Next mission: Read and speak Thai in 8 weeks

I have nothing to do with Thai yet I imagine it can totally be done, especially where speaking is concerned. I also don't know anything about the tones Thai uses but they can't be too difficult compared to Mandarin tones, can they, and for examples Mandarin tones seem to take just some minutes to understand and be able to reproduce if taught properly. Mandarin has 4, Thai has 5. Doesn't seem like such a big deal.

From the looks of it, learning the writing system might be annoying, though. I would have gone with an easier one such as Korean first if you want to try out the Asian languages but oh well I guess it's too late there

I think you'll be completely successful this time and will achieve your 5 stars. Of course it's not easy but very doable. The hardest thing about tones for me is recognizing them when a native uses them, pronouncing them won't be a problem for you. Also the tone differences definitely slow down vocabulary learning because you're constantly checking the tones in each word. If you write out vocabulary lists then I recommend having a different colour for each tone and to write it bigger than normal and even with the number of the tone above it; the more ways the better for remembering which tone is where in words.
The writing looks hard when you haven't started it but I think it's easier to remember characters than for example pinyin words in Chinese. I think you're very creative with your image association for European languages and it won't be a problem for you with symbols.
Do you intend to be able to add Thai to your list of languages afterwards or will it be just an experiment and grounding in Asian languages like Czech was with Slavic languages?
Good luck!
btw. You should watch Stuart Jay Raj on youtube cuz he's got some interesting insights into the Thai language and all languages.

sounds like a very challenging mission!!!
good luck or, as we italians use to say….in bocca al lupo!!!! (it always brings good luck )
can't wait to read your posts about Thailand and your mission!

wow!

good luck!

From what I'm told, speaking the tones isn't that bad, but distinguishing them when others speak is a challenge. Since I'm just here one day so far I still have to really get into it (I want to get used to this new corner of the world first!)
I could have taken on Korean first, but I don't travel based on language difficulties My priority is getting to know new cultures that I would like and Thailand has been a priority for a while!! From my quick scan of my Thai book coming over, I can see that the writing system is consistent and straightforward, so I can't see it posing many challenges other than just the difficulty in getting used to a new writing system.

I'm glad to see how confident everyone is in me!! I have yet to get sceptics full out telling me I'll fail (like I did in my other two missions). At least people are acknowledging that it won't be easy – I'd hate to feel like I'll be doing all this work and everyone thinking that I'm sailing through it
I love the colour idea!! An excellent suggestion that I plan on using
To answer your question, I will decide after the mission what will be the future of Thai for me; if I fall in love with it and add it to the list, if I plan to leave it in suspension and continue another time or if it just isn't for me, will be shared with everyone by the end of the mission I already plan to add at least two languages to my “list” on a permanent basis this year, so I don't make this decision lightly (maintaining them all is a lot of work that I'll explain in future posts).
I've bookmarked a search for Stuart Jay Raj, so I'll have a look at him when I've got Internet in a quiet place (Using Internet cafés this week)

Crepi

Thanks! You can see how hard this is going to be; it is definitely doable, but the question is, can I work at the right pace and commitment to achieve it? Time will tell

Good luck. One thing you'll have to watch out for is that written Thai is based on Central Thai, but in the south words and tones can be pronounced differently from Central Thai. Also, even in Central Thai, some words are pronounced with a different tone in speech from the one given in writing. For example, the pronoun for he/she is written as เขา (khao – rising tone), but is usually pronounced with a high tone เค้า (khao – high tone).

If the words before the brackets like this อย่างนี่ (yahng-nee – low + high tone = 'like this) come out as asci garble, you 'll need to download and install thai fonts on your computer. Worth doing, if you haven't done it already.

Good luck

(sorry, I posted this before but on the wrong page!)

I deleted the replicated comment on the other page If you sign up for a Disqus account (free and applied across a lot of sites) you can later edit and delete any comments you make on those sites, as well as easily track replies.
Thanks for the good luck and don't worry about discouragement – I'm invincible to it
Dialect differences are more important in more advanced stages of a language; I'll ask someone to speak standard Thai with me and they'll likely oblige. Next time in Thailand I'll stick to one dialect when trying to become fluent.
Other scripts are displayed as standard nowadays; I read your comment on my iPhone, and now on my PC and in both cases all symbols displayed fine without me ever tweeking my systems

I read Thai very well and speak passably. I started about two years ago. Here are a few observations I've made while learning that you won't necessarily see in most “how to” books or lessons.

1. There are 44 initial consonants (2 obsolete) but the truth is that less that half of them are used 99% of the time. By paying attention to this right off the bat, it may speed up the process. Unfortunately, all 32 vowels are used pretty much all of the time.

2. When attempting to be understood by non-English speaking Thais, the length of the vowel in Thai words is as important as the tone. Too short or too long and they'll hear it as a different word.

3. When learning, avoid the temptation to associate the way a Thai consonant or vowel looks with the way an English one does. For example, the Thai ท does look like an English “n”, but is pronounced like a “t”. Trust me, you will eventually have to unlearn the inclination to pronounce it like the English “n”.

4. You'll have to do it at first, but stop writing and reading Thai words phonetically in English as soon as possible. Once you learn the language, you'll realize just how limited English is in getting the correct pronunciation across. BTW, the reverse is also true.

5. The hardest part in forming sentences is thinking like a Thai. Adjectives come after nouns. There are no articles. Nouns have numerical classifiers instead of just adding an “s” to make them plural, etc.

Good luck!

2.

I agree with John B above. The way to go is to ditch the romanization as soon as possible.

I have been in Thailand for less than 6 months (and I knew about 2 words when I came here last July) so I’m still quite a functional beginner when it comes to speak, however, I am fully literate. Other foreigners who speak fluent or near-fluent Thai are quite astoundished to see that I’m able to read signs and menus and write texts on my own, but in fact I am more puzzled by the fact that some of them have lived in Thailand for decades, speak the language at an academic level and master 2-3 regional dialects, but still can’t read. It is the exact same thing as living in the USA or wherever and being illiterate.

A good thing you can do for learning and practice: the thai alphabet covers quite an extensive number of phonems and thus, English can be “thaïized” with the pronunciation not being too far (even though it doesn’t kill the accent). A lot of Thais, especially those working in the tourist industry and who haven’t been much educated (quintessential exemples: bar girls from poor Issan families who can converse and understand English confidently while you’d have to torture upper-middle-class University English majors to speak it outside of the classroom) learn English phrases with little phrasebooks where everything is written in the Thai script.
“How are you today” ฮอวาร์ยูทุเด
“Good morning” กุดมอร์นิง
“You handsome man. Boom boom 1000 baht” ยุแฮนสอมแมน บุมๆวนเตาแสนบาท

Then, you can get yourself one of these little guys (should be around 40 baht for a photocopied one) and incorporate it in your routine. At first you are going to read slowly “hao… hawawr… you too dé… OH! How are you today!” Then, when you are confident with your ability to read and reproduce sounds tone-less, you can ditch this and move on to actual Thai dialogues, because you don’t want to develop bad habits or get limited (this translitteration doesn’t consider the tones, and the vowels exclusive to Thai).

And about the tones, they are important for sure, but not super-crucial. Just like the French or German grammar, they are an integral part of the language and shouldn’t be overlooked, but learners focusing solely on it will never progress because they will get stuck on minor points instead of going out there and try. Every damn phrasebook bring those smartass examples of words having five different meanings depending on the tone and it is true for isolated words, but when it comes to sentences, the context will point it out 99% of the time. In thai, sao can mean girl, or twenty, or other things that are never used in every day situations. If you say your age using sao, no matter what tone you pronounce everybody will understand you mean twenty, unless they are dumbasses trying to play snobby smart. Every dialect changes the tones, and furthermore, when Thais (or the Chinese) sing, the tones go quickly and far out of the window and the context itself points out the meaning. Morale of the story, focus on the good consonant and vowel pronunciation before getting all crazy with the tones.

So yeah, here is my advice (don’t know if I’m qualified to give any, but hey) I get quite passionnate about languages as well and could write on for hours. Best of success with your challenge, it is ambitious but far from being impossible. I’ll follow your progress, as well as the rest of your site that I have just recently discovered.

Cheers!

- Félix

Good luck.

so far i only read words you describe and nothing more.

am interestingly awaiting your first post.

wish you best of luck.

just when can we expect you in thailand?

I commend you for your goal, Thai is my 4th language and has been the most difficult to learn (Arabic and Spanish are my other two “second languages)… I've been studying Thai in an immersion program for eight months (one of the best, and most expensive ones in Thailand) and am not fluent, though I can read, write, speak correctly, watch television, and read/understand the newspaper with a lot of effort. I define fluency as being able to watch television, read the newspaper/books, and hold conversations in topics with which you are unfamiliar. The more Thai I learn, the more I understand how much more I have to learn. What is your definition of fluency? It could take 5 years of intensive study and daily use to meet that goal. Best of luck on your endeavors- regardless of your successes or failures, I admire you because you're attempting to understand the culture rather than being the typical tourist that Thailand has.

I’m amazed at how much people can fail to read my goals.