Thai pronunciation assistance
Jul 6th, 2009, 10:01 PM
#2
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Drop the h for Koh whatever you use for Chao Phraya the Thais will not laugh - very polite people!
But something like Chow Praya [dropping h again ] will be close.
Don't know about web sites but Lonely Planet have handy little pocket size language books.
But something like Chow Praya [dropping h again ] will be close.
Don't know about web sites but Lonely Planet have handy little pocket size language books.
Jul 6th, 2009, 10:38 PM
#4
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The main thing is that 'ph' is NEVER pronounced 'f'. Most transliteration systems use 'ph' for a soft 'p' sound, and plain 'p' for a hard one. I sometimes think someone must have had a bad sense of humor when they decided to spell the other island's name 'Phuket' since the more 'correct' transliteration would be Bhuket, and the actual pronunciation is 'boo-ket'.
Check out Catherine Wentworth's Women Learn Thai web site for some useful resources and honest reviews of the books, etc. available:
http://womenlearnthai.com/
Check out Catherine Wentworth's Women Learn Thai web site for some useful resources and honest reviews of the books, etc. available:
http://womenlearnthai.com/
Jul 6th, 2009, 10:51 PM
#5
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Another good website http://www.thai-language.com/
Jul 7th, 2009, 07:39 AM
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There are several western alphabetical interpretations of Thai letters - the basic problem is the west doesn't actually have the sounds in the first place.
"KH" is usually used to denote a "K" sound - Khao ("cow" sound in English)
"K" on its own tends to represent more of a "G" sound - island is spelt with "gaw - gai" symbol so should be pronounced "GO".
"CH" ends up somewhere between "CH" and "SH"
"KH" is usually used to denote a "K" sound - Khao ("cow" sound in English)
"K" on its own tends to represent more of a "G" sound - island is spelt with "gaw - gai" symbol so should be pronounced "GO".
"CH" ends up somewhere between "CH" and "SH"
Jul 7th, 2009, 10:12 PM
#8
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As Hanuman rightly says, you'll get all sorts of advice here & elsewhere that may not produce the desired result - the best we can do here is tell you how words sound to us - based on the alphabet we learned and the sounds we're used to. Best to hear from a native speaker, if you can.
Of course, Thais have accents too. I passed a couple of stock boys in Emporium yesterday who were chatting away, and I couldn't catch a single word they were saying (granted, they could have been Burmese or Khmer).
Of course, Thais have accents too. I passed a couple of stock boys in Emporium yesterday who were chatting away, and I couldn't catch a single word they were saying (granted, they could have been Burmese or Khmer).
Jul 12th, 2009, 06:50 PM
#9
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Not sure what happened at the end--but I appreciate the information and will check out the websites. It is good to hear the Thai people are forgiving when it comes to their language. I leave in less than a month! I am so excited!
Jul 12th, 2009, 11:25 PM
#10
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Firsttime - Forgot to mention that IMHO one of th ebest books available for learning the basics is Teach Yourself Thai by David Gray. It also comes with a couple of audio CDs and focuses upon the basics of conversation. It was the course book on my first year of Thai evening classes. I still have the audio on my iPod and always use it to revise on the flight into Thailand.
Jul 14th, 2009, 08:36 PM
#11
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MichaelBKK, thanks for the mention.
Note: I've compiled a page of free resources for learning Thai...
http://womenlearnthai.com/index.php/...learning-thai/
There is enough there to keep anyone busy for a long, long time.
Note: I've compiled a page of free resources for learning Thai...
http://womenlearnthai.com/index.php/...learning-thai/
There is enough there to keep anyone busy for a long, long time.
