Methods for Learning to Read and Write Thai

[pjthefey]

Hi all!

I am struggling a bit in learning Thai which is strange because I am no stranger to learning foreign languages.... I taught myself to read Korean in just a few days, and years ago I believe Japanese hiragana took about the same amount of time. I can also know bits and pieces of French, Indonesian and Mandarin.

In any case, I'm trying to begin teaching myself Thai writing, but I am struggling to see the logic behind all of the characters.

When I taught myself other languages, I typically copied letter charts repeatedly while saying each syllable aloud, and then, when I thought I was going to claw out my eyes out of pure boredom, I switched to transcribing song lyrics while translating each word as I went along. this time, however, my method isn't working all that well. Partly because I haven't encountered any Thai music that makes me want to dance, and partly because, as I said, I haven't been able to figure out the underlying logic behind the writing system.

What is it?

Is there a decent web site out there that breaks it down into it's basic components?

How have those of you who have mastered the writing gone about learning it?

Do any of you know some good web sites for Thai dance music?

At the moment, I'm just baffled that I am not kicking ass at learning a new language. This is usually something that I am quite good at.

Thanks!

Jun

[AyG]

There are so many rules (and so many irregularities) that you're really not going to make good progress without following a good book.

The J. Marvin Brown AUA Language Center Thai Course Reading and Writing: Mostly Writing is probably the most thorough and logical. (There's also a companion book AUA Language Center Thai Course Reading and Writing: Mostly Reading which is also very good. It's the only English language book that teaches you how to read handwritten Thai.) Last time I checked both could be purchased directly from AUA HQ. (The editions sold through the likes of Amazon are much more expensive.)

[starrdog]

>Do any of you know some good web sites for Thai dance music?

This website seems to have all kinds of music, with videos, lyrics and translations: http://deungdutjai.com/

[Richard W]

There are a few principles for the Thai writing system.

Firstly, it uses an Indic script, i.e. one that descends from the native writing systems of India. Important inherited consequences are that:

(1) Vowels may be written before, after above or below the consonant they follow; some vowels consist of multiple parts, with the different parts going in different places.

(2) Consonant clusters serve as a unit in writing, so a vowel (part) that goes before a consonant will go before the first consonant in the cluster.

(3) One common short vowel is omitted in writing.

Thai makes reading complicated by generally not indicating the absence of a vowel, and making no visual distinction between a consonant cluster and two successive consonants separated by a vowel. As a slight compensation, the combination of final consonant of one syllable and initial consonant of the next is not treated as a consonant cluster for the purposed of vowel placement.

Thai has many loan words from Sanskrit and Pali. A short final vowel is generally not pronounced, though the rule is quite irregular for /i/ and /u/. Thai spelling generally corresponds to the Sanskrit or Pali spelling, while still following Thai rules. As Thai has only 9 final consonants and does not permit final clusters, a final /t/ sound can be spelt in many different ways; the spelling depends on the word's etymology. Fortunately, a silent final consonant is usually marked as such.

When Thai was committed to writing, it had a 3-way tone contrast, indicated by no tone mark, mai ek and mai tho. Since then, pronunciation has changed and the modern tone depends on the old tone and the old initial consonant. The spelling has not changed to reflect this change. Modern tone is therefore indicated by a combination of initial consonant and tone mark (or its absence). Most consonant sounds can therefore be indicated by one of two consonants, with the choice dependent on the tone. Other, redundant consonants occur because Thai spelling reflects Sanskrit or Pali phonetic contrasts that simply do not occur in Thai, much as English uses 'ch' and 'ph' in words from Greek.

[Choonpon]

There are a few principles for the Thai writing system.

Firstly, it uses an Indic script, i.e. one that descends from the native writing systems of India. Important inherited consequences are that:

(1) Vowels may be written before, after above or below the consonant they follow; some vowels consist of multiple parts, with the different parts going in different places.

(2) Consonant clusters serve as a unit in writing, so a vowel (part) that goes before a consonant will go before the first consonant in the cluster.

(3) One common short vowel is omitted in writing.

Thai makes reading complicated by generally not indicating the absence of a vowel, and making no visual distinction between a consonant cluster and two successive consonants separated by a vowel. As a slight compensation, the combination of final consonant of one syllable and initial consonant of the next is not treated as a consonant cluster for the purposed of vowel placement.

Thai has many loan words from Sanskrit and Pali. A short final vowel is generally not pronounced, though the rule is quite irregular for /i/ and /u/. Thai spelling generally corresponds to the Sanskrit or Pali spelling, while still following Thai rules. As Thai has only 9 final consonants and does not permit final clusters, a final /t/ sound can be spelt in many different ways; the spelling depends on the word's etymology. Fortunately, a silent final consonant is usually marked as such.

When Thai was committed to writing, it had a 3-way tone contrast, indicated by no tone mark, mai ek and mai tho. Since then, pronunciation has changed and the modern tone depends on the old tone and the old initial consonant. The spelling has not changed to reflect this change. Modern tone is therefore indicated by a combination of initial consonant and tone mark (or its absence). Most consonant sounds can therefore be indicated by one of two consonants, with the choice dependent on the tone. Other, redundant consonants occur because Thai spelling reflects Sanskrit or Pali phonetic contrasts that simply do not occur in Thai, much as English uses 'ch' and 'ph' in words from Greek.

That's alot of effort to explain in writing. You must be a teacher?