Thai
There are two topics that recur month after month in all of the Thai language online groups that I follow. The first is whether or not the Thai letter ก should be transliterated as a 'g' or a 'k' when written in the Latin alphabet and
Language and Linguistics
"I'll see you on my furry this evening" - This might sound like the introduction to an 'R'-rated story, but this in fact was the parting sentence that led to a deep state of confusion for an American friend visiting Thailand when he
Thai
While the Thai language did not derive from Sanskrit (which is an Indo-european language akin to Latin and Greek), because of its cultural and religious history, there are an enormous amount of Sanskrit based words and influences used in everyday Thai. Take a look at these words in English and
Language and Linguistics
One of the most powerful skills you as a language learner could hope to develop is the ability to think directly in the language that you’re learning without having to go through your mother tongue. I call this ‘thought fluency’, and it is the core skill that I aim
Language and Linguistics
Over the weekend I had the privilege to present to a group of around 100 expat Indians working in the Engineering and Technology sectors in Thailand. I had spoken to the group a couple of months earlier and after the seminar, many people approached me and mentioned how much trouble
Language and Linguistics
“That’s O.K. for you – you’re ‘gifted’ when it comes to learning languages …. but what about us normal folk? How are we supposed to learn a new language when we don’t have the ability to absorb them by osmosis like you?” I have been going through hundreds
Mind and Brain
By the end of this article, you will have all the tools available to automatically generate your own customised multi-lingual audio, spaced-repetition vocabulary learning training files as well as physical flash cards to help you increase your vocabulary in the language that you are learning and develop a much more
Language and Linguistics
Are You Willing To Do What It Takes to Learn a Language? Two days ago I was giving a presentation entitled ‘Rebooting Your Mind to Learn [pick-a-language]’ to a group of 100 expats living in a particular SE Asian nation. I don’t want to mention the actual language as
Thai
“You Speak So Well!” Have you ever been learning a language like Thai, Chinese or Vietnamese and received a compliment in the very beginning stages along the lines of “You speak so well!” While providing that much needed motivation to keep going in the language, receiving such compliments can start
Language and Linguistics
What on earth could possibly translate into “Today’s mother cooking something to eat some rats”, or “Like a chicken in rats with”? Yesterday this cringeworthy excerpt from a Thai English language learning book was posted on a number of sites and caused a lot of questions about a number
Language and Linguistics
Language DNA What do Korean, Tibetan, Chinese, Spanish and Danish have in common? This clip is one that I have been wanting to put together for many years now and it’s one that I’m excited to finally be able to share with you. This clip is a little
Language and Linguistics
While it might have been funny (for the time), the whole issue of ‘r’ and ‘l’ is a fascinating one when it comes to learning many Asian languages. It’s also a very important one to understand for English as a Second Language teachers who feel like they are getting