Why do many expats not bother to learn to read?

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Re: Why do many expats not bother to learn to read?

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Americans don't have a stiff upper lip. :D
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Re: Why do many expats not bother to learn to read?

Post by Nereus »

Try observing this yourself sometime, focus on watching their mouths when 2 Thais talk.
I think you are mixing up their mouths with their hands! Tie together the hands of most of them and they will be stymied! :rasta:
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Re: Why do many expats not bother to learn to read?

Post by Takiap »

Jesse wrote:
Name Taken wrote: So why do cars have stickers saying the color of that car is some color other than the true color?
It's a superstition thing. Thais believe that some things bring good luck, some bring bad. For individual people, being born on a particular day of the week, or certain numbers bring good luck. Same with colors, maybe you got a good deal on a black car, or maybe you previously thought that black was your lucky color. But after having a fender bender you decide the current color isn't lucky after all, so you change your luck by putting on a sticker that proclaims the color to be something different. Thais also believe that all cars have what we would call a guardian angel, perhaps this belief is tied into the changing of the color, I'm not really sure.

Well, if what you say is correct, then I DEFINITELY do not need to feel humiliated because I can't read and write Thai.
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Re: Why do many expats not bother to learn to read?

Post by sidthesloth »

Takiap wrote:
Jesse wrote:
Name Taken wrote: So why do cars have stickers saying the color of that car is some color other than the true color?
It's a superstition thing. Thais believe that some things bring good luck, some bring bad. For individual people, being born on a particular day of the week, or certain numbers bring good luck. Same with colors, maybe you got a good deal on a black car, or maybe you previously thought that black was your lucky color. But after having a fender bender you decide the current color isn't lucky after all, so you change your luck by putting on a sticker that proclaims the color to be something different. Thais also believe that all cars have what we would call a guardian angel, perhaps this belief is tied into the changing of the color, I'm not really sure.

Well, if what you say is correct, then I DEFINITELY do not need to feel humiliated because I can't read and write Thai.
Do you have any idea how much crazy shit gets said in English? Maybe we should all stop speaking it
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Re: Why do many expats not bother to learn to read?

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Re: Why do many expats not bother to learn to read?

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Jesse wrote:
Name Taken wrote: So why do cars have stickers saying the color of that car is some color other than the true color?
It's a superstition thing. Thais believe that some things bring good luck, some bring bad. For individual people, being born on a particular day of the week, or certain numbers bring good luck. Same with colors, maybe you got a good deal on a black car, or maybe you previously thought that black was your lucky color. But after having a fender bender you decide the current color isn't lucky after all, so you change your luck by putting on a sticker that proclaims the color to be something different. Thais also believe that all cars have what we would call a guardian angel, perhaps this belief is tied into the changing of the color, I'm not really sure.
I already knew that Thai's are very superstitious.
I still can not see an overwhelmingly compelling argument/reason to learn the Thai language, I still think English is a much more valuable language in today's world.

Oh Yeah, and one time I met this lady in the U.S. that was a Wiccan.
Anyways :offtopic:
Last edited by Name Taken on Thu Dec 15, 2016 10:25 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Why do many expats not bother to learn to read?

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sidthesloth wrote:
migrant wrote:
Big Boy wrote: It just made me think, what's the point? This Thai business woman, whose main task is renting bikes to Farangs, would not even attempt to speak to a fluent Thai speaker because of the colour of his skin.
I've also seen this happen, along with Thai's who simply ignore a falang. It is not often in my experience and I just chalk it off to another rude person, there is some in every country.
If your Thai is good enough, you can call that person out on their bullshit.
:roll:
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Re: Why do many expats not bother to learn to read?

Post by StevePIraq »

I started to learn Thai by reading books, using interactive DVD's, followed this up with attending a language school. In my opinion it did not help me one little tiny bit. I could not get the tones right and most Thais including my wife would just look at me thinking "What the hell is he saying" plus the fact that even if I could say a phrase correctly to a shop assistant they would still defer to my wife, so I gave up. It is no loss to me not being able to speak Thai, I manage with 99% of things so no worries. I do admire foreigners who can speak Thai well but they are very few and far between and even far fewer can read or write Thai. In the end it is not a useful language anywhere else in the world.
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Re: Why do many expats not bother to learn to read?

Post by Takiap »

sidthesloth wrote:
Takiap wrote:
Jesse wrote:
It's a superstition thing. Thais believe that some things bring good luck, some bring bad. For individual people, being born on a particular day of the week, or certain numbers bring good luck. Same with colors, maybe you got a good deal on a black car, or maybe you previously thought that black was your lucky color. But after having a fender bender you decide the current color isn't lucky after all, so you change your luck by putting on a sticker that proclaims the color to be something different. Thais also believe that all cars have what we would call a guardian angel, perhaps this belief is tied into the changing of the color, I'm not really sure.

Well, if what you say is correct, then I DEFINITELY do not need to feel humiliated because I can't read and write Thai.
Do you have any idea how much crazy shit gets said in English? Maybe we should all stop speaking it
Yes, I do, but to date, I have never been subjected to a conversation in English about placing stickers on cars in order to fool "guardian" angels. I don't think I would have the patience, or diplomacy, to discuss such fantasies, and especially in a country which is deemed to have the second most dangerous roads on the planet. I don't want to be accused of Thai bashing, so I'll leave it at that.

May I also suggest that you read some of Big Boy's posts on this thread again?

:cheers:
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Re: Why do many expats not bother to learn to read?

Post by StevePIraq »

No one actually said this thread is about reading, writing or speaking Thai, everyone assumed that based on Sid the Slothes inane post. Maybe he was commenting about himself.

"Isn't it humiliating to be illiterate in your senior years?"
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Re: Why do many expats not bother to learn to read?

Post by sidthesloth »

Takiap wrote: May I also suggest that you read some of Big Boy's posts on this thread again?

:cheers:
excuses and rationalising
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Re: Why do many expats not bother to learn to read?

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I quit school when I were 12 yrs. old and today I are a genius.
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Re: Why do many expats not bother to learn to read?

Post by caller »

I spent a year learning Thai when I lived in Korat, which incidentally, is where I'm posting from now. I thought I was doing okay, was able to order some food in Thai and some other basics which I thought would be helpful, but I could never and still struggle with mastering the simple word, 'Korat' and making myself understood when with Thais!

My teacher said I was pronouncing it just fine, but mostly I get blank expressions, or when the penny drops, a big smile and 'ah Korat' said back to me, sounding exactly the same to me as I had been trying to get them to understand for the last10 minutes!! :roll: :?

And when I hear Thais say, 'Korat', I hear many different versions from 'koh-raaaart' to 'Koh-raaART' to 'Ko-rat'! It wouldn't be so bad, but when I revert to 'Nakhon Ratchasima', I get equally blank looks!!! :D
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Re: Why do many expats not bother to learn to read?

Post by T.I.G.R. »

My darling wife of 28 years does this to me. No matter how exacting I think I am, my Thai never passes muster. Being 72 I have also found it pointless to continue to learn the written language. I simply cannot get the stuff to stick in my brain.
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Re: Why do many expats not bother to learn to read?

Post by Big Boy »

And exactly the reason I gave up so quickly - my wife does exactly the same. Say it in English, she usually understands. Say it in Thai about 2 dozen times, before reverting to English. Then she says back to me exactly what I said to her in Thai initially.

I had the same with French. Suffered French lessons for 12 years at school. Tried to order a fried egg on my first visit to France - they just weren't having it. In the end, somebody said exactly the same thing to them that I'd been saying, and the fried egg was forthcoming. I gave up on French at that point too.

It has to be a problem with my ears because I can't tell the difference.
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