If you have ever studied a language, you might have realized there is a difference between the way a book teaches you the language and the way the language is actually used in day to day life. Sure, the book is telling you the “right” way to speak, but this isn’t always the way people interact with one another outside of a formal setting. To truly speak a language like a local, you have to incorporate slang, colloquial phrases, and casual ways of speaking. In Thai, for example, you’ll notice that many people will just say “Now!” – the word for cold – to mean “It’s cold” or “I’m cold”. A book, however might teach you to say, “Chan now!” or “Pom now” depending on if you are a girl or a boy. So how do you learn to speak in a way that the locals speak while studying a book? Benjawan Poomsan Becker addresses that problem with the book Speak like a Thai: Contemporary Thai Expressions.
"As the book focuses on speaking for beginners, it is not necessary to know how to read Thai script in order to use this book. The phrases and words are presented in both Thai script and Roman letters throughout the entire book."
If you already know some Thai, then you might not find this book all that useful; it starts from the very beginning. However, if your Thai is limited to “Sawasdee” and “Mai Pen Lai” then you will probably benefit from this concise book. As the book focuses on speaking for beginners, it is not necessary to know how to read Thai script in order to use this book. The phrases and words are presented in both Thai script and Roman letters throughout the entire book.
This book is more like a phrasebook than an actual study book. It presents five hundred phrases over the course of eighty pages. Unlike other phrase books, however, there is no rhyme or reason to the order of phrases. The phrase “I like to sit by the window” is followed by “To be reprimanded, criticized, or attacked”. And surprisingly, the book doesn’t even teach you how to use the verb “criticize” in a sentence.
The book appears to simply expect you to memorize all 500 phrases at random. While we agree that most of the phrases will be useful to a foreigner living in Thailand, we can’t really consider memorizing 500 phrases as “learning to speak like a Thai”. Further, it does little, if anything, to help you comprehend spoken Thai.
If your goal is to interact with Thais on a very basic level, even impress them with the little Thai you know, then this book will definitely help you. Even with a handful of phrases under your belt, you’ll make life in Thailand a lot easier. Yet, if you really want to learn the language, then this book will only get you so far.
