This includes Thai and its neighbor and close relative Lao, as well as Tai Yai or Shan, spoken in parts of northern Mynmar, Zhuang, a major language of southern China, Nung or Black and White Tai spoken by ethnic minorities in northern Vietnam, and the extinct Ahom found as far west as Assam in north-east India.
Thai entered the present Thailand only comparatively recently (11th and 12th centuries) from the north, and in this process came into contact with the Khmer and Mon who were already living there. As a result of this contact, we find many Khmer loanwords in present-day Thai. Some examples are:
| tamruat | ตํารวจ | policeman |
| gamlang | กําลัง | strength |
| dtalaat | ตลาด | market |
| taleh | ทะเล | sea |
There are also a large number of loanwords based on Pali (the sacred language of Theravada Buddhism) and Sanskrit (the ancient language of India), coined for the purpose of creating the terms needed for modern life, e.g.
| thohrasap | telephone |
| sukhaphaap | health |
| wattanatham | culture |
And there are many more taken directly from English, e.g.
| thiiwii | TV |
| sehrok | photocopy (xerox!) |
| chek bin | may I pay the bill? |
| hoten | hotel |
| bai-bai | bye-bye! |
Basic Thai is monosyllabic, and loanwords all seem to have two or more syllables. You can see that certain sounds have been changed in the process of adoption into the Thai language.
Thai is a tonal language. In other words, the pitch on which a word is pronounced can be important, as it may distinguish it from another, similar, word with a different pitch. There are five tones. Tones are inherent, that is to say, they are a “builtin” element of the word. When you learn Thai you have to learn the tone of each word—this is not something you can put off till a later date (on tones, see pages 14-15). In fact, there are rules related to the form and spelling of words that help you to predict what their tone will be. By the way, Thai is not related to Chinese or Vietnamese, which also happen to be tonal.
Thai has its own script (or writing system), that was developed in the 13th century to write its particular sounds, and is based on Khmer script. This system is basically syllabic (not actually an alphabet), and is related not only to Khmer and Cham script, but also Burmese, Javanese and Balinese scripts, all of which derive ultimately from a script used in South India in the early common era (A.D.), and which was brought into Southeast Asia with the spread of Indian civilization, which included Buddhism and Hinduism and their scriptures.
It is possible to represent the sounds of Thai in the familiar Western script (called roman), although there are a few problems with this, and various methods have been used. We have attempted to devise a system that is not only accurate but also not too difficult for the beginning student to understand and read (please see 9-15). We also include the Thai script for each item in this book, so that Thai friends can help you with pronunciation (Thais are generally not familiar with a romanization of their language).
Note that Thai has its own “alphabetical” order, which you will need to learn if you want to master Thai script and use a Thai-English dictionary.
Spelling and Pronunciation
This section aims to show the spelling system that we have adopted for this book and, where necessary, to explain how to pronounce the letters and combinations of letters. This system is in fact not a transliteration, in the sense that one Thai sign is always represented by one roman letter, and it thus does not attempt to reproduce the spelling of Thai (as found in the Thai script). It is hoped that the method used will be clear and helpful for English-speaking readers.
To facilitate the discussion, we look first at the consonants, and then at the vowel sounds, giving an example word and the Thai spelling. The pronunciation is as in English, except where indicated otherwise.
Consonants
This is the same sound as the ng in “sing”; when it comes at the beginning of a word, it may be hard to say. Try saying “singer,” then slowing it down and breaking it into two parts: “si-nger.” Then you can get ng in an initial position.
| g | gài | ไก่ | chicken (as in “get”) |
| kh | khài | ไข่ | egg (as in “kit”) |
| ng | nguu | งู | snake (as in “sing” or “singer”) |
| j | jaan | จาน | plate (as in “jam”) |
| ch | chórn | ช้อน | spoon (as in “chat”) |
| s | sìi | สี่ | four (as in “sit”) |
| d | dèk | เด็ก | child (as in “do”) |
| dt | dtaa | ตา | eye (as in “stone”) |
NOTE: This is like a t but with no wind behind it. You can get this effect by pursing the lips before releasing the sound.
| th | Thai | ไทย | Thai (as in “teach”) |
| n | norn | นอน | to lie down (as in “nine”) |
| b | bâan | บ้าน | house (as in “bed”) |
| bp | bplaa | ปลา | fish (as in “spy”) |
| ph | phâa | ผ้า | cloth (as in “pan”) |
This sound is an ordinary p, but with wind behind it. It is never ph as in “photo” (we have another letter for the f sound).
| f | fan | ฟัน | tooth (as in “fine”) |
| m | maew | แมว | cat (as in “make”) |
| y | yaa | ยา | medicine (as in “you”) |
| r | rórn |