Online Thai Language Learning

[Gaybutton]

So I asked Copilot how it determined the tone

Maybe I'm missing something, but why are you asking Copilot or any other apps? Why not ask a Thai? If there is a word or phrase I'm not sure about or simply want to check if I'm getting it right, that's what I do. I've never done it any other way.

[Jun]

Maybe I'm missing something, but why are you asking Copilot or any other apps? Why not ask a Thai? If there is a word or phrase I'm not sure about or simply want to check if I'm getting it right, that's what I do. I've never done it any other way.

Well, in theory AI should be able do do things like create a list of 50 low tone words, arranged in a table.
I could put that is a spreadsheet, use concatenate to add a few commas and paste to google translate to create a matching audio file.
I could hardly ask a Thai to do that.
Besides, the people I know best are from Cambodia and Laos. They speak Thai, but the remaining Cambodian certainly can't write it. The Lao guys can write Lao, Thai and English. However, the Lao alphabet has been rationalized and has fewer characters than Thai. So how well they write Thai is unknown.

I think AI would be superb, if we could trust the output. However, clearly the output needs checking for errors, so I would say it's merely useful.

[christianpfc]

"Why not ask a Thai?" Absolutely not! In general, asking a native speaker about grammar usually is not helpful.

[Jun]

Yesterday, I asked Copilot to produce a list of 50 high tone words. I also asked for an explanation of why each is high tone, which it provided, in a table, as per my request. This would be fantastic, if only it were correct.

I then pasted the 50 words into google AI and asked it to check the tone of each. It identified 6 high tone words. So a lot of mistake.

Most of the mistakes appear to be by Copilot.

Incidentally, another reason not to ask a Thai is that I want methods that work wherever I am, including the UK.

What I should be doing is much more practice of trying to speak Thai with Thais.

[Gaybutton]

another reason not to ask a Thai is that I want methods that work wherever I am, including the UK.W

Why should that mean you shouldn't ask a Thai? What's wrong with doing both?

What I should be doing is much more practice of trying to speak Thai with Thais.

I definitely agree with you on that. That's how you really learn to speak Thai - by speaking it. And don't be shy about making mistakes.

I think you are wasting a lot of time trying to learn from the internet. You're much better off trying to learn to speak Thai the way Thais really speak it. Listening and practicing is going to get you a lot further than things like Google and Copilot.

[Jun]

Why should that mean you shouldn't ask a Thai? What's wrong with doing both?

Some board members might have a Thai boyfriend. I don't. I socialize more with Cambodian and Lao rent boys.
The Thai boys I know mostly speak quite basic English and use google translate.
I know perhaps one Thai boy who might actually read a message off me without needing to use google translate. But I can hardly bug him with questions when I'm back home at 8:00pm UK time.

My best bet might be to establish how well my Lao University graduate friend writes Thai.

I think you are wasting a lot of time trying to learn from the internet. You're much better off trying to learn to speak Thai the way Thais really speak it. Listening and practicing is going to get you a lot further than things like Google and Copilot.

Remember, I'm also learning to read the language. I can hardly do that just by listening to people. I need material.
The internet is very good for creating matched text and audio. I can read words off word cards and listen to the same words when walking in the countryside back in the UK.
Or even use a flashcard app that combines text and audio. I can download data from google sheets straight into that.

What I can't do is rely on AI to generate any of that material. Particularly not copilot. Google AI may be closer, but it still needs checking.

But there is still an urgent need to practice speaking, which is a weak point.

[Gaybutton]

But there is still an urgent need to practice speaking, which is a weak point.

I certainly agree with that. You can learn to read and write Thai if you want to, but in practicality you really don't need to. In all the years I've lived in Thailand I have never even tried to learn to read Thai. For me it has never been necessary. I can't imagine why I would ever need to write in Thai. The only times it would be helpful to me is if I am on LINE or some other app and am communicating with someone who speaks no English. For that, I use Google Translate and simply copy the Thai and paste it in. I have had no problems doing that. The Thais I am communicating with have had no difficulty understanding what I am saying. If they write back in Thai, Google Translate works for that too.

On the rare occasions I want to read Thai (These days nearly everything I need is also written in English) - maybe on Thai-only menus or the labels on some supermarket products, I use Google Lens. That works just fine.

Many years ago, when I first moved to Thailand I hired a Thai language tutor. She taught me the basics of speaking Thai. She said when it comes to reading and writing Thai, don't bother. You won't need it. So far, at least for me, she was right.

In my opinion the priority should be learning to speak Thai - the way the Thais actually speak it. I find that very important and helpful for long-term stays in Thailand. Reading and writing Thai is fine as a matter of interest, but really is not a matter of necessity

One thing I still cannot do, though - when Thais speak very rapidly with each other, it's too fast for me and I have almost no idea what they are saying.

Of course, if I ever do try to write in Thai, I have a feeling it would come out the way it sometimes results when Thais try to write in English:

[christianpfc]

In all the years I've lived in Thailand I have never even tried to learn to read Thai. For me it has never been necessary.

For me of utmost importance (reading, to a lesser extent writing). Reading names of places, menus and so on. Actually reading menus should be the first thing to learn when going to a foreign country. Most of my online dating is reading and writing Thai, once I find out that my Thai is better than the boy's English, which is the case in 90%.

I have plateaued on Thai. But I'm still studying Chinese, mostly by listening on YouTube to full sentences (with English, Pinyin and Chinese subtitles) remembering them, and writing them down from memory.

[Jun]

I certainly agree with that. You can learn to read and write Thai if you want to, but in practicality you really don't need to. In all the years I've lived in Thailand I have never even tried to learn to read Thai. For me it has never been necessary. I can't imagine why I would ever need to write in Thai. The only times it would be helpful to me is if I am on LINE or some other app and am communicating with someone who speaks no English. For that, I use Google Translate and simply copy the Thai and paste it in. I have had no problems doing that. The Thais I am communicating with have had no difficulty understanding what I am saying. If they write back in Thai, Google Translate works for that too.

Actually, it's all optional. Spoken and written Thai. Same same.

I'm not learning to write Thai, as that would require spelling skills. I'm just working on reading and there are reading opportunities almost everywhere.

Also, there are times when translate apps will not work. For example, when people deliberately change letters in their Hornet profiles, so the Hornet software won't pick up non-approved phrases.

[Jun]

Google translate doesn't always get the right result or even warn us of potential omissions.

Here's one from a Hornet ad:
รง.uวdแต่งขน

Google tells us that's a "hair trimming service"

It's totally ignored everything before the scissors.
I believe the first two letters are an abbreviation for rab ngan ( accepting work) and the next word is nuad (massage), but with an English letter mixed in so the Hornet software doesn't detect the offer of a commercial massage service.

But I am also learning, so accuracy is not guaranteed.