Speak Thai

One must say this is a difficult language. First of all their pronunciation is such a problem - I think I will never learn, and then the next problem is the alphabet with 46 consonants and 31 vowels which varies with typeface. He who does not recognize the Thai letters will not be able to find the words in a Thai-English dictionary. The phonetic spelling with western letters varies very much. E.g. the number 7 will be spelled as chät, jet, chaet. Foreigner: falang or farrang, Water: naam, nam or narm- etcetera. But I have a small hope to learn a little more after finding this book:

 

You may order this book with a fast delivery at http://www.hotspicy.co.th/ and there click on 'Order Online'. 

There is a very detailed dictionary at a price of US$ 11.76 at Amazon.com: Thai-English English-Thai Dictionary with transliteration for non-thai speakers. This practical dictionary is designed to help English speakers communicate in Thai. It is equally useful for those who can read the Thai alphabet and those who can't. Most Thai-English dictionaries either use Thai script exclusively for the Thai entries (making them difficult for westerners to use) or use only phonetic transliteration (making it impossible to look up a word in Thai script). This dictionary solves these problems by dividing the entries into three sections: Section One [English-Phonetic-Thai] (about 8350 words), Section Two [Phonetic-Thai-English] (about 6240 words) and Section Three [Thai-Phonetic-English] (about 5620 words). The transliteration system is the same as that used in Paiboon Publishing's other books. You will find most of the vocabulary you are likely to need in everyday life, including basic medical, cultural, political and scientific terms. Measure of the book is 100x140x25 mm weighing 300 g.

An other book edited 2003 - Let's Speak Thai - is, according to my opinion, the best you can get. It costs 200 Bath (5 US $) and contains several useful sentences and is pedagogically written. See www.speakthai.org (click at 'The Book').

 The English-Thai book 'Thai for Travellers' have many sentences which are not very useful. My New Year promise was to learn more and today in the end of October 2005 I know 250 words - still not enough for telling what I'm thinking about.

For persons who really want to learn this language it might be a good idea to take 20 intensive lessons in Patong Language School.  The price for that is 5900 Bath (153 US $). You will be alone with your teacher. The school has about 20 Thai teachers. I have had a first lesson and found that I learn much more by meeting people spontaneously among on the country side. For instance one day I met to very charming ladies sel ling clothes and leather products on the beach in Kata - Mirjam and Galaya:  

When after one hour lesson with them I wanted to pay them, but they refused to take any money. But in some way I want to compensate them. Unlike most of the friends I have here in Thailand these two ladies are Muslims.  

An other alternative may be the Goethe School, situated in Patong and including hotel. Prices from about $700 for the first week (15 lessons).

In Phuket there are about 10 more language schools teaching Thai, but many of these are suspect since the teachers do not know English very good.

There are many good tools on internet, e.g. http://www.learningthai.com/speak_thai.html. On this site you will be trained in the pronunciation. Another: http://f3.aaa.livedoor.jp/~taamchai/lang/asia12-language.html contains about 350 words with translation to English, Malay and Japanese.   

You can also use the singing highway into the Thai language. Why not start with a straight translation of the  'Loy Krathong song':

The full moon in the 12th lunar month                                                Wan Pen Duan Sip Song
As water fills the banks                                                                           Nam Koh Nong Tem Taling
Men, women, and children                                                                     Rao Tanglai Chai Ying
Enjoy themselves at the Loy Krathong day                                      Sanuk Ganjing Wan Loy Krathong
Launch, launch the Krathong                                                               Loy Loy Krathong
Launch, launch the Krathong                                                               Loy Loy Krathong
Launch the Krathong together                                                             Loy Krathong Gan Laew
Worshipping brothers                                                                             Koh Chern Nong Kaew
and sisters dancing in a ring                                                                 Awk Ma Dten Ram
A ring dance on the Loy Krathong day                                               Ma Dten Ram Wan Loy Krathong
A ring dance on the Loy Krathong day                                               Me Dten Ram Wan Loy Krathong
Good merit brings us happiness                                                          Boon Ja Song Hai Rao Suk Jai
Good merit brings us happiness                                                          Boon Ja Song Hai Rao Suk Jai  

 

* According to Nils Rennenberg and his girlfriend (see below) the words 'Ma Dten Ram' is not the original words. They are: 'Ma Ram Wong'.

 In Thailand you will hear this song when the moon is full in November. Krathong is a lotus shaped leaf cup built by banana leaves containing flowers, incense sticks, a candle and some coins. At the darkness the candles are lit and the krathongs are launched in the river, pool or sea during good wishes. 'Rang Wong' (which is the original words instead of 'Dten Ram' meaning 'dance in general') translated word by word is 'ring dance' - it is a ceremoniel Thai dance. You may listen to the music on the following link:

The Loy Krathong song or read the music by notes: Notes 

Finally I want to add that this language is more than just a language. It carries some kind of culture and relationship between people which makes it even more difficult to learn and understand. On the other hand Thai people are very tolerant and patient listener with both humour and fantasy. I recommend you to read Carol Hollingers book about the Thai people and their language: 'Mai Pen Rai means never mind'. She describes her roll as home wife, mother and teacher in Thailand about 1970, when her husband worked there in US Foreign Service.  

A reading which really had a magic effect to me is 'My Thai Sister'. An English student - Nils Rennenberg (pseudonym NCR) - at a Thai university describes his friends in Thailand. He gets friends everywhere when travelling in this country and I think it is not only due to his charm but also because he is gradually learning the Thai language. (Read about his profile in 2Bangkok). To me this portrayal has been a stimulus to learn the language.  Nils recommended to me to link to www.2bangkok.com - free Thai news in English. To me this was a very good advice, since they frequently describe some Thai words. I also get a deep understanding of the Thai politics (to which I will keep a distinct distance on this site). Anyhow it is interesting to see that the word is free in Thailand.

My last experience in pronouncing is a warning:

In April 2006, when I visited Phuket, I took the opportunity to go to a dentist for cleaning tartar and, after inspection, drilling and filling. This was a nice experience without any pain. Just think about it: one female doctor and her three nurses leaning over me. I felt like a king.

All of them had masks over nose and mouth, but their beautiful eyes fascinated me. After the treatment I said to one of the nurses: 'Taa suai' which means beautiful eyes.

 She smiled to me, but the doctor told me that my pronunciation was wrong. What I had said was that the eyes were ill-omened. The day after I had a bad accident on my bike with a long-lasting pain. This was a good lesson but I am still not sure how to pronounce it right.

There is a good website http://www.thai2english.com/ where you can enter Thai text (in Thai letters) and have it translated to phonetic Thai and to English.

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