Run, run away!
One of the most confusing issues for beginning Thai language students is how to conjugate/create “-ing” words; running, walking, eating…
Before we dive into the Thai-specific concepts, it would be helpful to first make sure these concepts are understood in English.
What we are really talking about is the difference between a verb and a gerund; do you know the difference?
Not *that* kind of meat!
I’m having a lot of fun working on these Grammar Wars posts. Not only am I learning a lot, but I’m also finding that the most reader interaction is taking place on these discussions as well.
I recently wrote another Grammar Wars post comparing verbs that mean “to see.” One of those verbs — เจอ /jəə/ — has a few other meanings, however, and can be a bit tricky when trying to use it with its other meanings.
Let’s “dig in” (that one will hit you on the way out) and talk about a few more verbs that can, and may, confuse us farang and make us just a tad bit loopy.
I always feel like, somebody's watching me...
เห็น already got some treatment when we put it up against เจอ /jəə/ in a Thai language death match. Though there is never a clear winner, it’s interesting to see how subtleties we take for granted in English are quite often overlooked as we’re trying to learn Thai. Is it a failing of our language-learning? Perhaps. But I think it’s more of a lack of effective resources than anything else. That’s one of the reasons why I have these Grammar Wars posts and encourage discussion on the finer points of Thai. But I digress…
A recent conversation with my Thai teacher, and a comment on the aforementioned post, brought up some more interesting points and made me realize that it’s probably time to revisit this and introduce two more; yes, we get a triple threat match today…
Who Can Read More Better?
Today I thought it would be a good idea to exercise our reading brains; stop thinking about grammar, vocabulary, sentence structure, and all of that jazz. Let’s just see how well we can all read Thai, tones included.
We’re going for accuracy and speed, but that doesn’t mean you should just try and read as fast as you can. See how quickly you can read without messing up. I also suggest you record yourself so you can listen back and see where your hiccups occurred. This will allow you to find patterns; perhaps you always get caught up on reading middle class consonants with tone marks, or you can never remember how a certain vowel is supposed to sound, etc.
It would be helpful to all of us if you posted how well you did.
Here you go. Good luck!
Resistance is futile!
A recent news item coming out of the Washington campus of Microsoft suggests the mega-company is developing software that can translate what you say into 26 different languages. In a version of your own voice, mind you.
Just picture it; you’re traveling in Thailand. You say something into your phone and then instantly get to talk to an entire population of people whom you previously would never have been able to communicate with previously. The ability to do this opens so many doors, the possibilities are exponentially amazing.
Such a technology then begs the question: If technology can be created to allow us to instantly communicate from one language into another, what’s the point of learning a new language?
Could such a product eliminate the need for spending countless hours learning tones, memorizing vowel charts, and studying kids books?
In a word? No.
Do Want!
Perhaps the best conversation we’ve had thus far on LTMS is the discussion of “want” verbs. I thought we had done a rather good job going through the meaning of each word, and overall we made some interesting discoveries. However, at my recent Thai language class at temple, my teacher and I got into a discussion of these verbs and their meanings. He articulated to me a few alternative ideas on the differences between each word, so I figured I would share them with you.
To reiterate, the verbs in question are:
Manee
As promised, I’m picking up momentum on the Manee translation. Everyone’s comments/corrections and added input is starting to turn this into something of a community project. That’s very encouraging, so I thank you all for staying tuned!
In this episode, there is a lot of actual quoted conversation going on, which is something we haven’t done much of yet (if at all).
Even if there is not a lot of new material being discussed in every section we go over, if nothing else it’s all about practice, practice, practice! I know that I am definitely reaping the benefits of this project, even to the point of improving my Thai typing ability.
Remember, it’s a marathon, not a sprint.
Let’s start with the entire Thai text first…
Manee
I think Manee missed us. It’s been a while since we followed the harrowing adventures of our little friend.
When we last left Manee, she and her mom were in the market shopping. I can’t imagine much has changed since the last translation, but let’s try and see if I can accurately piece together what’s going on; not only based on the translation I come up with, but also based on some of the wonderful comments and help I’ve been receiving from the readers in Part 1 and Part 2, many of whom are way better at Thai than I am.
I think I’ve hit upon a good formula for these posts, but if you have suggestions on how to improve their format by all means let me know!
Okay, enough delaying… let’s continue and see what craziness she gets herself into this time!
Just when you think you might be done with a word, it pops up on you again. In Part 2 (and don’t forget about Part 1) I thought I had covered all of the ground that ได้ /dâi/ has to offer; we learned about “can/be able to,” ”might be able to,” and a bunch of expressions.
But alas there is at least one more, and coverage of this very important utility word would be incomplete if not mentioned.
Dear Diary...
My wife and I recently took a trip to see friends and family, which required a long car drive. The CD player wasn’t working, so we decided to spend some time working on my Thai language skills. She first gave me a few travel-related vocabulary words, quizzed me on them, and then told me to make up some sentences using the new words and related to our current travels.
I did pretty well for about a hour before I started to hit the brain overload level. (Practicing Thai while trying to navigate through multiple states using a GPS is not the easiest thing in the world, just so you know.) When we got finished our practice session I was feeling rather confident. I had done pretty well, had been luckily able to memorize the 20 or so vocabulary words my wife threw out at me, and I could finally speak some sentences that didn’t sound like a four year-old was speaking.
And then my wife said to me, “You should keep a journal.”
Jon: Thanks for posting your review…out of curiosity how well do you think pimsleur really helps you understand...
Chujinsa: Just a passerby. Mind if I correct you? Bingo is right. The sentence “running is a very good...
טםרשצ: I really enjoy your training, however I would like to ask if you can teach a the scoring and the consonants....
Kathleen: Do you have any other chapters of Grade 2 translated yet? I do a chapter a week with Thai monk.
Joe Lynch: Sorry Mai jep gor mai dai
