learning the thai language

Thai Society and culture, Living in Thailand.
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parrot
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learning the thai language

Post by parrot » August 25, 2013, 2:38 pm

The photo is of one of my favorite neighbors.....a verrrry tradition Thai farmer. Probably the fanciest thing in his arsenal is an iron buffalo. As I was passing by on my bike yesterday I saw him patrolling his rice fields. By the time I got my camera ready, he was heading home....so I asked him to pose for a photo. Not as good as the first zen 'photo'....but still shows the Thai word that crossed my mind when I first saw him.

I asked him in my terrible Thai....."นั้นคืออาวุธทัี่สำคัญที่สุดของชาวนาใช่มั้ย?"

Although I'm probably the only person in the neighborhood who he speaks Thai with, he understood what I said and answered in the affirmative.

The key word that crossed my mind as I saw him wielding his hoe was "อาวุธ"

Any guesses?
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Post by GT93 » August 25, 2013, 2:47 pm

I'm full of red wine (7.45 pm Sunday) and haven't lived in Thailand for over 5 years. Without a dictionary I understood the question at my third reading. Weapon.
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Post by parrot » August 25, 2013, 3:49 pm

Hat's off to you (as it seems you're wearing one!).
When I go on vacation back to the US.....for even a few weeks, I fear I'll lose whatever I've learned. It happened to me with Chinese....2 solid years worth of learning and another decade+ of using the language......poof, gone up in smoke!

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Post by GT93 » August 25, 2013, 4:02 pm

In about 2005 or 2006 I walked past what looked like a Thai bar that was closed in the early afternoon and on the door I saw in Thai "Weapons forbidden". I didn't know the word weapon at that stage and had to look it up in a dictionary. I don't usually learn Thai in such a memorable way.

My Mrs. who lives most of the year in Thailand writes Thai to me so that helps keep me on the ball. My memory and brain seems to be better with written rather than spoken Thai. There's a fair bit of Isan spoken at home so that makes the spoken language more difficult.

She was a farmer so ชาวนา is an easy one.
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learning the thai language

Post by parrot » October 7, 2013, 6:13 pm

Learning to read a little bit of Thai can go a long way to making your life here more enjoyable. Yesterday I was in a rush to get my car cleaned up (post rainy season). I stopped by a shop near Wat Po on Phrosri Rd but there were several vehicles already waiting. I decided to go hunting for another. Around the corner, another shop advertising ล้าง อัด ฉีด had only one car in the bay. Cleaned in and out, top and bottom, armor-all'd throughout.....150 baht. Had I not been able to read the sign, I'd have been hunting for a long time.
Anyone want to take a guess on ล้างอัดฉิด?

Next time....we'll explore the sign that often accompanies ล้างอัดฉีด.......กาแฟ or กาแฟสด......more and more, the two go together like soup and sandwich.
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Post by trubrit » October 7, 2013, 6:34 pm

You may not realise but the Thai's are very nervous of Farang in general. This accounts for a lot of the bad experiences some have when out and about .I notice when they realise I can speak Thai there is a noticeable relaxing
and out comes the smile which we all love .That alone makes it worthwhile learning for me . \:D/
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Post by Nick@AUA » October 26, 2013, 11:26 am

Ok Thai experts, here's one for you. Kun Nai คุณนาย. I'm told it means ma'am or madame, but I've heard it being used colloquially between friends. What is it's real usage, and who uses it?

Thanks.

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Post by faranginUTH » October 26, 2013, 1:31 pm

my firefox mouse over on the thai text says "madam" so its for anyone that is polite, but in thai-language.com it says: khoonM maaiF

khun nai means big boss

I'll add this to my vocabulary, and its the lesson of the day for me!

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Post by parrot » October 26, 2013, 3:12 pm

Caution: If you care to discuss this subject in depth with your wife, I'd suggest a healthy shot of scotch beforehand to help prevent a short circuit.

There's jao-kaawng-bahn (เจ้าของบ้าน) for everyday people (roughly "landlord, landlady, owner, boss). If you were a delivery person knocking on the door of an enlisted person at the military base, you might ask the person at the door "เจ้าของบ้านอยู่ไหน"....is the boss of the house home?"

There's khun-nai (คุณนาย) that most dictionaries will show as Mrs. or Madam. But reality is that it seems to be reserved for the upper (not the top)crust. So that same delivery person knocking on the door of the officer housing would inquire "คุณนายอยู่ไหน).....is the madam of the house home?"

Then, there's khun-ying (คุณอญิง), that most dictionaries show as princess, dame, and the upper crust of society. Folks like Chavalit's wife are Khun Ying.......I'm pretty sure to get the official designation, you attend one of those freemason-like ceremonies held by HM. A four-star general's wife (or wives) would likely be a Khun Ying.

I don't think anyone will swat your head if you refer to a woman as Khun Nai.....but it's probably better to leave the Khun Ying calling for folks who are wearing strings of pearls around their necks and large diamonds on their hands.

All very unofficial.......so if anyone out there has something to add/delete/edit, please feel free to chime in.

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Post by parrot » November 2, 2013, 7:47 pm

On another thread, there was a short discussion about the correct spelling of the Robes Offering Ceremony. Some expats spell it khatin, some kathin......but all Thais spell it the same way......กฐิน. That makes it so much easier to remember.
We're planning a trip to Trang soon......we're booked at the Sivalai Beach Resort (thanks Mak!). I called up their website today and saw this:
"The legendary warm welcome of its local population, the extreme beauty of its long white sand beaches, and its pristine clear water rich in aquatic life, make Mook island (also spelled Ko mook, Koh Muk, or Ko Muk) a “must-see” place to stay in Trang Province."
The interesting thing about all those variations is......no matter how it's spelled above, you're hardly likely to pronounce the first syllable correctly unless you learn to read Thai.......เกาะ มุก......the first syllable is like a shortened 'gought' where you swallow the 't' sound at the end. It's nothing at all like Ko or Koh.....in my book anyway.

Having gone down the wrong path to learning Thai years ago, the best advice I can give someone who's interested in learning the language is: learn to read the Thai way of spelling right from the beginning.

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Post by Frankie 1 » November 2, 2013, 9:21 pm

There are more languages in the world than only English. Parrot, it seems like you think that English has some superiour way of pronouncing the Roman alphabet which the rest of the western world should adapt. Strange way of thinking.

The way the English pronounce the k, aspirated, is not the standard way, it's the exeption. And writing the un-aspirated k like a G, is wrong, because the ก has an unvoiced sound.

English is not the only western language, but it's a language that uses a rather strange pronunciation of the Roman alphabet.

Koh is an excellent way to transcribe the word, easy to understand for speakers of most european languages. Why should we all change everything because only native English speaking people like to pronounce a lot of vowels and consonants differently?

When you give pronunciation advice, make it clear that you only address native English speakers, because most other people think that you are writing nonsense when you transliterate to the Roman script.

There are also many speakers of other languages member of this forum and busy learning Thai.

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Post by parrot » November 2, 2013, 9:57 pm

Frankie 1 wrote:There are more languages in the world than only English. Parrot, it seems like you think that English has some superiour way of pronouncing the Roman alphabet which the rest of the western world should adapt. Strange way of thinking.

The way the English pronounce the k, aspirated, is not the standard way, it's the exeption. And writing the un-aspirated k like a G, is wrong, because the ก has an unvoiced sound.

English is not the only western language, but it's a language that uses a rather strange pronunciation of the Roman alphabet.

Koh is an excellent way to transcribe the word, easy to understand for speakers of most european languages. Why should we all change everything because only native English speaking people like to pronounce a lot of vowels and consonants differently?

When you give pronunciation advice, make it clear that you only address native English speakers, because most other people think that you are writing nonsense when you transliterate to the Roman script.

There are also many speakers of other languages member of this forum and busy learning Thai.
My approach is simply trying to encourage those who think learning Thai is beyond their ability....and to show the usefulness of learning even the basics of reading. I'm afraid I'd not be successful in doing so by flinging 'aspirated, unaspirated, unvoiced' vocabulary at someone who might be interested in learning to read. I'll leave that for the academics. Sorry if I insulted your intelligence.

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Post by Frankie 1 » November 2, 2013, 10:47 pm

parrot wrote:My approach is simply trying to encourage those who think learning Thai is beyond their ability....and to show the usefulness of learning even the basics of reading. I'm afraid I'd not be successful in doing so by flinging 'aspirated, unaspirated, unvoiced' vocabulary at someone who might be interested in learning to read. I'll leave that for the academics. Sorry if I insulted your intelligence.
You completely miss the point here. It's not about technical terms, but about the odd way native English people pronounce Roman script.

Writing something like "gought" makes no sense at all to most westerners, it's complete gibberish to westerners who are not native English speakers. The way you English speaking people transliterate Thai text makes no sense at all to other westerners. The western world is not only about native English speakers, sometimes native English speakers seem to forget that...

There is nothing wrong with the transliteration of เกาะ to Ko or Koh. Probably only the English speakers pronounce Koh differently, that's their problem. So please don't generalise all westerners as if they all should adapt the English way of pronunciation. We are not all English and we don't have the many pronunciation problems with Thai language the way English speakers have.

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Post by Thaitompa » November 3, 2013, 4:28 pm

I do agree with Frankie. I am a Swede living outside Udon but two years ago I study Thai in Phuket. My classmates from Canada was unable to pronounce "gin " as in "gin kao". They have had too many gin and tonics, haha

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Post by Frankie 1 » November 3, 2013, 8:44 pm

Hmmmm, because English speakers have a hard time pronouncing Thai, let's help them a bit.

A good way to learn Thai is through Thai songs. This is a website that has probably hundreds of Thai pop songs, including links to the songs on YouTube. While listening to the music you can read: the Thai lyrics, the (awkward) English style of transliteration of the lyrics, and translation of the lyrics in English as well.

So you can read the text while listening to the song and try to repeat. At the same time you can read the translation in English. Good way to practice...

http://deungdutjai.com
http://deungdutjai.com/lyrics-directory

Deungdutjai.com - ดึงดูดใจ - Thai music translations. Promoting Thai music internationally.

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Post by parrot » November 27, 2013, 7:33 pm

Learning to read a little bit of Thai can go a long way! Most everyone knows how to say school in Thai.....(rong rien) โรงเรียน. The first syllable โรง means 'building/hall' and is also used as a classifier for buildings. You'll see signs in front of every primary school with the word โรงเรียน. You'll also see traffic signs warning drivers to be careful when approaching a school zone.
Some other common words that use the syllable/word โรง
โรงรถ carport
โรงกลึง machine shop
โรงสีข้าว rice mill
โรงแรม hotel
and my favorite: โรงแรมจิ้งหรีด a seedy hourly room hotel จิ้งหรีด means a 'cricket' or a leaping chirping insect.
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Post by parrot » January 22, 2014, 2:36 pm

Last week, on another channel, someone was yakking about veggie food places in Udon. They're easy to spot....as most all will have a yellow sign in front announcing veggie food. Look for the sign that says เจ.......you say "jay" or aa-haan jay for veggie food.

Here's another restaurant sign I spotted this morning, on the road behind the complex. Several people have asked about finding such a restaurant......this isn't the only one.....but the ones that cater to such tastes usually have signs to that effect.
The sign says:

ร้าน นี่ ไม่ มี ผงชูรส (the last word can be broken down.....ผง ชู รส)


Any guesses?
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Post by Prenders88 » January 22, 2014, 3:09 pm

Er... no MSG here?
This shop does not sell MSG? :-k
Udon Thani, best seen through your car's rear view mirror.

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Post by parrot » January 22, 2014, 3:48 pm

You got it! or....more colloquially, MSG-free food served here.

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Post by parrot » January 26, 2014, 1:55 pm

Lots of folks think things like Google Glass are geeky (among other things). But I wonder:
If you lived in Thailand and couldn't read Thai, but by wearing Google Glass, you could at least read signs/menus, would you consider wearing Google Glass?

Or does the saying, ไม่รู้อะไรสบาย mai ruu arai sabaai take precedence over looking geeky?

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/26/trave ... ref=travel

Nothing to do with Learning Thai, but I'd wear Google Glass if there was an app to instantly recognize a face/name. Sometimes they stick, and sometimes they don't......possibly a result of playing too much with mercury when I was a kid.

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