| Learning a tonal language is not easy, especially if | | | | pitch. |
| you were brought up speaking a European | | | | A student will often spend many months working |
| language. Western languages have few tones | | | | with this phonetic system, only to emerge |
| which consist of simple things like raising your | | | | needing to start from scratch again; this time with |
| tone at the end of a question sentence. But you | | | | Thai characters and tone symbols. For those who |
| will normally be understood by a Western | | | | are willing to make the effort, it is better to learn |
| language speaker whatever tone you use. | | | | Thai lettering from the beginning. It will save you a |
| The Thai Language is as hard as any, and has five | | | | lot of effort. |
| basic tones. These tones are high, low, middle, | | | | The key reasons for learning Thai Language |
| rising, and falling. A single word can have five | | | | reading and writing from the start are: |
| different meanings which depend upon the tone | | | | Firstly, for the serious student it saves a lot of |
| used with it. Thai Language also has three classes | | | | time not having to learn the phonetic words which |
| of consonant; high, middle, and low. Each class has | | | | do not give a truly accurate representation of the |
| either three or five tones. And there are 44 | | | | Thai sounds anyway. |
| consonants. | | | | Secondly, one of the best ways to accelerate |
| There are 32 Thai vowels, some of which | | | | your Thai Language skills is to be able to translate |
| represent sounds that do not exist in Western | | | | street and shop signs that are written in Thai |
| languages. The Western student almost has to | | | | lettering, into English. Of course, this is if you are |
| contort their mouth and tongue to pronounce | | | | in Thailand. If you spend a lot of time travelling in |
| some of these vowels. They seem to require an | | | | taxis, buses, or motorcycle taxis in Bangkok you |
| unnatural, almost contortionist-like movement of | | | | will find that there are constant opportunities for |
| the face and tongue muscles! | | | | translation. Your Thai Language skills will grow |
| Normally, when someone starts learning the Thai | | | | much more quickly if you practise translation in |
| Language, it is after they have spent some time | | | | this way. |
| in Thailand and picked up a few words of Thai. | | | | Thirdly, learning to write down the Thai words |
| Perhaps they have spent a lot of time in Thailand | | | | when you hear them spoken to you, or dictation, |
| but find that they still can not understand what | | | | helps you learn the language quickly. You learn the |
| Thais are saying. However, they do know a | | | | rules that apply to written Thai Language and how |
| number of words that they have picked up. | | | | that makes the language sound the way that it |
| It is likely, however, that their pronunciation of | | | | does. You will learn to listen for tones and |
| words is incorrect. Sometimes Thai listeners can | | | | consequently, become far more aware of them |
| pick up what these people are trying to say, but | | | | through the process of writing down what you |
| more than likely they will struggle to understand. | | | | hear in Thai. |
| It is usually at this time that the serious person | | | | There is really no good reason to learn phonetic |
| will start formally learning the Thai Language. | | | | Thai Language if you are serious enough and have |
| They will come to class with a list of words they | | | | the discipline to learn the Thai scripts from the |
| know and find that they are not saying them | | | | start of your language training. But the drawback |
| correctly. Because the Thai Language is so | | | | is that it does require a lot of extra effort at the |
| different from other languages, Thai Language | | | | start to master the consonants, vowels, and tone |
| teachers have introduced a phonetic system that | | | | symbols in the Thai script. You will have to |
| consists of Arabic (Western) lettering and five | | | | remember sounds and relate them to unfamiliar |
| tone marks. The tone marks are represented by | | | | symbols, and this is hard in the same way that |
| lines going in the direction of the tone sound or | | | | learning Ancient Greek is hard. |