Language barrier in Thailand

You will be fine. It is the same in European countries too. You will have little trouble. You can always use google translate.
Never, never, baulk at a trip you want to do to any country because of language.

I can only speak to my experience visiting Bangkok. I was in heavily touristed areas and had no problem getting around or communicating with people, though many did not speak English at all. I tried to learn very basic please/thank you words and then smiled a lot. The worst language barrier I encountered was during a Thai massage at a spa - the staff did a lot of pantomiming and it ended up being quite a memorable experience. Signage had English (or pictures) in tourist areas and transit. I hired a great local guide to take me to the places I was interested in seeing, and he helped navigate tickets/transit/etc. which was a huge help.

Anyone remotely connected with the visitor industry will speak at least some basic English.
It would only be an issue outside the tourist areas, an even then it's unlikely to pose a problem.

I travel extensively in Thailand, have family there, visit often, and have been to some very far-flung, remote places in the country.

Tourism is one of Thailand's biggest industries. They are VERY used to welcoming foreigners. Basic English is widely spoken by most people who ever interact with tourists. Unless you are setting out alone to the far corners of the kingdom, you should have no trouble. As mentioned above, in addition to English fluency among virtually anyone you will deal with as a tourist, most signage, menus, everything a tourist will see is in both Thai and English. In a pinch, you can always resort to Google translate or pantomime -- that, plus a smile and a friendly attitude will get you through just about any situation you will ever encounter.

The Thai alphabet and written Thai is challenging (the alphabet is unlike anything you have probably seen before, it appears that all text is one massive block with no punctuation, spacing, or other clues to understand where a word, sentence or paragraph ends). Spoken Thai is also somewhat challenging, since it's a tonal language, with five different (difficult to discern) tones. Don't worry about any of that.

When Thais speak English, it will help if you listen carefully -- most notable (I think) is that spoken Thai generally does not sound the last consonants at the end of words...so when speaking English, it sounds like words are not quite "finished." For example, when a Thai person says (in English) the phrase "fried rice" what we will hear usually sounds more like "fry rye." Listen carefully (and expect everyone to leave words "unfinished") and you will be OK.

Learn a few key words/phrases (yes, no, thanks, hello, etc.), and a few simple customs (the "wai" pressing hands together and slightly bowing your head, used as a greeting and common gesture of courtesy). A few perhaps unexpected things: it's generally a very religious society (Buddhist), so be very respectful of monks, temples, religious monuments, and the royal family. As a "farang" (foreigner), they will cut you plenty of slack, and have low expectations for your behavior (please try to exceed them). Thais are generally forgiving, fun-loving and friendly (it's "the land of smiles").

You will be fine. Cross "language barrier" off your list of things to worry about. As they say, "mai pen rai" (you'll hear this a lot, listen for it)...it translates literally as "it does not matter" but is used very, very widely to mean "no problem!"

Chok dee! (good luck!)

We've traveled in Thailand on 4 different trips. For the last couple of trips we've mostly stayed in Chiang Mai and made a couple of shorter trips from there - we're not fans of the beaches though they are beautiful - we just prefer small cities. I agree with what others have said - many people speak English - menus, street signs and many things are in English. We've taken cooking classes, yoga classes, and visited the Elephant Nature Center and they have all been in English.

David's post above was perfect - he has given some great examples of what it will be like to communicate! We're leaving soon for a one-month stay.

I think you'll enjoy exploring Thailand! The people are wonderful, the temples beautiful and the food very delicious.

Hmmm, Marsee, a one month stay…. why had I forgotten that at the right time of year, this is a great idea. I would love a month in Chiang Mai (having only spent 10 days there) when it’s cold here.

@Texastravelmom - this is our second one-month stay in Chiang Mai. We time travel dates so that we can be there for warmer weather, Chinese New Year, and the Flower Festival! Chiang Mai is a great destination - it's easy to find plenty to do there!

Marsle (sorry for the last autocorrect typo), my daughter lived there for 2 years but I was only able to visit once. I agree it would be a great place to head when it’s cold here. Very affordable and easy. And can’t believe I had kind of forgotten….

I lived in Bangkok for two years and traveled throughout the country- I know about 20 words in Thai. "Taxi Thai" is very useful- left, right, straight, stop, etc. Beyond that, it is very easy to get around without knowing the language.

Google Translate can be very helpful too.