I guess I should qualify such a bold statement before Catherine from Women Learning Thai or Rikker from Thai 101, who are much more knowledgable on the subject,  come along and call me out. I do speak fluent Thai but it’s a dialect of the Thai language that most Thai language speakers, teachers, and learners are unfamiliar with.

To begin with there are quite a few possibilities when speaking Thai. There is colloquial Thai, street Thai and then the further you get into rural Thailand you will have Thai mixed with Lao or Khmer,  better known as Issan Thai. In Mukdahan and Nakhon Phanom it’s always a mix of Thai and Lao in the same sentence which can make it hard when learning Thai.  But, I have finally hit on a little known and used dialect of the Thai language used by a certain tribe that numbers in the Thousands. Not only do they understand me completely when I speak this Thai…they have accepted me as one of their own!

I have to give credit where credit is due and to that end I must confess I have been tutored by a private teacher for months. Her name is Fa Thongon and she happens to have a PHD in the subject language. The particular Thai dialect she is an expert in is High Gibberish Thai . It may be important to note at this point that Fa is only 3 years old but don’t let that put you off as she will be four soon enough.

While Fa knows a little Thai and a few words in English, her prefered linguistic approach is always in High Gibberish Thai. We had a very long phone conversation about this particular dialect of the language last night, and while I could clue you in to the subtle nuances of the language I’m afraid most of you just wouldn’t understand and would be at a loss to figure it out. In Fa’s short time studying the language she has truly mastered it,  and helped me to master it as well.

In this particular dialect of the Thai language the speaker isn’t forced to rely on tones or pronunciations, they actually tend to complicate the process. No, this Thai language is more of a free form flow of thoughts and ideas punctuated with giggles and hand gestures. Often times short screeches can be substituted for actual words and oddly enough every conversation starts off in English with Hello, hello, hello.

The language itself is mostly used in informal settings but can be used at any time. Unfortunately the language is limited to Thai children which makes it unuseable in most day to day situations, unless you are a baby sitter.

For now though I am content that I can communicate with my little Thai friend because it is something I enjoy immensely. I have my work cut out for me though because eventually she will be a fluent Thai speaker and I don’t want to miss our little talks.