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[ballzafire]

atleastwithenglishspacesbetweenwordsareusedssoitisaloteasiertoreadthanthailaoand
afewotherseasianlanguages

[tutsiwarrior]

in Nicaragua they ain't got no road signs or even road names...you direct people to a destination in Managua by using the lake as a point of reference. Back in the 80s the americans reckoned it was a plot to bamboozle them during an invasion...

[neverdie]

ballzafire, on 2009-11-22 14:53:03, said:

atleastwithenglishspacesbetweenwordsareusedssoitisaloteasiertoreadthanthailaoand
afewotherseasianlanguages

Sorry, you have a spelling mistake in there, you used one too many 's' between the words  'used' and 'so'.

[ballzafire]

andanotherproblemwithmanyseasianlanguagesisthatduetothefactthatallthewordsarejum
bledtogetherwithoutspacesitwouldbeverydifficulttodesignaspellcheckerforsuchlangua
ges

[zzaa09]

ukrules, on 2009-11-22 01:16:59, said:

This happens all over the world.....

Nonsense. It's not that common nor accepted.

[neverdie]

tutsiwarrior, on 2009-11-22 17:48:14, said:

in Nicaragua they ain't got no road signs or even road names...you direct people to a destination in Managua by using the lake as a point of reference. Back in the 80s the americans reckoned it was a plot to bamboozle them during an invasion...

they don't need any help   to get confused.

watch this and see what i mean

[zzaa09]

sassienie, on 2009-11-22 01:30:31, said:

.... is required in the main city areas, but why in Thailand is English text so widely used including the rural areas?

Huh? Rural areas...?? Where?

[zzaa09]

garyh, on 2009-11-22 05:25:50, said:

Imagine the threads on TV whinging about road signs if they where only in Thai!

....then they'd have a language to learn, wouldn't they?

[MrHammer]

rabcbroon, on 2009-11-22 13:18:48, said:

Jaydillon, on 2009-11-22 05:57:06, said:

I am ever so glad that the second language in Thailand is English,and NOT French or German

France is the most foreign country  -as an English speaker - that i have ever worked in.  It is almost impossible to get by if you don't speak French.  The French are quite ignorant to the fact that English is the favoured world language and very few speak English - or take showers regularly!

It's very funny how the French are always the laughing stock. It's never the Germans or Italians, always the French.

Unless you live in upper middle class areas in Thailand it's also difficult to get by without speaking any Thai, if you want to do more than ordering beer.

[garyh]

Try asking Thai people for directions, a little while ago went to buy some stuff from an ad on TV classifieds, the woman would not give the address, best she could do was how to get there from the local markets. My wife's family is amazed how I can find my way around with the GPS in my phone, they think I will get lost if  go without a guide and not find my way back.

[phetaroi]

londonthai, on 2009-11-21 13:16:16, said:

...still those signs are encouraging tourists to venture further from the bitten track and explore the whole country.

Yes, those temple dogs out in the provinces are a problem!  

[kalasin]

I have seen road signs in Thailand with only french text below the thai text. So maybe one day there might be one or two road signs in danish too?

[troehr]

MarkBKK, on 2009-11-22 13:10:20, said:

Pakboong, on 2009-11-22 09:28:15, said:

The vast majority of Chinese kids attend private international schools.

Really? That's quite surprising.

It's also quite wrong.  Only a very small percentage of Chinese students go to international schools.  The vast majority go to government schools.

[7by7]

rabcbroon, on 2009-11-22 14:41:42, said:

7by7, on 2009-11-22 13:46:25, said:

Actually many French can and do speak English, except when talking to a Brit!

Hving worked and lived in France i can tell you that you are very wrong

I don't know your nationality, but you did say you are an English speaker. So, no French person would speak to you in English, which I think proves my point!

(BTW, both this and my previous are meant to be jokes; don't take them too seriously.)

[PattayaParent]

manarak, on 2009-11-22 03:15:02, said:

don't forget Thailand is near China and Vietnam.

In Germany, all roads also have US military / NATO signs which regulate traffic, defining on which lanes tanks should drive, etc.

I am sure road signs in english are very helpful to western forces in case of a conflict.

My bet would be that there were no road signs in English before the US troops came to Thailand during the Viet Nam / American War but when they left the whole country had English signs.

[keyjor]

tw25rw, on 2009-11-22 07:51:30, said:

The most common 2nd language is English for now. The next generation might learn Chinese instead. Good luck learning to read that.

True. My daughter who is fluent in Thai, Laos, English is now taking Chinese lessons at school.

[Birdman]

kalasin, on 2009-11-22 19:26:14, said:

I have seen road signs in Thailand with only french text below the thai text. So maybe one day there might be one or two road signs in danish too?

Was that in Trat or Chantaburi? Trat was once a part a French Indochina.

[jackr]

7by7, on 2009-11-22 20:34:50, said:

rabcbroon, on 2009-11-22 14:41:42, said:

7by7, on 2009-11-22 13:46:25, said:

Actually many French can and do speak English, except when talking to a Brit!

Hving worked and lived in France i can tell you that you are very wrong

I don't know your nationality, but you did say you are an English speaker. So, no French person would speak to you in English

I've also worked there and can tell you you are wrong.

Met some real nice chaps over there that made the effort. Then again, also spent a bit of a time with a French chic over here who got really annoying after a while... France does this better, that better, nicer language, we need to keep English songs off the radio blah blah. Real pretty but such a f*cking bore.

[Thongkorn]

jackr, on 2009-11-22 22:12:04, said:

7by7, on 2009-11-22 20:34:50, said:

rabcbroon, on 2009-11-22 14:41:42, said:

7by7, on 2009-11-22 13:46:25, said:

Actually many French can and do speak English, except when talking to a Brit!

Hving worked and lived in France i can tell you that you are very wrong

I don't know your nationality, but you did say you are an English speaker. So, no French person would speak to you in English

I've also worked there and can tell you you are wrong.

Met some real nice chaps over there that made the effort. Then again, also spent a bit of a time with a French chic over here who got really annoying after a while... France does this better, that better, nicer language, we need to keep English songs off the radio blah blah. Real pretty but such a f*cking bore.

I remember France trying to cleanse there pure language of English, it lasted a few weeks , English is the International speaking language for Emergences, as agreed long ago , maybe time for a change,Should be a laugh. The next question is "why does Thailand drive on the left".

[doggie888888]

Thongkorn, on 2009-11-22 21:48:59, said:

The next question is "why does Thailand drive on the left".

Answer: Thailand is a country so it does not drive per se.
However Thais drive on the left, right, middle, and everywhere in between, against traffic, across traffic and often off the roads as well.

[sassienie]

neverdie, on 2009-11-22 09:53:06, said:

OP, I am surprised that you were 'Afraid' to ask this question.

Is there anything else bothering you??? Perhaps you should post in Dear Mr Neverdie for your answers in future.

Perfectly logical question to ask.

Yes, you are bothering me and please don`t shout, you`re scaring my dogs.

Edited by sassienie, 2009-11-22 22:55:44.

[tw25rw]

rabcbroon, on 2009-11-22 06:18:48, said:

Jaydillon, on 2009-11-22 05:57:06, said:

I am ever so glad that the second language in Thailand is English,and NOT French or German

France is the most foreign country  -as an English speaker - that i have ever worked in.  It is almost impossible to get by if you don't speak French.  The French are quite ignorant to the fact that English is the favoured world language and very few speak English - or take showers regularly!

You could substitute France for much of Britain.

[tw25rw]

Thongkorn, on 2009-11-22 14:48:59, said:

I remember France trying to cleanse there pure language of English, it lasted a few weeks , English is the International speaking language for Emergences, as agreed long ago , maybe time for a change,Should be a laugh. The next question is "why does Thailand drive on the left".

If they're going to choose a side, it may as well be the same as the first country to do so.. Same as the more civilised parts of the world.

[mrjohn]

These signs are not written in English.
They are written in a Romanised script. This is to acknowledge that the Thai alphabet is not known outside Thailand. It is therefore for the benefit of non Thais.
Furthermore, in my experience there are very few Romanised road signs in rural areas.....

[bonobo]

caf, on 2009-11-22 09:27:45, said:

Spanish is the most widely spoken language

Spanish has about 330 million native speakers.  Mandarin Chinese has about 900 million.