Particles

[merck]

I read somewhere that final sentence particles can be used in Thai to express emotion and feeling

eg

adding JA จ๋า makes it cuter sounding and shows caring.

วะ/โว้ย can show annoyance/anger etc.

I was wondering why Thai has so many particles and English seems to lack them.

One explanation I came across puts this down to Thai being a tonal language where the tone of a word determines its meaning.

In english we can change the tone/stress of words in a sentence to add feeling/emotion, but Thai can't do this so easily.

I also wondered, if Thai had no particles, could Thais still express emotion/feeling in their voice? Or does it become harder/impossible? Would be interesting to hear from some native Thai speakers on this last point.

Hope that all makes sense.

Thanks in advance for any info.

Edited May 1, 2006 by merck

[meadish_sweetball]

I am not a native speaker, but I know the explanation you have heard is correct. The particles in the Thai language fill the same function as the intonation (rise and fall of the voice as applied over utterances) does in European languages.

But obviously a Thai can sound annoyed even without using the "annoyed" particles - it is just that the two particles you mention are both considered as impolite.

So if you are annoyed but still do not want to be impolite (politeness is a very important trait of Thai culture [but what is considered polite and impolite does not always follow the exact same norms as in other cultures, obviously]) the speech would typically be more abrupt, quicker and louder, and it would also be notable in the facial expression (lack of smiling or a smile that does not reach the eyes) and body posture.

Remember that the absence of a polite particle where it would be expected to use one, is also a signal. After the conversation gets more heated, the next step after dropping polite particles, would be to start using the impolite particles as well. After that stage, the fists do the talking.

[merck]

Thanks Meadish_sweetball. Makes sense!