Southeastern Public Library System

Reading and Writing

5 0792 55401329 3 A A A A A

ne Brown

n2iFi\3^a n2iFi\a^a n2i\3^a n^I^3^a n2iF\3^a

DK Editions Duang Kamol
(rmvifd

THAI

ZIFI\3^a

Reading and Writing

THAI
by

Marie-Hlne Brown
McAlester Public Library 401 North 2n(j McAlester, OK 74501

iiiJ

495.91 BROWN Brown, Marie-H'el'ene. Reading and writing Thai /<?'o7

McAI.FT!^ PT'BLIC LIBP.AKi

Editions Duangkamol Siam Square, Bangkok, Thailand 1993

401 North nd fitreet McA1i-3tnr, OK 74501 918 - 4?i-09:^0 LT?KARY I'CUr.3 Uoridf-y thru hiirnay 9 k.U - 8 P.1. Friday
91.U. -6P.U Saturday 9 l.U. - 5 P.M.,

Reading and Writing Thai

by Marie-Hlne Brown ISBN 974 210 4506

D|C
Edition Duangkamol
G.P.O. Box 427 Bangkok Thailand

mua

jvia 16/2536
Limited edition for 2,000 copies

Distributed by D.K. Today Co., Ltd.

90/21-25 Rajprarop Road, Maggasan Payathai, Bangkok 10400 Tel. (02) 245-5586

D.K. Printing House

2 1 2 / 1 opp. Phongphet Market. Ngamwongwan
Bangkok MRS.

10210

Tel.

(02) 589-5227

NUSARA

SOONGSAWANG

With my grateful thanks to: Bungon Gesdee

maw eWWlNt fwUflTJ'Jf iwiivi'jw ojjlnyati

and my husband Peter for their patience and precious advice.

INDEX
INTRODUCTION p. I p

GLOSSARY
ABBREVIATIONS THE HYPHEN Chapter 1: Language and script
Origin. Alphabet. Thai writing. Sentence pattern. Numbers. The five tones. Different dialects spoken in Thailand.

p III
p'^y p' i

Chapter!: Phonetic transcription

Vocalics. Vowels. Dipthongs and tripthongs. The special symbol/?/called "stop". Consonants. Four basic types of syllables: phonetic construction. The five tones. p g

Chapter 3; Letter symbols: VOCALICS

Generalities. How to draw the letters. Simple letters. How to name Thai vocalics. Three special letters ; 0, 1, 0. Compound letters. Inherent vowels /-a?/, /-o-/ and /-oo/. General chart of the 25 vowel symbols. Dipthongs and tripthongs: general chart.

, .li"!

Chapter 4: Irregularities in the length of certain vocalic letters

I- , II- and -0. Other long vocalics used as short Short vocaUcs used as long. p

Chapters: Letter symbols; CONSONANTS

Generalities. Phonetic value and pronunciation. How to draw Thai consonants. Why so many letters? How to name Thai consonants. The fourty-four consonants: hart. The fourty-four consonants and their particularities. The six consonam phonetic values in syllable-final position, '

^ *

Chapter 6: Two sets of special letters Chapter?: Special symbols

The repetition symbol H The abbreviation symbol i The "ETC..." symbol ini The silence symbol : -

p" ^

EXERCISE 1 Chapters: Consonants with two functions in word-medial position

General cases. Special cases. Remarks.

P- l P. 66

Chapter 9: Syllables
Generalities. Phonetic transcription of live and dead syllables. How to separate syllables.

P-

EXERCISE 2 Chapter 10: The five tones

Generalities. The four tonal markers. The five tones without tonal markers. Recapitulative chart. Chart illustration. Substitutes for the two missing tones with G2 and G3 initials. General remarks. The 3 consonant groups and the 4 tonal markers.

P- 71 P-

EXERCISESEXERCISE 4 Chapter 11: What to know and remember about i when not in initial position.
When in final position. When silent behind n, ft and it. Double 1 used as a vocalic or vocalic + consonant.

P- 82 P- 87 P. 92

EXERCISES Chapter 12: Consonant clusters & groupings

General rules. Remarks on the five predisposed vocalics when they precede at least two consonants. Type 1. Type 2. General remark. Type 3.

P- 95 P- 97

Chapter 13: Irregular tones

Type 3. Some other disyllabic words.

P- 104

EXERCISE 6 Chapter 14: Silence, with and without the marker

The silence marker. The silence marker is omitted. Silent letters in compound words.

P- 109 P. 116

Chapter IS: How to spell words

Vocalics. Consonants. Examples Particularities.

P- 120

EXERCISE Chapter 16: How to use a dictionary

P- 121 P. 123

INTRODUCTION
Tliis book is intended for all people wishing to learn the Thai system of writing and reading . Before making any attempt to study the letters and rules themselves, the student must be familiar with the phonetic system and the technical terms defined in the glossary. The main chapters are presented in the following order: - phonetic transcription. - vocalic letters. - consonant letters. - syllables. - basic tone rules. - special letter-combinations. - irregular tones. - how to spell words. - how to use a dictionary. This order should simplify the search for any rule or definition whenever the pronunciation or spelling of a word troubles the reader. Although chapters must be studied in sequence, several should be skipped until the student has a fair knowledge of phonetics, simple, compound and inherent vocaUcs, the forty-four consonants divided into three groups and the basic tone rules. (Chapters to be skipped are indicated appropriately). All examples given m the first chapters cannot be read nor pronounced until then. The first attempt to read and write words begins as soon as the entire alphabet has been considered. The exercises develop progressively to facilitate comprehension of the rules as they are presented. Words and examples are in alphabetical order. The student will soon find the importance of knowing all the basic rules of the Thai system of reading and writing as most dictionaries do not give the tone of syllables nor the length of vocalic phones. Reading and writing Thai is not as difficult as it looks once the basic system has been mastered, so persevere and have fun. It is worth a little effort! Good luck

GLOSSARY
CLOSED SYLLABLE COMPOUND ; syllable ending in a consonant phone. . compound vocalic ( vocalic letter built up of two or more elements ) DIPTHONG Metter corresponding to the combination of two vocalic phones as /-ai/, /-aa/ . . . FINAL ; letter corresponding to the last phone of the syllable when it is a consonant. INHERENT .one of the three vowels which are pronounced and not written; /-a?/, /-o-/ and l-ooj. INITIAL : letter corresponding to the first ( always a consonant ). OPEN SYLLABLE PHONE : syllable ending in a vocalic phone. ; single speech-sound ( vowel or consonant; vocalic phones are single or compound. ). SONORANTS ;the ten G3 consonants which do not have their equivalent in G2 (3, 91' corresponding to /ij-/, /n-l, /m-/, /y-/, /r-/, /I-/, /w-/. Convertible sonorants; the 8 sonorants which are not
H 141

phone of the syllable

underlined. They are preceded by

when required

by the tone rules ( chapter 10 paragraph 6 Bb, page 79 ). TRIPTHONG ; letter corresponding to the combination of three vocalic phones as/-iao/, /-uay/ . . . VOCALICS ; general term including vowels, dipthongs and tripthongs.

11

''".Vii

ABBREVIATIONS
C CS DCE G3S I LCE LV OS PV S SI SV = = = = = = = = = = = = consonant closed syllable
1

> J?- . -i' ' -V

dead consonant ending sonorant inherent live consonant ending long vowel; dipthong or tripthong open syllable predisposed vocalic syllable short inherent /-a?/ or /-o-/ short vowel

.i'

v',. '

' 1

h!

-fi

ririq

'ov-! ; V-J.

'

./C ->! .ifir :v--iifs/ctrfq 3t n^lW^ ;;'S; ; -i arfft.fi'A' nMi-i

"

111

THE HYPHEN
Here the use of hyphens has to be understood from the beginning. In this book they often occur with letters or phonetic symbols when considered alone. THEY ALWAYS GIVE THE POSITION OF THE LETTER OR THE PHONE IN THE SYLLABLE. 1) LETTERS: A) Vocalics: As shown in chapter 3, vocalics can be simple or compound, written before, after, above, below or on three sides of the initial consonant; the hyphen gives the position of the initial. B) Consonants; No hyphen occurs with consonant letters. 2) PHONETICS; A) Vocalics: a) The phonetic symbol represents the phone of a letter only found in medial position: hyphen on each side of the phone as -/-a-/.

b) The phonetic symbol represents the phone of a letter only found in final position: hyphen written before the phone as c) -1 /-a?/.

The phonetic symbol represents the phone of a letter either found in

medial or final position: hyphen written on each side of the phone or not written at all according to the context as - T (- ) /-aa-/ or /aa/. B) Consonants: Consonants often have two different phonetic values according to their position in the syllable. When the phonetic symbol is followed by a hyphen it gives its value in initial position. When the phonetic symbol is preceded by a hyphen it gives its value in final position.

IV

CHAPTER 1
LANGUAGE AND SCRIPT
1) ORIGIN:
In the course of history the Thais emigrated from southern China. From the fifth to the thirteenth century, what is now known as Thailand was dominated by Mns and Kmers. When, in the thirteenth century, the people finally formed a

nation, they kept the cultural heritage of their ancestors and adapted it to their new national characteristics. The Mns had been influenced by the Indian civilisation

and were Theravada Buddhists. The Kmers had adopted Hinduism which was later replaced by Mahayana Buddhism. The language of Theravada is Pali, that of

Mahayana is Sanskrit. Thus modem Thai developed from a mixture of many words and concepts from Pali, Sanskrit, Mon and Kmer languages.

2) THE ALPHABET:
In 1283 King Ram Khamheng introduced an official Thai alphabet on the model of Indian script, including two important modifications in order to simplify the writing. Two consonants standing together at the beginning or end of a word

were separated, they were not joined in a ligature as in Sanskrit but written separately as in the Roman alphabet. The signs for vowels, which in most Oriental writings stand before, after, below or above the initial consonant, were brought into line with the consonants, thus forming genuine vowel letters. In this way the king invented a true alphabet, but the second innovation was still too revolutionary and not maintained. Nowadays there is still no comprehensive alphabetical order which includes both consonants and vowels as in the Roman alphabet. Each series is considered separately. There are twenty-one consonant phones represented by fourty-four letters divided into three categories according to the tone rules: nine middle class, eleven high class, twenty-four low class. Twelve of the twenty-one phones are each

represented by two, three or four letters per class. In order to distinguish each of them when orally spelling a word, they are all named by a standard arbitrary word. There are nine short vowel phones and their equivalent in long. These

eighteen phonetic values are represented by twenty-five simple and compound letters, as seven of them change their form according to their position in the syllable. The vowel alphabet is composed of fifteen simple letters ( though three of them are built up of two elements ) which also occur as part of compound vocalics ( vowels, dipthongs and tripthongs ). To these fifteen added: simple letters three consonants are two of which also act as vowels in some cases, all three can be part of

compound vocalics. In addition to consonants and vocalics there are two sets of special letters which represent combined consonant and vowel sounds. They are always considered individually and occur in the consonant alphabet.

3) THAI WRITING:
Writing is from left to right, with no distinction of capital and small letters. Though printed characters occur in different sizes and styles, the basic form is always the same. Letters are never linked. There is no space between words, only between sentences. No punctuation is used.

4) SENTENCE PATTERN:
Each word stands in isolation, without any grammatical modification. Number, gender and tense are given by the addition of extra words when necessary. Articles do not exist. Adverbs and equivalent clauses occur either at the beginning or the end of sentences. Adjectives are placed after the noun they quaUfy (except for numerals ). Every concrete word belongs to a category. The word which

designates it is called a classifier. It is always used when things, persons, animals, are counted by the piece. Therefore five cats would be translated as cats five animals as numerals occur before the classifier. The usual sentence order is Subject + Verb + Object + . . . In colloquial Thai it is customary to omit pronouns, prepositions and all other words which are not entirely necessary to the comprehension of the statement. Yet words which might seem useless to foreigners are used to make the sentence sound more complete.

2
"f, >Cr

'

{>'/,,-y

^*

5) NUMBERS;

4/'^"

There are Thai numeral symbols although Arabic numerals are widely used nowadays.
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

o l s n < < 3 f b c i S 6) THE FIVE TONES:

:; fii

Like Chinese, Thai is a tonal monosyllabic language.

Each syllable is

pronounced in one of the five tones: middle, low, falling, high or rising. The tone rules are precise enough to allow any serious foreign student to read and pronounce Thai correctly when having a good knowledge of all the letters, the three consonant groups and the tone rules. acquire a perfect pronunciation Without any doubt the best way to

would be to spend some time in Thailand or among

Thai people, nevertheless when knowing all the important basic rules the student can practice by pronouncing aloud very regularly, being fully aware of the length of vowels, the pronunciation of each letter, the tone of each syllable, trying to improve the general speed.

7) DIFFERENT DIALECTS SPOKEN IN THAILAND;

Nowadays there are four dialects spoken in Thailand; northern, north-eastern, central and southern Thai. They are almost as different from each other as are Central Thai is taught in schools throughout the

Spanish, Italian and Portuguese.

country and considered as the official language. Yet people intending to spend some time in Bangkok must be aware of the two main phonetic differences which often occur in colloquial Thai in the capital: Initial phones /phw-/ or /pw-/ are sometimes pronounced /f-/; /r-/ is usually pronounced /I-/.

CHAPTER 2
PHONETIC TRANSCRIPTION
1) VOCALICS: Vocalics is a general term including vowels, dipthongs and tripthongs. It represents all letters corresponding to simple and compound vocalic phones. When it comes to the tone rules it is most important to make the distinction between short vowels and the rest of the vocalic family, as only short vowels are considered as short sounds! Short dipthongs correspond to a combination of two phones, therefore they cannot be considered as short when applying the tone rules.

2) VOWELS: There are nine basic vowel phones and their equivalent in long. The following chart gives the eighteen phones. Each of them has been illustrated by English words giving the closest phonetic value when possible. SHORT VOWEL PHONES a? banana golden get blas ship god all like pull with clenched teeth and lips stretched sideways. u? foot uu who aa aa EE ee ii
00

LONG VOWEL PHONES guard sir

a?
E? e? i? 0? o? u?

tga

oo

so!

3) DIPTHONGS AND TRIPTHONGS: There are lots of dipthong and tripthong combinations. Here are the most common phones;

DIPTHONGS -ao -aao -ay -aay -ay -ia -iu

-oy

TRIPTHONGS Ji!.!
i i K ' ^ o n n m Ii;

how my V Indm few toy ,;f3(a H ' wapiti brewer -J ai ,j-i; VC'Wfet Vocali/ Vocaiic aorta X. -uay -uaay

^ . -,/r
'' t
' '

! ' '

. 'J 'i sili ri'.alw VT_,* -iao :n ,!i.i

i-'miaw! t / ' M "i ; .-i,. ;'1 f. i

-ooy -aa ua -uaa -uy -eo -eeo -EEo NOTES:

.''M ^ vu;// why! ' " nfic'l. .Vx r, ' ' .|;Odq3l3
' 1 / '-f
*

^ .y-

'

'

Here the hyphen shows the position of the initial-consonant phonetic value. All phones are given in the Roman alphabetical order to help the student memorize them. All phones but /ua/ only occur in syllable-final position. The dipthong /ua/ syllable. 4) THE SPECIAL SYMBOL /?/: This special phonetic symbol will always occur AFTER A SHORT VOWEL IN SYLLABLE-FINAL POSITION. This symbql is very useful when separating syllables, to apply the tone rules. Nevertheless this phonetic symbol also occurs in INITIAL position to represent the silent consonant called the stop 0 when its only rule is to carry a vocalic phone. It is then can be found either in medial or final position in the

5) CONSONANTS:

There are twenty-one consonant phones. There are only six syllable-final consonant phones: /-k/, /-p/, /-t/ which are dead endings and /-m/, /-n/, /-i}/ which are live endings. These two classifications will be discussed later. They are very important to notice in order to have a better understanding of the tone rules. Ten of the twenty-one consonant sounds can be considered in parallel: five are aspirated and the other five are not.
A) Unaspirated consonant phones:

/?-/ is called the stop /k/ like /j-/ " /t/ " Ivi " to care John telephone poor

It corresponds to a silence.

Each phonetic value is a pure

consonant sound.

B) Aspirated consonant phones:

/h-/ /kh-/ /ch-/ /th-/ /ph-/ Here the hyphen shows the position of each consonant phone in the syllable. When the phonetic value is followed by a hyphen, the phone only occurs in syllable initial position. When there is no hyphen, it occurs either in syllable-initial or final position.
C) Remarks on the three dead endings;

Each phonetic value is based on the phones mentioned above but accentuated and aspirated.

Whenever

/k/,

/p/,

/t/

or

/kh/,

/ph/,

/th/

are found at the end of a

syllable, the phonetic value is always the same, each sound being pronounced very short and without the aspiration, therefore corresponding more to /-g/, /-b/ and /-d/ ( as they are transcribed in some other books ).
D) The eleven other consonant phones:

/d-/

like

date

1^1

like

niother

/f-/ /s-/ /b-/ /5/ /n/

" " " " "

father sister baby ping-pong oon

O' ' I' ' ..il-

/y-/
M n-l

"
"

you rose letter wagon

"

/w-/

"

NOTE: The letters corresponding to /?-/, /w-/ and /y-/ are special letters. They are considered as consonants when in syllable-initial position. The first two are vocalics in some cases and all three can act as part of

compound vocalic letters. 6) 4 BASIC TYPES OF SYLLABLES: phonetic construction. Consonant + Short Vowel Consonant + Short Vowel + Consonant Consonant + Long Vocalic : Open syllable with short vowel : Closed syllable with short vowel : Open syllable with long vocalic

Consonant + Long Vocalic + Consonant : Closed syllable with long vocalic NOTE: The syllable-initial consonant can either be single or double. ALL SYLLABLES ALWAYS HAVE A CONSONANT AS INITIAL LETTER. 7) THE 5 TONES: phonetic transcription. There are five distinct tones in Thai language. Each syllable has to be

pronounced in one or another. The tone rules will be explained in detail further on. As they are rather intricate it is impossible to consider them before the student has a fair knowledge of the entire alphabet and can make the distinction between the three groups of consonants. middle low falling high rising tone : no phonetic symbol tone ; \ tone ; /\ tone ; tone :

ais 33""

. . . :.;k/IV/ fis Oil at

ogioo'li'stoiid'tCijO /
:i}V )

CHAPTER 3
LETTER SYMBOLS: VOCALICS
( vowels, dipthongs and tripthongs )

1) GENERALinES:
Thai vocalics depend on Thai consonants. They always have to be carried by a consonant and are always pronounced after it ( whatever their position is, even

predisposed vocalics ). When a vocalic phone sounds alone in a syllable, the letter is carried by the silent consonant 0. Symbol-wise Thai vocalics are divided into three groups: - simples - compounds - inherents. 2) HOW TO DRAW THE LETTERS: Each character has to be drawn in one stroke, starting from: - the loop:

the stick:

- left or right;

3) SIMPLE LETTERS: There are fifteen basic vocalic characters. They are simple letters even though

three of them are built up of two elements. Three are dipthongs, the others are vowels. They are not all written after the initiaKconsonant, as in the Roman system of writing; 5 occur before the consonant, 3 occur after, 5 occur above and 2 occur below.

It IS most important to leam them with their position around

the initial

consonant, in alphabetical order, as all the compound letters depend on them (page 123).
A) 5 predisposed vocaHcs: written before the initial-consonant.

I-, II-, -, 1-, 1-

corresponding to /ee/, /EE/, /oo/, /-ay/ and /-ay/.

It may be difficult for the beginner to guess where these predisposed vocaUcs should be pronounced when they are followed by two or several consonants but there is nothing to worry about (chapter 12).
B) 3 postdisposed vocalics: written after the initial-consonant.

o -s, -1, -1

corresponding to /-a?/, /aa/ and /-am/.

C) 5 upperscript vocalics: written above the initial-consonant.

->

-, -,

corresponding to /-a-/, /i/, //, /o/ and /-uu-/.

D) 2 underscript vocalics: written below the initial-consonant.

corresponding to /u/ and /uu/.

E) Two special letters:

and

have the same phonetic value. They are usually pronounced short.

1 is only found in the twenty following words and their compounds: Ina I I /kly/ /khray/ /khry/ /jay/ ( to be close, near ) ( who?; someone, anyone ) ( to wish ) i

this word occurs in a great number of words refering to feelings, human qualities

/chty/ /chy/ /day/

( yes, that's it ) ( to use, to be used ) ( which; any ) . 'wUU

1 lu lu

/ty/ /nay/ /bay/

( southern ) ( in -space-; at, in, on -time- ) ( classifier for leaves; thin round flat objects; round and hollow objects such as hats, cups;

fruits and eggs ) ll /bay/ /fy/ /yay/ (dumb, mute) ( to intend to, to think of ) ( fiber; spider web ) ( women entering a family by marriage ) ( clear, transparent ) ( to put in, to insert ) ( tp give; for -somebody- ) ( big, large, voluminous ) ( new ) /khraykhruan/ ( to consider, to think of )

'i; iK >!rjr'

'[A
lej

Tslfl /s?phy/ Iii Iii /say/ /say/ /hay/ /yy/

Imjj

/my/

Ifllfinty

always preceded by a classifier. In Thai, objects, persons, animals belong to a certain class, a certain category. The word which designates them is called a classifier. It must be mentioned whenever objects, animals, persons are counted by the piece.

4) HOW TO NAME THAI VOCALICS:

When orally

spelling words vocalics are called Ti! /sa?ra?/ + their phonetic

value. Exceptions: 1 is called /myman/ ( rolled up stick ) ( broken stick )

1 is called liuait) /mym?laay/

10

When written lilliueimfi

/s?r?

-a-/

occurs in syllable-medial position, it is called

/myhan?aakat/ ( stick turning in the air ) and is written

5) three special letters:

0, 1, 0.

Three consonants have to be considered at the same time as the fifteen simple vocahcs as two are used as such and the three of them are used as elements in compounds: t), 1, 0.

: is a consonant when in syllable-initial position, never occurs in syllable-medial position. is part of a compound vocalic when in syllable-final position, and when followed by 1 as in l-tn /-iao/.

; is a consonant when in syllable-initial position. is a dipthong when in syllable-medial position, /-ua-/. is part of a compound vocalic when in syllable-final position. It is never pronounced /-w/ but /-of except in two compound dipthongs: -I /-iu/ -T /-ua/

: is a consonant when in syllable-initial position. It is silent and only used as a support when a pure vocalic sound is required as vocalics can never stand alone. is a vowel when in syllable-medial position, pronounced /- oo -/ and sometimes /-3 -/. is the vowel /- oo / or part of a compound vocalic when in syllable-

final position and when followed by as in 1-00 l-nayl: Examples of 9 pronounced short;
'.siiti

bJlISj : . ^ . '

S!lMU0tJ

/nitny/

( a Uttle )
:AUin

b:-

u'ot)

/boy/

(often)

^4, ft

11

O-J y
00O

/sog/ /h o q/ /?a?ry/

(to illuminate ) ( room ) (delicious)

6) COMPOUND LETTERS: They are built up of two or more of the following elements; - simple vocalics,

- 1 , (J

and/or 0. .

- one of the two shortening symbols t, Examples; i-ot /-a?/, i-o u--

All simple vowels and three dipthongs have been studied in paragraphs 3 & 4. All other vowels, dipthongs and tripthongs are compound vocalic letters.

A) The two shortening symbols;

a)

-;

Five compound letters end with the symbol -t. IT IS NOT iTl certain vowels when in syllable-final position.

/s?r?-a?/,

it is a symbol which corresponds to the phonetic stop to shorten the phone of

b) This symbol is added to three simple vowels when they phonetically occur in syllable-medial position; I-, It is called Ijjifig sometimes il-, and occasionally -0.

/mytykhu/, placed above the initial.

There is one word to memorize as it is built up of a single consonant carrying the shortening symbol; n /k$ ?/ ( then, also . . . ). THE TONE IS IRREGULAR.

12

There are also a few words to memorize as they are often written without the shortening symbol:

lllu mTi mm ijjfiin

/pen/ /phet/ /met/ /mtrik/

( to be + NOUN ) ( diamond ) Here is silent. (metre ) ( metric ) Here 5 is silent. Borrowed from French.

B) Compound vowels: Chart.

IN CLOSED SYLLABILES cmnpound vowels pronounced in medial position 1-I

A

IN OPEN SYLLABLlES compound vowek pronounced in phonetics fnal position 1-0S 1-0 RARE phonetics

RARE

1-9-1 1-9 9-1

I-9V 1-991

-0-

RARE

1-0-I

I-IZ
- -0

RARE RARE

l-oV loll
/-HH/

d
h-l

l-t ll-t

/-e?/
/-?/

11--

RARE

l-E-l

REMARK:

IIU'U'3
V

does not occur very often but here is a common word to memorize:
^ d

/khEg/ ( hard, firm ) also found in UlllKI

/nmkhEij/ ( ice )

Here the whole symbol disappears. In a closed syllable the phone is not represented by any symbol; /-o-/ is then inherent. I-VM-I X0 fl0 + + y u = = xy u ( t o make an enquiry )

Here 0 just disappears. /-ua-/ XT

Hi

+
+

y
U

=
=

xly 114 ( garden ) disappears.

Here liimiQimff /mayhan?aakaat/ -1 is always read /-ua/ /--/ ix IM + + y M = = ixy IMV4

( to see ) the

Here -t is replaced by the shortening symbol - written above initial. /E-/ REMARK: Idem with ll-s;

The letters corresponding to these eight vowel phones occur in the chart on page 13 and in the recapitulative chart on pages 20 and 21. The fact that several vocaUc phones are represented by two different characters is a great help to the student. Syllables can easily be separated, and the tone rules apphed, when vocalics change their form according to their position in the syllable... 7) INHERENT VOWELS /-a?/, /-o-/ and /-oo/. In some cases these vocalic phones occur without being represented by any written symbol. The first two are very short, the third one is long but it can also be pronounced short in rapid speech. The three inherent vowels can sound rather difficult to understand to the beginner, but the following rules will show that they can be predicted in most cases. The following examples cannot be considered until the student has a fair knowledge of the entire alphabet and the basic tone rules. They must be used as

16

exercises when studying chapter 12, the phonetics must then be hidden so the reader works on the pronunciation of each word. A) /-a?/ : is always pronounced very short. is pronounced after a syllable built up of one consonant only which never carries any tonal marker, usually followed by at least another syllable. Exceptions: riTSItU /^la?pa?/ /saathaar?n?/ ( arts, crafts ) ( public )

Examples:

Uf
/ja?muk/ /ch?lat/ *WI0W /t?l oot/ /t?lat/ liJitt int) * *wn tnjiE) /prays?nii/ /wi?th?yu?/ /s?nk/ /s?baay/ /s?bu/ iJfilli /spp?daa/ /s?rp/ flBIlfU /saathaar?n?/ /??ng/ 014 yi *00fj /??n?yat/ /??r3 y/ ( nose ) ( to be clever, skillful ) ( through, from the beginning to the end ) ( market place ) ( post-office ) ( radio ) ( to be pleasant, enjoyable ) ( to feel good ) (soap ) ( week -formal- ) ( to summarize ) ( general, pubUc ) ( besides ) ( to give leave, licence or permission ) ( to be tasty, delicious )

17

The asterisk shows the examples to consider when studying chapter 12, ^ B) TYPE 3 on page 97, and b) on page 102 j , and chapter 13 (1A).

B) j-o-j

: is always pronounced very short. is pronounced in closed syllables when no written vocaUc occurs ( usually monosyllabic words ): the first consonant is the initial, which carries a tonal marker when required, the following consonant is the syllable-final letter.

Examples; nu S114 wni- ?iii tnu Yl\4

V

/kop/ /jon/ /toklog/ /tp/ /tm/ /thon/ /thoq/

( frog ) ( to be poor; until, till ) (OK) ( to slap, to hit with hands ) ( to boil ) ( to endure, to continue, to last ) ( flag ) ( bird ) ( on,above) ( milk ) ( hair, 1, me -man speaking- ) ( rain ) and fJuwfl /fontok/ ( to rain ) < to meet somebody ) ( one of the characters appearing in the Ramayana )

un uu
V

/nk/ /bon/ /nmnom/ /phom/ /fon/

"UIUU NU

nu ufuln UPI fljj au

/php/ /monthoo/ /mot/ /lorn/ /lm/

( ant ) ( wind ) ( to stumble )

18

:-y

>*

uijs:^ Hfl on

/spp?rot/ ./hk/ /?k/

i pineappjie ) (six ) ( chest )

C) l-ool

: is usually pronounced long except when there is neutrahsation in rapid speech. is mostly pronounced between U and 1 in words beginning with these two letters but also occurs occasionally in a few words which always have as the second consonant. Examples; ill'U imjjni niellili Hinfu ufiVi uinfi UI^JJ /j3ora?khee/ /bo3romm?sk/ /baorbuun/ /b33ri?ween/ /hoo ri?st/ /maorkot/ /m 00 ra?sum/ ( crocodile ) ( supreme happiness ) ( perfect, complete; plentiful ) ( neighbourhood, environment ) ( business company ) ( emerald ) ( season of wind and storms, monsoon ) j ; 1

I 00 I

is also pronounced in certain words ending in a double consonant of which 1 is the final.

Examples; tini /thaawoon/ naikhoonl /la?kh30n/ ( permanent, strong, durable ) (city) ( staged play ) ( revenue ) AND /phaasu?aakoon/ fllUQini ( income taxes )

ami

/?aak30n/

19

8) GENERAL CHART OF THE 25 VOWEL SYMBOLS; A Thai word is given to illustrate the use of each vowel symbol. The first hyphen from the left ( or the single one ) shows the position of the syllable-initial, the second hyphen shows the position of the final. NOTE: It is most important to make the distinction between short and long vowels to be able to apply the tone rules.

IN CLOSED SYLI^LES IN OPEN SYLLABLES

VOWELS pronounced in medial position REMARKS phonetics letter VOWELS pronounced in final position phonetics letter Thai words
/fan/ (tooth) is called inherent TIMI? /thWhaan/ (soldier) /thamm?daa/(regular)

luwioimft
/myhSnaakat/

/-a-/

/-a?/

%Z /j?/ (will, shall)

sometimes short as in

1U /-aa-/ -1/-aa/ -1

/jaan/ (plate) /maa/ (to come)

yiJ

/thin/

(you) but RARE

RARE

Ad-/

/-a?/

/99n/ (money, silver) l-OE

mor
Ifi /-99-/ /-99/ l-O

(dirty)
/k89t/ (bom)

iSuisio
t

/199iil9/

(careless)

M-/
/-ii-/

/-i?/

/I9/ (monkey)

M
'

/-ii/

fill

/hiip/ (trank)

l-M

is /-a?/and /-ao/

d -0/-O?/

fino^ Itil WaOB

/khlSj/ (canal)

not short

/O-/

-0-

/l5?/

(to undo)

(refer to next chapter)

/phi5y/ (suddenly)

20

INCLOSED SYLLA BLES VOWELS

proDunced in mediai pontion _

INOPEN SYLLiiiBLES VOWELS

proBonnced in

, final position letter

piioDetics letter
VOU MJJO inhemit Uinn /m33r?kc/(emerald)

REMARKS

plioneticg

Thai words
/chMp/ (toHke)

/3>/

-0-

-8
/OS/

/mJa/ (doctor)

RARE in Hnal position

Ao-/

inherent

Ac?/

T- ISr

/khon/ (person)

/t?/ (uMe)

/-OO-/

1 r_

/-OO/
/?/

1J 4

/o/

(chain)

/-n-/

/nui)/ (one)

/-H-/

/-ob/

/khaan/

(bitter)

-0

VO

/chttH/ (name)

/-U-/
/-UU-/

- -

/-u?/

/j?laa/ (kite)

/-uu/

/^uu/

(snake)

/--/

iSn /-e?/ t-

/dk/(chiki)
/te?/(to kick)

/-ee-/

/-ee/

l-

1CU7

/neen/ (buddhist monk)

not very common with -

/-E-/

11

AE?/

UVA ll- uns

/khi)/

(hard)

/l?/ (and)

/-EE-/

11

/-EE/

11-

imTi

/wEn/ (ring)

Special consonant combination considered on page 94. rr-

21

9 ) DIPTHONGS AND TRIPTHONGS : GENERAL CHART. -1

-1

-am

T)1

/tham/ (to do to make)

considered as a simple vocalic.

ao

IWI

/to/ (turtle)

logically

1le shouU be Aeshort

equivalent, butit is NOT.

aao -ay

-T)
-0 1-

U11

/yaao/ Oong) /phay/ (danger) RARE

fio
Iff

-ay
-ay -aay

/^y/

(clear, transparent)

110
l-U

Intl luti
tlCI

/klay/ (far, far away) /khSay/(to sell)

-99y
ia

/I99y/ (further, more)

i-ei

lUtl

/mia/ (wife)

17 tlTI

/ran/ (to study)

tao -iu

l-tn -T -OB l- 1-8

m

litn in
10 luO

Ahiao/ (grem) /hi/ (to be hungry) RARE

-09y
-ooy

/la^y/(to float) /booy/ (to whip) RARE

na

17 f)

/ma/ (boat); /phSan/

A

mtU
ay

(friend)

l-O

1700

/may/(continually...)

only found in about twenty common words.

-ua

V -1

/tua/ (classifier for animals...)

occurs only in final position.

-ua-

--i-

11Oft

/khat/(bottle)

1 used alone in medial position is a vocalic.

*-uaa -uay

-n -IV
mo

/khuaa/ (right -direction-) /suay/(pretty-girl-)

22

NOTES:

be

found in dosed syllaWes.

Ufi

4
i ^ 9li -s;.m460o:

E fl 1^'"

, ^: ,

, iv,i..5 0-(O '-'ii""'

;i8l

loi

aiKli

ni

-vftH

K ni b" j \o: i \

{ toii' ^

\SXV

CHAPTER 4
IRREGULARITIES IN THE LENGTH OF CERTAIN VOCALIC PHONES
( This chapter contains hints on pronunciation rather than basic rules. It must be skipped until page 97. )

1) I- , 11- and 0. in a closed syllable, when die initial carries a tonal marker:

When these three letters are short the initial carries the shortening symbol When the initial carries a tonal marker general rules have to be considered.
A) (-

/mytykhu/,

cannot be used, therefore a few

used in a syllable carrying one of the 4 tonal markers is usually pronounced short as in:

in-3 llJ-3

/kg/ /peg/

( skilled ) ( straight; sharp -time for an appointment- )

B)

II-

and - 0 used in a live syllable pronounced in the low tone are usually short as in:

Wo-J ijefj

/s^/ /boy/

( to shine ) (often)

C)

U- and 0 used in a live syllable pronounced in the high tone are always long as in:

1101 lou

/lEEo/ loni

( already ) ( hot )

24
*

D) II-

and -0 used in a live syllable pronounced in the falling tone can be short or long depending on the word as in:

no
H0-

/phoo/ /hoi)/

(father) ( room )

i>

/khg/ /pEEg/

( shin ) ( flour; face powder )

E) Recapitulative chart:

TYPE OF SYLLABLE

1-

11- and -e

TONE

G or G2 + luiofl /my?ek/ VI ili /hoo nam/ + G3S + Iwion usually SHORT 3 G or G2 + SHORT or LONG G3 + lljTn /mythoo/ always LONG Gl + lsm /myjtt?waa/ usually SHORT RARE /mythoo/

(-) (-)

\
A
A

(a)

'S
o LIVE

(-) (-)

i
a.

G3 + Iwion /my?ek/

(-)

/ \ /
/

(b)

(c)

1
B

(-)

(d)

<

Q u D

usually SHORT RARELY FOUND WITH A TONAL MARKER

(e)

a) examples: ino ii^J im-i INVJ HiiotJ /ki)/ /jm/ /bg/ /phn/ /n y/ ( skilled ) ( clear, transparent ( to divide ) ( to leap ) ( a Uttle ) rii

25

one common exception: nou /kon/

(previously)

b) examples:

Long

Short /kffiEg/ /phoo/ ( to pretend ) ( father )

V

unni rio
Jy

/toi)/ /yokyoi)/

( t o have t o ) ( to admire, to honor )

onoo-J

OMO

/yiihoo/

( trade mark )

unu

/lEn/

( to glide )

Hot)

/hoy/

( to hang down )

c) examples:

im no-3 V im IIUUII leu v aou

/thEE/ /phoog/ /mE/

( genuine, real ) ( synonymous, kindred ) ( even though )

/yEmy^/ ( gay, smiUng ) /roon/ /rEg/ /loom/ (hot) ( vulture )

^iti.

( to circle )

d) examples:

nilo-
ah

/kr?p39/
/jo/

( tin, can ) ( crystal ) ( twisted, distorted )

111

/pe?/

26

e) In dead syllables tonal markers are always rare as tones are already expressed. When a dead syllable carries a tonal marker -0, II-, I- are usually read short except in a few loanwords.

2) OTHER LONG VOCALICS USED AS SHORT:

A) t-

is nearly always considered as long, still there arc at kast two words to used as short: /pan/ ( m o n e y , silver )

memorize with IWW

I

/j noa/ ( to be flooded, inundated )

B) There are at least two monosyllaUc words spelt with -1- pronounced short:

TllW

/than/

( you, he, she, they -used by either men or women

to show respect for rank rather than personal respect; in written language it is the ordinary word to use for you - ) 3TU /i)an/ ( work )

3) SHORT VOCALICS USED AS LONG:

A) -1, l-l, 1-, 1-

often sound long in live monosyllabic words pronounced

in the high tone when these words are alone or in final position, but they are often pronounced short when they are followed by at least one syllable in compound words. Examples: iVIUfl
ulw

/chaomuat/
/tonmiy/

( early dawn )
( im, plant )

wain

/phnl?may/

( fruit )

27

0 d V41lini>3 V

/nmkhEg/ /nmnom/ /mykwaat/

( ice ) ( milk ) ( broom )

VlViU

(Irl) /mykhiit/ /faay/ ( matches ) Iwifi

'H0-3"U1
J o

/my?ek/ /hognam/

( first tonal marker - ) ( toilets, washrooms )

B) As a general rule;
In live syllables, vocalics have a tendency to be lengthened when in word position. C) One common monosyllabic word is always pronounced with long 1-1

lllfi'n

/plao/

( to be empty )

ibiGvs/ ' / d t i |o bi50a .'.-i, ,)-. ,i<.nj.A-T Isnfl i lo Jfioif: 3'ts "mo fc3 le Yd bawoHoi ''>

i'.V'ii'

filii-

a ;u

i;

28

CHAPTER 5
LETTER SYMBOLS: CONSONANTS.
1) GENERALITIES: Thai consonants take alphabetical precedence over Thai vocalics. Symbol-wise there are fourty-four consonants although two of them are now obsolete. Regarding the tone rules, the fourty-four letters are divided into three categories respectively called: middle class, high class and low class. In this manual they wiU be refered to as Group 1 (Gl ), Group 2 ( G2 ) and Group 3 ( G3 ). Each of these consonant groups follows its own specific tone rules. 2) PHONETIC VALUE AND PRONUNCIATION: Each consonant letter is pronounced with the carrying vowel /- oo / when considered individually. Then the consonant phone preceding -oo\ is the phonetic value of this letter IN SYLLABLE-INITIAL POSITION, as fifteen letters have a different value in syllable-final position ( see the corresponding chart on page 58 ). There are only six final consonant phonetic values: /-k/, /-p/, /-t/ or dead endings, and /-m/, /-n/, /-ij/ or live endings. REMARK: Consonant endings are always pronounced very short and half swallowed , therefore /-k/ sounds more like /-g/, /-p/ like /-b/ and /-t/ like /-d/ as they are transcribed in some other manuals. 3) HOW TO DRAW THAI CONSONANTS: The basic rule is to write from left to right starting with the loop and trying to complete the letter in one stroke. It is very important to notice whether the pen must go up or down when drawing the loop Examples;

29

"B S
- f)

alphabet.

Only two consonants are written without any loop.

6
In 1283 King Ram Khamheng controlled this growth by introducing a few uncommon letters were

4) WHY SO MANY LETTERS ? As the Thai language developed from its earliest origins, borrowing heavily from Sanskrit, Pali, Mon and Kmer, more and more letters were added to the

simplified standard Thai alphabet, although a

maintained to indicate the ethymology of certain words. However two consonants, which are still in dictionaries, are now obsolete. 5) HOW TO NAME THAI CONSONANTS: Each consonant letter has been provided with an arbitrary deagnatory name to be used when orally spelling words. It is usually a common noun of which the first letter is the consonant so named. Example; n In /kao ky/ equivalent to K like Korea.

This method is to facilitate the distinction between two or more consonants with the same phonetic value as the fourty-four letters correspond to only twentyone different sounds. This is how the alphabet is taught in Thai primary schools.

Nevertheless, Thai adults now tend to spell without the designatory word, considering it rather childish. However, this is the only method to give verbally the

cofreet spelling of most Thai words.

30

Exceptions: 1 M

/ is called W4 TOO han/ when double and pronounced /-an/ or is called M

/-a-/.

/hw nam/ when placed before a G3 initial sonorant to

change the tone of the syllable.

is called o 141 /?oo

nam/when placed in front of the four following

words to change the tone of the syllable into the low tone: etil Otnn odi' oy /ya/ /yak/ /yag/ /yu/ ( do not... ) ( to want to ) ( kind, sort of... ) ( to live at, to stay at, to be at ) j "*!

fl fi

is also called /soo khoo/from its resemblance to the letter is also called /soo I oo / from its resemblance to the letter

fl. >.

NOTE:
-a.

As it can be noticed in the four words given above, 0 141 does not carry the tonal marker, rt ui does not carry it either.

6) THE FOURTY-FOUR CONSONANTS: CHART.

The following chart shows the three groups as they must be memorized. The consonants are given with thdr designatory name. corresponds to the position of each letter in alphabetical order. At this stage the student does not have to memorizfe the spelling of each word but must be able to remember the desi^atoiy name corresponding to each letter pronounced with the right tones. The student must have a perfect knowledge of both vocalic and consonant The number

alphtbeti to be able to study any fUrther. He must be able to make the distinction
between short vowels and long vocalics, consonants belonging to 01, 02 and G3.

31

K>
n

Gl middle class (9 letters) fiO Ifl /kd9 ky/(chicken) 1 11

V

G2 highclass (11 letters) 0 U/kk khy/(eg() Me VIA

/U&>

G3 low class (24letters) 2 3 <11

f

no filio

/1thx>

khwaay/buffalo)

4 5 6 10 12

khit/ (bottle)

0 flU /kli39 khon/(person) 10 "SfiA /kfeso rA?kha^ (tonple bell) VO V14/cbM cha9/(eleirfuuit) DIO 1010 /ch33 ckM/ (smaUbush)

90 91U /jx> jaan/ (plate)

QQ H') /ch39 chi^/(type ofmusical instrument)

If OJ

fl flO

iflfl /daodk/ (child) QO V(;]1 /doo ch?daa/(classical dance hat) W0IW1/t M to/(turtle) go /t?3 pr?tk/ (harpoon)

20 14 21 15
0 00

1 *
6

g g

/th thi/(shopping bag)

22

n M <n 1

no Tiltil /tu ththlan/Csokler) 0 qjinil /ttaM pbuthfto/(oM man) ^0 10

23 18

|0 ]1U/tb thaan/(pedestal)

16

/d|M mmithoo/(a character of RAMAYANA) 17 /th tho9/(flag) 24 30 32 31 11

iJ

lio lini /p73 plaa/(kind of fish)

27

NO N4 /pb99 phA9/(bee)

j[

28

n fl

no VI1U/pl|M phaan/(offering tray) )0 f?1lf)1 /pk^ san^rfiao/(diinese junk) vio vfu /f fan/(tooth) VO /M sOo/(chain foranimals

t\

fio f)i /f3 faa/ (lid) tro iftb/J sa/(tiger) fo ffini/SM saalaa/(public Rest House)
T IO

29 40 38 39 41

vi %

rr ff

y
0 00

tlS/33 r?sii/(hermit)

01-/?35 ?a9/(bucket)
/boo

43 26

VIO MU /h^3 hiip/(trunk)

00

/ti? n6khuk/(owl)

44

UO

baymy/ (leaf)

-9 U tu U tl (y 1 n W T

^0 j /999 9uu/ (snake) UO Hlj /II39 nSu/(mouse)

010

7 25 19
33

l(U1/ins neen/(buddhist monk)

UO 1/np9 m&a/(horse)
(10

onv/ysd yk/(demon) /y y^/(woman)

34 13 35 ,36 42
37

tyo

?0 110/t? ma/(boat) no /la? I9/(monky)

MO ^W1/53j71aa/(kite) 10 limu /|33 wEEn/(ring)

7) THE 44 CONSONANTS AND THEIR PARTICULARITIES: A) This paragraph should be used as a reference when working on exercises.Leaming it by heart would be fastidious and discouraging. It is highly recommended to read it once though and come back anytime needed. B) The hyphen shows the position of the consonant phonetic value in syllableinitial and final position. The designatory name corresponding to each consonant letter is mentioned, followed by an example giving the phonetic value in syllable-final position. The tone of syllables built up of C + SI /-a?/ is also mentioned as this depends only on the category to which the initial belongs.

/k/
n In Hn
/koo ky/ /hk/ ( chicken ) ( six ) I r"

- very common letter in both initial and final position. in initial position is usually read: /ka?r./ with the short inherent /-a?/ pronounced between the two letters, when they are followed by another consonant AND other letters as in fllWff /ka?ra?nii/ ( duty, obligation )

/kro./, with the short inherent /-o-/ pronounced after the two letters, when they are directly followed by one consonant only, as in niJJ /krom/ ( to snore )

/kr./ when 1 carries a vocahc, as in fllll /kr?pao/ ( pocket; bag ) - mi is usually read /kan/, as in filni fTKn /kankray/ ( scissors )

/kanchok/ ( to threaten )

33

One of the few exceptions: DU /kam/

( results of mistakes

made in a previous life ) and all compound words b^inning with fijj. - when n is directly followed by another consonant, in word-initial position, the short inherent vowel /-a?/ or /-o-/ is pronounced between the two letters ( /k?/ ), except in some cases with H (na is often read /kl-/ ) as well as with 1 and 0 considered as dipthong and vowel.
Ex: nu nau mii /kp/ /klp/ /kuaat/ ( frog ) ( to return ) ( to sweep ) (pile; to pile)

no-l

/kooi)/

-W

/kh-/ /-k/

II

/khoo khy/ /b3Dromm?sk/ - ll

( egg ) ( supreme happiness )

and 1/77 only occur in a very few words in initial position.

when II is directly followed by another consonant, in word-initial position, the short mherent vowel /-a?/ or /-o-/ is pronounced in some cases

between the two letters ( /kh?/ ), except with a

( lia is often read /khl-/ ) as well as with 1 and o considered as dipthong and vowel.

Ex:

nil

/khop/

( to crack with the teeth )

DUn

/kh?yptaa/
/khat/

( to wink, to bUnk )
( bottle )

/khSoi)/

( things )

/kh-/ /-k/
OBSOLETE

now replaced by m 11

3C 3%T 'V

/kh-/ /-k/

fl mio

/khoo khuaay/ ( buffalo ) /phak/ ( group, multitude -of similar people or articles- )

Mfl - fl
Ex;

in initial position is usually read /khr-/

fi>j is rare.

/khrg/

( occasion, time )

- fi
when

fl

is directly followed by another consonant, in word-initial /-a?/ or /-o-/ is pramumced in some cases

position, the short inherent vowel between the two letters ( flO

( /kh?/ ), except with a

is often read /khl-/ ) as well as with 1 and 0 considered as

dipthong and vowel.

Ex:

fltU flU
fia04 fill

/kha?nit/ /khon/ /khloog/ /khuan/

( the science of computation ) ( person ) ( canal ) ( to ought to )

#

35

/kh-/ /-k/
OBSOLETE: now replaced by fintJ

/kh-/ /-k/
"W IU<W /khoo r?khaq/ /meek/ ( temple bell ) ( cloud )

- mainly occurs in old words. - one common word: /p/ 3 ^ B-3

jryoo quu/
^

/khoog/

( gong )

( snake ) ( monkey )

/lig/

- - - -

and 071 are rare. directly followed by another consonant, in word-initial position,

only occurs in a few words. The short inherent vowel /-o-/ is usually read between the two letters, except with 1 and 0 considered as dipthong and vowel.

fl

/j-/

/-t/

D DTU ^"0

/joo jaan/ /dut/

(plate) ( like, just as. . )

- D1 in initial position is usually read /j?r./, with the inherent /-a?/ pronounced between the two consonants.

36

# #

two common exceptions: flsiu

/joo r?ke/ ( crocodile ) /jig/ ( to be true ) silent. is

- Sill

is rare but there are two common Words to memorize: fllltn Dlll-l /janyaa/ /janloog/ ( behaviour, morality ) ( to prevent from falling, to support )

- When )

is directly followed by another consonant, in word-initial and S considered as dipthong

position, the short inherent /-a?/ or /-o-/ is pronounced between the two letters, ( /j?/ ), except with 1 and vowel. J /ch-/ "0 /choo chig/ ( type of musical instrument )

never occurs in syllable-final position.

- iil and 11 are rare. - When il is directly followed by another consonant, in word-initial position, the short inherent /-a?/ is usually pronounced between the two letters ( /cha?/ ), except with 1 and 0 considered as dipthong and vowel.

/ch-/ l-t/

V Vl'J lllsl'U

/choo chai)/ /pr?yot/

( elephant ) ( to be useful ) -Irregular tone-

- 11 in initial position is usually read /chr-/ but it is rare. - When is directly followed by another consonant, in word-initial

37

position, the short inherent /-a?/ or /-o-/ is pronounced between the two letters ( /cha?/ ),except with 1 and 0 considered as dipthong and vowel.

/chom/ /chuay/ V04 /chog/

( to admire ) ( to help, to assist ) (wig)

li Ti/

soo so/ ( chain for animals )

never occurs in syllable-final position.

directly followed by another consonant, in word-initial position, only occurs in a few words.

- one common word with

used as the initial : MOW /soo y/

( small

streets perpendicular to the main streets )

fM

/ch-/ /-t/
OJ lOJO /choo chaa/ ( small bush -old word- ) - this letter only occurs in a few words.

/y-/

/-n/

ty lJ4l0fy

/yoo yg/ /ba9?Wn/

( woman ) ( accidently )

- this letter rarely occurs in initial position.

38

- one common word;

/yupn/

( Japanese )

/d-/

/-t/
oo ch?daa/
/kt/ ( classical dance hat ) ( rule )

Q VQ1 ng

- this letter is nearly obsolete in initial position.

N
g lIlSQn iJufiQ too pr?tk/ /praakot/ (harpoon) ( clear, manifest; to seem, to appear )

- this letter rarely occiirs in initial position.

. t -

/th-/ /-t/
J 51VJ ijsiij /thw thaan/ /pr?s98t/ ( base, platform ) ( precious, esteemed )

- this letter rarely occurs in imtial position.

/th-/ /-t/
n U{uT<n f\j<n /thoo monthoo/ /khrut/ ( a character in the Ramayana ) ( Garuda -mythical bird- )

- this letter is mainly foimd in syllable-final position.

/th-/ W

l-t/ /thoo phutho/ ( old and respected person )

39

- this letter is nearly obsolete.

/n/
04 iQJ fjQj
noo neen/

( young buddhist monk ) ( title used in front of first names to show respect )

/khun/

- this letter is mainly found in syllable-final position.

/d-/

/-t/ /doo dk/ /ta?laat/ (children) ( market place )

- W

is usually pronounced /da?r.. . / with the short inherent vowel

/-a?/ pronounced between the two letters, but it is rare. directly followed by another consonant, in word-initial position, only occurs in a few words, but is usually pronounced with the short inherent vowel /-a?/ or /-o-/ between the two letters ( /d?/ ),

except with 1 and 0 considered as dipthong and vowel.

N W Ifl'l Kl?)
too to/

( turtle ) ( life, age )

/chiiwit/

- WI in initial position is usually read /tr.. . / Ex: W' wns) /trog/ /truat/ ( straight ) ( to verify )

- when n is directly followed by another consonant, in word-initiai position, the short inherent vowel /-a?/ as dipthong and vowel.
V

or

/-o-/

is pronounced

between the two letters ( /t?/ ), except with i and considered

Ex;

nil WillW
V

/torn/ /t?lat/ /tg/

( to cook in water ) ( market place ) ( must, to have to )

IO "m;"

/th-/

/-t/

i 10

/thoo thug/ /rot/ - Q and till are rare.

Yfi bag ) ( vehicle ) c S i i ,

rr t \iw . 4? sxit ,jOiJiQ

'di

- when 1 is directly followed by another consonant, in word-initial position, the short inherent vowel /-a?/ as dipthong and vowel. or /-o-/ is pronounced between the two letters ( /th?/ ), except with 1 and 0 considered

Ex;

/th?nn/

( street ) ( to spit ) ( cup ) rf

fill
y flfj

/thm/ /thay/

/th-/

/-t/

'.bQW WSl.

Yl yivni UTM

/thoo tha?haan/ /baat/

( soldier )

ns.. Tf ' .... U. iidi tiw

( baht -Thai currency- )

41

- TI5 in initial position is usually read:

nino nnu Tino Tl|

/sap/ /saap/ /saay/ /sut/

( wealth, possessions ) ( to know ) (sand ) ( to shrink, to lessen )

/thoor... / as in m TliU

/thoor?/

( prefix

equal to "un" or "dis" )

/thoor4?sum/

( put together, bunched, clustered )

- when Tl is directly followed by another consQpant, in word-initial position, the short inherent vowel /-a?/ or /-o-/ is pronounced

between the two letters ( /th?/ ), except with T and 0 considered as dipthong and vowel.

Ex:

T14 YIIW

/thon/ /thuat/

( to endure, to bear ) ( great-grandfather or mother )

/th-/./-t/ - flB ioo thoq/ /krot/ ( flag ) ( to be or become angry )

- t in initial position is usually read /thjor. ../ but only occurs m a

few words.

in initial position mainly occurs in compound words beginning

teaching- )

with the monosyllabic word tll /tham/( justice; Dharma-Buddhist

when

is directly followed by another consonant in word-initial /-a?/ or sometimes /-o-/ is

position, the short inherent vowel

pronounced between the two letters ( /th?/ ).

/n/

VI MW 01U

noo nuu/ /?uan/

( mouse ) ( to be fat, corpulent )

- Ul

rarely occurs in initial position. I4in /n?rk/ ( hell )

one common word:

when 14

is directly followed by another consonant, in word-initial or /-o-/ is pronounced

position, the short inherent vowel /-a?/

between the two letters ( /n?/ ), except with 1 and 9 considered as dipthong and vowel.

Ex: tin \ifl1 USD

/nk/ /na?khoDn/ /nook/

( bird ) (city) ( outside, exterior )

/b-/

/-p/

'"W

u lulii

/boo baymay/ /dip/

( leaf ) ( raw, unripe, half-cooked )

TJ

in initial position is usually pronounced /boo r. . . /. Lots of

43

words begin with Ex; Uiwn /boori'?st/

/boo ri?../. ( business company )

- Ul in initial position is usually read /ban/.

Ex; UliUimi DUfn

/bannaakaan/ /bandaa/

( gift, present ) ( whole, entire; everyone )

- when U

is directly followed by another consonant, in word-initial /-o-/ is usually pronounced between

position, the inherent vowel

the two letters, except with 1 vowel.

and 0 considered as dipthong and

Ex: livJ lJl-3 \J0fi

/bon/ /buag/ /book/

( to lament, to deplore ) ( a loop ) ( to tell )

/P/
iJ iJin nliJ
/poo plaa/

( kind of fish ) ( continent )

/tha?wiip/

- iJl in initial position is usually read /pr-/ and occasionally /pa?r. . / with the short inherent vowel /-a?/(mainly words beginning with iJl). Ex: iJll /pra?jampii/ /pra?tuu/ ( annual, annually ) (door)

iJn is rare.

44

ifv S*

- when il is directly followed by another consonant, in word-initial position, the short inherent vowel /-a?/ or sometimes /-o-/ is

pronounced between the two letters ( /pa?/ ), except in most cases with a ( iJa is usually read /pi-/ ) as well as with 1 and 0 considered as dipthong and vowel.

Ex:

iJnW iJai llofl

/pc)kk?t?/ /plaa/ /pooti 9jiriw Mil >

( normal ) ( kind of fish ) ( lung )

/ph-/

/phoo phug/

( bee )

,4

\-dq\ r'

rf

never occurs in syllable-final position.

WI only occurs in few words in initial position. Mil is rare.

when W

is directly followed by another consonant, in word-initial /-a?/ or sometimes /-o-/ 0 is

position, the short inherent vowel with

pronounced between the two letters ( /pha?/ ), except in most cases a ( wa is usually read /phi-/ ) as well as with 1 and

considered as dipthong and vowel. Ex: NU /phom/ ( hair; I, me -man speaking- ) ( to take turns with, to change places with )

wa /phlt/

45

t\

/f./ fl fil /fSo fa/ ( lid, cover )

never occurs in syllable-final position.

- iJ

is rarely directly followed by another consonant in word-initial

position. There are three common words to memorize.

/fon/
I

( rain ) and

/fontk/

( to rain )

/f?ri}/

( the white race of people )

/f?rgset/ (French )

/ph-/ /-p/ VI mu n^-3lYini

/phoo phaan/
/krugtheep/

( offering tray ) ( Bangkok )

- V1 in initial position is usually read /phr-/

Ex:

VllQU

/phrom/

( to be ready )

in initial position only occurs in a few words and is usually pronounced /phan/.

when V

is directly followed by another consonant, in word-initial

position, the short inherent vowel /-a?/ or sometimes /o/ is pronounced between the two letters ( /ph?/ ), except in most cases w i t h 0 ( V i a i s usually r e a d / p h i - / ) as w e l l as w i t h 1 a n d 0 considered as dipthong and vowel.

Ex:

Vltil'n

/ph?yaag/

( syllable )

46

mn HQ

/phak/ /phoo/

( crowd, group of people ) ( enough, sufficient; as soon as )

t'\

/f-/
l"l /foo fan/ ( tooth )

never occurs in syllable final from English.

position, except in a few loanwords borrowed

Ex:

0Ovlvi

/?opfit/

(office)

y\

-vow
directly followed by another consonant is rare.

/ph-/ /-p/

fl llin am

/phoo samphao/
/laap/

( Chinese junk )
( acquisition of gain )

- ill

in initial position is usually read /phr-/ or /pha?r. .. / with the

short inherent vowel /-a?/ fll only occurs in a few words.

- fill

in initial position is usually read /phan/ ; it only occurs in a

very few words.

- when

/I

is directly followed by another consonant, in word-initial

position, the short inherent vowel /-a?/ is usually read between the two letters ( /ph?/ ).

47

%i

/ml
U in U

/moo ma/
/yim/

( horse ) ( smile, to smile )

II

in initial position is usually pronounced /m?r. . . / with the

short inherent vowel /-a?/ pronounced between the two letters, but it is rare.
tymcil-

two exceptions;

UflW UU

/moor?kt/ /m 00 r?sm/ /-a-/ or /-an/

(emerald) ( raining season ) but only occurs in a few

in u, is pronounced Words.

when U is directly followed by another consonant, in word-initial position, the short inherent vowel /-a?/ or /-o-/ is pronounced

between the two letters ( /m?/ ), except with 1 and 0 considered as dipthong and vowel.

Ex;

UW
ij--

/mot/
/mag/

( ants ) ( purple, violet ) ( university ) ( grey, ash colour )

UTnQYimtl /m?hawitth?yaalay/ UO /moo/

tJ

/y-/

on

/yoo yak/

( giant, superhuman creatures )

never occurs in final position as a consonant.

48

-a - U - U

is a consonant in syllable-initial position. never occurs in syllable-medial position. is part of a compound vocalic when in syllable-final position. are rare.

- m and

when 0

is directly followed by another consonant, in word-initial /-a?/ or /-o-/ is pronounced

position, the short inherent vowel

between the two letters ( /y?/ ), except with 1 and 0 considered as dipthong and vowel.

Ex:

W tlun

/yon/ /y?mk/

( to shorten, to abbreviate; wrinkle ) ( the mark "1 " used in Thai writing after a word or a phrase which is to be repeated, a repetition mark ).

0U

/yom/

( to dye )

l-nl

l0 011111

/roo r u a / /?aahaan/ - when

(boat) ( food )

is a final placed directly after the initial, in a syllable which

does not carry any vocalic symbol, it is pronounced /-oon/. Ex: VJfll /na?khoon/ (city)

- when 1

is followed by a consonant in initial position, it follows the U .

same rules as

- when 1 occurs alone in the middle of a word as the initial of a syllable

49

which does not have any written vocalic, it is pronounced with the short inherent vowel /-a?/.

/ra?/

Ex: Jinn

/mwrkt/

(emerald)

when 11

occurs in syllable-medial position, it has the same value as

the short vowel(--) 1wMt40imf/myhn?aakat/( stick turning in the air ), and is pronounced /-a-/.

Ex: illU

/tham/

(justice; Dharma-Buddhist teaching-)

when 11 occurs in syllable-final position, it is pronounced /-an/

Ex: nillfll

/kankray/

( scissors )

when 11 occurs in syllable-final position followed by another syllable, the second 1 has a double function in some cases. It is the final of the first syllable and the initial of the second.

Ex: flllfJI

/phanra?yaa/
TOO

( wife, spouse )

- 11 is called 1 "HTU

hn/

In initial position it mainly occurs in the following combinations:

nil tllJJ 1)11

usually read /kan/ usually read /tham/ usually read /ban/

when 1 occurs directly after the syllable-initial, it is silent in some cases.

main combinations: n, W, ff Ex: Tinu Ifll ' ' QtlflQ /sap/ ( to know ) ' '

\-W'.

-C

/sao/ ( to be sad ) a /soykhoo/ (necklace)

one special word beginning with ;

/jig/ ( truth )

REMARK: As shown in the examples given above, when 1 is silent, instead of the initial, carries all upperscript symboles ( see chapter 12 ). can be silent in syllable-final position ( see pages 117 and 118).

/!-/

l-nl

a a- ma ai

/bo lii)/ /tambon/ and

a ail

(monkey) ( district ) are rare.

rr

- when

is directly followed by another consonant, in word-initial

position, the short inherent vowel /-a?/ or /-o-/ is pronounced between the two letters ( /l?/ ), except with 1 and considered as dipthong and vowel. Ex; au
au

/lp/ /lom/ /lag/

( to erase ) ( wind ) ( to pass by, to slip away -time-; to do violence to ) ( to float)

t b9ll-> twb,.

ai'

ati

/looy/

51

/w-/ 1

llinii

/w33 wEEn/

( ring )

never occurs in final position as a consonant.

- 1 is a consonant when in syllable-initial position.

1

is the dipthong /-ua-/ in syllable-medial position.

- 1 is part of a compound vocalic when in syllable-final position.

- 11 in initial position is usually read /w?r./ with the short inherent vowel /-a?/, but only occurs in a few words.

only occurs in a very few words. one common word; Wfliioij /waktoon/ ( paragraph )

when 1

is directly followed by another consonant, in word-initial or /-o-/ is pronounced

position, the short inherent vowel /-a?/ vowel. Ex; lOVl /wa?run/ /woon/

between the two letters ( /wa?/ ), except with 0 considered as a

( a male first name ) ( to implore )

Is-I

l-tl /soo saalaa/ ( public rest house )

fi fin

also called ft fl

from its resemblance to the letter fi.

Oimff llsm

/?aakat/ /pr?thet/

( air, atmosphere ) ( country, nation )

in initial position is usually read:

/sa?r.. ./ Ex;

with the short inherent vowel /-a?/ /s?raawk/ ( buddhist monk )

Is-/ then 1 is silent. Oi Ex;

M

V /sii/

(splendor)

ii ni iv : - in fill, 71 is usually pronounced /-a-/, but it only occurs in a few words.

- when fi

is directly followed by another consonant, in word-initial /-a?/ or sometimes /-o-/ is

position, the short inherent vowel

pronounced between the two letters ( /sa?/ ) , except with i and occasionally 0 considered as dipthong and vowel.

/s-/
W qu WIJ
I

/-t/
/soo rH?sii/ ( hermit devoting his time to meditation ) /phit/ ( poison )
V / V

- only occurs in a few words as an initial

\-ri\

ar

/s-/ if lO

l-t/ /soo sua/ ( tiger )

til

53

also called lomfl

T a

from its resemblance to the letter a. ( opportunity, occasion )

/?ookat/

in initial position is usually read:

/sa?r. . . / with the short inherent /-a?/ Ex: ffK /s?r?/ ( vocalic, vowel )

/s-/ then Ex:

is silent. ffs'ioi /s?wynam/ ( swimming-pool )

in 1, 11 is usually read /-a-/ or /-an/, but it only occurs in a few words.

when a

is directly followed by another consonant, in word-initial /-a?/ or /-o-/ is pronounced

position, the short inherent vowel

between the two letters ( /sa?/ ), except with i and 0 considered as dipthong and vowel.

Ex:

an
nu aritjj ae-

/s?lk/ /suan/ /s?w?yom/ /s Sa g/

( to carve ) ( garden ) ( oneself; voluntarily ) ( two )

tl

/h-/

M Ml)

/ h h hiip/

( trunk, box )

never occurs in final position.

54

this letter corresponds to a puff.

is placed before eight G3 sonorants which do not have their

equivalent in 02 to change their characteristics, therefore changing the tone of the syllable when required: ty, 14, U, , 7, n and

is then called

yt

ti

/h3o nam/.

Ex: 1JJ1 liTnV4

/nng/ /maa/ /wEn/

( one ) (dog) ( ring )

i
Ml in initial position is usually read: '

/ha?r. . . / with the short inherent vowel /-a?/, but it only occurs in a few words.

when M

is directly followed by another consonant, in word-initial

position, it is either:

M 141

placed before one of the eight G3 sonorants given above.

4^ MJJ M\| Mil Mtyi

v

/mii/ /muu/ /yut/ /ya/

( bear) ( pig ) ( to stop ) ( grass or low herb )

55

OR:

>1 MU

used as the syllable initial directly followed by the final Mfl

with the short inherent vowel /-o-/ pronounced between the two letters as in /hk/ ( six ), but it is only found in a few words.

/!-/

/-n/ /Ioojii?Iaa/ /l?ktemy ( star-shaped kite ) ( walking stick )

Vf ^VTI lflV

- this letter is now nearly obsolete.

/?-/

0 01>3

/?oo ?aai)/

(bucket) '

never occurs in final position as a consonant. - 0 is a consonant in syllable-initial position. It is silent and is only

used to carry the vocalic when a pure vocalic value is required, as vocalics never occur alone nor in syllable-initial position.

- 0

is a vowel when in syllable-medial position.

- 0

is a vowel or part of a compound vocalic when in syllable-final

position.

- 01

in imtial positron is usually read with the short inherent vowel

/-a?/ between the two letters.

Ex:

010

/??r y/

( delicious )

56

- 011

in initial position only occurs in a few words.

when 0

is directly followed by another consonant, in word-initial /-a?/ is usually pronounced and considered

position, the short inherent vowel

between the two letters ( /?a?/ ), except with 1 as dipthong and vowel.

Ex;

01int)
0144 oi4yin
J

/??thi?baay/ /??nHg/ /??n?yat/ /?wk/

( to explain ) ( besides ) ( to allow )

I

eon

( t6 go out or away )

- when 0 occurs in front of the fouf following words, it is called 0 Wi p.oo nam/ and changes the characteristics of fj.

0f)i 0t)in Oill'l 051

/ya/ /yak/ /yag/ /yuu/

(donot...) ( ^ want to ) ( soft, kind ) ( to siay, to live, to be at )

/h-/ 8 T4f1n /hoo nkhuuk/ ( owl )

never occurs in syllable-final position.

- this letter only occurs in a few words in initial position.

57

8) the six consonant phonetic values in syllable-final position:

Eight consonant letters are never found in syllable-final position:
Vt,

ii, N,

t),

1,

and 8.

( when ), T and 0 occur in final position, they are

not considered as consonants ). Among the twenty-one consonant phones which exist in syllable-initial position, only six are found in syllable-final position: endings and /-m/, /-n/, /-q/ or live endings.
DEAD endings -K/-G K-andKHn D n V FB*1 u -P/-B P-andPH-T/-D T-andTHN-N U LIVE endings -V -M II

/-k/,

/-p/, /-t/

or dead

ij
M n

01 9
n Ycy

S
r 1 n I J- and CH-

RL-

ei M

01
Sii fl u K D Q

58

CHAPTER 6
TWO SETS OF SPECIAL LETTERS.

In addition to vocalics and consonants there are four symbols which each represent a combination of a consonant and a vowel sound. G3 consonants. They come from Sanskrit and appear in the consonant alphabet. They follow the same tone rules as

is the only oiie the student might ever encounter. can have three different pronunciations depending on the word in whichit is met: /ri?/ as in /ro?/ as in
It99I as in

O^nqw t)g )nM

/?a5knt/ /rH?duu/ It99kl

( English ) ( season ) ( auspicious time )

occurs as the initial in a few words, as: qg ti /rH?duu/ /rasii/ ( season ) ( holy man ) ^

occurs as the second componant of Gl or G3 clusters or groupings: Wtin UtjH /trit/ ( to set free )

/m?r?t?/ ( to be soft, delicate ) I"' A

occurs between and a in the consonant alphabetical order. : can only be pronounced /m/. is now very rarely used.

'aHT (fc

. iisiio !

occurs between q and a in the alphabetical order.

and fin are practically obsolete nowadays. 59

CHAPTER?
SPECIAL SYMBOLS

1) THE REPETITION SYMBOL:

tiUfl

/y?mk/

It is used to show that the previous word or group of words is to be repeated. A space is to be left before and after ] . Ex: ilot) UOO 1 /boy/ / h o yb y/ (often) ( very often )

2) THE ABBREVIATION SYMBOL: It is used to abbreviate long names. A space is to be left before and after Ex:

"{

MtJitJUetJ

/ph?yaannoy/

. (Bangkok)

/krugtheep/

/krugtheppr?m?haana?khoon/

3) THE "ETC..." SYMBOL:

101

VltJ1Vll"Hty

/pha?yaanyay/

When spoken it is pronounced very short /la?/. A space is to be left before and after iai . 4) THE SILENCE SYMBOL: mf'U /kaaran/

It is often used above a word-final consonant when it is not pronounced. Then the letter does not interfere in the tone of the syllable. This symbol is discussed in chapter "Silence with and without silence marker", chapter 14.

60

EXERCISE 1

This first exercise covers monosyllabic words pronounced in the middle tone to help the student concentrate on both vocalic and consonant alphabets, on the position of each vocalic, on the most common consonants used as live consonantendings, and on the pronunciation of each letter.

1) METHOD: A) Transcribe the phonetic value of each word in the space provided, keeping the answers covered until you have completed the exercise. B) Read each word aloud, trying to exaggerate the length of short and long vowels. C) Cover up each word ( left column ) and find the right spelhng with the help of the phonetics.
..'''ft -f isUju

2) NOTES:

There are no intricate consonant combinations. There are no inherents. Words are given in the dictionary alphabetical order rofj. 3) ADVICE: Uff

A)

Do not skip any part of the exercise as it is a perfect practice to recognize

syllables and thus be able to apply the tone rules and separate words in sentences. B) Do not memorize word meanings at this stage, it would not help you now as you are working on writing, spelling and pronouncing words! 61

EXERCISE
m im nw net) 1 4 no noi

/. ../
/

( kettle; crow )

/kaa/

/. ../ /. .../ /. . . . . / /. . . . . / /. . . . / /. . . . / /. . . . / /. .../ /. . . . . / /. . . . . / /. /. ./

/. ./ /. ./

( to scratch, to scrape with nails... ) /kao/ ( to shave ) (teacher ) ( to wait ) ( word, mouthful ) ( named, called ) /koon/ /khruu/ /khooy/ /kham/ /khua/

( when placed before a person's name /khun/ this word shows additional respect )

qa ma-1 IflU 40 1

( to chat ) ( contiguous; near ) ( lamp ) ( to bend; bent, curved ) ( sesame; ivory ) (snake ) ( money; silver ) ( plate ) ( Chinese )

/khuy/ /khiag/ /khoom/

l^ool

/gaa/ /ijuu/ /gn/ /jaan/ /jiin/ /jer)/ /jiao/ /chuan/ /chag/ /chaao/ /chim/ /chaan/ /chay/

u IVI au

/. /..
/

./ .. /

( defeated, finished, ruined )

lOT
VITI
HA

/ .

( ta fry out the fat ) ( to persuade, to influence ) ( to hate, tOk^dislike )

( citizens or inhaljiitaiits of )

/.. . . . /
/..

wn u lty

/..
/..

( to taste, to try )
( to,bid; courteously to come^ )

/.. . . . / /..

( to drill, to pierce )

EXERaSE

ANSWER

VU IVA

/. ./ .../ ../ ../ ../ ./

( to absorb; to be drowsy ) ( tasteless ) ( contemplation, meditative absorption )

/sum/ /sei)/ /chaan/

fUW tyiQi IfUl

00

( supernatural power, higher degree

/yaan/

of knowledge derived from meditation ) ( novices in the Buddhist priesthood ) /neen/ ( to tie ) ( pair of scales ) ( month ) ( bright red ) / (boy/ /dun/ /duan/ /dEEg/ /day/

1014

11-] h nou t illou 1104

mo

/. . / /. /. . / /. /. . . . / /. . . . /
/. /.

( who, whoever; aiiy; what ) ( part; paragraph ) ( body; classifier for animals ( to warn ) ( gold ) ( to predict ) ( to do, to make ) ( to pour ) ( candle ) ( you, he -familiar- ) ( butter ) ( apathetic ) ( line, row ) )

/toon/
/tua/ /tuan/

/thooT)/
/thaay/ /tham/ /thee/ /thian/

Til
m

f mou 110 lUO IU0O iiiii VI

/. . . . /

/. /.
/.

/th99/ /n99y/
/nuay/ /nEEo/

/.
/. . /

( collective name for lotus and water /bua/ lilies )

UIJU

/..

( flat, even )

/bEEn/

63

EXERCISE

ANSWER

lu

/. /

( designatory particle for leaves, round hollow objects )

/bay/

ij I 111 VI0 w- riu

/. . /

( crab ) (year) ( to go ) ( enough; as soon as )

/puu/ /pii/ /pay/ /phoo /

/. . / /. . /
/. . . / /. . . /
/

( to tumble down, to be in a ruinous /phag/ condition ) tooth ) fire ) danger)

t ,;

/fan/ /fay/ /phay/ /muay/ /maa/ /mii/ /man/ /moo/ /mao/ /yaao/ /rian/ /roa/ /rooq/ /roogrian/ ( school ) /boy/ /luom/ /lao lao/ /wan/

/
nt) Ult) ui d u UVI U0 tun fJTJ llfJU 119 lio
t
a/

./ ./

act of boxing ) to come ) there is.. ; to have ) to be slightly dizzy ) hand ) drunk ) long -in length- ) to leam, to study ) boat ) shelter, habitation ) 1-31114

HOfJ au tai n
TU
V

/. /.

to flat ) to forget; to open -eyes- ) approximately -roughly- )

/.../

day )

64

EXERCISE ni m OTE) 00U 101

ANSWER /waao/ /ween/ /?uay/

Poxti/

!.. !.. !.. !.. !... /

( bright, shining ) ( in turns, by shift ) ( to give, to grant ) ( to save up ) ( to want;. .. )

/?ao/

EXERCISE part 2: A) Find the group of each initial. Which group is missing ? '

B) Lx)ok for all the short vowels, what do all syllables have in common ?

01 j3idbx{0 ui paurejdxa sb 'auo; aippxui aip

ui paounouojd aq ubo 3|qBnXs jo adXj ureyao b X^uo

SMoqs aspjaxa siqx sSxnpua

juBuosuoo SAij qjiM saiqByiXs pasop ui jnooo sXbmib s^moa jjoqs ^B aisH (9

uisstul st
^ C"i ,.wiCI-0efiv

ZO (V

H3MSMV

65

CHAPTER 8
CONSONANTS WITH TWO FUNCTIONS IN WORD-MEDIAL POSITION

( This chapter is still too intricate at this stage and should not be considered before studying chapter 12. )

1) GENERAL CASES: In some cases a word-medial consonant is pronounced twice: first as the final of the preceding syllable and then as the initial of the following syllable pronounced with the inherent /-a?/. Examples. /thamm?daa/ iln
M Pu

( ordinary ) ( normal ) ( third tonal marker ) ( government ) ( week ) ( to migrate )

/pkk?t?/ /myjtt?waa/ /rtth?baan/ /spp?daa/ /?pph?yp/

Suin iilpiTH QMtJVI owwmmQO

/?c)pph?ypkhomuag/ ( to immigrate )

* A dot has been placed below the consonant with two functions. 2) SPECIAL CASES: As there are only six final consonant phones ( /-k/, /-p/, /-t/ and /-m/, /-n/, /-g/, ), several consonants which have two functions in word-medial position are pronounced according to both their initial and final phonetic value. Examples: /kitj?wt/ ( routine ) Here is silent ( see chapter 14 ). inunifl /k?settr?koon/ (agriculture) /

66

iJiatin

/khoots?naa/

( advertisement, announcement; to advertise )

walw uaij

/phonl?may/ /monl?rt/

( fruit ) ( state ) as in trvifj /s?h?rt/

( United States ) ffliiUI /sats?naa/ ( religion )

3) REMARKS: a) 4, ly, W, 1 and single double function. b) The tone rules are applied just as if there were two letters.
v.

are never found in medial position with the

nOi

'i! ",0

.\l-\ fans \q-\ tifid;: :if

- '-k- 'bn i.U.;K. jir, >i

> ur.i;. b:.'<b gnbns 5*1*1

r--', ni -UA-Oril
"i'i 'V/j .i,

'

' .

^Vt;

. J."!.,' '-ieaov ovil .

>:s'uT Oil',;! >0 'lqqii o:

67

CHAPTER 9
SYLLABLES

1) GENERALITIES:

As each syllable has its own pronunciation according to its spelling, it is most important to be able to divide words into syllables. This might sound rather difficult at first but soon becomes a reflex.
A) The initial is always a consonant. B) A syllable is either

open or closed

; ending in a vocalic phone : ending in a consonant phone.

C) Open syllables with no written vocalic: the inherent /-a?/ or I- oo I is to be

pronounced after the initial.

Oosed syllables with no written vocalic : the inherent /-o-/ is to be pronounced

between the two consonants.

D) A syllable is either dead or Mre. Dead endings:

dead consonant endings : /-k/, /-p/ and /-t/. dead vocalic endings
Live endings:

: all short vowels.

live consonant endings : /-m/, /-n/ and /-)/. live vocalic endings : long vowels; dipthongs and tripthongs.

It is most important to make the distinction between live and dead syllables to be able to apply the tone rules.

68

2) PHONETIC TRANSCRIPTION OF LIVE AND DEAD SYLLABLES: Vocalic symbols do not always take the same position as their phones but consonants do.

lAD SYLLABLES

UVE SYLLABLES

a) consonant +

inherent /-a?/ ] ( short vowel J

e) consonant + long vocalic

b) consonant +

inherent /-o-/] \+ DCE short vowel

0 consonant +

inherent l-o- + LCE short vowel

c) C + LV + Dead Consonant Ending

g) C + LV + live Consonant Ending

3) HOW TO SEPARATE SYLLABLES: Although it is not always possible to fell where syllables end, there are several indications to bear in mind. A) Upper and underscript symbols are only carried by initials: Examples:
o d

/nam khEi)/ /pay ban/ /sra khan/

( ice ) { to go home ) ( to be important ) soi luoki . * '-"h ti "U..

llihvi Tity

Exceptions; When the initial is double all symbols are (Caifl'5y <he scond consonant, ( see chapter 12, page 97 ). as in:

69

/klay/ /Plao/
/Phrjnii/..

ii ;

(to be empty)
(tomorrow) .',

See page 28 for the length of the vocalic phone.

B) Some vocalic lette., have their o pia i

i-, -0-,
' i"o"nd in closed syllables.

-, 1-0, t-0,
open syllables.

o .
found in

1."?r
Examples:

-r::nr
wift ) /mia/ ( wife /rua/ (boat) /" hnof \ /raa/ .. jfyij 4 IM0W

in Dotft closed and open syllables.

lJO 491

/rian/

(school)

/phuan/

( friend )

D) Eight consonants

never occur in syllable-final position: Q and 9.

W, fJ, n, 0,

NOTE:

vocalicri" "ii aJusJd IT^." E) Initials followed by an inherent:

/-a?/ :
/o-/

the

initial never carries any tonal marker, tonal marker when required.

: the initial carries a

'he

toilial never

carries any tonal raariter.

70

EXERCISE 2

f-firtff
1) METHOD:

; in

A) Transcribe the phonetic value of each word with the tones, on a paper, keeping the space provided for the exercise and the answers covered up.
Divide each word into syllables with the help of the preceding mies.

Fill in the space provided for the phonetic transcription, keeping the answers covered up. A gap has been left between each syllable to show clearly their

characteristics: open or closed, live or dead vocalic ending, live or dead consonant ending. B) Read each word aloud, trying to exaggerate the loigth of 4taes}K>rt;and long

vowels. C) Cover up each word ( left column ) and find its right spelling with the help of the phonetics. Whenever you do not know whether a consonant belongs to G2 or 03

leave a gap, finish writing the word and check the answer.
D) Give the type of syllable in the space specially provided. -

i n
2) NOTE:

.C C ^ i.4

ma
A) There are no inherents, no consonant groupings B) Do not forget to look in chapter S, paragraph 7, for the consonants which trouble you. C) Most of the syllables are pronounced in the middle tone. When it is not the case, the tone is given syllable ). ( always placed above the first vocalic phonetic element of the

71

EXERCISE

a8::M:iX3

ANSWER

fn-lin-1
nW1 insfis

/kaai) keei)/ / /

/11/
/../ // / / /. . / . /../ /. . / /../ / / / /.. / /.. / /

( trousers ) (sport) /kiilaa/ /11/ /dd/

I.). .\.l
/ .../ / /

( disorderly, in the way )/ke? k?/ ( written invitation ) (to chat together ) ( salary, wage )

/kham chaan/ /11/ /khuy kan/ /l 1/ /gan daan//11/

qi)nV4

/ /

lT4'31

/,....../ I /

( total, amount, quantity ) /jam nuan/ /11/ (soda) (to travel ) (to work ) ( accidentally ) ( frail, fragile ) ( ancient ) ( door ) /soodaa/ /II/

IWUYIH yil41U lJ4l0ty UUUU1-5 lunoi iJisg iJUItU

/ /......./ /. /.'. /

/daan thaag/ /I V /tham gan/ /11/ /bag ?een/ /11/

I--I I- I I . .I

/bEEp baag//d 1/ /boo raan/ /pra? tuu/ /11/ /d 1/

I . .\ . . . . I
/ ' /

/ / /.. /

( about, approximatively ) /pra? maan/ /d 1/ ( reason, intelligence ) ( t o compare ) ( to be satisfied ) /pan yaa/ /11/

litytyi nJlOUlYtJll
Vi0lsi

! . . . . . .!
^ / /
/

/.. /

/piiap thiap//d d/ /phoo jay/ /II/ Imthul A"!! i d d i /yuanyan/ /11/ /raakhaa/ /rooi) rian/ /II/ /11/

I..I

/. . ./(tobebusy ) I / /. ./ /../ (toconfirm ) (price) ( school ) ( hotel ) (hand-writing)

tiuu lfn

/ I

I I amilo
gnntyiifl

I
/

I . .I
/ /

/roog rEEm//l 1/ /laaymaa/ /luuk kun jEE/ /II/ /d 11/

/.
/ ^

I
/

..I

/.../( key )

72

EXERCISE

ANSWER

anillulvl

/.../( passionate; to burst into flames )

/lk pen fay//d 11/

esll liovjim em / .'..../

/.. /

( what? )

/?a? ray/

/d 1/

/.../( Africa ) /../ ( opportunity, chance )

/?EE frf? kaa//l d 1/

/.../.../

/?oo Icat/

/I d/

EXERCISE part 2;

A) Compare phonetics of live and dead syllables. What do you notice ? B) What group of initial is missing ? C) To which grtNip belongs the initial of dead syllabies pronounced in the low tone ? To which group belongs the initial of dead! syllables pronounced in the high tone ? To which group belongs the initial of dead syllables pronounced in the falling tone ? D) What difference is there between dead syllables pronounced in the high

tone and the falling tone ?

i-,iOU^a

:Tvv

ftf.

,'

is-

i.

,
.

;w
: , : ^ "

u: ,;r'; mjq'fjs ou. -, ''i ^ U!' - T / - r . i 1,-

, ^ ' ^ e r

73

ANSWER: A) No dead syllable is pronounced in the middle tone. B) G2 is misnng C) 01 G3 G3 D) Here dead syllables pronounced in the high tone are built up of; 03 + SV + dead consonant-ending Here dead syllables pronounced in the falling tone are built up of: 03 + LV + dead consonant-ending

REMARK: B) As explained in the following chapter, when syllables have a 02 initia^ they are never pronounced in the middle tone. A) C) D) are explained in the next chapter.

iq e s q

f i fp j e ; ' t c o '

;./! -'f-s:-;; Of jiAS " frrssjq

// p'''; !

ryif'

'\^on

,1 tii,

, 'K. .Vt:

-''Ufft'.to-poi' ;

'yl:

' fe Ko-, *

CHAPTER 10
THEFIVETONES

1) GENERALITIES:

In spoken Thai tones are integral parts of words, giving them their unmistakable meaning. Although there are four tonal markers, which do not always represent the same tone, none of them is necessary for a syllable to be pronounced in one of the five tones, as shown in the exercises considered in the previous chapter. Therefore when reading Thai, the reader must be fully ware f h "three syllable characteristics given below, to give each syllable its connect tone.
A) The syllable-initial carries a tonal marker.
i

There are two things to consider: - the class of the initial consonant ( Gl, G2 or G3 ). - the tonal marker. Remark: the length of the vocalic and the type of ending do not interfere. B) The syllable initial does not carry any tonal marker. There are two possibilities: a) Open syllables: two things to consider. - the class of the initial consonant. - the length of the vocalic. , o, I.
.A , f '

) "i. ' '

b) Closed syllables: two or three things to consider. - the class of the initial consonant. - the length of the vocalic, when the initial consonant belongs to G3 and the final phone is /-k/, /-p/ or /-t/ ( dead consonant-ending ). - the type of consonant ending ( live or dead ).

75

2) THE FOUR TONAL MARKERS:

i J. |

A) Their position: They are written above the right side of the initial consonant of the syllable whose tone they mark. When the syllable-initial is double the tonal marker is placed above the second consonant EVEN THOUGH THE TONE IS GOVERNED BY THE FIRST

CONSONANT. When the initial consonant already carries an upperscript symbol the tonal marker is placed above it. Tonal markers never occur above B) Their name: I V C -

M 141

and 0 UI.

III n mion in ifcf IJJITI 1 I' ' I mill

/my?ek/ /mythoo/ /mytrii/ /myjtt?waa/

: te

s oi

The last two tonal markers only occur with Gl initial consonants. They are very rare and mostly found in onomatopoeias, particles and recent loan-words.

C) Their value; above Gl or G2 above G3 above Gl or G2 above G3 , .(giiiabove Gl above G2 or G3 abov&Gl aboveG2 or G3 low falling falling high high tone tone tone tone tone

NEVER OCCURS rising tone

NEVER OCCURS

76

3) THE 5 TONES WITHOUT TONAL MARKERS: A) With Gl initials:

- live ending - dead ending

B) With G2 initials:

middle low

tone tone

- live ending ^ dead ending

C) With G3 initials:

rising low

tone tone -tew it! fis.'-'

- live ending - dead ending

middle

tone

i*.

- Short Vowel alone or followed by a dead fmal-consonant : high - Long Vocalic followed by a dead final-consonant : falling tone. tone .

4) RECAPITULATIVE CHART: (the middle tone never occurs with tonal markers)
LIVE syllables A INITIAL CONSONANT lien B y IIHTI c ey My ^ lufl
/mytrii/

DEAD syllables G or short Inherent

(OS) SV

E
LV

F
/-m/

/-n/
/-o/ (CS)

/my?ek/ / mythoo/

/myjtt?waa/ (OS)

/-k/ /-p/ /- 1/ (C:s) SV LV

GI G2 G3

\ \
A

A A

\ \

\ \
/

\ \

5) CHART ILLUSTRATION: Gl initials: A B In 11114 /kay/ /ban/ ( chicken ) ( house, home ) Uf" ru Sif

77

c D E F G H I G2 Mtials. A

Int m w illn iJm

/to?/ /ka/ /dii/ /kin/ /j?/ /dk/ /pak/

( table ) ( to be bold, audacious ) ( alright, well, good ) ( to eat ) ( will, shall ) ( child ) ( mouth )

/khy/ /phS^/

(egg) (bee)

-'SCV- .- ' Si-, : C D E F G th gfl J

/faa/ /sug/ /ph?/ /hk/ /hiip/

. , . , . , .

( lid, cover ) ( tall ) { rotten ) ( six ) ( trunk, box )

, ..

H
1 G3 initi^iis:

vin
wu

' A .

r.r

"

^iVfnr..

A B c D E F G H I

-K liai

/soo/ /lEEo/

( chain for animals ) { already, . . . )

ilo 1 Mt tan tu

/rua/ /nam/ /n?/ /lek/ /mek/

( small boat ) (to lead )

. it

( final particle often used for "please" ) ( little ) ( storm cloud )

78

6) SUBSTITUTES FOR THE TWO MISSING TONES WITH G2 AND G3 INITIALS: A) With G2 initials: As the MIDDLE TONE and the HIGH TONE d not exist with G2 initials the required consonant must be changed to its common equivalent in G3 when the syllable is to be pronounced in the middle or high tone. B) With G3 initials: a) As the LOW TONE and the RISING TONE do not exist with G3 initials, the required consonant must be changed to its common equivalent in G2 when the syllable is to be pronounced in the low or rising tone. b) BUT the ten sonorants do not have their equivalent in G2, therefore VI is written before the initial to convert it and change the tone of the syllable when required. M is then called M WI /h5o nam/ and does not carry any symbol.

All symbols are written above or under the true initial. Eight sonorants are convertible: -, Ql, V4, J, , , a, 1. {y, W.

Two sonorants are never converted: Examples; VIU-) T1JJ1 Has /nan/ /ma/ /loot/ ( one ) ( dog )

iWIT (8

(tube, pipe)

jv; i <

'

')

REMARK; ( see pages 57 and 80 ) e 141

converts t) into a middle consonant in 4 monosyllabic words.

7) GENERAL REMARKS; - The middle tone never occurs in dead syllables. - As tonal markers are used to change the tone of the syllable, they do not occur when the latter is already pronounced in the required tone.

79

Imon (-) is never used on Gl or G2 initials when the syllable is dead as it is already pronounced in the low tone. Imon (-) is never used on G3 initials when the syllable is dead with a long medial vocalic as it is already pronounced in the falling tone.

llilyi ( ) is never used on G3 initials when the syllable is dead with a short medial or final vowel as it is already pronounced in the high tone.

- As M vi changes the characteristics of eight sonorants when the syllable is to be pronounced in the LOW or RISING TONE, 0 Ui converts fJ to

change the tone of the syllable in the four following monosyllabic words:

0fjl 0fjin 001-3 oy

/ya/ /yak/ /yai}/ /yu/

( do not.. . ) ( t o want to ) ( kind of, sort of, category ) ( to live at, to be at, to stay at )

8) THE THREE CONSONANT GROUPS AND THE FOUR TONAL MARKERS:

Gl)

G1 + Live ending Gl + Dead ending

all markers are used ( 5 tones ) all markers are used but - ( the low tone is

automatically obtained in dead syllables with Gl initials ) G2)

Jon

G2 + Live ending

only two markers are used

( 3 tones; the

middle and the low tone are missing )* G2 + Dead ending the tonal markers are RARE

80

G3)

GS + Live ending

only two markers are used ( 3 tones; the low and the rising tone are missing )*

G3 + Dead ending

Short Vowels:

i occasionally occurs in

particles ( RARE ) Long Vocalics: 1. i ''i'Ji, r .^ ' iigri gli bfii fii i 1 ( f _ G2 : The two missing tones are obtained with G3 initial consonants when required G3 . The two missing tones are obtained with M ill all markers are RARE. ~ occasionally occurs in

recent English loanwords. with the vocalic is

usually read short (RARE).

or 9 UI.

h; -'nn i p M & f S t m f O

tus-J

; - r^nr w ,

' Oro O Oj ?:suol3d iiJtni fi. rt*'roi 1 ( t ' j t w 9 t t O t s a t i h i 'P i.-y m r !

'

surr;;

t'UZfi'iX f

'iklSiY^ ( worj i ricw X(ni OJ ,i''i' ; '.'i , , \ ^ ! - -u>

,!)SlJ j; o U

ir io i/sifiii D \ . .s
"W

m ilft

, \

''miti O ;Yhs3f7 /rjv ' ^

'

. ,V \

'-

woffi yf

_ P'w- '
'

\^,

\ . . . . . .\

f YQqfii b-J5q ;V ;;j )

81

'
1) METHOD:

: EXERCISE 3

A) Transcribe the phonetic value of each ( monosyllabic ) word, and its tone, in the space provided, with the help of the previous recapitulative chart, keeping the answers covered until you have completed the exercise. B) Read each word aloud, trying to exaggerate the length of vocalics and the tones. C) Cover up each word ( left column ) and find its right spelling with the help of the phonetics. D) Cover up the phonetics and read each word aloud. 2) REMARKS: - live syllables which do not carry any tonal marker are pronounced in; the middle tone when the initial belongs toGl the rising tone when the initial belongs to G2 - dead syllables which do not carry any tonal marker are pronounced in: the low tone when the initial belongs to Gl or G2 the high tone or the falling tone when the iflitial belongs to G3. EXERCISE Gl initial of a live syllable: ANSWER

m nu 114 lit)V4

./ /.. . / /.. /.. /.../

./

( kettle; crow ) ( t o eat )

/kaa/ /kin/ /jaan/ /jian/

Imi

( plate, dish; to mix with water ) ( almost, very nearly; to trim ) ( mind, feelings. ( good, well ) )

/dii/ /jayd/ ^ /diijay/

/ . . . . .. / /...
82

( to be kind, good )

EXERCISE

ANSWER

/. . . . /
mou liJ
01
e

( to walk; in compound words it can mean " to go by mechanical means " )

/deen/

/. . . . / /. /.

( to turn -the face away- ) ( to go ) ( to conceal )

/buan/ /pay/ /?am/

Gl initial of a dead syllable: nu mis

m/

lislif?, (*U
/kap/ /kb?/ /j?/ /jut/ /dip/
Ititi ItnV

...

/. /. /. /. . . . / /. /.
/.

( with, together; and ) ( island ) ( will, shall ) ( fresh -as water-; tasteless; uninteresting ) ( raw, unripe, half-cooked ) ( to cut, to severe ) ( putrid, rotten ) ( to open, to switch on ) ( to tell ) ( cushion ) { t o immerse )

iu

m
<* n ll

/. . . . / /. . . . / /. /. . . . /
OIUllRfl

IP99tl
/book/ /b?/ /?ap/ /?ap dEEt/

non
IUI:

Olli

G2 initial of a live syllaUe: lJOU "l a/ ftU 00 04 HOU /. . . . / /. / , /. . . / /. . . / /. .. / /. . . . / ( t o write ) (leg ) (I) ( t o hold, t o carry b y hand; t o belive i n ) ( bag, poach ) ( to be thin, slim )
.. -y

/khian/ : JlKV./khaa/ /chan/ /thuu/ /thug/ /phoom/

EXERCISE ( dream; to dream ) ( pretty ) ( pimple ) ( stone ) ( head ) ^ ''<

ANSWER

/.../
iifj A tn V14 Ml
/

/fan/ /suay/ /sm/ /hin/ /hua/

/..../ /. .. / /.../ /.../

G2 initial of a dead syllable. nn

V<

/ / /..../

/ /

( bottle ) ( t o draw, to make lines ) ( urgent, requiring haste ) ( correct, right ) ( mild form of imperative when added to a verb ) ( to fry; to postpone )

/khat/ /khit/ /chap/ /thuk/ /th?/

u gn mos
~ ' ' '

/...../
/..../

Nf) H lfl A

/pht/ /pht/ /fut/

/s?/

/..../ /..../ /.../ /.../ /..../

( wrong, mistaken ) ( moving with difficulty ) ( imperative word used to strengthen a statement ) ( end, conclusion ) ( t o break )

J ln

/sut/ /hk/

G3 imtial of a live syllable; 000 fjtu /.S... /

( t o wait ) ( word used in front of names to show additional respect )

/khooy/ /khun/

/..../ /

K1U
M %

( bowl, dish ) ( Buddhist nun ) ( to do, to make )

/chaam/ /chii/ /tham/

YI

84
-"'f

EXERCISE mow mo ri0 no iu u tuo lUU imi tuu IU

0/

ANSWER (candie) ( you, he -familiar- ) ( enough; as soon as ) ( danger) (firewood) ( money, silver ) ( cheese ) ( wife ) ( cat ) ( cool, cold ) ( to collect or gather together; amount, quantity ) ' j! o ) r^ w m . . " 'Mi''"' * r ^ /thian/
Ith aal

/ /..../ /..../ /..../ / /.../ /..../ /.../ /..../ /.../ /..../ /.../ /..../ /.../ /

/ph 00 / /phay/ /fuun/ /gan/ /naay/ /mia/ /mEEo/ /yen/ /ruam/

itwoi; V^; pi -'-sii;* ^ i '

171 2I0U 11

( quickly, speedily ) (to float) ( prompt, agile ) ' ' ' t

/reo/ /I ooy/ /way/

G3 initial of a dead syllable WITH SHORT VOWEL: IfiQ

m

/..../ /..../ /..../ /..../ /..../

A../

( awkward ) ( to think ) ( to clean by wiping or rubbing ) ( each, every ) ( poison ) ( to seize with the teeth ) ( to extract, to pick out ) ( final syllable equal to "please" in certain interrogative sentences )

Ikhall

/khit/
1 chti

1" Tjn u

/thik/ /pit/
ImPl

INS us

/.../ /.../

/gE?/
Inali

mm lUU

/.../ /.../

( metre )

Here

*> is silent.

/met/ /yep/

( to sew, to stitch; to string together )

EXERCISE

ANSWER

/.../
an mn

( to put or move forward ) ( deep ) ( little, small ) ( wat, temple )

/rk/

'/.../
/.../ /.../

/iBk/
/lek/ /wat/

-y

G3 initial of a dead syllable WITH LONG VOWELS; DIPTHONGS OR TRIPTHONGS:

uou now iJ iljn lu imu Ufi d Ufi in gu 9U

/.. ../ /.. ../ /.. ../

( to like ) ( to fry; to lay down something ) ( to speak ) {mattress ) ( to take a nap ) ( to come closer to ) ( knife ) ( to stretch out; stretched, extended ) ( foundations; roots ) ( to touch affectionately )

/chSop/

/thhtl
/phuut/ /fuk/ /i)iip/

!.. . /

./

/.. ./ /.. ./

O' -

/nEEp/ /mut/ /yuttt/ /niak/ /luup/

. V -- ^/..
. /

./ ./

/.. ./ ./

( to pass like a shot, to disappear instantly ) /wup/

ftp HIT yl'

;5n^

HiCfu

15 \l ym \ , .Ji/ii; a / , ! ji^igoLSnhTs Pi;:,,f5l.

86

EXERCISE 4
> lM ftl"
t) NOTE: Now you should be able to recognize dead and live syllables as well as Gl, G2 and G3 initials at first sight. You should also know the entire alphabet by heart. The following exercise is general. It gives monosyllabic and compound words in alphabetical order. 2) METHOD: A) Transcribe the phonetic value of each word with the tones, on a paper,

keeping the space provided for the exercise and the answers covered up. Fill in the space provided for the phonetic transcription. As a first approach to the construction of compound words, a space has been left between the phonetics of each word. B) Read each word aloud, trying to exaggerate the length of short and long vocalics, being aware of the tones. C) Cover up the phonetics and read each word aloud after writing it at least twice. 3) REMARKS: A) Inherent vowels, 0 and M ll have been introduced in this exercise.

If you still have difficulties after thinking of each rule, check in the dictionary before looking at the answer as it is time to start using dictionaries! B) It is also recommended to have at hand a copy of the tone chart if you do not have all the tones in mind. C) Do not skip any of the procedure nor words to work on as it is a perfect practice to read and pronounce Thai quickly.

EXERCISE
I

ANSWER ( Bangkok ) ( upstairs ) ( downstairs ) /krugtheep/ /khag bon/ /khag lag/

intuii
i-n-i

/
I

/ ./

87

EXERCISE

ANSWER

I
UUI
V

behind ) horse riding ) belt ) light green )

/khaai) lag/ /khii maa/ /khem kht/ /khao "oon/ /khon kiat/ /khon diao/ /gay/ /gEEm/ /jot maay/ /jigjk/ /chapchuay/
S
\ /

I
./

liuidou fiviinoi flUlWOl -jitj

V

./ ./

lazy person ) one person only ) to be easy ) to be ajar, slightly open ) letter -mail- )

flWMUIW
V

/
inunt) lfilt "orna JIV: iOT n nna-

small house lizard ) -to act- rapidly, without concentration )

/ / / / / /'

/ ./ / /

to wipe a table ) to buy meat ) status, position ) hold on! ) OK; to agree ) / big table )
'

/cht t?/ . /sua nua/ /thana?/ V y /diao diao/ /tklo^/ /tua pay IE? klp/ /t? yy/ V ^ ^ /thag siiyEEk/ /th?lg/

wililimsnmj InslMty
4 al

/... / /
,

( return ticket )

/ / /
,

ti-iiiijn

to reach an intersection ) to be impudent; to act boisterously ) to the right )

nta-i yn-nni mw vn-^un Yn4Qon

/thaag khwaa/ /thaag saay/ /thaag bk/ /thaag ?3k/ /tham hy g aay/

./ / ./

to the left ) on the ground ) exit ) to facilitate )

88

EXERCISE ynlMswin / WIfll

V

ANSWER / / ( to facilitate ) /tham hy s?dak/ /th?naakhaan/ /nam/ V /nm khEg/

,. f . .

/ // / / / / / / / / / / /

( bank -money- ) ( water ) ( ice ) (tears) (sugar) ( oil ) ( river ) ( to swim ) ( toilets, washroom )

*^1 od V WWT
y

/nm taa/ /nm taan/ /nm man/ /mEE nam/ /way nam/ /hai) nam/ 'ftf&r
^5

lUJWl I o VIO-3141

/ / /

*See chapter 4, 3A on pages 27 and 28. lllUMTifl IIIUT miWMUT yinw /. . . . .. / / / / / / / vnnin I Wfin ' / / / / / / / / (to have a cold ) (to turn on the water ) (handkerchief) ( vendor, sales person ) (man) ( adult ) ( t o rain ) (our group, us, we ) ( elder sister ) / ( to speak English ) /phuut phaasaa ?agkrit/ A /(to come and visit friends )/maa yiam phaan/ / / / (tobebusy) ( cloudy ) ( to be drunk ) /mii th?r?/ /mii meek/ /mao lao/ /pen wat/ /pat nam/ /phaa cht na/ /phuu khaay/ /phuu chaay/ /phuu yy/ /fon tk/ /phak rao/ /phii saao/

/.'.. . ..../ / / / /

>jlfnwi0-nt|w UllfJt)UlVI0U

UlUU liniMOT

/ /

89

EXERCISE
inwfiwio / iweiwi wouul lOtl *1 no-lfiiuiau l-dlfl! l-WIOU nVQir aiofleo laowoon 4M naiW QltnJa tiftytyi flfoiJTU MfiflU Muom MUOlWu WfJl / / / /
I

ANSWER

/ /

(a little difficult ) ( restaurant ) / ( to leam by heart )

/yaak nitnoy/ /raan ?aahaan/ /rian khun jay/ /ray raay/ /rag ?an ln/ /roogkha sat/ /roog ran/ /lks?n?/ /laay maa chaa/ /luat look/ /wij ni/ /weelaawaag/ /s?thanii rot mee/ /s^yaa/ /santhaan/ / h k sip/ /moo taa/ /moo fan/

/
I

/
I

( so so ) / ( novel )

I / / / / / / / / /

/(slaughterhouse) ( school ) ( characteristics, quality ) / ( signature ) (to bleed ) ( to run away )

/
/
I I

(free time)' /( bus station ) ( t o promise ) ( shape, figure ) (sixty) ( oculist ) ( dentist )

I
/ / /

( shelves attached to the wall ) /hig t faa/

ImIooo

/
/ I

/ SEE laoWOQfl for construction

( to perspire ) /gua look/ /lo? IE?/ /yy too/ /?a?nu?yaat/ /?a?meeri?kaa/ !) / /ya/
\^

mmtimns/ IviiyTw 0V|{yi9l OlUni Otil I /

I....

( unreliable -conversation-) ( enormous ) / / (to allow, to grant ) (America) ( do not

/... /

90

EXERQSE

ANSWER

0oin

/..

( to want to ) ( to leave, to go out ) ( letter -alphabet- ) ( opportunity, chance )

/yak/
/look/ /laksoon/

oon
onu lom

!.. !.. !..

/?ookat/

rri

it'^ -rsaiOiq?-^-^ '

4>iow nt

' dIoH 3'/!>ri oiine;: v-^nTs/J

-w

{;rH->. :

! Siti-vSgiifTi 'in sid& }

'attiiffiffo-

91

CHAPTER 11
WHAT TO KNOW AND REMEMBER ABOUT 1 WHEN NOT IN INITIAL POSITION
1) IN FINAL POSITION: A) is read /-n/ when in syllable-final position and when preceded by a written Example: 0TH11 REMARK: 1 in word-medial position can be a final or an initial, read /-n/ or /ra?/ but cannot have both functions, except in a few exceptions. Examples: UliPIT nill linty Exception: /jeenr?jaa/ B) ( to negotiate ) /maandaa/ /waar?saan/ /saara?baan/ ( mother ) ( magazine ) ( table of contents, index ) /?aahaan/ ( food )

o.y

vocalic.

is read /- oon/ when in final position in a syllable in which no written

vocalic occurs. Example: U 2) SILENT BEHIND A) The combination Examples; nnu /sap/ ( to know ) /n?khoon/ H. fi or T. is often read /s-/. (city)

92

Tinti

/saay/ /sut/

( sand ) ( to shrink, to subside ) i

oniiisd

B) In the combination fll. 1 is often silent, /S-/-

ih

Examples; fftlin tffo ffllYI /stthaa/ /say/ /sat/ ( faith, belief ) ( shelter, refuge ) ( obedient, trusting )

C) In the comlnaton tn, 1 is often silent, /S-/Examples: V tllDUl

/s?waynam/ /sag/

( swimming-pool ) ( to build, to create ) ( finished, accomplished ) ( to escape; quick, alert )

Iffl
Iflil

/set/
/S99t/

D) Remark:

When finding

one of these three combinations in a new word, it is highly

recommended to check the pronunciation in a dictionary as the inherent /-a?/, or /- 00/, is pronounced between the two consonants in some words. Examples; nxnu rfs tflir ff^iJ /th 00 ra?maan/ /sa?ra?/ /sa?riira?/ /s?rp/ ( to subdue by punishing, tormenting ) ( vowel, vocalic ) ( body ) ( to summarize )
-m'

risx3

'it r
E) Exception;

The following word is to be memorized as it is the only word with silent

93

behind . - /jij/

'

' (to be true)

3) DOUBLE 1 USED AS VOCALIC OR VOCALIC + CONSONANT: A) Used as vocalic: /-a-/ When occurs in syllable-medial position, it is used in place of the short

vowel -- luMUOimff /myhan?aakat/. Example: UUfin /thamm?daa/ ( ordinary )

) Used as vocalic + consonant: /-an/^ When occurs in syllable-final position, it is pronounced /-an/.

xample;
Upn C) Remarks: a) lonofllVljW Here /?ek?kr?ratch?thut/ (ambassador) /bandaa/ ( every, all, everyone )

does not occur as a double consonant. The first of the two letters /-a?/, the second letter is the initial of the

is an initial followed by the inherent following syllable. b) When

occurs in word-medial position, it can have both functions

(final of one syllable and initial of the following), but it is rare. Example: riOI /phanr?yaa/ ( wife ) when or^ly spelling a word.

c) 11 is often refered to as MW too han/

94

/
1) NOTE;

EXERCISE 5

This exercise introduces the new rules given in paragraphs 1 and 3. 2) METHOD; Idem as EXERCISE 1. After finding the right spelling of each Thai word, practice writing by copying

them at least twice each. EXERCISE fiun nium Ol / / / / / / ( labour workers ) (director) ( task, action -used to form lots of words- ) niilsmf / nnnlni / / / / / / ( announcement, notice ) (jaw) /kaanpra?kaat/ /khaakankiay/ / ( committee )/kh?n?kanmi?kaan/ (passenger) ( to be strong, stable, permanent ) / UWlfni MU / /..../ / ( soldier ) ( bank -money- ) (the law of nature, duty, /tha?haan/ /tha?naaklu|g/ /tham/ /khondooysaan/ /thaawoon/ ANSWER /kammkoon/ /kamm?kaan/ /kaan/

fitUfiJfn nuTifiorfl tiT / /

virtue Dharma-Buddhist teaching ) / IJ'lT UTim / / / / / ( t o insert, t oput into ) ( every, all, everyone ) (to improve the condition /banju?/ /bandaa/ /banthao/

in case of sickness or distress ) / / ( class, set, group, multitude ) /phk/

95

EXERCISE

ANSWER

filWI nwwifni Ulltnn U1P1 OUYjn afll -JH

/ /

( husband-formal-) / ( restaurant -formal- )

-Sr ^

/phandaa/, /phattaakhaan/ /manyat/ /maandaa/ /rtbanthk/

llllioonl

/ / /
I

( conduct, behaviour ) ( mother ) / (truck) ( staged play ) ( to manifest compassion or sympathy )

,. / f

/soi}saan/

aumi inqoi fJf lu QflWI

/ / / / / / /

y /

( to be suitable, proper ) (qualities) ( heaven, paradise ) / ( association, society, club ) ( letter -alphabet- )

/somkhuan/ /sappa?khun/ /sa?wan/ /smoosoon/ /?aks5on/

See chapter 13 for the irregularity of the tone in the second syllable.

\m.bfi,:ii\

'

.V'Jb .tui !CJ WR-ili: * f/jt.-}

Ahbu8,'r-m&.(i Sijnt ( oiiXi luq os ,tt8m oi >

\i,<tnM<d\

.ii

i:
... ..

-f) ggsnMo?; '?<> ir-

Ui'; ; 'Aini'um jiiKXk .jO ,s&b >

96

CHAPTER 12
CONSONANT CLUSTERS & GROUPINGS (Chapter 4 should be studied at this stage)
1) GENERAL RULES: A) Three types: Type 1 : true clusters /kr-/, /kl-/, /pr-/ as in Type 2 mi- /kwaag/ ( wide, broad ) ( J TA

: consonant groupings pronounced as single consonants as in /saan/ (exhausted)

Type 3

i consonant groupings with one of the three inherent vowels pronounced between the two letters as in 0100 /??ry/ ( tasty, good ) t

B) Tone of the syllable: Type 1 & Type 2 : the tone is given by the first consonant even though all elements are carried by the second ( always a sonorant ). Type 3 ; when the word is disyllabic, with the inherent /-a?/ pronounced in the first syllable and the second consonant is a sonorant, the tone of the second syllable is given by the first initial. ( See examples with asterisk on page 17 ). See examples given above. C) Position of compounds and other elements: All elements are written as if there was only one consonant: - predisposed symbols occur in front of the grouping or cluster. - upperscript SECOND consonant. Type 1 : iiltii /plao/ ( empty; no ) and underscript symbols occur above and under the

97

Type 2 Type 3

ioufle irfiie

/sooykhw/ ( necklace ) /s?m99 / ( always )

2) REMARKS ON THE FIVE PREDISPOSED VOCALICS WHEN THEY PRECEDE AT LEAST TWO CONSONANTS:
REMARKS SPELLING PV + c + c PRONUNCIATION C + PV + c /khg/ (shin) normal pattern PV + c + c...
ITIIWT

C + PV + C... /thoor?sp/ (telephone)

PV + c + c TYPE 1 (true cluster) PV + c + c + c

Innw In

C + C + PV /khray/ (who7;whoever)

C + C + PV + C /iifii; ^d)

PV + c + c + c

TYPE 2 (double initial PV + C + C + C... pronounced as single)

ifjvn

/sit/ ito in Ccomplished)

G + PV + C... /settlt/ (economy)

PV + c + c

C + INHERENT /-a?/ + C + PV /chniy/ (an oboe)

TYPE 3 (inherent /-a?/ pronounced between the frst two consonants)

ItlVJ

PV + C + C...

C + INHERENT /-a?/+ C + PV + C /khi?nEEg/ (twig)

* A dot has been placed below the initial (single or double)

98

REMARK: Apart from knowing the pronunciation, there is no general rule giving the type of syllable to which the juxtaposed consonants belong when none carries a tonal marker. * inUfl /k?set/ ( land ) /ijE/ (little, young) imu /nEE/ (v^etable BUT UVrV4 /hEEn/ ( to care for ) BUT BUT Ifit /keesaon/ /hg/ ( pollen ) ( place, spot )

scum growing on stagnant water )

Here 1 is silent ( See chapter 14 ) 3) TYPE 1: A) First consonant The first consonant of the cluster can be n, II or fl

n
iJ, W or VI

B) Second consonant: The second consonant of the cluster can be one of the three following sonorants: REMARK: n is only found with . , a or

4) TYPE 2: A) The initial grouping is pronounced as a single consonant: M Combinations: ni ffl H, f, and T.

is usually pronounced X o o x . .. / or /s-/ is usually pronounced /sa?r .../ or /s-/

99

is usually pronounced /s?r . .. / or /s-/

Examples of the three combinations pronounced /s-/ : flisnn-l mA nnu ' UYlfi llSiliS ifftJjfl ii-ifu lOOfiO /kr?suag/ /soq/ /sap/ /sut/ /sEEk/ /pr?s3Bit/( ministry -of government- ) form, shape, figure ) to know ) to shfihk, to subside-)' to squeeze through ) to be precious, esteemed )

/sett?kit/ ( economy ) /sijsaam/ {to encourage )

sooyVhool ( necklace )

IS 14

/sa?/ /saaitj/

( pond; to cleanse, rinse ) ( to decrease, to vanish progressively )

This word is an homograph of fflt B) The initial is preceded by H Wl or See pages 79 and 80. 0 HI

/s?r?/

( vowel, vocalic )

5) GENERAL REMARK: Any other combination automatically belongs to type 3, with an inherent pronounced between the two consonant^., Examples: li Yivni llgnvi WOltnu /cha?nit/ /tha?haan/ /pa?ti?thin/ /pha?yaayaam/ ( kind, sort ) ( soldier ) ( calendar ) ( to try )

100

6) TYPES: A) The two consonants belong to the same syllable: When the two consonants belong to the same syllable, the first letter is the initial of the syllable and the second is the final. Then the inherent /-o-/ is pronounced between them. ' Th initial carries a tonal marker when rquired. Examples: seepage 18. As shown in these examples, most words built up of two consonants only are monosyllabic words pronounced with the inherent /-o-/. More examples: UD Uli UU
P m

_.L

'la

'

/khp/ /khon/ /khm/ /ton/ /phn/ /rot/ /loi]/

^ rii f. 9qx w bnuoi ;a!qmsx3 staM . . .v.,.. .

(feathers: body hair ) , .(hitter^ _ ..

( trunk of trees; classifier for trees, plants.. . ) ( product, result ) ( taste, flavour ) .( to descend, decrease ) ( to stumble, to fall over ) ( to send, to take, to deliver )

NO Iff

ou

/lm/ /sog/

B) the two consonants are both initials. When both consonants are initials the inherent /-a?/, or sometimes l-ool, is pronounced after the first consonant! ( see examples given on pages 17 and 19 ). No tonal marker is carried by the syllable initial pronounced with the inherent /-a?/ or /- 00 /. More examples: The underscript"dpt'indicates.an intll carfying an nhrent. ^,1;,

101

/k?r?naa/ /ch?waa5/ tjiiw TJHIWI pjin /th?nt/ /th?n?bt/ /ph?nk/ /s?guan/ iiin /s?thanii/

( please ) ( to obstruct by placing something crosswise ) ( clearly, distinctly; apt, clever ) ( banknote ) Here is silent ( See chapter 14 ) ( to seal, to close up ) ( to keep safely, to be careful of ) ( station; central office or headquarters )

REMARKS: a) As shown in this example some combinations specific to type 1 are also

found with type 3 in some cases. More examples: fi ftvn iJtJitJ ila N^ NB HIT VI0^1V4 /k?r?ii/ /kh?r?haa/ /p?n?yaay/ /p?lt/ /ph?r?s?/ /ph?lit/ /phv/aa/ /ph?laggaan/ ( duty , obligation ) ( to defame; defamation ) ( way, manner ) ( assistant ) ( rough, unkind ) ( to produce fruits ) ( to be frightened ) ( energy )

b) Another type of combination: Gl or G2 + inherent /-a?/ + sonorant +

The tone of the second syllable is given by Gl or G2 in disyllaUc words. Example: UUI'l ( see next chapter for more examples ) /kha?raag/ ( to doubt, to suspect )

102

C) Some words are only built up of consonants: It is not always easy to read words when no written vocalic occurs, Examples:

/kh?nom/ OUU Yiauu /th?non/ /thonl?bom/

( cake, cereal food ) (street) ( to spray; to apply with a brush; to rub gently )

um UMIW fiilin

/m33r?kt/ /m?ho3r?sc)p/ /skk?prk/

(emerald) ( entertainment ) ( dirty )

BUT : ( example ) Knowing that the combination 1)14 cannot be TYPE 1 nor TYPE 2 it has to be followed by an inherent. cannot be TYPE 1 nor TYPE 2 either, therefore 14 will TYPE 3, with u

The combination VlU be followed by an inherent.

As /-a?/ is hardly found at the end of a word ( as an inherent ) and as -ooj mainly occurs at the beginning of words ( 1 inherent /-o-/ is to be pronounced between U being the second consonant ) the and U.

>iU

C Uiivm i

;1 j i rt! 1 influ

103

CHAPTER 13
IRREGULAR TONES
( Chapter 8 should be studied at this stage )

1 ) TYPE 3 : A) General rule:

As a general rule disyllabic words built up as follows have their second syllable pronounced according to th6 tone rules of the first consonant ( see paragraph IB, page 97 ). Gl or G2 + I /-a?/
^ v " I I '

chapter 12

Sonorant + . . . .
^

Examples with G1 initials: "fljn an ao ai 0^'vi 01OfJ /j?muk/ /t?lk/ /t?lot/ /t?lat/ /??gn/ /??ry/ ( nose ) ( amusing, humorous ) ( all through, througout ) ( market place ) ( grape ) ( tasty, good )

Examples with G2 initials: UUJJ UI41 uou i*UU injtJi ai i lilao /kh?nm/ /kh?nat/ /kh?yan/ /kh?men/ /kh?yo/ /ch?lat/ /ch?lia/ /th?non/

r-;rf i ' ( biscuit, cereal food ) ( size ) ( diligent ) ( Kmer, Cambodian ) ( to shake, to swing ) ( clever ) ( average ) ( street ) .

104

OVIPI 001 ima-] wm t FJI-J i-jii tUIJJ ffU TJ0>1 Jfll TUt) ^ni ITU0

/th?nt/ /th?laa/ /th?lEg/ /ph?nag/ /f?rg/ /s?i)p/ /s?nam/ /s?nim/

Isaf moo )l

( clearly-distinctly ) ( to stumble )

: > f

( to relate, to tell -formal- ) ( interior walls ) ( white race of people ) ( peace ) ( open field ) ( rust ) ( brain ) ( to volunteer, to join willingly ) ( era, age ) ( sea; marine -adj.- ) ( always )

/s?mk/
1 s a i m a y1

/s?mt/ /s?m 9 9 /

* 1 is silent. See chapter 14. B) Exceptions and particularities: a) A few words just do not undergo the basic rule, but it is RARE ; Example ; /sa?mat/ ( meeting, assembly ) < '

b) A few words but up of more than two syllables undergo the basic rule: Examples: ilUUTOtJ ilD-n-J /th?nmsoay/ /th?mugthag/ /sa?mutthan/ ( delicate, frail -as children- ) ( fierce, violent -attitude, disposition- )
V

( cause, origin )

105

c) Lots of comp<ind words include disyllabic words:

Examples:
/kh?nmkoi)/ ( sweet meat made of peanut flour mixed with sugar )

niuui-

/kh?nmpai)/
/kfa?natklaai)/

( bread )
( medium size ) ( small size )
i

/khnatlk/

0WU1

/thogkh?nat/
/n33kkh?nat/

{right size )
< oversized, too big )

rf-Mfft ffinuwi trulju IfUlUMtyi

/frgst/ /sa?nSamklaa/ /snaambin/ /s?naamya/ /s?mtdian/

( French ) {stadiiun ) ( airport ) ( lawn, plot of grass ) ( seashore ) ( the bosom of the sea ) ( ocean )

ro-fl^ni

/th3ogs?mt/ /m?haas?mit/

C) Remarks:

a) As a general rule, in disyllablic words which undergo the basic rule given above ( paragraph lA ), the normally predisposed elements occur in front of the consonant grouping. Examples;
mue
/s?m MI

( always ) ( to seek, to search ) (sarong )

/sa?wEEg/
Iff
/s?roi)/

106

b) As a general rule, in disyllabic words which DO NOT undergo the basic rule given above ( paragraph 1A ), the normally predisposed elements occur in front of the SONORANT as in the ncmnal syllable construction. Examples: lu lul /kh?mooy/ /s?moos3on/ ( thief ) ( association, club )

There are a few exceptions still, as in: liimt /ch?p?/ ( especially )

2) SOME OTHER DISYLLABIC WORDS:

In some disyllabic words, when the first syllable has a Gl or G2 initial and the second is dead with a G3 initial, the tone of the second syllable depends on Gl or G2. Examples: Wll llJJITl llslfl iJltiiili iJisT /tamrat/ /pr?mat/ /pr?yok/ /pr?yot/ /pr?wt/ ( police ) ( careless, negligent ) ( sentence -grammar- ) ( utility, advantage ) ( biography, record ). - is silent. See 14 (2C, 3B ) llSTPfllf infl illfl /samrat/ /samrt/ /pr?wtt?sat/ ( History as a subject )

( to make an inventory ) ( to be accomplished, completed )

107

REMARKS: These words demand special attention as their tones are incorrectly given in Thai-English dictionaries. Many recent loanwords from English have irregular tonal markers or irregular tones. : ^:i> /V''fi. ft;' ? . J. ' ". n.Viii;. : "- Si'rf !' 'ii :

' 'reinci i
fs'ifAdmim -A mm^'

-,,./j.iYa iaiT3MC s

9I itfi Isini

IO ft) t& v^hi''-'f.'.

S'fl ufw .iiuv adiiivii tito?. n! suoi 'riJ . t.O s riJiw bsb bnoos* i tlfi b.,; - T . : .O

'SO O ito alxi:^*.'-y >0i> it iitiaja K

..iifqm&xd
i 35tlq "i

,Kie\
\i^mmq''

tf

( i ftP'tf'gSn .E899180 ) ( -isfr^flCI^ JtJTSRSi )

( '^gsinevb .vtilfu

'jO ^'h': '{

'i.'.x>v t-j'.q' j/A'T.

.-i .jjjj

t.# 4
c
<*

iS
i

.(,r^,a ?,i

^ 4,bloss /Aiongoid ( (t ,31 > 'is

( r'Mvii.' ^ ^ vweH ) . : \i8,Jtfw"ir" I, viuJ'Wi ( jbarinilqnirtais acM > ;

riifBf ;;?l sj.UfT1S'^g2,

fjf

<?rim

108

EXERCISE 6
This exercise illustrates chapters 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13.

1) METHOD;

A) Transcribe the phonetic value of each word, with the tones, in the space provided, keeping the answers covered until you have completed the exercise. If you have real difficulties check in the dictionary. B) Give the type of consonant groupings on a separate paper.

Examples; ( see the glossary on the following page ) llfuil^-3 bi 1 ^ ^ mitjtuo JJMlTVI ifiilffn /prppru^/ /prays?nii/ /m?h3)r?sp/ /saosok/ /mot/ /TI +T1/ /Tlb + T3* + S/ /T3* + T3* /T2c + Sa/ /T2 - T3/ ( to improve ) ( post-office )

T3* + T3@/ ( festival ) ( sad, depressed ) ( finished; all, entire )

C)

After correction of your answers read each phonetic transcription aloud

several times. D) Cover up the Thai words and find their correct spelling, with the help of the phonetics, and the type of consonant groupings, keeping the answers covered until you have completed the exercise. E) Cover up the phonetics and read each word aloud after writing it at least twice. 2) REMARKS; A) Take chapter 9 and reread paragraph 3 carefully, page 69. B) Keep a list of the permissible consonant combinations per type of grouping. ( chapter 12, paragraphs 3 to 6 ). C) Keep a copy of the chart given in paragraph 2, page 98.

109

3) GLOSSARY:

= any open or closed syllable with written vocalic including "l

/-a-/ or /-an/ and 1 read -oon/.

read

Sa

= any open or closed syllable with the written vocalic ( or part of it ) placed before the initial, as shown in paragraph 2 (a), page 98. Example: il'U-.

Tl T2 T3 T3*

= Type 1 Chapter 12 ( 1A and 3 ), pages 97 and 99 = Type 2 Chapter 12 ( lA and 4 ), pages 97 and 99 = Type 3 Chapter 12 ( 1A and 6 ), pages 97 and 102 = first syllable: C +inherent /-a?/ or l-ool

T3(& = first syllable: C + inherent /-o-/ + C Tib = Type 1 when the written vocalic ( or part of it ) occurs before the consonant cluster, as shown in paragraph 2, page 98. Examples: T2c Ifl,

= Type 2 when the written vocalic ( or part of it ) occurs before the consonant grouping, as shown in paragraph 2, page 98. Example: lTI

T3d

= Type 3 when the inherent /-a?/ is pronounced between the first two consonants and a predisposed vocalic pronounced in the second syllable is written before the word consonant initial, as shown in paragraph 2. Examples; IttVI, llllU-J

Tl-T3= combination of Tl and T3@ Examples: nail /klop/ . /tror)/ T2-T3= combination of T2 and T3@ Examples; ifn /sao/ /mot/ ( sad ) ( finished: entire ) ( to cover up ) ( straight )

EXERCISE

ANSWER

ningiflu

(July) /k?r?k?daakhoin/ /T3 +T3 *+73 +S+T3@/

//
fitilioe / /

(cage)

/krog/

/T1-T3/
/Tl+Sa+S/

(handbag) /kr?paothn/

/ / inao / / Inmnn / //
/ /

/ / / / /

(banana)

/kluay/ /kwa/

/Tl/ /Tl/ /Tl b/ /Tib/ /Sa+S+T3@/ /Tib/

/Tib/

(more than) ( salt ) (angry) /klua/

/krot/

( excitement ) /koolaahn/ ( near, close t o )

(far) /klay/

/kly/

/ / / / un / / / / / / / /

/ / /

( t o suspect) (size)

/kh?nag/ /T3*+S/ /T3*+S/ /T3+S/ /T1-T3/ /Tl / /Tib/ /T3d/ /Tib/

/kh?nat/

(moment) /kh?n?/ (noisy) /khrom/

( right side ) /khwaa/ (awry) / /khwee/

( to reduce )/kh?mEo/ ( to pound )/khlok/

/
fllUUiyitU /

/
/

( group of people )/kh?yog/ /T3d/

(entirely) /khrpb33ri?buun/ /Tl-T3+T3*+S+S/

fiiaunT
V

/ / / / . .. /

(family)

/khrwpkhrua/

/Tl+Tl/ /Tl+Sa/

flf-Jllin J

( first time ) /khr^rEEK/

( before a noun: "half; after a noun: "one and a half ) /khri]/ /Tl / /Tl/

ft/

(smoke)

/khwan/

111

EXERCISE

ANSWER

ifi0-5 Ifll
-514 110-3

/ / /
I I

/ /
I /

; ':

(utensil) ( to wish )

/khruag/ /khry/

/Tib/ /Tib/ /T3*+T3@/ /T3*+S/ /T3*+S/ /T3@+T3@/ /T3*+S/ /T3*+S/ /Tl-T3+Sa/ /Tl/ /T3*+T3@/

"'l

( to be in doubt ) /ch?gn/ ( to celebrate ) ( kind, sort )

/chalioor}!

/
I

/ch?nit/

wn?i-3 ?ia0i1

/
I

( to agree ) /tkloq/ / /
/

(throughout) ( market place ) (straight on)

/t?l3t/ /t?lat/ /trogpay/

Wfllfl
P I I - jllJ

/
/

9ini)
1V4W 014^

/
/ I

/
I I

( to check ) /truat/ (street) /th?n6n/

( clearly, distinctly: handy, apt ) /th?nt/ /T3*+S/ /T2-T3/

Y11- 3
Tliun\4

I- . 1

( shape, form ) /

/soq/

( to subdue by tormenting or oppressing ) /th03ra?maan/ /T3*+T3*+S/

Y111f[\ 4s;

( perception )

/thts?n?/ /S+T3*+S/

Yll-M? YIIJJ
Yini YTHII

/
I I I I / I

( stubborn ) /thoor?ht/ /T3*+T3*+T3@/ ( overwelmed ) ( entrance door ) (soldier) / ( bank ) /thuam/ /S/

/tha?waan/ /T3*+S/ /T3*+S/ /T3*+S+S/ /S+T3*+S/

/th?haan/ /tha?naakhaan/

Byifiii
5iiu?n Byiifiu

/
I / I / I

( ordinary ) /thamm?daa/

( December ) /thanwaakhom/ /S+S+T3@/ (city) (hell) /n?kh33n/ /n?rk/ /T3*+S/ /T3*+T3@/

Ufll urn

/ /

112

EXERCISE
/ /

ANSWER
( t o manifest accuracy, carefulness -writing,...- ) /banjoi)/ /S+T3@/
/S+S/

Ull Umi iJgflJJ iJpU llyiTUniJ

/ / / / /

/ / I / /

( t o insert) /banj?/ (to help) (host) /bo3ri?kaan/ /p?t?khom/

/T3*+S-i-S/ /T3*+S+T3@/ /T3*-l-S-(-S/

(calendar) /pa?ti?thin/ ( dictionary ) /p?thaan?krom/

/T3*+S+S+T1-T3/ llismtl / / lIllYlflf llJlOT / / / 7 / I / (spark) (daily) /pra?kaay/ /pra?jamwan/ /TI+S/ /Tl-l-S+S/ /Tl-t-Sa/ /Tib/

' ( c o u n t r y ) /pr?thet/ (sour) /priao/

(n) W^nYI

/ ( rude language ) /khamph?r?s?wat/ /S+T3*+S+T3*-t-S/

wB WIT

I / /

/ / /

(to bud) (scared)

/phli?/ /pha?waa/

/Tl/ /T3*-t-S/

VIUW;

( consonant )

/ph?yanch?n?/ /T3 *-1-8-1-J3*+S/

VltJnnioi VlfJIfJnU

/ / / /

( prediction ) /ph?yaak3on/

/T3*+S-t-S/

( perseverence ) /ph?yaayaam//T3 *-i-S-i-S/ ( whilst ) / , . /phlaa/ /Tl /

Wtnian IVins; lV<?l-3 fJf-IlftT /IUI niejl

/ / / / I / / / / / /

(to consider) /phitjaara?naa/ /S-hS-i-T3*-i-S/ (because) /phro?/ /phlee^/ /f?r9set/ /ph?moon/ /phanr?yaa/ /Tib/ /Tib/ /T3*+S-HSa/ /T3*-i-S/ /S-i-T3*-t-S/

( song, music ) (French) (bee) (wife)

113

EXERQSE
\Q I.

ANSWER

( crown )

/m?kt/

/T3*+S/

UQwiol Min

/. /.

( royal palace )

/monthian/ /T3@+Sa/

(emerald) /mo3r?kt/ /T3*+T3*+T3@/ . . / ( University ) /m?haawitth?yaalay/ /T3*+S+S+T3*+S+S/

UTIIlTJOin/.

Ijjnvnfia

/.

( to express gratitude for services rendered ) /mootha?naakhun/ /Sa+T3*+S+S/

lltlflllUS

( to elucidate ) ( parachute )

/yEEkyE?/ /Sa+Sa/ /rmchuuchip/ /T3@+S+S/

l-MSIU l-wtniJio

( solitary place ) /ra?hoothaan/ /T3*+Sa+S/ ( hpital ) /roogph?yaabaan//Sa+T3*+S+S/ ( to be ruined ) /lomjom/ /leela^/ /T3@+T3@/ /Sa+T2/ /Sa+S/ /S/

inviai lafw iifl trniJin dniiani

( to auction ) ( blood )

/loohit/ /wk/

( paragraph ) ( dirty )

/skk?prk/ /T3@+T3*+T1-T3/

( to send a cable ) /sgthoor?lek/ /T3@+Sa+T3*+Sa/

r-fliijj T-HfinST Tutn *rf)iej0-3

/. /. /. /.

(war)

/sogkhraam/

/T3@+T1/

( tp support, help ) /sopkhr ?/ /T3@+T1b/ (club) /sa?moos5on/ /T3*+Sa+S/

(frightened) /s?yts?y33 5/ /T3*+T3@-T3*+S/

TISHJ *ii>jiny Hin-3 Minn

/ / /
/ . . . .

( shampoo ) /s?phm/

/T2+T3@/

( anxious ) /s?wii)s?waay/ /T3 *+S+T3 *+S/ / ( to seek, search ) /s?wEEg/ ( hat ) /mak/ /T3d/ /T2/

114

EXERCISE
Miieu

ANSWER

..../ ..../

(cushion)

jmoonj
/luam/

IT2I 1121

Minn >nio

( loose, too big ) ( rattan ) ( lonesome ) ( to stink ) ( akohol ) /mEn/ /lao/

V

..../ .../ .../

- . 7

Iw&ayl
/^ao/

ini
/T2c/ /T2c/ /T2c/ /T3*+S+Sa/ /T3*+S+S/ /T3*+S+S/

m-i muu

IMfll

ofliin flltU

( siqwrior ) /??di?rek/
( triai

./
/ ..../ / / /

/??thi?k33n/

( to allow ) /??n?yat/ ( to want to ) ( dawn ) ( tumult ) /yak/

eoin

IT2I
/T3*+S/

o^tu

/??run/

oanijiii oemtofl

/?onl?man/ /T3@+T3'*+T2/

( sickly, weak )

/ l o o t?EEt/ /S+Sa/
/T3d+T3*+S/ /Sa+S/ /S+S/

loifioioa

( delicious ) /??rt??rc> y/

lomtT

/ /

( occasion ) /?ookat/ ( wrathy ) /htht/

* These words are compoxind words, therefore the tonal rule explained on page 104 is applied.

!h;-

ly i'! il

115

 fc:,-

CHAPTER 14

r-iCii

^
WOlft

SILENCE, with and without marker

1 ) THE SILENCE MARKER: i

It can be called either luyTiun-iJiPi sign ) or ' mfuw

/nia'ythantha?khaat/ /kaaran/

( the cancellation

It is often used above a consonant to shovk^ that the latter is not pronounced. A) The cancellation sign usually occurs on the word final consonant. Examples: /kumphaaphan/ tuoi /baa/
w w oj t i i ' S p ( T t w u bi j

( February ) ( number: telephone, licence plate, size ... ) ( church ) ( to print ) (car) ( Friday ) ( Saturday ) ( giant, supernatural creature ) ( zero ) ( to be sacred ) ( one hundredth of a baht; money )

luTtf MUvf

/boot/ /phim/ /rotyon/

.,

; i /Ka+b-

t-i I iwiil^

mUX:

TUfjni

/wansk/ /wanso/ /yak/ /suun/

fv4ini tjnw

*nnf1TyiB ?n-3

jy ^

/sksit/ /s?taai)/

Isppkldaa/

d* ' -VI oiJiinitf oimuf

( week -formal- ) ( lion ) ( monument ) ( South East )

/sir)/ /??n?saw?rii/ /?aakha?hee/

* When the cancellation sign occurs above a word medial consonant, it is the

116

last letter of the first element in a compound word ( see paragraph 3 ). The cancellation sign often occurs at the end of loanwords borrowed from English as in: lJimifl idl-jflif la iiviul uauiuoiinoi /poskat/ /frEEqsuis/ /may/ /s?tEEm/ /hEEmbaakaa / ( postcard ) ( Swiss franc ) ( mile ) ( stamp ) ( hamburger )

B) In some cases the consonant placed before the silent letter and / or the vocalic it carries ( usually the vowel - ) can be silent as well, as in:
/ A ^

/k?st/ /phuumi?sat/ /wanjan/ /sat/ /??phi?sit/

( king ) ( geography as a subject ) ( Monday ) ( field of knowledge ) as in /iupnif?i above. ( privilege )

qufTwi / / ^ iWDwni flfTl

AA

2) THE SILENCE MARKER ISOMITTED: A) Silent final; In some cases a final consonant is silent even though it does not carry the silence marker. In most words it is 1 /-k/, /i)/ or /-t/ as in: /kitja?wat/ iniisni s)ni /k?set/ /jk/ lOflniOTU BtiUWI ( routine of work, daily program ) ( land ) ( wheel )
V /rotjkyaan/ ( bicycle )

preceded by a consonant corresponding to

V i' .. ' t
A

/th?n?bt/

( banknote )

117

(io) /but/
Ipiil

/chaay/

(son ) ( diamond ) ( ocean ) ( friend ) ( to volunteer ) , In this word i is omitted.

/nM?has?mt/ /mit/ trjjfl /gmk/

B) In a few cases a c<Mis<mant is silent in the middle of a word, even though it does not carry the silence maricer. It is nearly ahvays intilfl iJnimil /loatti?/ /praatthnaa/ as in:

( fame, renown ) ( to desire, to wish ) Here 0 is used both as a final ai^ an initial.

tnino

/saamat/

( to be able to, to be capable )

C) In a few cases the final consonant is pronounced but NOT the vowel it carries as Q, , <5^ Ina ftyiiiw tyiw uiwiin /kot/ /swchaat/ /yat/ /naanaachaat/ /prwt/ IMj /het/ /??bt/ BUT ^TWMJ /??btti?het/ ( ten million ) ( nationality ) ( relatives -in family- ) ( international ) ( record, biography ). See 13 (2) for tone. ( reason, motive, cause ) ( to happen suddenly ) ( accident ). See paragraph 3 (B), page 119.

D) As seen on page 92, 1 is silent in the three following combinations: TU, fl.ff' pronounced /s-/ as in: Tinu fIYlfn /sap/ /stthaa/ ( to know ) ( faith, behef )

118

I o T'JIfJlT lil

/s?waynani/ /set/

( swimming pool ) ( to be finished, accomplished )

3) SILENT LETTERS IN COMPOUND WORDS: A) The silent marker can be found in the middle of a compound word as in: 'W'MBnU'WtiTU B) /phi?phi?tha?phansa?than/ (museum)

Silent vowels can be pronounced when placed in the middle of a compound

word as in: /pr?wtt?sat/ /??btti?het/ ( history as a subject ) ( accident )

r i J l A ^.

A,

, .
r,

/y TOhrWiO Iki'!.,, : ;

,4 tV

f'; '

'

iCClilV; V:' T cc"\ . iv-i... .

f'> v

J Cil . C O a riJir'n, * r: U ce'"; {^9 9 ( ' t 4

^ , .i ' K, fio i
? !

119

CHAPTER 15
HOW TO SPELL WORDS 1) VOCALICS:
Vowels and other vocalics are called i Examples: T I 1-0 ; : : 1 iis; tris; 1-0 /s?r? aa/ /s?r? i/ /s?r? -99 / /s?r?/ plus their phonetic value.

Exceptions: See 3 ( 4 ) on page 10. The three consonants used as vocahcs or elements of compound vocaUcs ( 0 , 0 ) are always called by their consonant name.

2) CONSONANTS:
Consonants are usually called by their designatory name though adults tend to consider it rather childish therefore giving only the phonetic vahie when orally spelling words.

Examples;

n n In
-5 1 0 -3 3 tl tl-3 0 01-3

/kooky/ /ij03i)uu/

or or

/koD/
1^00 j ooj

/thoothu^/ or /?33?a9/ or

looI

Exceptions: See 4 ( 5 ) on page 31.

120

3) EXAMPLES:

"HUI (n 141, Il 11, ais; -s) fj ( fnifj, 1 i Iq , mz -)

/hoo nam, moo ma, s?r? -a?/

/khoo khwaay, roo raa, s?r? uu/ /joo jaan, s?r? -am/ /^hoo chai),woo wEEn, noo nuu/ /choo chai), s?r? -9d-, yoo yig/
/oo dk, s?r? a, noo nuu/

ai (d dtujis; -i)
tllU (li ^1-3, 1 imTU, M >114) lty ( ^1-3, is: i-, y ^0-3) ilau (fl tn, Tfs 1-9, 14 viij)

mfji4 (yi tiviii, itis; l-fj, 14 mij)

^14 (vl 1^14, 1uiTy0iniff, M MU)

/thoo th?haan, s?r? ia, noo nuu/ /foo fan, myhn?aakat, noo nuu/ /loo Iii}, s?r? -i-, )oo I)UU/

B-3

(a

B-3,

Ts; -, >3

4) PARTICULARITIES:

Predisposed vocalics are mentioned before the initial. Upperscript symbols are mentioned after the initial. When a consonant carries the silence marker, it is followed by ml'y /kaaran/. Example: ^^(TS H-, -3
5) EXERCISE:

IuIyI, J Ui)/s?r? EE, 1)00

^uu, mythoo, moo ma/

(ins I-, % K1-3, lulfig, PI ilin, s ; - , pi uni,

IupiI)

/sa?r? e?, choo chag, mytykhu, doo dk, sar? -o?, too to, mytrii/

itn 1 (pi in, i: t-tn, Impni, tiun)

/doo dk, s?r? iao, myjtt?waa, yamk/ 0-j^iitjn n In) /thoo thug, s?r? a, t^oo guu, soo sua, s?r? ii, my?ek, s?r? EE, yoo yak, koo ky/ (i ^-3, ; -, -3 3, mo, is; -, luion,

is h-,

tj

121

iiiuii"hf (i 110, tl 0<1, U

/too

11114, n

nini, is 7, n in)

/M

Y '-. / -A., i

rua, thw thug, boo baymy, roo hn, thoo thahaan, sa?r? u,

koo ky/

li-3<jii^?iT

(tis; 1-, 1 110, >3 i, ^ is'WO, lui0n, IS 1, T Iff0, l3uiTi40imf,

V

pi ip!i, 1 iiini4, miuw)

/sar? 00, roo rua, goo guu, khoor?khag, my?ek, sa?r? aa, soo sua, myhan?aakat, too to, woo wEEn, kaaran/

ii .ti ;Hfii' Ah

..

ccl\

(| s-

..cft

, ..

:>s-

; f

> ;>!": > ! 'IO'.'OI Vis

:8aiTiAJU3IIMA'l ' -ifs'^^ov h9?on-ii) ;r'^ >U,din// qhaaisqqU

} s;e three i.T i arc .fwav . ' {gjtiijs

vf bwt^h;-.:!

.vfriEB3l\ f-rltfi v bsv/ctio'i ei ti ,i9^.!n s-oriafv? -fj .-jht,,/; jfK'ionoj b n-ni'

UiHi!

,ii)jp

,:I3

S^fi'Ln :3g:)H/3 ti

r] s' .f.jfi Ce} ,^0- '.'iiiHii ,,4'j,)

' ' '

I is-'-J(f f

k:

H I fil** i

.--i -i) ccJT' ,,

y?

fnao jcmi'

rB,,fifc {=,) p rofti tc.b\ njmt

\^mfcV .fifW''l:ifn ,O;'Bi? ,-ii :::T''.netui' sii fCiBi Ti 4^

-itn fifa)

(hfn
/ : 3 t h ' ' .ioVvi/n ,:f "1*'^ . u m

cc ..;; '-Ci ,fj

0 .ifii tcri'

122

CHAPTER 16
HOW TO USE A DICTIONARY
Words are arranged in order of consonants vocalics tonal markers. CONSONANT ALPHABETICAL ORDER:
n, II, u,ft5 J,-],
3J, EJ, 1,

"K, OJ, ty, 9, 9, 3' *^5

^5 B

u,

iJ,

W,

^1,

VI,

vJ, fl,

a, 1, ft,

W,

fi,

V!, W, 0, 0

VOCALIC ALPHABETICAL ORDER: -S,--,--!,!-!,-"-),-, -1, I- fj, I- 0, I-, II-, T-, 1-1,1-, 1TONAL MARKERS: I 3^ CV + "" ~9 ~ 1 ) WHEN THE INITIAL IS DIRECTLY FOLLOWED BY ANOTHER CONSONANT Example: yiHII -0,-,,-, I- , 1-0, I - I - 1 , i-1S,

- first look under n, - then find H in the consonant alphabetical order, - look for 1 in the vocalic alphabetical order, - and then look for 1. 2) WHEN THE DOUBLE INITIAL CONSONANT IS PRECEDED BY A PREDISPOSED VOCALIC: Example: Ina

- look under n, - then find the predisposed vocalic in the vocalic alphabetical order.

123

- and look for a in the consonant alphabetical order,

3) WHEN THE INITIAL CONSONANT CARRIES A TONAL MARKER: As words are arranged in order of consonants, vocalics and tonal markers the three following words will appear in this order: 111 llj 1U REMARK:
The four words beginning with 0 -Ml and all the words beginning with "H Wl are found under H and 0.

/khay/ /khy/ /khay/

( to open, to unlock ) ( egg ) ( to be ill with a fever; fever )

vn

YjTDaia

fit Tatou oo i n .fv .TiO-j affi-ii H bi n'ii; : ; t.: ( '. : i J . :u l 'K/ .'V' v y i h M .
A YH i'i I-''i:'--:.' i : ) -iJl-JOd :r: h- -

124

This booK Is Intended for all people wishing to learn the Thai system of writing and reading

Reading and Writing Thai Is not as difficult as It looks once the basic system has been mastered, so persevere and have fun. It Is worth a little effort.