How To Read Thai ? How Did You Guys Done It ?

[Holysteel]

Yes. Thats the one, Richard. Many thanks ! . Wow. This is great. Many advices & assistance received here in the language forum.

[Holysteel]

Okay. 1 question. Why is there so many Kor alphabet. When all of them are pronounced the same ? For example : Kor Gai, Kor Egg, Kor Khuat, Kor Kwai ?

Why ?

[DrTuner]

Okay. 1 question. Why is there so many Kor alphabet. When all of them are pronounced the same ? For example : Kor Gai, Kor Egg, Kor Khuat, Kor Kwai ?

Why ?

Thai consonants have three classes, low, mid and high. Depending on the consonant class, possible tone mark and vowel length and ending the resulting tone is selected. Here's the calc: http://www.thai-lang...tone-calculator . If you buy a wall poster with the letters, they are usually marked as three different colours.

From the many tables in the internet, I prefer the "Tone Rule Summary" on this page: http://www.thai-lang.../ref/tone-rules

EDIT: Added the vowel ending.

EDIT 2: This page probably answers your question better: http://www.thai-language.com/id/841623 , look at "Aspirates and Fricatives — sounds that release air" . It does make sense after a while.

Edited August 6, 2012 by DrTuner

[cooked]

Where do I think? Not my brain, that's for sure, but interpreting street signs is pretty informative so I do my thinking in the car. I got 'KM' for Kilometers nicely and started working out the neighbouring villages' names, even my own village. Look at a beer bottle and ask yourself deep philosophical questions, like 'alcohol content', what's that in Thai? Leo? Chiang?

You certainly need some basic instruction before you start, some of the vowels are in the wrong place, right guys? I generally ignore inconvenient stuff that I don't understand and somehow get there anyway. Many moments of delight when you realise : sounds like, looks like... can't be... my goodness, yes, it is: it's 'icecream' transliterated into Thai!

Everybody needs motivation, generally based on acknowledgement that you are actually the most amazing person in the universe, so you need a supportive girlfriend or wife to help you along.

[Richard W]

Okay. 1 question. Why is there so many Kor alphabet. When all of them are pronounced the same ? For example : Kor Gai, Kor Egg, Kor Khuat, Kor Kwai ?

1) They're not.

2) Others were once different.

3) And if not, they're different in the Indian languages for which the alphabet was originally developed.

For a quick summary, look at http://www.thai-lang...tion-consonants .

In more detail:

1) ก Kor kai and ข khor khai are pronounced differently. The difference in the second word is not one of tone, but of aspiration.

2a. The letters ข khor khai and ฃ khor khuat came to be pronounced the same (originally they weren't). Khor khuat was then totally redundant, and has ceased to be used for writing Thai. The same applies to ค khor khwaai and ฅ khor khon.

2b. As near as makes no difference, ค khor khwaai was originally pronounced /g/, as still in Burmese and in Indian languages. The pronunciation then changed so that it was /kh/, but with a tone difference from ข 'kor egg'.

3) It is probable, but not certain, that Thais have always pronounced ค khor khwaai and ฆ khor rakhang the same. However, in Indian languages like Sanskrit, Pali and nowadays Hindi, they are /g/ and /gh/, which are quite different.

Puzzlement like this is one reason for not trying to learn the whole alphabet at one go, but learning the commonest letters first. Thus of the 'kor' series, you would first learn ก kor kai, ค khor khwaai, and then ข khor khai, and only much later ฆ khor rakhang. You should be reading the brand names (in Thai) on your toiletries before you need to recognise ฆ khor rakhang. ฃ khor khuat and ฅ khor khon are largely of historical interest.

Edited August 6, 2012 by Richard W

[nottocus]

Bought this book in 1991. First published in the 60's I think.

You can get it now for free on PDF on the Internet.

[krisb]

Tones is hardest bit cause we dont use them in english. Start using assimilation like ก gor gai looks like a chicken so easy. start with 2 or 3 words a day then build from there. Im no master but it does get easier if you practice everyday. tones well thats another story! good luck mate youll get there!

[yourauntbob]

The "High Speed Thai" that is advertised on this site is actually very effective in learning how to read. After using the system for about 3-4 weeks I could read (slowly) most Thai words (even when i didnt know what i was saying). There may be better out there, but i am happy with the course.

[ddye123]

I am not 'pimping' this ebook, but I think it was invaluable in helping me to learn the Thai alpabet. It teaches you the vowels and consanants with memory tools. These little reminders help you to learn the name, the sound (at the beginning and ending of a syllable) and the class.

Learning the consonants and vowels allows me to read anything, even though I may not know the word.

http://www.thailande...-in-60-minutes/

[Nam Plah]

Bought this book in 1991. First published in the 60's I think.

You can get it now for free on PDF on the Internet.

I think it was first published in, like 1952 or something.

The dictionary in it lists an "aerodrome" as a word (sanarm bin) to give an idea of how dated some of the references are.

That said however, I have been using this very book to supplement my actual Thai language schooling and agree that it is a keeper.

It seems that the meanings of some words and idioms have either changed or undergone some evolutionary transformation but overall a good tome.

[jak2002003]

I tried to teach myself, and also asked a good Thai friend to help me. It was so slow and boring and I got very frustrated and eventually gave up after a few weeks (or days).

I put it on hold and concentrated about learning the language, which I enjoyed more, but as I got better at speaking Thai I got interested in reading and writing again. That was when I realised I had to back track and re learn it all. I wish I had learnt both reading / writing, and speaking all at the same time - I would be much more advanced now.

In the end I signed up to a good school in Chiang Mai and have been studying there now over 3 years (its called Pro Language). In the end, for me, I was only able to learn Thai reading and writing with the help of proper teachers and good course books - I guess it was a tried and tested method.

What ever you decide, I really think you need a proper Thai teacher and good teaching materials if you have any hope to progress quickly and keep your enthusiasm!

[Rsquared]

I tried to teach myself, and also asked a good Thai friend to help me. It was so slow and boring and I got very frustrated and eventually gave up after a few weeks (or days).

I put it on hold and concentrated about learning the language, which I enjoyed more, but as I got better at speaking Thai I got interested in reading and writing again. That was when I realised I had to back track and re learn it all. I wish I had learnt both reading / writing, and speaking all at the same time - I would be much more advanced now.

In the end I signed up to a good school in Chiang Mai and have been studying there now over 3 years (its called Pro Language). In the end, for me, I was only able to learn Thai reading and writing with the help of proper teachers and good course books - I guess it was a tried and tested method.

What ever you decide, I really think you need a proper Thai teacher and good teaching materials if you have any hope to progress quickly and keep your enthusiasm!

Enthusiasm........that is what I am lacking.

I find myself making up ridiculous excuses (to myself) for not progressing onto the next lesson, let alone committing myself to a strict daily timetable.

I want to learn and I need to learn, but I am constantly procrastinating for no logical reason but laziness.

Maybe if I get someone to give me a good quick upper-cut and knock some sense into me, I might get back on track.

Good luck to all those who are not as lazy as me.

Cheers.

[uptheos]

Loads of TV members are fluent in Thai............go prove otherwise!

Sent from my BS30082012