Thailand is a tropical paradise comprised of a mainland with jungles, long coastlines with many beautiful beaches, and a number of islands that offer some of the clearest waters and best diving sites in the world. While Thailand can seem like a foreign tropical mystery to many, with large cultural differences to the West, for those wanting to go and explore it, it is one of the most tourist-friendly countries in the region, known as the ‘land of smiles’.
Thai is the official and most widely spoken language in Thailand and English is the most common second language in the country. Many Thai learn English at school or speak it with foreigners. It is widely spoken in the tourist industry and though some Thai may be shy to speak it, those who are educated, are likely to at least understand more than they are able to speak.
Great news if you’re planning your next holiday to Asia! Whether you want to relax on the beaches, dive breath-taking coral reefs or ride elephants through the jungle, Thailand has it all, and is accessible to you as a foreigner without any knowledge of Thai. This being said, there are some particularities you may face in communicating with locals, and not all areas or destinations you come across will have fluent English spoken there.
Is English widely spoken in Thailand?
Many Thai see English as an opportunity to better their career prospects, as it is the language of international business, and domestically could also help them to land a job in tourism (responsible for 18% of the GDP). The Thai government has long realized the benefit of their citizens learning English, as it encourages schools to offer a bilingual system where possible, with the option to learn core courses in English as well as Thai. While this is not possible in many schools, having English classes is a mandatory part of the Thai schooling system, 9 years of which are also compulsory.
While this is a good effort, there are issues in the implementation of the mandate, which have led to Thailand having one of the lowest scores in English testing in the region. Officially, just under 30% of Thais taking university entrance exams are passing English. This is limiting their opportunities to study abroad, to work locally in the tourism industry and to conduct business with foreigners, either domestically or internationally.
Some of the reasons for this include both cultural and structural educational system difficulties. On a cultural level, one large contributing factor in the difficulty of learning English is the sounds of the languages. While Thai is a tonal language, with lots of modulations and sounds being made that aren’t in English, it is sometimes a struggle to speak English which is much harder, atonal, or more ‘forced’.
These differences in pronunciation can lead to teasing amongst those who are trying to speak the language. Compounding this is the fact that many Thai see English as a way in which to identify social class. Many Thai who are good in English will change their accent and adjust to the teachers way of speaking so as not to be different.
The hierarchical education system in Thailand is both cultural and systemic, and means that the way in which learning takes places, English included, is more of a memorization than actual learning. Teachers talk and students listen, followed by exercises in reading, writing and grammar. There is very little opportunity for freedom of expression, in Thai or English, and most exposure to English is solely within the classroom. This lack of opportunity to practice the language outside of the classroom breeds uncertainty and shyness in free speech.
Systemically, many of the English teachers are Thai – they are locals who have learned the language and may also not have the correct pronunciation and be able to speak the language freely. Many Thai teachers are teaching a level of English that is above the level at which they are qualified for. There has been an increase in native speaking teachers in recent years, with Thailand being a popular option amongst Westerners to go and teach English.
With teachers not always properly trained to the level that they should be, changing curricula and infrequent standardized testing to measure performance, it is not surprising that there is some discrepancy between what the government is aiming to achieve by making English mandatory, and how the system and culture play out in reality. Those in rural areas have even fewer opportunities to speak English after having left school, with little to no contact with foreign tourists, as well as limited access to the internet for online classes.
Having said this, while official English levels of properly trained, grammatically correct English may be low, the language is spoken to some degree by many people, albeit to a lower standard than official testing levels may require. This is being encouraged by access to the internet and to Western influenced media, including music and series or movies, as well as by exposure to foreigners living in and visiting the country.
Can I go to Thailand without knowing Thai or should I learn Thai before travelling?
While Thailand does have low official levels of English, in the most popular areas that are likely to be frequented as a tourist, there are basic levels of conversational English that will make the majority of your interactions in shops, restaurants and accommodation manageable without any knowledge of Thai. Many of the restaurants will have menus in English, dive centers will offer courses taught in English and hotel staff will be able to highlight areas of interest to you, in English.
As a guest in another country, it is always polite to familiarize yourself with some basic phrases before travelling, as a sign of respect for your host country and its people. Here are a few phrases that will help you to be polite (very much a respected aspect of Thai culture) and get by with minimal words:
- The greeting ‘sawadee krap/ka’ should be accompanied by a smile and can be used any time of day. Most often used when greeting a receptionist, instructor, shopkeeper or anyone else you may run into.
- Thank you is ‘kap khun krap/ka’ and should be used to taxi drivers, waiters, your masseuse, or anyone else you would like to thank.
- ‘Mai pet krap/ka’ means not spicy, which could come in handy for many of the curries that are popular in Thailand, particularly if you have an aversion to spicy foods and want to notify your server of this in a way you are sure they will understand!
- ‘Chai’ is yes
- ‘Mai chai’ is no – not to be confused with the popular cocktail, and Mai thai
- ‘Annee tow a rye krap/ka’ translates into asking how much is it, a useful phrase to use as a starting point for the haggling you can do at markets or with street side sellers. Many of these sellers could be less educated, and though may understand the phrase ‘how much’, would likely appreciate your efforts. It is then not unusual for the price they want to be shown to you on a calculator, and from there you can either accept or take the calculator to enter in a different price.
Is Thai hard to learn?
Thai, just like any language you learn, takes practice, patience and time. Unlike other Western languages, it does not use the Greek alphabet, so leaning the characters can be challenging, as it adds an extra dimension of novelty to the language learning process. In addition to learning a new alphabet and new words, it is important to note the differences in tonality.
Thai is a very tonal language and westerners can struggle to grasp the many subtleties of the Thai language, at least to the degree of a native speaker. Minor adjustments in tone and pitch in the pronunciation of a word can be the difference between two words with entirely separate meanings.
Thai is written and spoken as the official language of Thailand, mostly in the central part of the country, with variations and adaptations of the language further North or South. In central Thai throughout the country, there are five different tones that are used. These can be categorized as low, mid, high, falling and rising. For native English speakers, it can be difficult to separate how you would use tone in words and sentences in your mother tongue to how they are used in Thai, the challenge being forgetting how you would say something in English! Particularly in expressing surprise, excitement or emotion through intonation of a word such as one would do in English, it is not the same in Thai.
Aside from intonation, grammatically, Thai has a fairly simple structure. Verb forms do not change with past or future tenses, or with the use of the first or third person, and articles are not typically used. This makes the structural aspect of the language relatively easy to learn, although it may require some unlearning for native English speakers in getting used to simpler sentence structures.
Unlike some foreign languages, there are few borrowed words from English in Thai. The languages are spoken separately, Thai locally and English almost exclusively to foreigners, as a commercial benefit to Thai, rather than from an intrinsic desire to learn the language. The best tip for learning Thai is to approach it as something entirely new, allowing your mother tongue to have as little influence over the learning and speaking process as possible, especially with intonation.
5 things you must know!
There are some important verbal and non-verbal communication tips that are useful when travelling to Thailand. These are particularly good to bear in mind given that there are many cultural differences and what you’re used to, or what may be considered polite in the west, might have a totally different meaning or interpretation in Thailand.
Indirectnessand smiles
Thais tend to be very indirect, and indeed polite. Direct or confrontational statements are not common, and Thai will often smile or nod while you are speaking, as acknowledgements that they are listening, rather than to indicate agreement. Note that this does not mean that they are agreeing with you, and be mindful of picking up on when a Thai is trying to politely disagree or tell you ‘no’, as it is unlikely to be a direct refusal. Thai smile in a number of different situations to express or cover up various emotions.
Given that many Thai may have received an English education, but may just not have had the opportunity to freely practice it, try to be patient and give them a chance if you can hear they are struggling with the language, just as you would wish for if you were learning a new language. Thai may understand your English, and attempt to respond in English, even if slowly or in broken sentences. The best thing to do is to smile reassuringly, be patient and nod, similar behavior to them in acknowledging you are hearing and understanding them.
Politeness
Politeness is intrinsic in Thai culture, and it reflects badly on their character as individuals if they are seen to be rude, which can be conferred in a number of ways (for example when raising their voices – more on that to follow). In addressing you, Thai often precede your first name with a title rather than just call you by your name as in Western culture. It is not unusual to be call Miss Stacy or Mr Peter, and is considered a sign of respect and not in any way agist or in the case of females, making assumptions about marital status, so no offence should be taken by the use of these words in daily contexts.
Humor, Swearing and Pitch
Humor is often used by Thai in conversation to lighten the mood and attempt to get a smile out of you. It can be sued to cover up sadness as well, and should not be taken as an insult or lack of sensitivity to a poignant issue, rather as a cover-up or decoy for how they really feel about a situation. This makes sense when considering their general indirectness. Swearing is not considered normal or polite, and not used in everyday conversation. Given that Thai are generally more soft-spoken, they tend not to raise their voices in casual conversation as it is frowned upon.
Gestures
If you are struggling to be understood in English, be careful of using too many hand gestures. These can be interpreted as anger, as they are not overly used in regular conversations. As in Western culture, pointing a finger at somebody is interpreted as accusatory. Using your feet to point to or move something is very insulting, as feet are considered the dirtiest part of the body.
Criticism
If for whatever reason you need to give criticism, it is best received in private and very subtly. Causing a huge scene in a restaurant or hotel for example, when you are not pleased with the service, and singling out an employee would be considered very disrespectful, and shameful for the employee. If you do find it absolutely necessary to give criticism, do so alone. If the person you are talking to does not make eye contact or bows their head, this is not to be seen as disrespectful.
Conclusion
Because there are many cultures that come to Thailand, English is the common language that is spoken between Thais and foreigners (known as farang in Thai), no matter your origin. It will likely be the default language in which you are spoken to as a Westerner in Thailand, and the locals generally happy to engage in English if they can speak it.
If you are struggling with communication in English, some key things to remember are to remain relaxed, friendly and have a sense of humor. There is no positive outcome that will come from getting frustrated and angry with a situation, so instead, remain calm and open to some charades!