Also, I am sure that the Thai people you meet really appreciate that you are making an effort. As I started to recognise words being spoken I naturally started to copy the tones but found that I was clipping the words short or too long which was creating problems.Īs previous posters have said, it will make your life in Thailand so much richer if you can speak and read even a little of the language. I used to be too hung up on the tone thing and it was slowing me down a lot. I am finding the duration of sounds that make up a word are becoming more important than the tones. I guess my comments are really from the point of view of someone possibly a little further along the journey than you seem to be but is in no way proficient. I am just a beginner and I am not naturally good at learning so I really take into account some of the excellent comments from TV members that are really good at the language. It may be a bit snooty to do so, but I have never had a khon Thai tell me it is wrong - including a couple of my teachers. I do use the slightly rolled 'R' in khrap if first meeting someone and if they are high status - don't really know why but for me it is actually easier as I have a Scottish mother and spoke German as a small child. In addition I have tried to pick up some of the dialect used around Chiang Mai - at least as far as directions and a few other words go. With this I like to use a rather poorly printed book called 'What You See is What You Say Thai Phrase Handbook' by Bua Publishing. I have every 'Teach yourself Thai book ever written and each has their own transliteration form but have found 'Complete Thai' by David Smyth ( easily the best laid out and best value book that also comes with CD. But I am confident it will pick up pretty quickly when I get back. Sadly I have been out of the country for over a year and my speaking has gone downhill. It makes a huge difference and I would suggest you read as well as get the speaking bit going. Transliteration is a curse so I have been learning to read Thai. I like to say 'poot pasaa Thai, dtair mykoidee thao rai.' I speak Thai but not so well.

How to speak thai