Hi everyone,

I will be in Thailand for a number of months in 2007 to do my graduate research. A lot of this reasearch will involve interviewing weavers in Isaan. However, unfortunately I don't speak much Thai. How hard will it be to find interpretors to work with me and help translate what I want to ask people and understand their responses? Does anyone have any hints, tips, or recommendations for this? I am hoping it won't cost a tremendous amount because I only have a tiny budget. Are there any ways to keep the costs down?

Thanks very much :-:

Not sure if this is viable, but how about hiring an intern from one of the universities. You should be able to find someone with solid English skills and I imagine that the cost would be reasonable.

Another option would be to hire a guide. Depending on the amount of time needed this may get expensive.

Do you have any tips on how to go about doing this?

Thanks.

Unfortunately, no. It's just the first thing that popped into my mind. You might be able to find some contact information on the Chulalongkorn University website.

www.chula.ac.th/cweb_en

You should ask this on the ThaiVisa forum (forum dot thaivisa dot com), possibly in the "Thai Language" sub-forum.

The timing of your trip, if I recall correctly, is advantageous re: college students, as they some may be on Summer holiday then. The bigger problems will be logistics, travel, housing, etc. Are you going to be in one location? How many hours service will you require? Are there technical/arcane terms you'll be asking about? What is your budget? Further complicating your situation will be the use of Lao in Issan.

Thanks. I will try over there soon.

I will be in BKK and then base myself in Khon Kaen, but likely need help to talk with people in other parts of Isaan.

In BKK or Khon Kaen I would just need a few hours. If we were going to a far-away city, it might take all day - or possible even require an overnight (hopefully this won't have to happen)

There will be no technical terms really. Just speaking about weaving and selling of silk.

The budget is tiny. As of now, the project hasn't been funded - although this might change. So, I am using the little bit of cash that I have saved up for this, and will put whatever other expenses e.g. hotel rooms etc. on credit cards. The things we do for the sake of knoweldge

Do you know when exactly the holidays are? How much should I offer a student? and do you have any tips on how to approach them? Would they be willing to help while school was in session too, or would that be asking too much?

Thanks very much :-:

I've got to believe a lot of this has already been done by Thai grad. students, with publications in Thai? Obviously one of them would be ideal. Have you looked into this? Again, I'd ask on the Thai Visa forum, and start contacting Thai Colleges and Universities. You might check with some OTOP (One Tambon, One Product) sites and people to get a feel for those towns which specialize in weaving. The town I frequent specializes in the tailoring of silk into high quality traditional attire for men and women.

Schools and Universities are generally on holiday anytime from mid-Feb through to end-April. Songkhran will be April 13 - 17, 2007, but can last longer in Issan.

There are several local dialects in Issan that a person from Bangkok would not understand.

Yes, I am hoping to work with interpretors from Isaan when I am in Isaan.