Thai Language
The Thai language is as hard for ferang to understand as English is to the Thai's however there are some very noticeable differences in the languages other than they written and sound differently. To throw a small spanner in the works, the people in Udon Thani and surrounding areas speak Issan, a slightly different version of the Thai language, although any Thai from any part of the country will understand what is being said (no different to England).
1. The Thai language does not seem to evolve like English does. I am not sure how many new words are added to the concise English dictionary each year (quite a few I believe) but I would guess that no new "Thai" words are added to the Thai dictionary and probably haven't been for a few centuries. The Thai's use English words for new things such as iPad, computer, phone etc. They simply do not bother making up new words.
2. There is no past or future tense in the Thai language and this helps to confuse the life out of my wife and daughter as they find it so difficult to understand when I say, yesterday I went to the market. They would say something along the lines of - I go to the market, yesterday. You will note the sentence, to us English speaking nations, is written "backwards". The Thai language is effectively backwards to English.
A better example would be - I would like to go to see the most famous painting in the world, the Mona Lisa.
This is how the words would be re-arranged and translated for a Thai to understand - Mona Lisa, in the world, painting, most famous, I want to see.
Once you get the idea of how they form their sentences it becomes easier to understand why they have no idea what we are talking about.
1. The Thai language does not seem to evolve like English does. I am not sure how many new words are added to the concise English dictionary each year (quite a few I believe) but I would guess that no new "Thai" words are added to the Thai dictionary and probably haven't been for a few centuries. The Thai's use English words for new things such as iPad, computer, phone etc. They simply do not bother making up new words.
2. There is no past or future tense in the Thai language and this helps to confuse the life out of my wife and daughter as they find it so difficult to understand when I say, yesterday I went to the market. They would say something along the lines of - I go to the market, yesterday. You will note the sentence, to us English speaking nations, is written "backwards". The Thai language is effectively backwards to English.
A better example would be - I would like to go to see the most famous painting in the world, the Mona Lisa.
This is how the words would be re-arranged and translated for a Thai to understand - Mona Lisa, in the world, painting, most famous, I want to see.
Once you get the idea of how they form their sentences it becomes easier to understand why they have no idea what we are talking about.
Quick Translation
Here are a few words and phrases that might be useful to you in the early stages of living here. You need to remember my wife speaks some English and what I say and what she hears/thinks I say are two very different animals sometimes and it is not just my wife, most Thai's I talk to are exactly the same. It can be amusing at times but frustrating sometimes too.
I will saySee you in 5 minutes
I want a flat wall face Let's go That is not expensive Two bottles of Leo will be okay |
My wife thinksSee you in 20 minutes
Wall face not like the Himalayas I will be ready in 15 minutes or so That is expensive Better get him four bottles Leo (Okay, that's not a bad thing) |
Learn to Speak Thai in Udon Thani
Learning to speak Thai, in Thailand is probably the best place in the world to at least try. Personally I have not had the inclination to learn much to date as I find it all terribly confusing with the lack of past or future tense, no plurals, and the backward structure of sentences (compared to English).
You can find Thai language schools in Udon Thani quite easily and have the option of one of the city universities, or a local private school or tutor. As I have never attended a class I cannot comment on the standard of the education but knowing the average Thai has a fairly poor grasp on English, it does make me wonder just how well they can teach what is effectively an English to Thai translation service.
To learn to talk Thai is one thing, but reading and writing in is another! The written Thai language does not have spaces between words for starters and here is an example...
You can find Thai language schools in Udon Thani quite easily and have the option of one of the city universities, or a local private school or tutor. As I have never attended a class I cannot comment on the standard of the education but knowing the average Thai has a fairly poor grasp on English, it does make me wonder just how well they can teach what is effectively an English to Thai translation service.
To learn to talk Thai is one thing, but reading and writing in is another! The written Thai language does not have spaces between words for starters and here is an example...
English version
Welcome to udon thani, we hope you enjoy your stay
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Thai version
ยินดีต้อนรับสู่อุดรธานี, เราหวังว่าคุณจะเพลิดเพลินไปกับการเข้าพักของคุณ
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While I have seen advertised, places to learn to talk Thai, I have not seen anything that advertised the teaching of reading and writing the Thai language yet. I guess this could be found in Bangkok quite easily though, if you were that determined to learn.
If you want to get a head start and learn to speak and understand some Thai before getting here, there are a number of books and Kindle books available.