Need some help speaking

[beachsloth]

I was wondering how you say "I am a writer" in thai. I have gotten as far as "PHOM...." Well, I was wondering this as well: I am going to Thailand for a month. How easily will the language come to me if I try to use it all the time while I am there. Will I be able to hold conversations by the time I leave? I realise that this is a difficult thing to approximate, but if it helps any, I do know quite a few phrases at this point as well as being able to count...

[Bamboo Grove]

"I am a writer". whatabout "phom pen nakkhian". How quickly you will start to have conversations in Thai depends on your basic skills and activity. When I came to Thailand (-89), I took a 10 week course where I studied 4 hours/day, 5 days/week. After that I was able to hold small conversations about various topics. The good thing is that the Thais are eager to talk with westerners and so you will have plenty of possibilities to practise, if you want.

[beachsloth]

Thanks, but now I am confused about something else (I know...I'm hopeless...) On this website, it lists saying "I want to go to...." as "CHUN JA BAI" but, in my book it tells me to say "PHOM YAAK PAI" Which is correct? Why are there two ways of saying the same thing?

[Joe]

ja = shall
yaak = would like to

If you are male you should always use phom

[SiamJai]

Quote[/b] ]Why are there two ways of saying the same thing?

There is no universal way of "romanizing" the Thai alphabet. As a result, every book seems to have its own way of writing Thai words in English characters.
Since you will be there for only a month, it is not something you need to worry about. Be warned though: many people whose intention was just a temporary stay in Thailand fell in love with her and stayed permanently!

[Boo Boo]

Quote[/b] (Joe @ Feb. 02 2003,12:19)]ja = shall
yaak = would like to

If you are male you should always use phom

It is quite common for males to use CHAN in pop songs. It can also be used by males colloquially in other instances too.