This little book aims to introduce the Thai language. It is intended for those who know nothing about it, but are keen to learn. We use the method of selecting 100 key words, and using these to make up sentences and present a range of expressions, so that you can “say 1000 things.”

The words are arranged as ten topics, ones that will be helpful for the various situations you might find yourself in when visiting Thailand, traveling about and meeting Thai people. The language used is authentic, and contains many clues about Thai culture and society. There are also grammatical and cultural notes to help clarify things. An English-Thai wordlist gives the same vocabulary, but in reverse order, so that you can refer to it like a mini dictionary.

To help with the pronunciation we give the Thai in a simple system of romanization. Many systems exist. Ours is not meant to be scientific, merely useful for speakers of English. Thai script has also been inserted, so that Thai friends can help you to get the sounds right, and of course later on you might want to learn to read it yourself.

The Thai language is very different from English. But it is the key to learning about the people and culture of this fascinating country. So we would like to encourage you to have a go, use some Thai, and have the satisfaction of communicating successfully in this wonderful language.

Chohk dii! โชคดี Good luck!

Stuart Robson and Prateep Changchit

About the Thai language

Thai is the official language of the Kingdom of Thailand, and as such it is used by about sixty-five million people. It is taught and spoken over the whole country. Standard Thai is based on the language of the capital, Bangkok, as used by educated people.

Not surprisingly, there are several varieties of Thai, to be found in various parts of the country, namely:

• Central Thai, found in the central plain, and including Bangkok

• North-eastern Thai, also called Lao as it borders on Laos; many speakers of this variety come to Bangkok to work

• Northern Thai, centred on the ancient city of Chiang Mai; and

• Southern Thai, found in peninsular Thailand, where the main centre is Nakhon Si Thammarat.

The differences between these varieties are significant, involving different tones and different vocabulary, but are not enough to warrant calling them separate languages. Sharing regional forms of the language brings a sense of identity, and most people are proud to use them when they meet others from the same area. The regional varieties of Thai are not normally written (only spoken); to write them would involve changing the tones and hence the spelling. The standard written language reflects the pronunciation and style of central Thailand and the capital, the center of government. As well as regional variants, there are of course also differences in speech depending on a person’s social class or educational level.

As well as Thai in its several forms, we must not forget that there are other languages spoken within the borders of the country, such as:

• Malay, an important Austronesian language, found in the four southernmost provinces, bordering on Malaysia

• Karen, a Sino-Tibetan language, spoken by several groups in the mountains along the Burmese border

• Lisu, Akha, Lahu, Hmong and Yao, also Sino-Tibetan languages spoken in the mountainous parts of the north; and

• Khmer (or Cambodian), an Austroasiatic language, spoken in an area bordering on northern Cambodia.

This raises the question of ethnicity. Communities speaking these non-Thai languages are of course Thai in the sense of being subjects of the King, although they may not participate to the same extent in mainstream Thai culture, and may

Скачать книгу