Why do expats who can't speak Thai resent those that can?

[GLCQuantum]

If you can pull this one off in the karaoke you'll have girls falling all over you... (of course you will need a lovely lass to accompany you as it's a two person gig)



...get practicing fellas.

Edit: Oh fudge... the you tube thingy won't work! [Mod Edit] Say thank you to your friendly moderating team.

[Dannie Boy]

If you can pull this one off in the karaoke you'll have girls falling all over you... (of course you will need a lovely lass to accompany you as it's a two person gig)



...get practicing fellas.

Edit: Oh fudge... the you tube thingy won't work! [Mod Edit] Say thank you to your friendly moderating team.

According to my wife the guy singing Thongchai McIntyre (who is apparently gay), is 53 - no doubt the surgeons have helped, but he looks a lot younger!!

[Cing Jai]

This discusssion is IMO, off the dot. Suggest you use your time on something more productive.

Suggest you keep your judgements to yourself if you want anyone with a different take than you on things to participate here. I'm offended that you called me a troll.

Got drawn in by the allure of the title...

..... but the thread is a bit 'preachy'.

Mmmm. And filled with quite a few assumptions.

Oh so sorry, I forgot nobody ever makes assumptions in this country because we all know so much.

Hell to the muthafrakin no!

You're American, aren't you?

Is there a point to your question? If I am American does it allow you to then completely disregard my opinion?

You're Kenyan aren't you?

I mean this to be constructive, I hope it's taken that way and doesn't start a flame war.

จริงใจ - cing jai = sincere

That's not a very good translation, dictionaries are poor for these kind of words, "true heart" would be better and the meaning is someone who does not hide their feelings or emotions and has no time for masks or deception (games) with their words or behavior. Yes, sincere is part of it but the main thrust of the expression is someone who doesn't hide their sincerity, outspoken.

And I'm called a troll.

Moderators feel free to delete the whole waste of a thread here then, sorry I even tried. I'll get my coat now.

[splitlid]

i dont speak Thai because i cant.
i did take lessons for about 6 months and got some basics, but it got too difficult for me.
some people can do languages and some cant.

dont worry Cing Jai, your personality is welcome here, its nice to read new thought provoking threads.

[Frank Hovis]

No need to get your coat so quickly, it's hot outside! It's just like meeting new mates for the first time, you need to find the limits of what is and what isn't acceptable conversation and what is and isn't a point worth discussing, same here, find your way, dip your toes in, take guidance and don't be offended. Being true of heart shouldn't mean being closed of mind.

[pharvey]

Thought I'd posted a response earlier in the thread, but seems to have disappeared....

Anywho, tend to agree with the majority of the replies thus far. I certainly find learning Asian (or the majority of foreign) languages extremely difficult, but far from resenting other expats who can speak Thai (or any other foreign language), I, like others on the forum have great respect for their gift/ethic/dedication, whatever you would like to call it. Of course I also harbour a little jealousy!!

I do however try to learn the basics - Hello, Goodbye, Thank you, Please in any language. It's a pity some of my fellow countrymen never learn the latter 2 in their own language!!

My (Chinese) wife has a gift for languages - fluent in several Chinese dialects (not easy, even for Chinese speakers - majority being Pudong Hua), fluent in English, fluent in Japanese....... could speak "bits and bobs" in Thai after the 1st taxi ride from the airport to Hua Hin!! Some people just have the gift........

Want to learn Thai - get hold of Bapak. Kind enough to send me a book and software to start me off......... STILL TRYING!! Pretty sure Bapak still offers some free courses - send a PM.

[Cing Jai]

Frank,

I'm not closed of mind but when I take the time to write a well constructed post about the expat culture here and get called a troll I think I have a right to be offended.

Fine, so you guys don't want to talk about it (or anything else I have contributed either but that's unrelated) or think I'm plain wrong. All you had to do was tell me nicely like Frank did not start calling me a troll. That's what starts flame wars and based on your other posts on the forum I expected more from you luang per.

I left the other Thailand discussion forums for precisely similar reasons. Try to start an intelligent conversation, get attacked.

[GLCQuantum]

[Mod Edit] Say thank you to your friendly moderating team.

[Frank Hovis]

What I meant about closed of mind was that you if you post, then you are obviously hoping for other peoples responses and if they all agree with you then there's not much discussion, if they don't agree then you need to be open to listen, even if people think your post is irrelevant they have a right to say so (or not respond at all). Don't be too down beat, water off a ducks back and all that.

[STEVE G]

Why do expats who can't speak Thai resent those that can?

To answer the question honestly, I spend very little time thinking about what languages others speak, so I certainly don't resent them if they choose to speak Thai, Serbo-Croat or Mongolian.

[pharvey]

CJ - Steady the boat blue (a UK phrase..)...... You've stated your opinion, others have as well - possibly a little too frankly. But there's no reason to take offense... even at the "Troll" comment - I'm sure there's a good retort in there somewhere!!

You've no doubt lived in Thailand for a damn site longer than me - I have worked on extended projects there previously, but am now just a "holiday visitor". I have however lived in Asia: Thailand, Japan, Korea, China for pushing 18 years, so believe I have a fairly good outlook on things. There are no doubt some idiots around who will resent people for anything quite frankly - I'm just not one of them when it comes to skills in any field. I would love to learn from them, unfortunately I don't have the gift to learn foreign languages. I have a gift for mathematics and engineering which has brought me to these wonderful places, and allowed me to meet my wife - for that, I'm truly thankful.

[dtaai-maai]

Careful with your quotes, cj, as I didn't post the 'American' comment (which I also thought was a bit odd) or the 'sincere' translation. No big deal, but it might be in a more controversial thread.

You appear to be feeling a bit ganged up on, but apart from Lung Per's 'troll' accusation (he's quite free with that) all you've had is straightforward disagreement. That, my friend, is all part and parcel of forum rough and tumble and is something you just have to live with.

You're very welcome to the forum, of course you are, but as someone said earlier, it's sometimes a good idea to spend a few days getting the feel of the place before you jump into the deep end, rather than trying to discuss every topic under the sun in a week.

[STEVE G]

Thinking on this matter a little further, I can imagine situations where someone might resent another for speaking Thai in front of them, as opposed to just being a Thai speaker. One of these would be if they're doing it not to communicate but just to show off, the sort who feels the need to ask a 12 year old shoe-shine boy his views on proposed Constitutional amendments and that kind of thing. Another might be if it's being done to exclude someone from the conversation or even talk about them furtively.
Obviously in these cases it's not so much resentment about speaking Thai but just a lack of manners.

[VincentD]

Hell to the muthafrakin no!

You're American, aren't you?

Actually, that's Singlish la? Pete

No, lah, Pete. At least not while I was still there.

You're Kenyan aren't you?

Actually no (-lah). I'm from Sillypore. Pete? You still there?

CJ - I was taking a bit of a poke at you - it's also called a ribbing as in 'poke in the ribs' or as the Americans would say, 'just kidding'.
I'm sorry you are sensitive to this type of banter; it is quite common even here in Thailand and I get a fair amount of it. Calm down.

That's not a very good translation, dictionaries are poor for these kind of words, "true heart" would be better and the meaning is someone who does not hide their feelings or emotions and has no time for masks or deception (games) with their words or behavior. Yes, sincere is part of it but the main thrust of the expression is someone who doesn't hide their sincerity, outspoken.

'true heart' is more of a literal translation, in Thai you can take two words and combine them and it'll come out as something totally different.
Example:
River - mae naam - literally 'mother water'.

Moderators feel free to delete the whole waste of a thread here then, sorry I even tried. I'll get my coat now.

dont worry Cing Jai, your personality is welcome here, its nice to read new thought provoking threads.

Agreed. Just don't be so sensitive about replies you may not totally agree with. As Frank says below:

No need to get your coat so quickly, it's hot outside! It's just like meeting new mates for the first time, you need to find the limits of what is and what isn't acceptable conversation and what is and isn't a point worth discussing, same here, find your way, dip your toes in, take guidance and don't be offended. Being true of heart shouldn't mean being closed of mind.

I left the other Thailand discussion forums for precisely similar reasons. Try to start an intelligent conversation, get attacked.

CJ, no one's attacking you. In fact, the HHAD forum is quite different from the rest in that most of the people on the board have met at least a couple of times and know each other. (If you look for the pics of the 2004 HHAD get-together you may spot my ugly mug somewhere) I've yet to see any real flaming. Now, starting a thread on a negative note, as in 'this post might lose me any goodwill I've garnered since joining the forum but here goes..' you give the impression you expect to be flamed and are already on the defensive.
Again, calm down.

As for the 'American' comment, I think some Americans spell 'mother' as 'mutha' (please see what was quoted. Won't speculate on what the whole word means, though) Also many Americans I know are loud, talk a lot around a particular subject, are very opinionated and are sensitive when this is questioned. Your post was structured in that particular style, thus the poke in the ribs, as in 'typical loud American'. I get the same sh*t with all the -lahs and other Singlishisms and it doesn't bother me. It wasn't meant to be racist, but if that is the context you took it in, I apologise.

I grew up in an era where PC (political correctedness) was unknown and tend to forget that sometimes. I call it as I see it.

Now, where's that post of the Two Ronnies doing Rindercella?

[MrPlum]

I've never resented those who speak Thai. Admired them mostly, since my attempts to learn go in one ear and out the other. Repetition has me built up a vocabulary of 200 words. 'Cha Kiaow Yen Mai Wan' gets me a nice ice green tea, although the face I pull when trying to get the tone right for 'Mai Wan' is priceless. I'm with MrS with the monotone voice. 'Cao Con Gai' gets me chicken with rice and soup. Fed and watered. What more do you want? Lovely when it works.

There is a part of me that is reluctant to learn for a slightly different reason. I like the joy of SILENCE as well as not knowing. Apart from the practical e.g. where is the hospital/toilet/restaurant I am perfectly content not knowing what most people are talking about.

Put anyone in a situation where their native language is not spoken at all and I'll bet they will all be fluent within 18 months. The need dictates the amount of effort.