Tiger Woods is multiracial, with a father who has ancestry in African-America, Chinese and Jewish, as well as a mother born and raised in Thailand that is part Thai, Chinese, Dutch, and Spanish. With this eclectic array of backgrounds and an admitted upbringing in Thai traditions, it’s possible that he speaks more than one language. Does Tiger Woods speak Thai?
Thai is Tiger Woods’ mother’s first language, and she tried to teach it to him when he was younger but he had trouble with it so she gave up. In fact, even though he has multiple ethnicities, Tiger only speaks English.
Golf and English are the only languages Tiger needs, he’s doing just fine without speaking any other language. When he’s in other countries for golf he’s provided an interpreter. When he’s there for vacation or relaxation, he probably doesn’t interact much with people who don’t speak English.
Monolingual Stats
There are many studies showing a range of how many people are monolingual, those who can only speak one language, in the world. Some have the number as low as 25%, though many agree that it is somewhere around 40%.
Several countries around the world have more than one official language, which is why the number of polyglots, or people who speak more than one language, is so high. At the other end of the spectrum, you have the United States and Mexico, neither of whom have an official language, though they each have their own popular language.
Compared to the global average, American’s have a higher rate of monolingualism, with 75% of Americans only speaking one language. That language is not necessarily English, as some come to America and retain their mother tongue as the only language they know.
Many Americans, in addition to other prominent English countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand, feel there’s no need to learn another language, as most of the various aspects of the business world all speak English.
The Thai Language
People in Thailand speak 60 languages, the number one language being Thai, also known as Siamese. Thai is part of a family of languages known as Kra–Dai languages, and it falls under the Tai group. Kra-Dai is a group on tonal languages that can be found in Mainland Southeast Asia, Southern China, and Northeast India.
Thai is closely related to several other languages, including the Lao language, spoken in neighboring country Laos. The language has been around for several hundreds of years, undergoing some changes. Nowadays it is split into two; Old Thai and Modern Thai.
It’s not unusual for languages to go through changes throughout the years, English has done the same. We do not speak the way they did in Shakesperean times, and there are more words being added to the dictionary on an annual basis.
English and Thai are very different languages and use different alphabets and writing characters. Unlike languages such as French and Spanish, for example, if you are not familiar with Thai, you’re not going to be able to understand the written words.
Like many languages, there are several ways to learn if you are interested. One free location is online at http://www.thai-language.com/.
Tiger and His Mom
Tiger Woods had a tumultuous relationship with his Dad, which included several ups and downs, but was able to make peace with him before he passed away. Woods was always much closer with his Mom, she was the disciplinarian, the one who drove him to tournaments when he was a kid, and introduced him to Buddhism.
Unlike her late husband, Tida Woods tended to shy away from the spotlight, yet she has remained by Tiger’s side through the ups and downs in his life. She may not have been able to teach him her native language, but she has delivered many life lessons over the years.