Is the language in Thialand, Thia?

Question

Where exactly would I go to learn the language? Do you know if they are at war or fighting in the streets? Or how they treat women?

Tyrone, I'm really not in the mood for this today. You are a waste of my time, though.

Thank you Izzy F. That is a very informative answer. I appreciate it.

Thank you Majnun.

Answer 1

Sawadee Krap

the "official" language is Thai, you can get a program from Rosetta that will get you started, but you'd really need to go there and speak the language for a while. It's a fairly complex language that has a large number of consonants, no formal vowels, and relies on intonation for meaning (so the same spelling could mean a lot of different things, depending on how it's pronounced).

Depending on where you go, you will get viet, khmer, hmong, chinese, and other languages spoken. Hmong, khmer, and Thai are not that closely related and I know folks that speak a couple of them, depending on whom they are dealing with. I don't think you could possibly learn hmong or khmer without spending a lot of time in teh countryside in Thailand or Cambodia.

Things are fairly peaceful over there, considering that they had a change of government last fall. I was over there the week after teh coup and it was calm. They don't call it the land of smiles for nothing.

How they treat women is a fairly complex question. The society itself is fairly matriarchal and property tends to run down the female side of the family. However, that being said, the thai men tend to be a bit abusive to women, especially where alcohol is a way of life. That and one need look no furhter than the Thai sex trade to realize that there is a lot of indentured servitude of younger women, mostly un-educated country girls, but an increasing number of even college educated young women. A girl can earn more in one trick than her father earns in a week, so it is tempting for many girls.

Answer 2

My brother-in-law's girlfiend lived in Thailand for many years. She can speak the language fluently (although she's really from India). Apparently the people the people decided their president was no good so they kicked him out, but the government didn't fall apart or anything like that (according to her).