I got myself one of those small learning computers where a voice says the thai letter and the usual associated word when the button is pressed.

I figured this would be a great help - not.

The lady is not always speaking correctly, too fast and often not clearly/articulated enough for me to hear the sounds. Might be related to the low quality of the loudspeaker, but I suspect the lady's diction + loudspeakers are rubbish.

Does anyone know where I can get one of these devices with a good quality loudspeaker AND crystal clear diction of the voice?

The letters and words I have problems hearing are:

snake - I know it is ngoo, but the lady says "ja - whoo"

elephant - I hear "chaao"

I hear no L in "pla"

for the boat, I hear "ga ruea" but I know it should be "ra ruea"

the kite, the lady says "adjulaa" but it should be "ja juraa"

etc.

Does anyone know where I can get one of these devices with a good quality loudspeaker AND crystal clear diction of the voice?

You don't need any 'device'.

You need a teacher or a decent "Self Teaching" type of book.

There are several around such as 'Teach Yourself Thai by David Smyth', 'Thai for Beginners by Benjawan Poomsan Becker' etc .

Check them out

I found books very unhelpful in learning Thai sounds

Also, I would like to learn many words and phrases from a speaker with perfect central Thai pronounciation, preferrably from a device.

Another option would be a device where I can connect good headphones.

Edited April 9, 201313 yr by manarak

Shouldn't it be rod rewer and ju lah ?

Shouldn't it be rod rewer and ju lah ?

that's exactly why a speaking device is better - phonetic transcriptions can be so different between languages and even between boks in the same language!

I got it now you are learning the letters. It is loh ju lah as it's an 'L' sound and roh rewer.

While sort of on the subject does anyone else hear 'iggrah' instead of 'dee grah' for better said by people ?

I got it now you are learning the letters. It is loh ju lah as it's an 'L' sound and roh rewer.

While sort of on the subject does anyone else hear 'iggrah' instead of 'dee grah' for better said by people ?

hmmm... my Isaan source is adamant it's ja juraa with an R, LOL!

Now I want a better device for sure, 555

but now I checked in another book, and you are right, it's an L

and my speaking device says very cleary LueSii for the ermit, yet it's RueSii...

I'll throw that to the bin and get a better one. No wonder many Thais are speaking wrong.

Edited April 9, 201313 yr by manarak

If you own a tablet there are some great apps which will do exactly what you ask for. Use it everyday. All of these apps are free including huge dictionaries for reading.

Try here,

http://www.thai-language.com/let/201

and here,

http://www.thai-language.com/let/204

Sounds ok on my computer, and pronounced the same way I was taught central Thai.

Try here,

http://www.thai-language.com/let/201

and here,

http://www.thai-language.com/let/204

Sounds ok on my computer, and pronounced the same way I was taught central Thai.

hmm... firefox 20.0 can't hear anything

http://bit.ly/11NTA8u

Try here,

http://www.thai-language.com/let/201

and here,

http://www.thai-language.com/let/204

Sounds ok on my computer, and pronounced the same way I was taught central Thai.

hmm... firefox 20.0 can't hear anything

I've got FF 20.0 - takes a while for the sound file to be downloaded and played, but it's OK.

Try Google Translate: http://bit.ly/11NTA8u

Click on the speaker icon in the left hand pane.

Try here,

http://www.thai-language.com/let/201

and here,

http://www.thai-language.com/let/204

Sounds ok on my computer, and pronounced the same way I was taught central Thai.

i am using this one also ...your writer seems a foreigner。。。

Not sure whether this can be downloaded to a device, but it's free and on the computer I found it quite useful http://www.byki.com/fls/free-thai-software-download.html

Also a bit of fun once you get into it, and according to my wife, the pronunciation is accurate.

Cheers.

I used to have this video (and the one with the vowels) on my phone.

Might be easier

thank you for all the tips!