English Problems
Posted by Stuart at 03:19 PM on September 10, 2003Pasa Angrit yaak mak!
Or, in English, "English language is very difficult!" As I struggle most days with my new attempt to learn Thai, I am realizing that English is an extremely compilcated language. Sure it's phonetic, but the it seems to me that the phonetic rules are convoluted and full of exceptions.
The more I struggle to learn Thai tones and vowel pronunciation, the more I realize the problem is not with the Thai language, it is with the English language. For example, just yesterday I was trying to memorize Thai vowels by thinking of English words that have the same sounds. But it quickly gets very tricky. Are "pin" and "pen" really homonyms? (I think not.) Do "fan" and "fang" have the same vowel sound or not? (Again, I think not.) What about the pronounciation of "baan" and "bon"? So they're not neccesarily English words, but how would I pronounce them if they were? I would pronounce them the same, but why does "aa" sound like "o"?
So all of this comes down to sayinbg that I have a new-found respect for people who have to learn English as a second language, as well as anyone who wants to study English linguistics. Thank goodness I am not in either category!
Been there :-)
for 5 years now i'm living wit my thai girlfriend, 2 years in BK and 3 years in belgium. The problem is not yours, if the people you talk to do an effort to understand they will. Think about the different pronounciations for "kuai" (banana, or ....)or opposite fork .Every syllable in thai has a meaning depending on the pronounciation it can mean up to 5 completely different things but the person you talk to can do the effort to think if a word fits in a sentence or not. If you wish we can talk by email, i'm getting really good at thai culture and speak the language.
Good luck anyway.
Tony
Tony, I agree. Speaking is just one-half of conversation. You need to have an active listener as well. I know that when I talk to Thai people (or anyone who is not a native English speaker) I have to work hard to listen for "meaning" rather than listening to the grammar or the pronunciation. Hopefully Thai people will do the same for me and forgive my many mistakes!
Tongue Twisted, I think you have the key in that last sentence: "I think only studying a very different language (non-latin based) gives you an appreciation of the differences." That's exactly what I was trying to say :)
Thinking about it more now... When I studied Latin in high school I was amazed at how much I learned about English. A lot of the arcane words and grammar made more sense to me once I learned the Latin vocabulary and grammar rules. Now that I am seriously studying Thai, the opposite is true -- I am realizing how confusing and illogical English is!
The phonentics of a language are cool. English speakers have words that are written different and to me sound different.. but have the exact same sound. Then you have glottal stops in other languages that I can't "hear" because I'm not used to them.. so words with and without the glottal stops sound the same. I think only studying a very different language (non-latin based) gives you an appreciation of the differences.
Anyway.. good luck learning.. pronouncing... and visit chicago!