.seasite.niu.edu/ I found it interesting that I am at level 4 as to how Thai's respond to my knowledge of the language; don't know how many levels are left to go. Below is what Thai's I meet said to me as my language skill has progressed: phoot thai nit noi (a little) phoot thai gheng (they are impressed) phoot thai chat (the tones are now clear) phoot thai dai (they feel they can converse with you well) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pescator Posted January 8, 2003 Report Share Posted January 8, 2003 phoot thai gheng (they are impressed)phoot thai chat (the tones are now clear) phoot thai dai (they feel they can converse with you well) Hi ER, Actually I believe that you shouldn`t put too much weight on the expression Phoot Thai Geng. It really doesn`t take much to have them say that out of politeness. I recall when I started learning thai and during my first month I often encountered thais who would say that to me, although my thai was absolutely horrible. I`d say that the next level would be something like: Phoot thai muan khon thai leey. or Phoot thai dai khlong. The Seasite Website with the Manii Reader books and Learning thai are probably the best resources found for learning thai on the web. Cheers Hua Nguu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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