Thai essential grammar

1111 1011 12111 20111 30111 40 41111 Thai An Essential Grammar This is a concise and user-friendly guide to the basic structures of the language Grammatical forms are demonstrated through examples, given in both Thai script and romanised transliteration, with clear, jargon-free explanations It is designed for use both by students taking a taught course in Thai and for independent learners, and includes guidance on pronunciation, speech conventions and the Thai writing system as well as grammar Topics include: Sentence particles Negation Questions Numerals and quantication Location markers and prepositions With numerous examples bringing grammar to life, this unique reference work will prove invaluable to all students looking to master the grammar of Thai David Smyth is Lecturer in Thai at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London Routledge Essential Grammars The following titles are available in the Essential Grammars series: Chinese Danish Dutch English Finnish Georgian: A Learners Grammar Hungarian Modern Hebrew Norwegian Polish Portuguese Swedish Urdu Other titles of related interest published by Routledge: Colloquial Thai By John Moore and Saowalak Rodchue 1111 1011 12111 20111 30111 40 41111 Thai An Essential Grammar David Smyth GE RO LE UT D l ou y Ta or p 1111 1011 12111 20111 30111 40 41111 & F r n cis G a r London and New York First published 2002 by Routledge 11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2005 To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledges collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk. â 2002 David Smyth All rights reserved No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A catalog record for this book has been requested ISBN 0-203-99504-X Master e-book ISBN ISBN 0415226147 (pbk) ISBN 0415226139 (hbk) 1111 1011 12111 20111 30111 40 41111 1111 1011 12111 20111 30111 40 41111 For Manas Chitakasem 1111 1011 12111 20111 30111 40 41111 1111 1011 12111 20111 30111 40 41111 Contents Preface xiii Introduction Thai and its speakers Romanisation Learning Thai Dictionaries Linguistic literature on Thai Chapter Pronunciation 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Consonants Vowels and diphthongs Tones Stress Chapter The writing system 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 1 2 3 5 10 11 Consonants Consonants by class Vowels Live syllables and dead syllables Tone rules Miscellaneous 11 14 14 15 16 19 Chapter Nouns, classiers and noun phrases 23 3.1 3.2 Proper nouns Common nouns 23 24 vii Contents 3.3 3.4 3.5 Making new nouns Noun phrases and classiers Word order in noun phrases Chapter Pronouns 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 4.9 Personal pronouns: basics Reexive pronouns Emphatic pronoun Reciprocal: each other Possessive pronouns Demonstrative pronouns Interrogative pronouns Indenite pronouns Relative pronouns Chapter Verbs 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.8 5.9 5.10 5.11 5.12 5.13 The verb to be Stative verbs Verb compounds Resultative verbs Directional verbs Modal verbs Time and aspect Passives Verbs of utterance, mental activity and perception with wõa Verbs of emotion with thợi Causatives To give: direct and indirect objects Verb serialization Chapter Adjectives (stative verbs) and adjectival constructions viii 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 Compound adjectives Modication of adjectives Special intensiers Reduplication Comparison of adjectives 25 1111 31 33 39 39 47 48 49 1011 50 50 12111 51 51 54 56 56 59 20111 59 60 61 63 67 74 76 77 77 30111 80 81 83 84 85 87 89 40 91 41111 1111 1011 12111 20111 30111 40 41111 Chapter Adverbs and adverbial constructions 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 Adverbs of manner Modication of adverbs Comparison of adverbs Adverbs of time Adverbs of frequency Adverbs of degree 96 Contents 96 100 101 103 104 105 Chapter Location markers and other prepositions 108 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 Location: thợi and yựu To For By With From Chapter Clauses and sentences 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 9.6 Word order and topicalisation Subordinate clauses Direct and indirect speech Imperatives Exemplication Exclamatory particles Chapter 10 Sentence particles 10.1 10.2 10.3 Question particles Polite particles Mood particles Chapter 11 Negation 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 11.5 11.6 11.7 Negating main verbs Negating resultative verbs Negating auxiliary verbs mõy dõy + VERB (PHRASE) mõy chõy + NOUN mõy mii Modifying negatives: intensifying and softening 108 111 111 113 114 115 116 116 118 123 123 124 125 126 126 126 129 138 138 139 140 142 143 144 144 ix Appendix The verbs hõy, dõy/dõay and pen: a summary (b) dõy + VERB (PHRASE) As an auxiliary verb before the main verb, dõy means to get to something: chỏn ca dõy pay thợaw laaw õổụợỳúÊđảđ Ill get to visit Laos (c) VERB (PHRASE) + dõay (5.6.2) As an auxiliary verb after a verb or verb phrase, dõay means can, able to: raw pay phrỷN nới mõy dõay ĐỳỹĐĩụÂợ We cant go tomorrow (d) VERB (PHRASE) + dõay + ADJECTIVE (7.1.4) As an adverb-marker after the verb or verb phrase and before an adjective: khỏw phỷut thay dõay dii ỹợúÊợợ He speaks Thai well (e) mõy dõy + VERB (PHRASE) To indicate negative past (5.7.7): raw mõy dõy pay ĐÂợỳ We didnt go or to contradict or correct a preceding statement or assumption (11.4): khỏw mõy dõy pen khon aN krỡt Âợỳêụẫụỉổĩ Hes not English (f) INDEFINITE PRONOUN + kO^ dõay (4.8.7); VERB (PHRASE)/NOUN + kO^ dõay To show amenability, a lack of preference or indifference: khun pay m ary kO dõay 220 ẫỡỳÂằỉĐêợ You can go whenever you like 1111 1011 12111 20111 30111 40 41111 1111 1011 12111 20111 30111 40 41111 wan nới kO dõay phrỷN nới kO dõay đổụụêợ ỹĐĩụêợ Today is OK, tomorrow is OK pay kO dõay mõy pay kO dõay ỳêợ Âỳêợ Appendix The verbs hõy, dõy/dõay and pen: a summary Going is ne by me, not going is ne, too (g) VERB (PHRASE) + (maa) + dõay + TIME EXPRESSION (14.7.5) To express duration of time (for ) for actions that began in the past and continue through to the present (5.7.8): chỏn tham N aan thợi kruN thờep (maa) dõay laay pii lE E w õổụúĂĩụúĐĩúỹ|(Â)ợảÊỳảđ I have been working in Bangkok for several years pen (a) pen + NOUN (5.1.1) As the verb to be, it cannot normally be followed by an adjective (5.2); the negative is either mõy chõy + NOUN, or mõy dõy pen + NOUN: khỏw pen ph an ỳêụỹằỉụ Hes a friend (b) VERB (PHRASE) + pen (5.6.2) As an auxiliary post-verb, meaning to know how to something: khỏw wõay nỏam pen đÊụĂỳêụ He can swim (c) VERB (PHRASE) + pen + NOUN (PHRASE) (7.1.3) As an adverb-marker: khỏw cay pen Nn sũt Êỳêụĩơụợ They paid in cash 221 Appendix The verbs hõy, dõy/dõay and pen: a summary 222 (d) VERB (PHRASE) + pen + EXPRESSION OF TIME (14.7.5) 1111 To express duration of time: khỏw yựu thợi nợi pen weelaa naan ỉÊúụỳêụđảụụ Hes been here a long time (e) pen + DISEASE Where English uses to have or to get with diseases and illnesses, Thai 1011 uses pen: 12111 khun pen wt chõy mỏy? ẫỡỳêụđổợọ Youve got a cold, havent you? 20111 30111 40 41111 1111 1011 12111 20111 30111 40 41111 Glossary Adjectives in Thai occur after the nouns they describe; they not occur with the verb to be Adjectives also function as stative verbs; thus, dii is both the adjective good and the stative verb to be good Adjectives and adverbs often take the same form in Thai; thus dii is both the adjective good and the adverb well Adverbs often occur after verbs They can describe an action, where they often take the same form as adjectives, or the whole sentence Aspect is concerned with whether the action of a verb is complete, ongoing or habitual; it is marked in Thai by auxiliary verbs Auxiliary verbs only occur with other verbs; Thai auxiliaries include modal verbs and time and aspect markers Causative verbs in Thai convey a range of meanings including allowing something to happen, causing something to happen, either intentionally or unintentionally, and compelling someone to something Classiers are attributed to every noun and are used primarily, but not exclusively, in noun phrases involving numbers, such as three daughters, four glasses of orange juice, and so on Compounds are combinations of two words to make a new word Compounding is an important derivational process in Thai in creating nouns, adjectives and verbs Concessive clauses concede a point which is then often countered in the following clause In English they usually begin with although; in Thai, the following clause is usually introduced by but Conditional clauses commonly begin with if and state a condition under which the following clause holds true In Thai the if word is often omitted Consonant class Thai consonants are divided into three classes low, mid and high; the class of the initial consonant in a syllable will play a part in determining the tone of the syllable 223 Glossary 224 Consonant clusters are combinations of two consonant sounds, such as pl-, khw-, pr-; in Thai they occur only at the beginning of a syllable The class of the rst consonant in the cluster plays a part in determining the tone of the syllable Dead syllables are one of two types of syllable in Thai (see also live syllables); dead syllables are those which end in either in a p, t or k stop consonant or a short vowel Demonstratives are words like this and that Thai demonstrative pronouns and demonstrative adjectives are distinguished by tone, pronouns having a falling tone and adjectives a high tone Diphthongs are glides from one pure vowel sound to another Directional verbs occur after a verb (phrase) to indicate the direction of the action in relation to the speaker Intensiers modify adjectives and adverbs expressing the degree to which that quality is present (e.g very, fairly, hardly); many adjectives in Thai take their own specic intensier (cf pitch black) Live syllables are one of two types of syllable in Thai (see also dead syllables); live syllables are those which end in either an m, n, N, w, or y sound or a long vowel Modal verbs express possibility, probability, ability, necessity, volition and obligation Most, but not all, Thai modals occur before a verb (phrase); modals are not all negated in the same way Noun phrases consist of a noun modied by one or more modifying words, such as numbers, demonstratives or adjectives Classiers play an important role in noun phrases in Thai Personal pronouns Thai has a much more complex system of personal pronouns than English; choice of the appropriate pronoun is determined not only by gender and number, but also by age, social status, context and personality; kin terms, status/occupation terms, personal names and nicknames are commonly used as pronouns; pronouns are also commonly omitted Quantiers are words like all, some, many and every In Thai noun phrases some quantiers behave like numbers and others like adjectives Reduplication, most commonly involving the repetition of an adjective or an adverb, can serve a number of functions, including making the meaning less precise, intensifying the meaning and signalling an imperative; a small number of nouns can be pluralised by reduplication Resultative verbs occur after another verb to describe the state that results from the action of the rst verb (cf I shot him dead) 1111 1011 12111 20111 30111 40 41111 1111 1011 12111 20111 30111 40 41111 Sentence particles occur at the end of an utterance They include question particles, which serve a grammatical function, and polite particles, mood particles and exclamatory particles, which have a communicative function Stative verbs describe a state rather than an action Adjectives in Thai also function as stative verbs Subordinate clauses are dependent on the main clause in a sentence They include concessive, conditional, purpose, reason and relative clauses Tone The pitch assigned to each syllable Standard Thai has ve tones mid, high, low, rising and falling Topicalization involves placing a word or phrase other than the subject at the beginning of the sentence in order to highlight it and make it the topic of the sentence Unreleased consonants occur when the airstream is closed to make the sound, but not re-opened; the nal p in English yep! is commonly pronounced as an unreleased consonant The nal stop consonants in Thai (p, t, k) are unreleased Verb phrase This consists of a verb and optionally, its objects (direct and indirect) and any modifying adverb In this book, the convention VERB (PHRASE) is used extensively to mean verb or verb phrase Verb serialization is an extremely common feature of Thai in which a number of verbs sharing the same subject follow one another with no intervening conjunctions or prepositions Wh- questions are questions which begin with wh- in English: who?, whose?, what?, which?, where?, when?, why? How? is also normally included in this category Glossary 225 1111 1011 12111 20111 30111 40 41111 1111 1011 12111 20111 30111 40 41111 Bibliography and further reading Abramson, A.S (ed.) (1997) Southeast Asian Linguistic Studies in Honour of Vichin Panupong, Bangkok: Chulalongkorn University Press Angkab Palakornkul (1972) A socio-linguistic study of pronominal strategy in spoken Bangkok Thai, unpublished PhD diss University of Texas, Austin Anthony, E.M et al (1967, 1970) Foundations of Thai, vols, Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press; Washington, DC: US Ofce of Education Brown, J.M (196769) AUA Language Center Thai Course, vols, Bangkok: American University Alumni Language Center (1979) AUA Language Center Thai Course: Reading and Writing, vols, Bangkok: American University Alumni Language Center Campbell, R.N (1969) Noun Substitutes in Modern Thai: A Study in Pronominality, Mouton: The Hague Campbell, S and Chuan Shaweewongse (1957) Fundamentals of the Thai Language, Bangkok: S Bunyasiribhandu Chamberlain, J.R (ed.) (1991) The Ram Khamhaeng Controversy: Collected Papers, Bangkok: Siam Society Cooke, J.R (1968) Pronominal Reference in Thai, Burmese and Vietnamese, Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press (1989) Thai Sentence Particles and Other Topics, Canberra: Australian National University Delouche, G (1991) Mộthode de Thaù, vols Paris: LAsiathốque Diller, A (1985) High and low Thai: views from within, in D Bradley (ed.) Language Policy, Language Planning and Sociolinguistics in SouthEast Asia, Canberra: Australian National University (1991) What makes Central Thai a National Language?, in C.J Reynolds (ed.) National Identity and Its Defenders: Thailand, 1939 1989, Victoria, Australia: Monash University, Centre of Southeast Asian Studies 227 Bibliography and further reading 228 Domnern Garden and Sathienpong Wannapok (1994) ThaiEnglish Dictionary, Bangkok: Amarin Printing and Publishing pcl Gething, T.W., Harris, J.G and Pranee Kullavanijaya (eds) (1976) Tai Linguistics in Honor of Fang-Kuei Li, Bangkok: Chulalongkorn University Press Haas, M (1964) ThaiEnglish Students Dictionary, Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press Haas, M and Heng R Subhanka (194548) Spoken Thai, New York: Henry Holt Harris, J.G and Chamberlain, J.R (eds) (1975) Studies in Tai Linguistics in Honor of William J Gedney, Bangkok: Central Institute of English Language, Ofce of State Universities Huffman, F.E (1986) Bibliography and Index of Mainland Southeast Asian Languages and Linguistics, New Haven and London: Yale University Press Kuo, W (1982) Teaching Grammar of Thai, Berkeley, CA: Centre for South and Southeast Asia Studies McFarland, G B (1944) Thai-English Dictionary, Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press Manas Chitakasem and Smyth, D.A (1984) Linguaphone Thai Course, London: Linguaphone Institute Noss, R (1964) Thai Reference Grammar, Washington, DC: Foreign Service Institute Palmer, A (1974) Small Talk, Bangkok: American University Alumni Language Center (1977) Getting Help with Your Thai, Bangkok: American University Alumni Language Center Robertson, R (1969) Robertsons Practical English-Thai Dictionary, Rutland, Vermont and Tokyo: Charles E Tuttle Ruangdet Pankhuankhat (1997) Phasasat phasa thay (Thai Linguistics), Salaya, Nakhorn Pathom: Mahidol University, Institute of Language and Culture for Rural Development Smalley, W.A (1994) Linguistic Diversity and National Unity: Language Ecology in Thailand, Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press Smyth, D.A (1995) Teach Yourself Thai, London: Hodder and Stoughton Thianchai Iamwaramet (1993) A New Thai Dictionary with Bilingual Explanation, Bangkok: Ruam San Vichin Panupong (1970) Inter-sentence Relations in Modern Conversational Thai, Bangkok: The Siam Society Voravudhi Chirasombutti and Diller, A (1999) Who am I in Thai? The Thai rst person: self-reference or gendered self?, in P.A Jackson 1111 1011 12111 20111 30111 40 41111 1111 1011 12111 20111 30111 40 41111 and N.M Cook (eds) Genders and Sexualities in Modern Thailand, Chiang Mai: Silkworm Books Yates, W and Absorn Tryon (1970) Thai Basic Course, vols, Washington, DC: Foreign Service Institute Bibliography and further reading 229 1111 1011 12111 20111 30111 40 41111 1111 1011 12111 20111 30111 40 41111 Index ability 64 abstract nouns 289 additive clauses 122 address, terms of 23, 39 adjectives (stative verbs) 8395 comparison 915 intensiers 87 modication 85 superlatives 95 adverbial phrases 98 adverbs 96107 comparison 1012 degree 105 frequency 104 manner 96 modication 100 time 103 although 120 apart from 122 apologies 201 approximation 184 as as possible 102 as many as 188 aw: verb (phrase) + aw 73 baaN 106, 182 bõaN 106, 168 because 119, 163 by 113 ca + verb (phrase) 67 ca ră yaN? 158 cỏ/cõ/caa 1289 cak 115 cay 84 chõN 84 chõy mỏy? 155 classiers 31 with adjectives 367 with cardinal numbers 33, 36 with demonstratives 356 with quantiers 34 with ordinal numbers 34, 37 comparison adjectives 915 adverbs 1012 degrees of comparison 91 equal comparisons 923 interrogative comparisons 93 negative comparisons 94 of quantities 1868 compounds adjectival 84 nouns 2631 verbs 5960 concessive clauses 120 conditional clauses 119 negative conditionals 149 congratulations 212 consonants classes 14 clusters 6, 18 double-functioning 20 nal 6, 1213 initial 5, 1213, 17 names 1213 pronunciation 56 silenced 20 written form 1213, 22 231 Index dates 192 dõy/dõay 534, 64, 71, 99, 1423, 196 summary 21921 days of the week 189 parts of the day 189 dead syllables 1516 decimals 178 diphthongs, pronunciation 79 direct and indirect speech 123 distances 181 distribution 182 dooy 98, 113 dỷay 99, 11314, 130 excessives 94 exclamatory particles 125 exemplication 124 for 11113, 196 from 115 fractions 177 future actions 67 give 801 greetings/farewells 20910 hỏ?/hỏ/hõ 128 haa mõy 1512 hõam 145, 1478, 205 hõy 7781, 100, 111 summary 21819 how? (manner) 164 (degree) 165 how about? 169 how many? 167 how much? 166 however (whatever way) 53 hua 84 232 imperatives 97, 100, 123, 1357 in order to 121 indirect object 80 indirect questions 170 indirect speech 123 introductions 210 inviting somone to something 206 kaan 28 kaan thợi 11920 kamlaN + verb (phrase) 69 kamlaN ca + verb (phrase) 69 kp 111, 114 khỏ/khõ/khaa 1278 khõN 109 khEEy + verb (phrase) 70 khợi 84 khon la 182 khOON 38 khrỏp 127 khrỏp phom 127 khăă 57 khwaam 29 kin terms 434 kO 118 kO dõay 53 kO mõy chõy kO mõy chEEN 143 lỏ/la 130 lõ 131 less than 188 lEE/ră ă? 154 lw 68, 71, 1568 lw kO 168 (lw) ră yaN? 157 live syllables 1517 location 10811 lOk/rOk 1345 mỏy? 153 mõy + verb (phrase) 138 mõy chõy 143, 155 mõy chEEN 143, 151 mõy dõy + verb (phrase) 71, 1423 mõy mii 144 measurements 181 mớ 151 mii 58 misunderstandings 2068 ignorance, uncertainty 206 non-comprehension 207 months 190 more than 1867 multiples 179 1111 1011 12111 20111 30111 40 41111 1111 1011 12111 20111 30111 40 41111 nỏ? mood particle 132, question particle 155 nõ/nõa mood particle 133 nõa 84 nỏk 27 names personal 23, 44 place 23 necessity 65 negation 13852 auxiliary verbs 1402 main verbs 138 modifying negatives 1445 negative causatives 1468 negative comparisons 94 negative conditional clauses 149 negative expressions 151 negative imperatives 1456 negative past tense 71 negative questions 1489 resultative verbs 139 no 150, 1539 noun phrases 318 nouns 2338 abstract 289 borrowings 25 common 24 proper 23 numbers 17188 cardinal numbers 172 collective numbers 179 fractions, decimals, percentages, multiples 1779 idiomatic expressions 180 ordinal numbers 175 Sanskrit numbers 176 nOy 133 Nay 134 obligation 66 occupation terms as pronouns 45 once 177 only 185 otherwise 149 particles 12637 exclamatory 125 mood particles 12937 polite particles 1269 question particles 126, 1539 passives 74 pen 56, 65, 99, 196 summary 2212 per 182 percentages 178 phaay 110 phEN + verb (phrase) 70 phỷu 27 phăa 112 phăa thợi ca 121 politeness 200 possession 38, 50 possibility 64 prepositions 10815 probability 64 pronouns 3955 demonstrative 50 emphatic 48 indenite 514 interrogative 51 kin terms 43 occupation terms 45 omission of 40 personal 3943 possessive 50 reciprocal 49 reexive 47 relative 49 sacred 46 pronunciation 510 purpose clauses 121 quantication 17188 quantiers 1824 negative quantication 184 questions 15370 alternative questions 169 asking the time 199 indirect questions 170 negative questions 1489 WH- questions 15969 WH- questions + bõaN 168 WH- questions + dii 168 yes/no questions 1539 reason clauses 11920 Index 233 Index reduplication 25, 89, 97 relative clauses 54 requests/requesting 2026 for information 202 for something 202 someone to something 2034 someone not to something 205 to something oneself 203 romanisation 2157 rOk/lOk 1345 rooN 28 ră 169 ră plaw? 156 (lw) ră yaN? 157 ca ră yaN? 158 sk (+ cardinal number) 174 samrp 112 seasons 192 sớ/sỡ/sii/sợi 1356 sa/sỏ: verb (phrase) + sa/sỏ 73 socialising 20814 somebody 51 something 52 somewhere 52 spelling irregularities 19, 21 stress 10 subordinate clauses 767, 118 sựan 112 sympathy 212 tõN (+ cardinal number) 174 tõNt 115 telephone transactions 2124 thaaN 110 thanks 200 thE/hE 136 thii 137 thợi 30, 54, 77, 108, 119 time 18999 adverbs of time 103 telling the time 1969 time clauses 122 useful expressions 1936 to 111 too 94 tone 234 change 10 marks 1617 rules 1618 topicalization 117 tON 656, 1401 twice 177 verbs 5682 causatives 7780 directional verbs 613 modal verbs 637 resultative verbs 60, 139 serialization 81 stative verbs 59, 8, 72, 156 time and aspect 6774 to be 569 vowels 79 silent nal 20 unwritten 18 written form 1415 wỏ/wõ/wúoy 129 wõa 76, 123, 170 wỏy: verb (phrase) + wỏy 72 way: verb (phrase) + way 65 want to 67 what? 160 when? 163 whenever 52 where? 162 which? 161 whichever 53 who? 159 whoever 51 whose? 160 why? 163 with 114 word order 11618 writing system 1122 yỏ/yõ 129 ya 1456, 205 ya phEN 146 yaN 98 years 191 yes 1539 yựu 59, 69, 108 1111 1011 12111 20111 30111 40 41111 [...]... introduction to the language, despite its traditional grammar- translation approach Two substantial books on Thai grammar addressed to English speakers are Thai Reference Grammar (1964) by Richard Noss and Teaching of Thai Grammar (1982) by William Kuo Nosss book, based on his doctoral thesis, is a detailed and insightful descriptive grammar that no serious student of Thai can fail to benet from; however, it is... literature on Thai and academic writing on Thailand, commercially published courses often avoid transcriptions that use symbols from the International Phonetic Alphabet The system appears in full in Appendix 1 Learning Thai A number of readily available Thai courses can be used in conjunction with this grammar The Linguaphone Thai Course (1984) by Manas Chitakasem and David Smyth, and Teach Yourself Thai (1995)... Thianchai Iamwaramets A New Thai Dictionary with Bilingual Explanation (1993) Robertsons Practical English -Thai Dictionary (1969) is an invaluable pocket-sized aid for the beginner, which gives Thai equivalents of about 2,500 common English words in both romanised transcription and Thai script Linguistic literature on Thai There is a rich English-language literature on many aspects of Thai linguistics, most... original Thai lexicon is monosyllabic; a high percentage of polysyllabic words are foreign borrowings, particularly from the classical Indian languages, Sanskrit and Pali 1 Introduction Romanisation There is no universally recognised system for romanising Thai and Thais can neither write their language in the Western alphabet nor easily read Westerners romanisations of Thai When romanising Thai, linguists... migrate westwards and southwestwards into what is present-day Thailand Thai is the national language of Thailand Distinct regional dialects of Thai are spoken in the north, northeast and south of the country, but the language of the Central Region is regarded as the standard and is used both in schools and for ofcial purposes throughout the country Thai is a tonal language, with the meaning of each syllable... with comprehensive grammar notes The AUA Language Center Thai Course (1967), prepared by J Marvin Brown, is designed for classroom use with a native speaker, rather than self-tuition, but other works produced by AUA, including Browns AUA Language Center Thai Course: Reading and Writing (1979), and Adrian Palmers imaginative dialogue books, Small Talk (1974) and Getting Help with Your Thai (1977) are well... one system, librarians another and the Royal Thai Institute yet another; the average Thai, if called upon to romanise Thai words, would almost certainly do so in a quite unsystematic way The system used in this book is based on the phonemic transcription devised by the American scholar, Mary Haas, in the early 1940s and slightly modied in J Marvin Browns AUA Thai course materials While this system is... contrast, is a much more down-to-earth workbook for practising key structures, but it does require a prior knowledge of Thai script Linguistic literature on Thai Dictionaries The most useful dictionary for the learner is Thai- English Students Dictionary (1964) compiled by Mary Haas Each Thai script entry is followed by a phonemic transcription and English gloss A particularly useful feature for the learner... necessary grammar and vocabulary to deal with a range of everyday situations and provide a structured introduction to the script; both works include cassettes/CDs 2 Of earlier materials, Spoken Thai (19458) by Mary Haas and Heng Subhanka, although dated in places, is an extremely solid work, which offers many valuable insights into the language Foundations of Thai (1968) by Edward Anthony et al., and Thai. .. t in stop e.g taam (ùÂ) to follow th similar to th in Thailand e.g thay (úÊ) Thai p similar to p in spin e.g pay (ỳ) to go ph similar to p in part e.g phaasa a () language 5 1 Pronunciation 6 Many Thais nd it difcult to produce an initial r and will substitute l 1111 Thus rỳu (to know) is often pronounced lỳu 2 3 4 1.1.2 Final consonants 5 6 A Thai syllable can end in two types of consonant sounds: