Share Experiences when speaking their Local Language

[delifrance]

Hi ALL

This topic actually started a bit from the thread "Pre-paid Top Card in Thailand or Bkk" or something like that. I dont wish to divert the discussion by posting a continue of this "Shared Experiences when speaking in their local language"

The topic for sharing and discussing is: Speak their local language, they either think negatively of you as you being an old bird and playboy OR they are more open to communicating with you.

SiamCutey and Free have contributed a bit about their views and experiences. I've noticed that the type of ladies (WL and non-WL) do play a part in determing their reactions to a foreigner (man) speaking their local language.

Any experiences to share and comment?

Thanks.

[Snuber]

Dun need to be so fluent in the language. As long as you can speak & understand the basic stuff, it's enough to cause them to ask you certain stuff like

- You frequent Thailand?
- You have thai gf?
- Oh you go find friend ah? Must be girl right?
- Where do you go & "play"?
- etc

Hmm....... is there a prefix impression of us already?

The good thing about pretending not to know their language is, if they do talk bad behind your back with their friends, at least you can protect yourself! ;)

[Ah joe]

I think in any foreign country, it is better for one to know and speak their language so as to move around freely. Like what Snuber said, you don't have to speak fluently, just the basics.

Many years ago when I was in Thailand, I travel around freely and everyone thought I'm a Thai. Most of the tourist attractions and national parks are FREE for the locals and I'm one of them. It also depends on situation when to speak Thai and at times I'm on upper hand speaking English. I was once being blocked by police from entering into a town but I got through because I'm a tourist. Met couple of Thai girls who were so eager to come into my hotel room when I was staying in Ayuttaya just because I know how to speak their language and it's still happening to me this days in BBK. Met a Jap girl the same stay when I was in Ayuttaya and she spoke to me thought I'm a Thai but later realised I'm a Chinese and she started to get curious about me.......
Same thing happen in Indonesia, I wouldn't have travel Java alone and know couple of girls if I couldn't speak their language.
I'm a believer in doing what the Romans do and a eager one to learn their lauguage in order to know their custom. By doing that, they see me as someone whom they can trust because I'm learning to be one of them.

[Bangkok Master]

Actually able to speak their langauge have a lot of advantages compare to the disadvantges, I had been staying in Bangkok for a while and I had improved my thai due to my work discussion and business presentations so in a way I had found out many things that I would not have known if I can't communicate in thai. I would say for daily usage, it's essential but for leisure, it's otherwise. IMO able to speak thai would have more chances to sian girls rather than unable to speak thai cos even it would mislead them that you're playboy or attached, it doesn't matters as nowdays the modern thais are even more modern than Singaporeans. Like for instance I spoke to various SYT, they would prefer that their foreign counterparts able to speak thai cos it will lessen the communication barrier part cos to thai ladies communication is very important cos most of their precious time are spent gossiping...keke

If you really want to set your foot into the thai playground, speaking thai would give you more chances reach your objectives nevermind the bad impression cos the younger thai girls luv bad characters men cos they mention that bad men provide them with more entertainment and excitement in life but not for mature thai ladies. Like 1 saying, Nan Ren Bu Huai, Nui Ren Bu Ai.............. :D

[free]

Agree agree agree. can't agree more. There are definitely more pros than cons to be able to speak the local language. In addition to Thailand, I really feel comfortable in Malaysia and/or Indonesia cos I speak a reasonable level of Bahasa. Only problem nowadays sometimes also got some Thai words thrown in (subconsciously) :eek:

So used to speaking in Thai that as a result, when I found a Thai temple in Changi a few days ago, and went to pray, I realised after a few minutes that I was praying in Thai! Now the mind switches from thinking in Thai to English and back w/o any barriers. Quite nice actually, I must say.

Also remembered how I could move around just as easily in HK and sometime back, even Japan.

[Gentle Beast]

As a visitor, if you are one of those with an 'Asian look', you can be mistaken for a local in Manila. Disadvatange even if you speak splattering tagalog - the WL will mistaken you for a policeman and reject your bar fine! Everytime I have been asked 'Are you Filipino' whenever in Manila, I would have been a million peso guy' :D

[siamcutey]

The time when I seriously wanted to learn thai fast and good is not because of girls.

I wanted to order Fried Rice with minced meat and because of my tones, the order came Fried Basil Leaves Minced Meat with rice. And another time was the reverse. Khao Phat Moo Sup and Kra Phao Moo Sup

From then on, I realised to really survive well in the pak sois of thailand, better learn to speak thai from the thais.

However as time goes by, the learning aided in sianing girls. :D

hahaha
SC

[siamcutey]

Actually able to speak their langauge have a lot of advantages compare to the disadvantges
Yeah correct. Know and don't speak is better than don't know how to speak.

hahaha
SC

[free]

In business or leisure, whether they are more open to communicating with you also does not depend on whether you can speak their language but rather whether they are interested in comunicating with you, trust level, etc.Well said! I have learnt that if they dun like your and/or dun trust you (usually they observe you first) they will not bother to communicate. Ability to speak their language only comes in handy only if they are willing to communicate. Communication is after all a 2-way thing.

[Ah joe]

I wanted to order Fried Rice with minced meat and because of my tones, the order came Fried Basil Leaves Minced Meat with rice.
SC

That is my favourite food, with sai kai dou (fried egg) whenever I'm there in BKK.

[siamcutey]

That is my favourite food, with sai kai dou (fried egg) whenever I'm there in BKK.
Kai Jiao Aroy Mak Kwa. :D

hahaha
SC

[GiddlyGook]

I'll take the contrarian view: speaking Thai is nice but strictly not essential. Not in business and not in social situations. Only essential if you're dating a WL.

I've been coming to Thailand every other month for quite some time now and although I'm ashamed to say I speak very poor Thai, I get around with 0 problems. At least I'm much better than some of my colleagues who speak absolutely zero Thai. And they have a wonderful and successful time. It's the same with any other non-native-English speaking city (and I've been to quite a few too on a regular basis): you will get by with English and when that doesn't work, miming will do. Everybody understands I am a foreigner and everybody is accomodating if you are polite.

Lastly, lots of people in BKK speak excellent English.

[siamcutey]

I'll take the contrarian view: speaking Thai is nice but strictly not essential. Not in business and not in social situations. Only essential if you're dating a WL.


Ooi, thats an insult or compliment? kekeke

Anyway, you will get around easily though it will be even easier if you speak thai. Why you still not improving your thai?

hahaha
SC

[delifrance]

looking at the whole population, the majority of thais dont speak excellent english at all.

it really depends on who a person is mixing around....WLs (especially those who engage in "foreign trade" ) and those working in places where they have to learn and speak and use English...hehehehe....

go to some ulu place and u need to mime, draw pictures, point fingers etc or speak thai! hahahahahaha

just my experiences.

[ruhua]

Ooi, thats an insult or compliment? kekeke

Anyway, you will get around easily though it will be even easier if you speak thai. Why you still not improving your thai?

hahaha
SC

He never improve his Thai because he don't date WL. :D

hahaha
ruhua

[GiddlyGook]

He never improve his Thai because he don't date WL. :D


Dude, nothing could be further from the truth ;)

Actually, maybe I was understating my Thai proficiency a little bit - I'm good enough that the "cheer kheks" speak to me in Thai (although for sure they know I'm not Khon Thai) - I understand quite a bit but speaking it is more difficult - a very tonal language like SC has pointed out and very easy to make mistakes. What I meant by not good enough is that damn, I've been coming here for the last 5-6 years and my Thai should be a goddamned sight better. Look at SC - 6 months here and he was already a pro. That guy is gifted.

All I was saying is it doesn't matter if you don't speak Thai well - just some basic Thai (counting, directions and what, when why, who etc) and a lot of "good attitude" makes English more than enough. You'd be surprised how many WLs speak other languages besides Thai.

In the working world, especially among the Fortune 500 international companies based in BKK, everyone speaks very good English. So in their social circle, everyone also speaks English very well - lots of people have studied abroad - so it is never a problem. There are TONS of international schools in BKK - all of them produce a lot of good English speakers. And if you live in Sukhumvit, you never need to speak a lick of Thai.

[free]

Thai is nice but strictly not essential. Not in business and not in social situations. Only essential if you're dating a WL.

I've been coming to Thailand every other month for quite some time now and although I'm ashamed to say I speak very poor Thai, I get around with 0 problems. At least I'm much better than some of my colleagues who speak absolutely zero Thai. And they have a wonderful and successful time. It's the same with any other non-native-English speaking city (and I've been to quite a few too on a regular basis): you will get by with English and when that doesn't work, miming will do. Everybody understands I am a foreigner and everybody is accomodating if you are polite.

Lastly, lots of people in BKK speak excellent English.
Exseecusee Mua. U mean to say only WLs dun speak Angrit? Do u know there are thais who can't even speak Thai! Only their dialects. For heaven's sake, do take a bigger world view than that. And BKK is but a small part of Thailand!

If all you do is tour thailand and have normal biz meetings there, with ppl to interprete when needed, u dun need to know thai alright. That was where I was at from 1989-2002. Did all those std thingy we read about in SB today too, haha. Things a lot more open then. Also got many houses one can go and openly pick young gals. Tora-tora - now we just call aap naam. But when I got interested in life in thailand itself and later met my ex, a Uni student. Her English is ok, but most of her friends (Uni-mates) and her parents cannot speak English. So how to communicate w/o speaking thai?

If one plans to live there, do biz there (hiring and selling to locals as well), have a family there (not something u do regularly with a WL, unless of course u belong to the 101% mentioned by SC - SC, borrow ok mai?), it is near impossbile to do it w/o knowledge of spoken thai (if not written thai as well). For me, I made a decision to progress to reading and writing and my life has become richer cos of it. Got to a place playing karaoke w/o english words (plenty even in GM here), I can follow and enjoy as I can read a fair amount of the lyrics now. Go to a place meant for locals where only got thai writing, at least not totally lost. And it gets worse as one moves further away from BKK in general. The r/s I have with my tirak today would be simply impossible if I dun speak, read or write thai. Cos we express everyday issues from simple to complex, all in spoken and written thai (usually sms, sometimes written notes). Not just whisper and sms sweet nothings all the time, cos this cannot a r/s make.

Yes, lot's of ppl in BKK speak excellent english, but then a significantly bigger proportion of ppl there dun

[ruhua]

Dude, nothing could be further from the truth ;)

Actually, maybe I was understating my Thai proficiency a little bit - I'm good enough that the "cheer kheks" speak to me in Thai (although for sure they know I'm not Khon Thai) - I understand quite a bit but speaking it is more difficult - a very tonal language like SC has pointed out and very easy to make mistakes. What I meant by not good enough is that damn, I've been coming here for the last 5-6 years and my Thai should be a goddamned sight better. Look at SC - 6 months here and he was already a pro. That guy is gifted.

All I was saying is it doesn't matter if you don't speak Thai well - just some basic Thai (counting, directions and what, when why, who etc) and a lot of "good attitude" makes English more than enough. You'd be surprised how many WLs speak other languages besides Thai.

In the working world, especially among the Fortune 500 international companies based in BKK, everyone speaks very good English. So in their social circle, everyone also speaks English very well - lots of people have studied abroad - so it is never a problem. There are TONS of international schools in BKK - all of them produce a lot of good English speakers. And if you live in Sukhumvit, you never need to speak a lick of Thai.

Knowing how to speak a little certainly helps. Also it depends on the nature of your work and the 'class' of people you're mixing around with.
http://forum.sammyboy.com/showthread.php?p=920150

My Thai friend was impressed that I can speak Thai quite well but I told him I'm not that good as he thinks. I would classify him as the Upper Middle Class. The young and educated Thais that I come across through work or socialising can certainly speak and write English. Keyword here is which 'class' background they belong to. :)

[GiddlyGook]

Exseecusee Mua. U mean to say only WLs dun speak Angrit? Do u know there are thais who can't even speak Thai! Only their dialects. For heaven's sake, do take a bigger world view than that. And BKK is but a small part of Thailand!

If all you do is tour thailand and have normal biz meetings there, with ppl to interprete when needed, u dun need to know thai alright.

No need to get your knickers in a twist. I was speaking from the perspective of someone who spends most of his time in BKK. And from my business' point of view, BKK is Thailand. I'm sure the "rest" of Thailand is an extremely nice place (hey, I've been around) but as far as big business goes it's all in 2 places: BKK and to a lesser extent, Chiang Mai. I'm glad you enjoy exploring other aspects of Thai culture but the question was, as I recall, can you have fun ("commercial" or otherwise) without speaking Thai? The answer of course is yes.

And as to taking a bigger "world view", you might want to think twice about waxing lyrical about all things Thai: like all cultures, there's good and bad. The good is quite good and the bad is very bad. So you speak excellent Thai - kudos to you. But please, try not to trumpet this in every other post you make. Like I said, I speak bad Thai - I'm ashamed, I'm contrite, I'm trying to improve but some things are harder for people like me then say, for you. Unlike you, I have absolutely no desire to start a company, hire people, to start a family here or to live here. I'm just a nobody that was sent here by an anonymous corporation: I like BKK, I miss home, and when here, I try to enjoy myself. Simple really. Nobody has asked me to learn Thai and not knowing it impacts my work 0%. Would my life be "richer" by learning Thai - no doubt. But so would it be by learning Latin. Or sewing. All these 3 things I sadly have no time for.

[Siam_Bu]

hi hi, hee hee i think we also need to create another thread Philippine Tagalo dictionary hee hee

[free]

No need to get your knickers in a twist. I was speaking from the perspective of someone who spends most of his time in BKK. And from my business' point of view, BKK is Thailand. I'm sure the "rest" of Thailand is an extremely nice place (hey, I've been around) but as far as big business goes it's all in 2 places: BKK and to a lesser extent, Chiang Mai. I'm glad you enjoy exploring other aspects of Thai culture but the question was, as I recall, can you have fun ("commercial" or otherwise) without speaking Thai? The answer of course is yes.

And as to taking a bigger "world view", you might want to think twice about waxing lyrical about all things Thai: like all cultures, there's good and bad. The good is quite good and the bad is very bad. So you speak excellent Thai - kudos to you. But please, try not to trumpet this in every other post you make. Like I said, I speak bad Thai - I'm ashamed, I'm contrite, I'm trying to improve but some things are harder for people like me then say, for you. Unlike you, I have absolutely no desire to start a company, hire people, to start a family here or to live here. I'm just a nobody that was sent here by an anonymous corporation:
Ok, seen your pt. I misunderstood you and I apologise unreservedly. Also I am not saying one cannot enjoy LOS w/o speaking thai, but one can certainly enjoy it more if one can.

And there is no shame not to be able to speak thai well if there is no need for you to do so, whereas I do have a need cos of my circumstances.

And there is nothing wrong if you are sent there by yr company. Consider yourself lucky - many including myself would like to be in yr position. It is small timers like us that have to find ways and means to do our own small biz and probably operate outside BKK due to the nature of the industries, and costs. Wouldn't be able to find the ppl with the right skillsets in BKK. Relocating ppl will be too expensive and stupid as well. Even many MNCs locate their factories upcountry. For ppl like us, it as to be a location outside of BKK, usually a province near to it.

And I too agree with you that the thai culture has its good and bad points, and I can see it. Different strokes for different folks here. In my case, after living in my homeland for so many years, I have never been truly comfortable. The paternalistic govt culture simply rubs me the wrong way, and I already felt that since Primary Two, when I had my clashes with my teacher! But its probably great for others. Like all countries SG has its good and bad points too.

[Ah joe]

I'll take the contrarian view: speaking Thai is nice but strictly not essential. Not in business and not in social situations. Only essential if you're dating a WL.


Sorry, but.... but ...why do we need to Speak Thai to date a WL?

Somehow I must agree that most Thai executives, managers and business owners speak good English.

[ciakpachineng]

I've noticed that the type of ladies (WL and non-WL) do play a part in determing their reactions to a foreigner (man) speaking their local language.


Generally, in those Sukhumvit bars, if U speak Thai and dress in Thai attire, service levels of WL drop and they are not as attentive....
If U speak broken Thai or English, their eyes light up and immediately 1st Q they ask is where R U from...Then their enthusiasm level varies and they love the Japs the most...In Ratchada and more Thai places, WL do not differentiate as much and they still love the Japs the most...Not surprisingly for a country that was not treated badly by Japs during WWII
For non-WL, they are more cordial if U speak Thai...
but whether WL or non-WL, past the initial part, language competence is less important

[ruhua]

Sorry, but.... but ...why do we need to Speak Thai to date a WL?

Somehow I must agree that most Thai executives, managers and business owners speak good English.

Haha well said. Some want to develope relationships with WLs that's why must know how to speak Thai.

If Thai executives, managers and business owners couldn't speak good English. How are they going to do international businesses?

[siamcutey]

Look at SC - 6 months here and he was already a pro. That guy is gifted.



Gifted? nope. I still can't read and write a single thai word. kekeke
I use Thai only when I feel it is to my advantage rather than to my disadvantage. Example if i go to a 7-11 and want something, I want to get it fast and just pay my goods and leave the shop. If I don't know thai, I would probably spend a couple of minutes. Same for taxis. When I take taxis, I definitely use thai cos when I started taking taxis using English and the taxi drivers see that I am not good in thai, they tend to go the longer way.

As for going MPs and Massage Shops, I see first. If I want to "play play" with the girls, I will speak English and pretend don't know thai. Then can "play" and make session more fun.

SC

[siamcutey]

Actually learning how to speak an extra language wouldn't harm.

How about those learning Korean, French etc? Don't tell me those guys want to date Korean WLs, French WLs? :D

I would say learning one more language will be a gift rather than a disability.

SC