Phuket - How difficult is it to learn the Thai language?

jimholio · #1 06-01-2005, 04:31

Has anyone tried? And if so how did you did you do it?

Now im assuming you're not Thai ofcourse

aussie dollar · #2 06-01-2005, 04:39

TRY THIS LINK
http://www.learningthai.com/
I am having a bit of trouble learning but getting older and have only ever spoken english !

crazyswede · #3 06-01-2005, 04:50

I think if you stay long time and live among thai people it´s "easy" to at least learn to speak a little thai , try to learn thai behind the computer is very hard

555555

cs//

Tarzan · #4 06-01-2005, 05:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by SafeAs

Maybe it would be easier if you sat in FRONT of the computer... LOL

555555....

crazyswede · #5 06-01-2005, 07:49

... trying "beside" the computer right now and i think it helps a bit

Thanx for your help

cs//

Quote:

Originally Posted by SafeAs

Maybe it would be easier if you sat in FRONT of the computer... LOL

555555....

annaswe · #6 06-01-2005, 07:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by jimholio

Has anyone tried? And if so how did you did you do it?

Now im assuming you're not Thai ofcourse

Has anyone tryed?
most of the thai population

stevescottcfi · #7 06-01-2005, 08:24

I'm having good luck with "Thai for Beginners". It's 2 cd's with a book. I listen to it in the car. I used it for 2 months before my first trip to Thailand, and was pleasantly surprised at how well I was understood. I didn't bother with learning to read and write though.

Shagrath · #8 06-01-2005, 10:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by stevescottcfi

I'm having good luck with "Thai for Beginners". It's 2 cd's with a book. I listen to it in the car. I used it for 2 months before my first trip to Thailand, and was pleasantly surprised at how well I was understood. I didn't bother with learning to read and write though.

Yeah, with audio-cd's I think you can actually get somewhere. It's all about getting exposed to the spoken language. But if you are serious about learning any language, especially a tonal language, you should live in a place where it's spoken and preferably take lessons.
Personally, I just pick up a few new words or phrases on each trip. I can't really use them actively, but I get the general idea of what's being said.
Best of luck to those who try!

stevem · #9 06-01-2005, 11:38

Its the same as learning anything new, if you apply yourself and put the effort in, it can become easy.

LivinLOS · #10 06-01-2005, 11:59

There was a very serious discussion on the relative difficulties of learning Thai for a non thai speaker on Thaivisa.. Rather than anecdotal evidence there were linguists and language teachers and scholars involved in the thread who cited some very interesting facts..

Of course if learning Thai from another tonal language, or if you already speak multiple languages (always the way) its easier.. However the conclusion was that for a native english speaker learning Thai over 20 - 25 years old that it was 4 out of 5 rating for difficulty.. this kind of stuff is all ranked !!!

steve@thaib · #11 07-01-2005, 05:21

I would agree there, 4 out of 5 at least. I tried quite hard after my first visit, but to get beyond the basics; hello, please, thank you and basic shopping/ beering/ eating phrases was beyond me.

The subleties of the tone, which is irrelevant in English, and the reality that to really learn Thai you need to learn the script is enough to put me off. I never learned any more than the basics, it is without doubt a tricky language to learn.

jimholio · #12 07-01-2005, 05:38

But im 22 so i might still be in luck according to that 20-25 thing

Oh and im not a native english speaker, even tho i can speak it. I wonder if it helps to be Swedish, probably not hehe.

*edit*
This also made me remember when we went on this daytrip with a Thai guide who explained how one word could mean alot of different things. I think the word she used was (No) in Thai.

She was also singing Bangkok's full name

The city of angels, the great city, the residence of the Emerald Buddha, the impregnable city (of Ayutthaya) of God Indra, the grand capital of the world endowed with nine precious gems, the happy city, abounding in an enormous Royal Palace that resembles the heavenly abode where reigns the reincarnated god, a city given by Indra and built by Vishnukarn.

Rex7777 · #13 07-01-2005, 07:05

I was once with a Thai girl and she advised not trying to learn the language unless I was going to live there. On the other hand, she said it was "easy."

She had been to North America to go to college and spoke pretty good English.

Somehow, I can't imagine learing thai is easy.

Rex

steve@thaib · #14 07-01-2005, 13:57

Given that you already have a second language, English, you may find that you pick it up easily and that you have a skill for languages generally, so why not give it a try?

For me, it was like trying to learn to write again from scratch!

BangOneIn · #15 07-01-2005, 14:48

I learnt from the computer using the Thai Interactive Learning System. This software encourages you to learn the alphabet first, and the sounds of the vowels and consonants. This gives you the advantage of understanding how a word is pronounced by seeing how its spelt. Whilst the tones can be challenging, the grammar is dead easy.

It takes some commitment but the rewards are there. And the TGs love it when you can joke with them in their language.

Gringo69 · #16 08-01-2005, 11:22

I would say learning to speak it would be much easier if you were enroled in a proper course...
Learning to read and write Thai on the other hand would(in my view) be much more difficult...

LivinLOS · #17 08-01-2005, 14:03

BangOneIn.. Could you perhaps burn me a copy of that SW ???

I would happily trade you a complete linguaphone course (10 lessons) for it ??