English is a weird language...

[bobsaigon2]

Lost consonants: Thai boy says we are going out to dinner with his sister and her boyfriend from " I - land ". I assumed he was referring to "Ireland" and looked forward to chatting with him about his lovely country. Turns out he was not from "Ireland", but from "Iceland", both of which can be pronounced " I - land " by Asians.

[frequent]

Turns out he was not from "Ireland", but from "Iceland", both of which can be pronounced " I - land " by Asians.

I'm not sure that's true of Asians generally, Bob, but the Thai language (almost?) never has a syllable that ends in the "s" sound. Hence you will often hear Thai boys speaking English who talk about their "how", meaning their "house". This is so common I thought (silly me) that everyone knew that. It's the same for plurals - Thais have no concept of adding to the noun to denote a plural. Plural is usually indicated by an actual number or the context. Those of us who remember arriving at Don Muang when it was the only international airport in Bangkok may recall seeing the very large sign proclaiming "Welcome to the Land of Smile". Even the pronunciation of that is beyond many Thai - not only is the "s" ending difficult to impossible, the concept of smiles vs. smile is irrelevant since the context "obviously" signifies the plural. Hence the same Thai boys will talk about "The land of smi"

[cdnmatt]

Lost consonants: Thai boy says we are going out to dinner with his sister and her boyfriend from " I - land ". I assumed he was referring to "Ireland" and looked forward to chatting with him about his lovely country. Turns out he was not from "Ireland", but from "Iceland", both of which can be pronounced " I - land " by Asians.

Yeah, there's loads of words like that. Lots of times I have to get Leo to spell the word, so I know what the hell he's saying.

Same goes both ways though. I know way more Thai words than I can actually pronounce and be understood. When out and about, I can probably only use about one third of the words I know, because I can't pronounce the rest of them properly.

Both, Thai and English have different sounds that don't exist in the other language.

[Smiles]

Just a simple question. So when you say ~~ for instance ~~ to Leo, do you say " ... it's really hot in here Leo, would you please close the blind ... " do you use 'blind' or 'blinds'?
Or are you just being ironic?

[cdnmatt]

To be honest, I don't really even know. He just got back today, so I'll watch myself over the next couple days. I'm pretty sure I shy away from using plurals and tenses though, because they don't exist in the Thai language, so easier to be understood.

That, and for some reason I mix alot of Thai in. For example, I'll never say "bottle" or "bottles",, but will just say "kuwat". For example, "oh, I got sib song kwuat of water". Must be annoying as hell to listen to me.

[cdnmatt]

Oh, but I do drop a lot of the small words though. Probably shouldn't to help him become more fluent, but I do. For example, I'll say "want to take aabname with me?" instead of "do you want to take a shower with me?".

How do you talk to your guy

[Smiles]

Oh, but I do drop a lot of the small words though. Probably shouldn't to help him become more fluent, but I do. For example, I'll say "want to take aabname with me?" instead of "do you want to take a shower with me?".
How do you talk to your guy

I 'talk' to him exactly as I would talk to any farang. I don't believe in dumbing down my old man.
His 'real' English has gotten unbelievably better over the years ... so much so that I don't even give a second thought any more.
Don't understand something? No problem, fix it instantaneously before it's lost in the fog of language. We have a very heavy Thai/English dictionary on a table in the bedroom. It's gotten used a million times.

[cdnmatt]

You actually have a book dictionary? Do you still send written letters in the mail, and have a landline too? In case you're not aware, you can just pick up your phone and say something like, "Ok, Google, Thai word for xxx", and if your phone will tell you. If you have Google Talkback installed, your phone will also speak the proper pronounciation to you.

Sorry, but if you're going to be a smug asshole about the whole "blind" or "blinds" thing, I can do the same.

[Smiles]

Sorry? You call that "sorry"?
I have next door a lovely dog who craves his cheese hit in the morning. If I've run out of cheese he is quite adept at making me feel "sorry". And I tell him that.
But you? It is to laugh. For me: it is to head-shake.
But do carry on.
PS: the "smug" thing is getting pretty old. Could you please look in that dictionary for a more original synonym.

[cdnmatt]

What the hell are you doing give dogs cheese? Might to time to crack open your volumes of Encyclopedia Britanicca, and educate yourself. Most dogs are lactose intolerant.

Of course he's going to like cheese, because he's a dog, hence will eat anything and is always hungry. If you want to be nice to him, go buy some dog treats, or give him some fried rice, or something.