Thai ภาษาไทย phasa thai
Pronunciation:	pʰāːsǎːtʰāj
Spoken in:	Thailand, North Malaysia
Total speakers:	60-65 million
Ranking:	39
Language family:	Tai-Kadai  Kam-Tai   Be-Tai    Tai-Sek     Tai      Southwestern       East Central        Chiang Saeng         Thai
Official status
Official language in:	Thailand
Regulated by:	The Royal Institute
Language codes
ISO 639-1:	th
ISO 639-2:	tha
ISO 639-3:	tha
This page contains Indic text. Without rendering support you may see irregular vowel positioning and a lack of conjuncts. More...

Thai (ภาษาไทย, transcription: phasa thai, transliteration: p̣hās̄ʹāthịy; IPA: [pʰāːsǎːtʰāj]), is the national and official language of Thailand and the mother tongue of the Thai people, Thailand's dominant ethnic group. Thai is a member of the Tai group of the Tai-Kadai language family. The Tai-Kadai languages are thought to have originated in what is now southern China, and some linguists have proposed links to the Austroasiatic, Austronesian, or Sino-Tibetan language families. It is a tonal and analytic language. The combination of tonality, a complex orthography, relational markers and a distinctive phonology can make Thai difficult to learn for those who do not already speak a related language. Motto: Bersekutu Bertambah Mutu Unity Is Strength1 Anthem: Negaraku Capital (and largest city) Kuala Lumpur3 Official languages Malay2 Demonym Malaysian Government Constitutional monarchy and Parliamentary democracy  -  Yang di-Pertuan Agong Mizan Zainal Abidin  -  Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi Independence  -  from the United Kingdom (Malaya only) August 31, 1957   -  Federation... This is a list of languages, ordered by the number of native-language speakers, with some data for second-language use. ... A language family is a group of languages related by descent from a common proto-language. ... The Tai-Kadai languages are a language family found in Southeast Asia and southern China. ... An Introduction to the Kam-Tai (Zhuang-Dong) Group of Languages in China The term Zhuang-Dong group of languages refers to a group of ethnic minority languages which have a genetic linguistic relationship and a common historical origin. ... The Tai languages are a subgroup of the Tai Kadai language family. ... Image:RI logo1. ... ISO 639-1 is the first part of the ISO 639 international-standard language-code family. ... ISO 639-2 is the second part of the ISO 639 standard, which lists codes for the representation of the names of languages. ... ISO 639-3 is an international standard for language codes. ... Image File history File links Example. ... The Brahmic family is a family of abugidas (writing systems) used in South Asia, Southeast Asia, Tibet, Mongolia, Manchuria, descended from the BrāhmÄ« script of Mauryan India. ... Note: This page contains IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. ... ISO 11940 is an ISO standard for the romanization of the Thai alphabet, published in 1998 (updated September 2003). ... A national language is a language (or language variant, i. ... An official language is a language that is given a special legal status in the countries, states, and other territories. ... First language (native language, mother tongue, or vernacular) is the language a person learns first. ... The Thai People of Thailand are a Tai ethnic group closely related to Lao and Shan people. ... The Tai languages are a subgroup of the Tai Kadai language family. ... The Tai-Kadai languages are a language family found in Southeast Asia and southern China. ... A language family is a group of languages related by descent from a common proto-language. ... The Austroasiatic languages are a large language family of Southeast Asia and India. ... The Austronesian languages are a language family widely dispersed throughout the islands of Southeast Asia and the Pacific, with a few members spoken on continental Asia. ... The Sino-Tibetan languages form a putative language family composed of Chinese and the Tibeto-Burman languages, including some 250 languages of East Asia. ... A Tonal language is a language that uses tone to distinguish words. ... An analytic language is any language where syntax and meaning are shaped more by use of particles and word order than by inflection. ... The orthography of a language specifies the correct way of using a specific writing system to write the language. ... In linguistics, a marker is a free or bound morpheme that indicates the grammatical function of the marked word or sentence. ... Phonology (Greek phonÄ“ = voice/sound and logos = word/speech), is a subfield of linguistics which studies the sound system of a specific language (or languages). ...

Languages and dialects

Standard Thai, also known as Central Thai or Siamese, is the official language of Thailand, spoken by about 65 million people (1990) including speakers of Bangkok Thai (although the latter is sometimes considered as a separate dialect). Khorat Thai is spoken by about 400,000 (1984) in Nakhon Ratchasima; it occupies a linguistic position somewhere between Central Thai and Isan on a dialect continuum, and may be considered a variant or dialect of either. An official language is a language that is given a special legal status in the countries, states, and other territories. ... Khorat Thai refers to an ethnic group in Thailand. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Isan (also Isaan or Esarn) is the language of the Isan region of Thailand. ... A dialect continuum is a range of dialects spoken across a large geographical area, differing only slightly between areas that are geographically close, and gradually decreasing in mutual intelligibility as the distances become greater. ... A variety of a language is a form that differs from other forms of the language systematically and coherently. ... For dialects of programming languages, see Programming language dialect. ...

In addition to Standard Thai, Thailand is home to other related Tai languages, including: The Tai languages are a subgroup of the Tai Kadai language family. ...

• Isan (Northeastern Thai), the language of the Isan region of Thailand, considered by some to be a dialect of the Lao language, which it very closely resembles (although it is written in the Thai alphabet). It is spoken by about 15 million people (1983).
• Nyaw language, spoken mostly in Nakhon Phanom Province, Sakhon Nakhon Province, Udon Thani Province of Northeast Thailand.
• Galung language, spoken in Nakhon Phanom Province of Northeast Thailand.
• Lü (Tai Lue, Dai), spoken by about 78,000 (1993) in northern Thailand.
• Northern Thai (Lanna, Kam Meuang, or Thai Yuan), spoken by about 6 million (1983) in the formerly independent kingdom of Lanna (Chiang Mai).
• Phuan, spoken by an unknown number of people in central Thailand and Isan.
• Phu Thai, spoken by about 156,000 around Nakhon Phanom Province (1993).
• Shan (Thai Luang, Tai Long, Thai Yai), spoken by about 56,000 in north-west Thailand along the border with the Shan States of Burma (1993).
• Song, spoken by about 20,000 to 30,000 in central and northern Thailand (1982).
• Southern Thai (Pak Dtai), spoken about 5 million (1990).
• Thai Dam, spoken by about 20,000 (1991) in Isan and Saraburi Province.

Statistics are from Ethnologue 2003-10-4. Isan (also Isaan or Esarn) is the language of the Isan region of Thailand. ... For other uses, see Isan (disambiguation). ... Lao (ພາສາລາວ phaasaa laao) also Laotian, is the official language of Laos. ... The Thai alphabet (Thai: ) (àk-sŏn tai) is used to write the Thai language and other minority languages in Thailand. ... The Nyaw language is a dialect of the Issan or Lao language with a few vocabulary, tonal and pronunciation differences. ... Nakhon Phanom (Thai นครพนม) is one of the north-eastern provinces (changwat) of Thailand. ... Sakon Nakhon (Thai: สกลนคร) is one of the north-eastern provinces (changwat) of Thailand. ... Udon Thani (Thai อุดรธานี) is one of the north-eastern provinces (changwat) of Thailand. ... A distinct dialect of the Isan language of Northeastern Thailand. ... Nakhon Phanom (Thai นครพนม) is one of the north-eastern provinces (changwat) of Thailand. ... Tai Lue (or Tai Lü, Tai Le; tai51 lɯ11; Xishuangbanna Dai; Chinese: 傣仂语 DÇŽilèyÇ”) is one of the languages spoken by the Dai people in China. ... Dai or DAI can mean: DAI, the IATA airport code of Darjeeling airport in India Dai people, one of the 56 recognized ethnic minorities of China Dai (midwife), a traditional midwife in India, belonging to a lower caste Da`i (داعي or داع) in Arabic is a missionary or caller to Islam... Kham Mueang in its own alphabet The Northern Thai language or Kham Mueang (คำเมือง) is the language of the Thai Yuan people of Lannathai, Thailand. ... Phuan, also known as Thai Phuan or Lao Phuan (Thai: ไทยพวน), are a Therevada Buddhist Tai people spread out in small pockets over most of the northeastern Isan region with other groups scattered in central Thailand and Laos. ... The Phu Thai language is a dialect of the Issan or Lao language with a few vocabulary, tonal and pronunciation differences. ... Nakhon Phanom (Thai นครพนม) is one of the north-eastern provinces (changwat) of Thailand. ... The Shan language is related to the Thai language and is commonly called Tai-Yai, or Tai Long. ... Southern Thai (or Pak Thai or Dambro) is spoken by about 5 million people, mainly in Southern Thailand. ... Tai Dam is a language spoken in China (mostly in Jinping 金平), Thailand, Laos and Vietnam. ... Saraburi (Thai สระบุรี) is one of the central provinces (changwat) of Thailand. ...

Many of these languages are spoken by larger numbers outside of Thailand. Most speakers of dialects and minority languages speak Central Thai as well, since it is the language used in schools and universities all across the kingdom.

Numerous languages not related to Thai are spoken within Thailand by ethnic minority hill tribespeople. These languages include Hmong-Mien (Yao), Karen, Lisu, and others. Akha girl. ... The Hmong-Mien or Miao-Yao languages are a small language family of southern China and Southeast Asia. ... The Karen languages are spoken by the Karen people and are classified as part of the Tibeto-Burman group of the Sino-Tibetan language family. ... Lisu is a Sino-Tibetan tonal language spoken in Yunnan (southwestern China), northern Burma, and Thailand and a small part of India. ...

Standard Thai is composed of several distinct registers, forms for different social contexts:

• Street Thai (ภาษาพูด, spoken Thai): informal, without polite terms of address, as used between close relatives and friends.
• Elegant Thai (ภาษาเขียน, written Thai): official and written version, includes respectful terms of address; used in simplified form in newspapers.
• Rhetorical Thai: used for public speaking.
• Religious Thai: (heavily influenced by Sanskrit and Pāli) used when discussing Buddhism or addressing monks.
• Royal Thai (ราชาศัพท์): (influenced by Khmer) used when addressing members of the royal family or describing their activities.

Many Thais can speak at only the first and second levels, though they will understand the others. Sanskrit ( , for short ) is a classical language of India, a liturgical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Jainism, and one of the 23 official languages of India. ... Pāli is a Middle Indo-Aryan dialect or prakrit. ... Note: This page or section contains IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. ...

Script

Main article: Thai alphabet

The Thai alphabet is derived from the Khmer alphabet (อักขระเขมร), which is modeled after the Brahmic script from the Indic family. The language and its alphabet are closely related to the Lao language and alphabet. Most Laotians are able to read and understand Thai, as more than half of the Thai vocabulary, grammar, intonation, vowels and so forth are common with the Lao language. Much like the Burmese adopted the Mon script (which also has Indic origins), the Thais adopted and modified Khmer script to create their own writing system. While the oldest known inscription in the Khmer language dates from 611 CE, inscriptions in Thai writing began to appear around 1292 CE. Notable features include: The Thai alphabet (Thai: ) (àk-sŏn tai) is used to write the Thai language and other minority languages in Thailand. ... The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog translated into Khmer. ... Variation of BrāhmÄ« with dates. ... The family tree ([1]) of the scripts of the South and South-East Asian sub-continent. ... Lao (ພາສາລາວ phaasaa laao) also Laotian, is the official language of Laos. ... The Lao alphabet is used to write the Lao language. ... Note: This page or section contains IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. ...

1. It is an abugida script, in which the implicit vowel is a short /a/ in a syllable without final consonant and a short /o/ in a syllable with final consonant.
2. Tone markers are placed above the consonant just before the vowel sound of the syllable.
3. Vowels sounding after a consonant are nonsequential: they can be located before, after, above or below the consonant, or in a combination of these positions.

An inscription of Swampy Cree using Canadian Aboriginal Syllabics, an abugida developed by Christian missionaries for Aboriginal Canadian languages An abugida (from Ge‘ez አቡጊዳ ’äbugida) is a segmental writing system in which each letter (basic character) represents a consonant accompanied by a specific vowel; other vowels are indicated by modification... An inherent vowel is a vowel sound inherent in a consonant. ... In articulatory phonetics, a consonant is a sound in spoken language that is characterized by a closure or stricture of the vocal tract sufficient to cause audible turbulence. ... Note: This page contains IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. ...

Transcription

There is no universal standard for transcribing Thai into the Latin alphabet. For example, the name of King Rama IX, the present monarch, is transcribed variously as Bhumibol, Phumiphon, phuu^M mi^H phohn^M, or many other versions. Guide books, text books and dictionaries may each follow different systems. For this reason, most language courses recommend that learners master the Thai alphabet.

What comes closest to a standard is the Royal Thai General System of Transcription (RTGS), published by the Thai Royal Institute only in Thai at [1]. This system is increasingly used in Thailand by central and local governments, especially for road signs. Its main drawbacks are that it does not indicate tone or vowel length. It is not possible to reconstruct the Thai spelling from the RTGS transcriptions. Note: This page contains IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. ...

Transliteration

The ISO published an international standard for the transliteration of Thai into Roman script in September 2003 (ISO 11940) [2]. By adding diacritics to the Latin letters, it makes the transcription reversible, making it a true transliteration. This system is intended for academic use and is hardly ever used in Thailand for the common public. “ISO” redirects here. ... ISO 11940 is an ISO standard for the romanization of the Thai alphabet, published in 1998 (updated September 2003). ... ISO 11940 is an ISO standard for the romanization of the Thai alphabet, published in 1998 (updated September 2003). ... Transliteration is the practice of transcribing a word or text written in one writing system into another writing system. ...

Grammar

From the perspective of linguistic typology, Thai can be considered to be an analytic language. The word order is Subject Verb Object, although the subject is often omitted. The Thai pronominal system varies according to the sex and relative status of speaker and audience. Linguistic typology is the typology that classifies languages by their features. ... An analytic language is any language where syntax and meaning are shaped more by use of particles and word order than by inflection. ... In linguistic typology, word order, or more precisely constituent order refers to the permitted combinations of words or larger constituents. ... In linguistic typology, subject-verb-object (SVO) is the sequence subject verb object in neutral expressions: Sam ate oranges. ...

Adjectives and adverbs

There is no morphological distinction between adverbs and adjectives. Many words can be used in either function. They follow the word they modify, which may be a noun, verb, or another adjective or adverb. Intensity can be expressed by a duplicated word, which is used to mean "very" (with the first occurrence at a higher pitch) or "rather" (with both at the same pitch) (Higbie 187-188). Usually, only one word is duplicated per clause. An adverb is a part of speech that normally serves to modify verbs, adjectives, other adverbs, clauses, and sentences. ... An adjective is a part of speech which modifies a noun, usually making its meaning more specific. ...

• คนอ้วน (khon uan, IPA: [kʰon uan ]) a fat person
• คนอ้วนๆ (khon uan uan, IPA: [kʰon uan uan]) a very/rather fat person
• คนอ้วนไว (khon uan wai) a person who becomes/became fat quickly
• คนอ้วนไวๆ (khon uan wai wai) a person who becomes/became fat very/rather quickly

Comparatives take the form "A X กว่า B" (kwa, IPA: [kwaː]), A is more X than B. The superlative is expressed as "A X ที่สุด" (thi sut, IPA: [tʰiːsut]), A is most X. In grammar the comparative is the form of an adjective or adverb which denotes the degree or grade by which a person, thing, or other entity has a property or quality greater or less in extent than that of another. ... For the noun case, see superlative case. ...

• เขาอ้วนกว่าฉัน (kao uan kwa chan) S/he is fatter than I.
• เขาอ้วนที่สุด (kao uan thi sut) S/he is the fattest (of all).

Because adjectives can be used as complete predicates, many words used to indicate tense in verbs (see Verbs:Tense below) may be used to describe adjectives.

• ฉันหิว (chan hiw) I am hungry.
• ฉันจะหิว (chan ja hiw) I will be hungry.
• ฉันกำลังหิว (chan kamlang hiw) I am becoming hungry. or I am hungry right now.
• ฉันหิวแล้ว (chan hiw laeo) I am already hungry.

Verbs

Verbs do not inflect (i.e. do not change with person, tense, voice, mood, or number) nor are there any participles. Duplication conveys the idea of doing the verb intensively. It has been suggested that Verbal agreement be merged into this article or section. ... This article is about inflection in linguistics. ... In linguistics, a participle is an adjective derived from a verb. ...

The passive voice is indicated by the insertion of ถูก (thuk, IPA: [tʰuːk])) before the verb. For example: In grammar, voice is the relationship between the action or state expressed by a verb, and its arguments (subject, object, etc. ...

• เขาถูกตี (khao thuk ti, IPA: [kʰǎw tʰuːk tiː]), He is hit. This describes an action that is out of the receiver's control and, thus, conveys suffering.

To convey the opposite sense, a sense of having an opportunity arrive, ได้ (dai, IPA: [daj], can) is used. For example:

• เขาจะได้ไปเที่ยวเมืองลาว (khao cha dai pai thiao mueang lao, IPA: [kʰǎw tɕaʔ dâj paj tʰîow mɯːaŋ laːw]), He gets to visit Laos.

Note, dai (IPA: [daj] and IPA: [daːj]), though both spelled ได้ , convey two separate meanings. The short vowel dai (IPA: [daj]) conveys an opportunity has arisen and is placed before the verb. The long vowel dai (IPA: [daːj]) is placed after the verb and conveys the idea that one has been given permission or one has the ability to do something. Also see the past tense below.

• เขาตีได้ (khao ti dai, IPA: [kʰǎw tiː dâːj]), He is/was allowed to hit or He is/was able to hit

Negation is indicated by placing ไม่ (mai, not) before the verb. In rhetoric, where the role of the interpreter is taken into consideration as a non-negligible factor, negation bears a much wider range of functions and meanings than it does in logic, where the interpretation of signs for negation is constrained by axioms to a few standard options, typically just...

• เขาไม่ตี, (khao mai ti) He is not hitting. or He doesn't hit.

Tense is conveyed by tense markers before or after the verb. Grammatical tense is a way languages express the time at which an event described by a sentence occurs. ...

Present can be indicated by กำลัง (kamlang, IPA: [kamlaŋ], currently) before the verb for ongoing action (like English -ing form), by อยู่ (yu, IPA: [juː]) after the verb, or by both. For example:

• เขากำลังวิ่ง (khao kamlang wing, IPA: [kʰǎw kamlaŋ wiŋ]), or
• เขาวิ่งอยู่ (khao wing yu, IPA: [kʰǎw wiŋ juː]), or
• เขากำลังวิ่งอยู่ (khao kamlang wing yu, IPA: [kʰǎw kamlaŋ wiŋ juː]), He is running.

Future can be indicated by จะ (cha, IPA: [tɕaʔ], will) before the verb or by a time expression indicating the future. For example:

• เขาจะวิ่ง (khao cha wing, IPA: [kʰǎw tɕaʔ wiŋ]), He will run or He is going to run

Past can be indicated by ได้ (dai, IPA: [daːj]) before the verb or by a time expression indicating the past. However, แล้ว (laeo, :IPA: [lɛːw], already) is more often used to indicate the past tense by being placed behind the verb. Or, both ได้ and แล้ว are put together to form the past tense expression, i.e. Subject + ได้ + Verb + แล้ว. For example:

• เขาได้กิน (khao dai kin, IPA: [kʰǎw daːj kin]), He ate
• เขากินแล้ว (khao kin laeo, IPA: [kʰǎw kin lɛːw], He (already) ate or He's already eaten
• เขาได้กินแล้ว (khao dai kin laeo, IPA: [kʰǎw daːj kin lɛːw]), He (already) ate or He's already eaten

For referencing in Wikipedia, see Wikipedia:Citing sources. ... It has been suggested that Future perfect tense be merged into this article or section. ... The past tense is a verb tense expressing action, activity, state or being in the past. ...

Nouns and pronouns

Nouns are uninflected and have no gender; there are no articles. In linguistics, a noun or noun substantive is a lexical category which is defined in terms of how its members combine with other grammatical kinds of expressions. ... In linguistics, grammatical gender is a morphological category associated with the expression of gender through inflection or agreement. ... The redirects here. ...

Nouns are neither singular nor plural. Some specific nouns are reduplicated to form collectives: เด็ก (dek, child) is often repeated as เด็กๆ (dek dek) to refer to a group of children. The word พวก (phuak, [pʰûak]) may be used as a prefix of a noun or pronoun as a collective to pluralize or emphasise the following word. (พวกผม, phuak phom, [pʰûak pʰǒm], we, masculine; พวกเรา phuak rao, [pʰûak raw], emphasised we; พวกหมา phuak ma, (the) dogs) Plurals are expressed by adding classifiers, used as measure words (ลักษณนาม), in the form of noun-number-classifier (ครูห้าคน, "teacher five person" for "five teachers"). While in English, such classifiers are usually absent ("four chairs") or optional ("two bottles of beer" or "two beers"), a classifier is almost always used in Thai (hence "chair four item" and "beer two bottle"). The word singular may refer to one of several concepts. ... Look up plural in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Reduplication, in linguistics, is a morphological process in which the root or stem of a word, or only part of it, is repeated. ... In linguistics, collective number is a number referring to a set of things. ... A classifier, in linguistics, is a word or morpheme used in some languages in certain contexts to indicate the word class of a noun. ... Measure words, in linguistics, are words (or morphemes) that are used in combination with a numeral to indicate the count of nouns. ...

Subject pronouns are often omitted, while nicknames are often used where English would use a pronoun. There are specialised pronouns in the royal and sacred Thai languages. The following are appropriate for conversational use: In linguistics and grammar, a pronoun is a pro-form that substitutes for a noun or noun phrase with or without a determiner, such as you and they in English. ... EXAMPLE:Laughbox,Blondie,BamBam,Pinkie,etc. ...

Note: This page contains IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. ...

Particles

The particles are often untranslatable words added to the end of a sentence to indicate respect, a request, encouragement or other moods (similar to the use of intonation in English), as well as varying the level of formality. They are not used in elegant (written) Thai. The most common particles indicating respect are ครับ (khrap, IPA: [kʰráp], with a high tone) for a man, and ค่ะ (kha, [kʰâ], with a falling tone) for a woman; these can also be used to indicate an affirmative. In linguistics, the term particle is often employed as a useful catch-all lacking a strict definition. ... Intonation, in linguistics, is the variation of pitch when speaking. ...

Other common particles are:

Note: This page contains IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. ...

Phonology

Tones

There are five phonemic tones: middle, low, high, rising and falling. The table shows an example of both the phonemic tones and their phonetic realization, in the IPA. Some web browsers may not be able to view this correctly; you may see transcriptions in parentheses after the character, like this: () instead of on top of the character as intended. ... In human language, a phoneme is the theoretical representation of a sound. ... Phonetics (from the Greek word φωνή, phone meaning sound or voice) is the study of the sounds of human speech. ... Articles with similar titles include the NATO phonetic alphabet, which has also informally been called the “International Phonetic Alphabet”. For information on how to read IPA transcriptions of English words, see IPA chart for English. ...

Consonants

Thai distinguishes among three voice/aspiration patterns for plosive consonants:

• unvoiced, unaspirated
• unvoiced, aspirated
• voiced, unaspirated

Where English has only a distinction between the voiced, unaspirated /b/ and the unvoiced, aspirated /p/, Thai distinguishes a third sound which is neither voiced nor aspirated, which occurs in English only as an allophone of /p/, approximately the sound of the p in "spin." There is similarly an alveolar /t/, /tʰ/, /d/ triplet. In the velar series there is a /k/, /kʰ/ pair and in the postalveolar series the /tɕ/, /tɕʰ/ pair.

In each cell below, the first line indicates International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), the second indicates the Thai characters in initial position (more letters appearing in the same box have identical pronunciation).

^* ฑ can be pronounced as [tʰ] or [d] depended on Thai words.

^** The glottal plosive is implied after a short vowel without final, or the silent อ before a vowel.

In phonetics, a bilabial consonant is a consonant articulated with both lips. ... In phonetics, labiodentals are consonants articulated with the lower lips and the upper teeth, or viceversa. ... Alveolar consonants are articulated with the tongue against or close to the superior alveolar ridge, which is called that because it contains the alveoli (the sockets) of the superior teeth. ... Postalveolar (or palato-alveolar) consonants are consonants articulated with the tip of the tongue between the alveolar ridge (the place of articulation for alveolar consonants) and the palate (the place of articulation for palatal consonants). ... Palatal consonants are consonants articulated with the body of the tongue raised against the hard palate (the middle part of the roof of the mouth). ... Velars are consonants articulated with the back part of the tongue (the dorsum) against the soft palate (the back part of the roof of the mouth, known also as the velum). ... Glottal consonants are consonants articulated with the glottis. ... A stop or plosive or occlusive is a consonant sound produced by stopping the airflow in the vocal tract. ... A nasal consonant is produced when the velum—that fleshy part of the palate near the back—is lowered, allowing air to escape freely through the nose. ... Fricatives (or spirants) are consonants produced by forcing air through a narrow channel made by placing two articulators close together. ... Affricate consonants begin as stops (most often an alveolar, such as or ) but release as a fricative (such as or or, in a couple of languages, into a fricative trill) rather than directly into the following vowel. ... In phonetics, a trill is a consonantal sound produced by vibrations between the articulator and the place of articulation. ... Approximants are speech sounds that could be regarded as intermediate between vowels and typical consonants. ... Laterals are L-like consonants pronounced with an occlusion made somewhere along the axis of the tongue, while air from the lungs escapes at one side or both sides of the tongue. ...

Vowels

The basic vowels of the Thai language, from front to back and close to open, are given in the following table. The top entry in every cell is the symbol from the International Phonetic Alphabet, the second entry gives the spelling in the Thai alphabet, where a dash (–) indicates the position of the initial consonant after which the vowel is pronounced. A second dash indicates that a final consonant must follow. The Thai alphabet (Thai: ) (àk-sŏn tai) is used to write the Thai language and other minority languages in Thailand. ...

Monophthongs of Thai. From Tingsabadh & Abramson (1993:25)

The vowels each exist in long-short pairs: these are distinct phonemes forming unrelated words in Thai,^[1] but usually transliterated the same: เขา (khao) means he or she, while ขาว (khao) means white. Thai (, transcription: phasa thai, transliteration: ; IPA: ), is the national and official language of Thailand and the mother tongue of the Thai people, Thailands dominant ethnic group. ... Vowels Near-close Close-mid Mid Open-mid Near-open Open Where symbols appear in pairs, the one to the right represents a rounded vowel. ... A back vowel is a type of vowel sound used in some spoken languages. ... A close vowel is a type of vowel sound used in many spoken languages. ... A close-mid vowel is a type of vowel sound used in some spoken languages. ... The open-mid vowels make a class of vowel sounds used in some spoken languages. ... An open vowel is a vowel sound of a type used in most spoken languages. ... In linguistics, vowel length is the perceived duration of a vowel sound. ... In human language, a phoneme is the theoretical representation of a sound. ...

The long-short pairs are as follows:

Diphthongs of Thai. From Tingsabadh & Abramson (1993:25)

The basic vowels can be combined into diphthongs. Tingsabadh & Abramson (1993) analyze those ending in high vocoids as underlyingly /Vj/ and /Vw/. For purposes of determining tone, those marked with an asterisk are also classified as long: Thai (, transcription: phasa thai, transliteration: ; IPA: ), is the national and official language of Thailand and the mother tongue of the Thai people, Thailands dominant ethnic group. ... In phonetics, a diphthong (also gliding vowel) (Greek δίφθογγος, diphthongos, literally with two sounds, or with two tones) is a monosyllabic vowel combination involving a quick but smooth movement from one vowel to another, often interpreted by listeners as a single vowel sound or phoneme. ... Thai (, transcription: phasa thai, transliteration: ; IPA: ), is the national and official language of Thailand and the mother tongue of the Thai people, Thailands dominant ethnic group. ...

Additionally, there are three triphthongs, all of which are long: In phonetics, a triphthong (Greek τρίφθογγος, triphthongos, literally with three sounds, or with three tones) is a monosyllabic vowel combination usually involving a quick but smooth movement from one vowel to another that passes over a third one. ...

For a guide to written vowels, see the Thai alphabet page. The Thai alphabet (Thai: ) (àk-sŏn tai) is used to write the Thai language and other minority languages in Thailand. ...

Vocabulary

Other than compound words and words of foreign origin, most words are monosyllabic. Historically, words have most often been borrowed from Sanskrit and Pāli; Buddhist terminology is particularly indebted to these. Old Khmer has also contributed its share, especially in regard to royal court terminology. Since the beginning of the 20th century, however, the English language has had the greatest influence. Also, many Teochew Chinese words are used, some replacing existing Thai words. A compound is a word (lexeme) that consists of more than one free morpheme. ... For the computer operating system, see Syllable (operating system). ... Sanskrit ( , for short ) is a classical language of India, a liturgical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Jainism, and one of the 23 official languages of India. ... Pāli is a Middle Indo-Aryan dialect or prakrit. ... Buddhism is a variety of teachings, sometimes described as a religion[1] or way of life that attempts to identify the causes of human suffering and offer various ways that are claimed to end, or ease suffering. ... Note: This page or section contains IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999 in the... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... The Chaozhou language, also called Teochew, Teochiu, Tiuchiu, or Diojiu, is a dialect of the Chinese spoken variant of Min Nan (閩南/闽南), spoken in the Chaoshan (潮汕) region of eastern Guangdong (廣東/广东). It has low intelligibility with other Min Nan dialects, having fewer words in common than German has with English. ...

Thailand also uses the distinctive Thai six hour clock in addition to the 24 hour clock. Thais use two systems for telling the time: the 24-hour clock and the traditional Thai six hour clock. ... (Redirected from 24 hour clock) The 24-hour clock, also referred to (only in the US) as military time or (only in the United Kingdom and now very rarely) as continental time is a convention of time-keeping in which the day runs from midnight to midnight and is divided...

References

Thai (, transcription: phasa thai, transliteration: ; IPA: ), is the national and official language of Thailand and the mother tongue of the Thai people, Thailands dominant ethnic group. ...

Bibliography

• Higbie, James and Thinsan, Snea. Thai Reference Grammar: The Structure of Spoken Thai. Bangkok: Orchid Press, 2003. ISBN 974-8304-96-5.
• Nanthana Ronnakiat, Dr. (นันทนา รณเกียรติ, ดร.) Phonetics in Principle and Practical. (สัทศาสตร์ภาคทฤษฎีและภาคปฏิบัติ) Bangkok: Thammasat University, 2005. ISBN 974-571-929-3.
• Segaller, Denis. Thai Without Tears: A Guide to Simple Thai Speaking. Bangkok: BMD Book Mags, 1999. ISBN 974-87115-2-8.
• Smyth, David. Thai: An Essential Grammar. London: Routledge, 2002. ISBN 0-415-22614-7.
• Tingsabadh, M.R. Kalaya & Arthur Abramson (1993), "Thai", Journal of the International Phonetic Association 23 (1): 24-28

See also

• Thai numerals

Thai numerals (ตัวเลขไทย) are traditionally used in Thailand, although the Arabic numerals (also known as Western numerals) are more common. ...

External links

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Thai language edition of Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Thai language edition of Wiktionary, the free dictionary/thesaurus

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Thai proverbs

• CONSONANTS | VOWELS | NUMBERS | PECULIARITIES | TONES
• Thai phrasebook in wikitravel
• Ethnologue write-up on Thai
• Thai-language.com Dictionary, forums, and reference material
• Thai2english.com Also gives sound-alike words with different tones
• Slice-of-Thai.com: Consonant/vowel flashcards + detailed pages on Thai tone/vowel/consonant sounds, with spectrogram program to visualize your own voice
• IPA and SAMPA for Thai
• Websters Thai-English Dictionary
• Thai Particles (Large list of Thai particles with explanations and example sentences).
• Online Keyboard for Thai
• Free Thai Audiolearning Course (Free English - Thai audiofiles with translations of words and phrases to several different topics)
• Spacing in written Thai