| Thai | |
| Also Known As: | Central Thai, Siamese |
| Nativename: | , |
| Pronunciation: | in Thai pronounced as /pʰāːsǎːtʰāj/ |
| Ethnicity: | Central Thai, Thai Chinese, Mon, Lao Wiang, Phuan |
| Speakers: | L1 million |
| Date: | 2000 |
| Ref: | e27 |
| Speakers2: | L2 million (2001) |
| Familycolor: | Kradai |
| Fam2: | Tai |
| Fam3: | Southwestern |
| Fam4: | Chiang Saen |
| Fam5: | Sukhothai |
| Minority: | |
| Agency: | Royal Society of Thailand |
| Iso1: | th |
| Iso2: | tha |
| Iso3: | tha |
| Glotto: | thai1261 |
| Glottorefname: | Thai |
| Lingua: | 47-AAA-b |
| Notice: | Indic |
| Notice2: | IPA |
| Map: | Idioma tailandés.png |
Thai,[1] or Central Thai (historically Siamese;[2] Thai: ภาษาไทย|link=no), is a Tai language of the Kra–Dai language family spoken by the Central Thai, Mon, Lao Wiang, Phuan people in Central Thailand and the vast majority of Thai Chinese enclaves throughout the country. It is the sole official language of Thailand.[3]
Thai is the most spoken of over 60 languages of Thailand by both number of native and overall speakers. Over half of its vocabulary is derived from or borrowed from Pali, Sanskrit, Mon[4] and Old Khmer. It is a tonal and analytic language. Thai has a complex orthography and system of relational markers. Spoken Thai, depending on standard sociolinguistic factors such as age, gender, class, spatial proximity, and the urban/rural divide, is partly mutually intelligible with Lao, Isan, and some fellow Thai topolects. These languages are written with slightly different scripts, but are linguistically similar and effectively form a dialect continuum.[5]
Thai language is spoken by over 69 million people (2020). Moreover, most Thais in the northern (Lanna) and the northeastern (Isan) parts of the country today are bilingual speakers of Central Thai and their respective regional dialects because (Central) Thai is the language of television, education, news reporting, and all forms of media.[6] A recent research found that the speakers of the Northern Thai language (also known as Phasa Mueang or Kham Mueang) have become so few, as most people in northern Thailand now invariably speak Standard Thai, so that they are now using mostly Central Thai words and only seasoning their speech with the "Kham Mueang" accent.[7] Standard Thai is based on the register of the educated classes by Central Thai and ethnic minorities in the area along the ring surrounding the Metropolis.[8] [9]
In addition to Central Thai, Thailand is home to other related Tai languages. Although most linguists classify these dialects as related but distinct languages, native speakers often identify them as regional variants or dialects of the "same" Thai language, or as "different kinds of Thai". As a dominant language in all aspects of society in Thailand, Thai initially saw gradual and later widespread adoption as a second language among the country's minority ethnic groups from the mid-late Ayutthaya period onward.[10] [11] Ethnic minorities today are predominantly bilingual, speaking Thai alongside their native language or dialect.
Standard Thai is classified as one of the Chiang Saen languages—others being Northern Thai, Southern Thai and numerous smaller languages, which together with the Northwestern Tai and Lao-Phutai languages, form the Southwestern branch of Tai languages. The Tai languages are a branch of the Kra–Dai language family, which encompasses a large number of indigenous languages spoken in an arc from Hainan and Guangxi south through Laos and Northern Vietnam to the Cambodian border.
Standard Thai is the principal language of education and government and spoken throughout Thailand. The standard is based on the dialect of the central Thai people, and it is written in the Thai script.
Thai has undergone various historical sound changes. Some of the most significant changes occurred during the evolution from Old Thai to modern Thai. The Thai writing system has an eight-century history and many of these changes, especially in consonants and tones, are evidenced in the modern orthography.
According to a Chinese source, during the Ming dynasty, Yingya Shenglan (1405–1433), Ma Huan reported on the language of the Xiānluó (暹羅) or Ayutthaya Kingdom, saying that it somewhat resembled the local patois as pronounced in Guangdong Ayutthaya, the old capital of Thailand from 1351 - 1767 A.D., was from the beginning a bilingual society, speaking Thai and Khmer. Bilingualism must have been strengthened and maintained for some time by the great number of Khmer-speaking captives the Thais took from Angkor Thom after their victories in 1369, 1388 and 1431.[12] Gradually toward the end of the period, a language shift took place. Khmer fell out of use. Both Thai and Khmer descendants whose great-grand parents or earlier ancestors were bilingual came to use only Thai. In the process of language shift, an abundance of Khmer elements were transferred into Thai and permeated all aspects of the language. Consequently, the Thai of the late Ayutthaya Period which later became Ratanakosin or Bangkok Thai, was a thorough mixture of Thai and Khmer. There were more Khmer words in use than Tai cognates. Khmer grammatical rules were used actively to coin new disyllabic and polysyllabic words and phrases. Khmer expressions, sayings, and proverbs were expressed in Thai through transference.
Thais borrowed both the Royal vocabulary and rules to enlarge the vocabulary from Khmer.[13] The Thais later developed the royal vocabulary according to their immediate environment. Thai and Pali, the latter from Theravada Buddhism, were added to the vocabulary. An investigation of the Ayutthaya Rajasap reveals that three languages, Thai, Khmer and Khmero-Indic were at work closely both in formulaic expressions and in normal discourse. In fact, Khmero-Indic may be classified in the same category as Khmer because Indic had been adapted to the Khmer system first before the Thai borrowed.
Old Thai had a three-way tone distinction on "live syllables" (those not ending in a stop), with no possible distinction on "dead syllables" (those ending in a stop, i.e. either pronounced as //p/, /t/, /k// or the glottal stop that automatically closes syllables otherwise ending in a short vowel).
There was a two-way voiced vs. voiceless distinction among all fricative and sonorant consonants, and up to a four-way distinction among stops and affricates. The maximal four-way occurred in labials (pronounced as //p pʰ b ʔb//) and dentals (pronounced as //t tʰ d ʔd//); the three-way distinction among velars (pronounced as //k kʰ ɡ//) and palatals (pronounced as //tɕ tɕʰ dʑ//), with the glottalized member of each set apparently missing.
The major change between old and modern Thai was due to voicing distinction losses and the concomitant tone split. This may have happened between about 1300 and 1600 CE, possibly occurring at different times in different parts of the Thai-speaking area. All voiced–voiceless pairs of consonants lost the voicing distinction:
However, in the process of these mergers, the former distinction of voice was transferred into a new set of tonal distinctions. In essence, every tone in Old Thai split into two new tones, with a lower-pitched tone corresponding to a syllable that formerly began with a voiced consonant, and a higher-pitched tone corresponding to a syllable that formerly began with a voiceless consonant (including glottalized stops). An additional complication is that formerly voiceless unaspirated stops/affricates (original pronounced as //p t k tɕ ʔb ʔd//) also caused original tone 1 to lower, but had no such effect on original tones 2 or 3.
The above consonant mergers and tone splits account for the complex relationship between spelling and sound in modern Thai. Modern "low"-class consonants were voiced in Old Thai, and the terminology "low" reflects the lower tone variants that resulted. Modern "mid"-class consonants were voiceless unaspirated stops or affricates in Old Thai—precisely the class that triggered lowering in original tone 1 but not tones 2 or 3. Modern "high"-class consonants were the remaining voiceless consonants in Old Thai (voiceless fricatives, voiceless sonorants, voiceless aspirated stops). The three most common tone "marks" (the lack of any tone mark, as well as the two marks termed mai ek and mai tho) represent the three tones of Old Thai, and the complex relationship between tone mark and actual tone is due to the various tonal changes since then. Since the tone split, the tones have changed in actual representation to the point that the former relationship between lower and higher tonal variants has been completely obscured. Furthermore, the six tones that resulted after the three tones of Old Thai were split have since merged into five in standard Thai, with the lower variant of former tone 2 merging with the higher variant of former tone 3, becoming the modern "falling" tone.[15]
| Labial | Alveolar | (Alveolo-) Palatal | Velar | Glottal | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | pronounced as /[m̊]/ | pronounced as /[m]/ | pronounced as /[n̊]/ | pronounced as /[n]/ | pronounced as /[ɲ̊]/ | pronounced as /[ɲ]/ | pronounced as /[ŋ̊]/ | pronounced as /[ŋ]/ | |||||||
| Plosive/ Affricate | pronounced as /[p]/ | pronounced as /[pʰ]/ | pronounced as /[b]/ | pronounced as /[ʔb]/ | pronounced as /[t]/ | pronounced as /[tʰ]/ | pronounced as /[d]/ | pronounced as /[ʔd]/ | pronounced as /[tɕ]/ | pronounced as /[tɕʰ]/ | pronounced as /[dʑ]/ | pronounced as /[k]/ | pronounced as /[kʰ]/ | pronounced as /[g]/ | pronounced as /[ʔ]/ |
| Fricative | pronounced as /[f]/ | pronounced as /[v]/ | pronounced as /[s]/ | pronounced as /[z ~ ʑ]/ | pronounced as /[x]/ | pronounced as /[ɣ]/ | pronounced as /[h]/ | ||||||||
| Trill | pronounced as /[r̊]/ | pronounced as /[r]/ | |||||||||||||
| Approximant | pronounced as /[ẘ]/ | pronounced as /[w]/ว | pronounced as /[l̥]/หล | pronounced as /[l]/ล | pronounced as /[j̊]/หย | pronounced as /[j]/ย | pronounced as /[ʔj]/อย | ||||||||
| Letters | IPA | Word in Sukhothai (in Modern Thai script) | Pronunciation in IPA (excluding tone) | Meaning and Definitions | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| วรรค ก | Varga Kor | |||||
| ก | k | เกิด | kɤːt̚ | v. to be born | |
| ข | kʰ | ของ | kʰɔːŋ | n. thing | |
| ฃ | x | ฃึ้น (ขึ้น) | xɯn | v. to go up | |
| ค | g | ครู | gruː | n. teacher | |
| ฅ | ɣ | ฅวาม (ความ) | ɣwaːm | n. affair; matter; content | |
| ฆ | g | ฆ่า | gaː | v. to kill | |
| ง | ŋ | งก | ŋok̚ | adj. greedy | |
| หง | ŋ̊ | หงอก | ŋ̊ɔːk̚ | v. to whiten (hair) | |
| วรรค จ | Varga Jor | |||||
| จ | tɕ | ใจ | tɕaɯ | n. heart | |
| ฉ | tɕʰ | ฉาย | tɕʰaːj | v. to shine (on something) | |
| ช | dʑ | ชื่อ | dʑɯː | n. name | |
| ซ | z - ʑ | ซ้ำ | zam | adv. repeatedly | |
| ญ | ɲ | ญวน | ɲuan | v. Vietnam (archaic) | |
| หญ | ɲ̊ | หญิง | ɲ̊iŋ | n. woman | |
| วรรค รฏ | Varga Ra Tor | |||||
| ฎ | ʔd | ฎีกา | ʔdiːkaː | n. petition notice | |
| ฏ | t | ฏาร | tara | n. Ganymede | |
| ฐ | tʰ | ฐาน | tʰaːn | n. base, platform | |
| ณ | n | เณร | neːn | n. novice monk | |
| วรรค ต | Varga Tor | |||||
| ด | ʔd | ดาว | ʔdaːw | n. star | |
| ต | t | ตา | taː | n. eye | |
| ถ | tʰ | ถอย | tʰɔj | v. to move back | |
| ท | d | ทอง | dɔːŋ | n. gold | |
| ธ | d | ธุระ | duraʔ | n. business; affairs; errands | |
| น | n | น้ำ | naːm | n. water | |
| หน | n̊ | หนู | n̊uː | n. mouse | |
| วรรค ป | Varga Por | |||||
| บ | ʔb | บ้าน | ʔbaːn | n. house | |
| ป | p | ปลา | plaː | n. fish | |
| ผ | pʰ | ผึ้ง | pʰɯŋ | n. bee | |
| ฝ | f | ฝัน | fan | n. dream | |
| พ | b | พ่อ | bɔː | n. father | |
| ฟ | v | ฟัน | van | n. tooth | |
| ภ | b | ภาษา | baːsaː | n. language | |
| ม | m | แม่ | mɛː | n. mother | |
| หม | m̊ | หมา | m̊aː | n. dog | |
| อวรรค | Avarga | |||||
| อย | ʔj | อย่า | ʔjaː | adv. do not | |
| ย | j | เย็น | jen | adj. cold | |
| หย | j̊ | เหยียบ | j̊iap | v. to step on | |
| ร | r | รัก | rak | v. to love | |
| หร | r̊ | หรือ | r̊ɯː | conj. or | |
| ล | l | ลม | lom | n. wind | |
| หล | l̥ | หล่อ | l̥ɔː | adj. handsome | |
| ว | w | วัน | wan | n. day | |
| หว | ẘ | หวี | ẘiː | n. comb | |
| ศ | s | ศาล | saːn | n. court of law | |
| ษ | s | ฤๅษรี (ฤๅษี) | rɯːsiː | n. hermit | |
| ส | s | สวย | suaj | adj. beautiful | |
| อ | ʔ | อ้าย | ʔaːj | n. first born son | |
Early Old Thai also apparently had velar fricatives pronounced as //x ɣ// as distinct phonemes. These were represented by the now-obsolete letters ฃ kho khuat and ฅ kho khon, respectively. During the Old Thai period, these sounds merged into the corresponding stops pronounced as //kʰ ɡ//, and as a result the use of these letters became unstable.
At some point in the history of Thai, a palatal nasal phoneme pronounced as //ɲ// also existed, inherited from Proto-Tai. A letter ญ yo ying also exists, which is used to represent a palatal nasal in words borrowed from Sanskrit and Pali, and is currently pronounced pronounced as //j// at the beginning of a syllable but pronounced as //n// at the end of a syllable. Most native Thai words that are reconstructed as beginning with pronounced as //ɲ// are also pronounced pronounced as //j// in modern Thai, but generally spelled with ย yo yak, which consistently represents pronounced as //j//. This suggests that pronounced as //ɲ// > pronounced as //j// in native words occurred in the pre-literary period. It is unclear whether Sanskrit and Pali words beginning with pronounced as //ɲ// were borrowed directly with a pronounced as //j//, or whether a pronounced as //ɲ// was re-introduced, followed by a second change pronounced as //ɲ// > pronounced as //j//. The northeastern Thai dialect Isan and the Lao language still preserve the phoneme /ɲ/, which is represented in the Lao script by ຍ, such as in the word ຍຸງ ([ɲúŋ], mosquito). This letter is distinct from the phoneme pronounced as //j// and its Lao letter ຢ, such as in the word ຢາ ([jàː], medicine). The distinction in writing has been lost in the informal writing of the Isan language with the Thai script and both sounds are represented by ย pronounced as //j// (See: Comparison of Lao and Isan).
Proto-Tai also had a glottalized palatal sound, reconstructed as pronounced as //ʔj// in Li Fang-Kuei (1977). Corresponding Thai words are generally spelled หย, which implies an Old Thai pronunciation of pronounced as //hj// (or pronounced as //j̊//), but a few such words are spelled อย, which implies a pronunciation of pronounced as //ʔj// and suggests that the glottalization may have persisted through to the early literary period.
The vowel system of modern Thai contains nine pure vowels and three centering diphthongs, each of which can occur short or long. According to Li (1977), however, many Thai dialects have only one such short–long pair (pronounced as //a aː//), and in general it is difficult or impossible to find minimal short–long pairs in Thai that involve vowels other than pronounced as //a// and where both members have frequent correspondences throughout the Tai languages. More specifically, he notes the following facts about Thai:
Furthermore, the vowel that corresponds to short Thai pronounced as //a// has a different and often higher quality in many of the Tai languages compared with the vowel corresponding to Thai pronounced as //aː//.
This leads Li to posit the following:
Not all researchers agree with Li. Pittayaporn (2009), for example, reconstructs a similar system for Proto-Southwestern-Tai, but believes that there was also a mid back unrounded vowel pronounced as //ə// (which he describes as pronounced as //ɤ//), occurring only before final velar pronounced as //k ŋ//. He also seems to believe that the Proto-Southwestern-Tai vowel length distinctions can be reconstructed back to similar distinctions in Proto-Tai.
pronounced as /notice/
Standard Thai distinguishes three voice-onset times among plosive and affricate consonants:
Where English makes a distinction between voiced pronounced as //b// and unvoiced aspirated pronounced as //pʰ//, Thai distinguishes a third sound – the unvoiced, unaspirated pronounced as //p// that occurs in English only as an allophone of pronounced as //pʰ//, for example after an pronounced as //s// as in the sound of the p in "spin". There is similarly a laminal denti-alveolar pronounced as //d//, pronounced as //t//, pronounced as //tʰ// triplet in Thai. In the velar series there is a pronounced as //k//, pronounced as //kʰ// pair and in the postalveolar series a pronounced as //tɕ//, pronounced as //tɕʰ// pair, but the language lacks the corresponding voiced sounds pronounced as //ɡ// and pronounced as //dʑ//. (In loanwords from English, English pronounced as //ɡ// and pronounced as //d͡ʒ// are borrowed as the tenuis stops pronounced as //k// and pronounced as //tɕ//.)
In each cell below, the first line indicates International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), the second indicates the Thai characters in initial position (several letters appearing in the same box have identical pronunciation). The letter ห, one of the two h letters, is also used to help write certain tones (described below).
| Labial | Dental/ Alveolar | (Alveolo-) Palatal | Velar | Glottal | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | pronounced as /link/ ม | pronounced as /link/ ณ, น | pronounced as /link/ ง | ||||
| Plosive/ Affricate | voiced | pronounced as /link/ บ | pronounced as /link/ ฎ, ด | ||||
| tenuis | pronounced as /link/ ป | pronounced as /link/ ฏ, ต | pronounced as /link/ จ | pronounced as /link/ ก | pronounced as /link/ อ | ||
| aspirated | pronounced as /link/ ผ, พ, ภ | pronounced as /link/ ฐ, ฑ, ฒ, ถ, ท, ธ | pronounced as /link/ ฉ, ช, ฌ | pronounced as /link/ ข, ฃ, ค, ฅ, ฆ | |||
| Fricative | pronounced as /link/ ฝ, ฟ | pronounced as /link/ ซ, ศ, ษ, ส | pronounced as /link/ ห, ฮ | ||||
| Approximant | pronounced as /link/ ว | pronounced as /link/ ล, ฬ | pronounced as /link/ ญ, ย | ||||
| Rhotic/Liquid | pronounced as /link/ ร | ||||||
Although the overall 44 Thai consonant letters provide 21 sounds in case of initials, the case for finals is different. For finals, only eight sounds, as well as no sound, called mātrā are used. To demonstrate, at the end of a syllable, บ (pronounced as //b//) and ด (pronounced as //d//) are devoiced, becoming pronounced as pronounced as //p// and pronounced as //t// respectively. Additionally, all plosive sounds are unreleased. Hence, final pronounced as //p//, pronounced as //t//, and pronounced as //k// sounds are pronounced as pronounced as /[p̚]/, pronounced as /[t̚]/, and pronounced as /[k̚]/ respectively.
Of the consonant letters, excluding the disused ฃ and ฅ, six (ฉ ผ ฝ ห อ ฮ) cannot be used as a final and the other 36 are grouped as following.
| Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | pronounced as /link/ ม | pronounced as /link/ ญ, ณ, น, ร, ล, ฬ | pronounced as /link/ ง | |||
| Plosive | pronounced as /link/ บ, ป, พ, ฟ, ภ | pronounced as /link/ จ, ช, ซ, ฌ, ฎ, ฏ, ฐ, ฑ, ฒ, ด, ต, ถ, ท, ธ, ศ, ษ, ส | pronounced as /link/ ก, ข, ค, ฆ | pronounced as /link/ | ||
| Approximant | pronounced as /link/ ว | pronounced as /link/ ย |
In Thai, each syllable in a word is articulated independently, so consonants from adjacent syllables (i.e. heterosyllabic) show no sign of articulation as a cluster. Thai has specific phonotactical patterns that describe its syllable structure, including tautosyllabic consonant clusters, and vowel sequences. In core Thai words (i.e. excluding loanwords), only clusters of two consonants occur, of which there are 11 combinations:
The number of clusters increases in loanwords such as pronounced as //tʰr// (ทร) in (pronounced as //ʔīn.tʰrāː//, from Sanskrit indrā) or pronounced as //fr// (ฟร) in (pronounced as //frīː//, from English free); however, these usually only occur in initial position, with either pronounced as //r//, pronounced as //l//, or pronounced as //w// as the second consonant sound and not more than two sounds at a time.
The vowel nuclei of the Thai language are given in the following table. The top entry in every cell is the symbol from the International Phonetic Alphabet, the second entry gives the spelling in the Thai script, where a dash (–) indicates the position of the initial consonant after which the vowel is pronounced. A second dash indicates that a final consonant follows.
| Front | Central | Back | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| short | long | short | long | short | long | ||
| Close | pronounced as /link/ -ิ | pronounced as /link/ -ี | pronounced as /link/ -ึ | pronounced as /link/ -ื- | pronounced as /link/ -ุ | pronounced as /link/ -ู | |
| Mid | pronounced as /link/ เ-ะ | pronounced as /link/ เ- | pronounced as /link/ เ-อะ | pronounced as /link/ เ-อ | pronounced as /link/ โ-ะ | pronounced as /link/ โ- | |
| Open | pronounced as /link/ แ-ะ | pronounced as /link/ แ- | pronounced as /link/ -ะ, -ั- | pronounced as /link/ -า | pronounced as /link/ เ-าะ | pronounced as /link/ -อ | |
Each vowel quality occurs in long-short pairs: these are distinct phonemes forming distinct words in Thai.
The long-short pairs are as follows:
| Long | Short | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thai | IPA | Example | Thai | IPA | Example | |||||
| –า | pronounced as //aː// | pronounced as //fǎːn// | 'to slice' | –ะ | pronounced as //a// | pronounced as //fǎn// | 'to dream' | |||
| –ี | pronounced as //iː// | pronounced as //krìːt// | 'to cut' | –ิ | pronounced as //i// | pronounced as //krìt// | 'kris' | |||
| –ู | pronounced as //uː// | pronounced as //sùːt// | 'to inhale' | –ุ | pronounced as //u// | pronounced as //sùt// | 'rearmost' | |||
| เ– | pronounced as //eː// | pronounced as //ʔēːn// | 'to recline' | เ–ะ | pronounced as //e// | pronounced as //ʔēn// | 'tendon, ligament' | |||
| แ– | pronounced as //ɛː// | pronounced as //pʰɛ́ː// | 'to be defeated' | แ–ะ | pronounced as //ɛ// | pronounced as //pʰɛ́ʔ// | 'goat' | |||
| –ื- | pronounced as //ɯː// | pronounced as //kʰlɯ̂ːn// | 'wave' | –ึ | pronounced as //ɯ// | pronounced as //kʰɯ̂n// | 'to go up' | |||
| เ–อ | pronounced as //ɤː// | pronounced as //dɤ̄ːn// | 'to walk' | เ–อะ | pronounced as //ɤ// | pronounced as //ŋɤ̄n// | 'silver' | |||
| โ– | pronounced as //oː// | pronounced as //kʰôːn// | 'to fell' | โ–ะ | pronounced as //o// | pronounced as //kʰôn// | 'thick (soup)' | |||
| –อ | pronounced as //ɔː// | pronounced as //klɔ̄ːŋ// | 'drum' | เ–าะ | pronounced as //ɔ// | pronounced as //klɔ̀ŋ// | 'box' | |||
There are also opening and closing diphthongs in Thai, which analyze as pronounced as //Vj// and pronounced as //Vw//. For purposes of determining tone, those marked with an asterisk are sometimes classified as long:
| Long | Short | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thai script | IPA | Thai script | IPA | |
| –าย | pronounced as //aːj// | ไ–*, ใ–*, ไ–ย, -ัย | pronounced as //aj// | |
| –าว | pronounced as //aːw// | เ–า* | pronounced as //aw// | |
| เ–ีย | pronounced as //ia// | เ–ียะ | pronounced as //iaʔ// | |
| – | – | –ิว | pronounced as //iw// | |
| –ัว | pronounced as //ua// | –ัวะ | pronounced as //uaʔ// | |
| –ูย | pronounced as //uːj// | –ุย | pronounced as //uj// | |
| เ–ว | pronounced as //eːw// | เ–็ว | pronounced as //ew// | |
| แ–ว | pronounced as //ɛːw// | – | – | |
| เ–ือ | pronounced as //ɯa// | เ–ือะ | pronounced as //ɯaʔ// | |
| เ–ย | pronounced as //ɤːj// | – | – | |
| –อย | pronounced as //ɔːj// | – | – | |
| โ–ย | pronounced as //oːj// | – | – | |
Additionally, there are three triphthongs. For purposes of determining tone, those marked with an asterisk are sometimes classified as long:
| Thai script | IPA | |
|---|---|---|
| เ–ียว* | pronounced as //iaw// | |
| –วย* | pronounced as //uaj// | |
| เ–ือย* | pronounced as //ɯaj// |
There are five phonemic tones: mid, low, falling, high, and rising, sometimes referred to in older reference works as rectus, gravis, circumflexus, altus, and demissus, respectively.[16] The table shows an example of both the phonemic tones and their phonetic realization, in the IPA. Moren & Zsiga (2006)[17] and Zsiga & Nitisaroj (2007)[18] provide phonetic and phonological analyses of Thai tone realization.
Notes:
| Tone | Thai | Example | Phonemic | Phonetic | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mid | Thai: สามัญ | Thai: คา | pronounced as //kʰāː// | pronounced as /[kʰaː˧]/ | 'stick' | |
| Low | Thai: เอก | Thai: ข่า | pronounced as //kʰàː// | pronounced as /[kʰäː˨˩]/ or pronounced as /[kʰäː˩]/ | 'galangal' | |
| Falling | Thai: โท | Thai: ค่า | pronounced as //kʰâː// | pronounced as /[kʰaː˥˩]/ | 'value' | |
| High | Thai: ตรี | Thai: ค้า | pronounced as //kʰáː// | pronounced as /[kʰaː˦˥]/ or pronounced as /[kʰaː˥]/ | 'to trade' | |
| Rising | Thai: จัตวา | Thai: ขา | pronounced as //kʰǎː// | pronounced as /[kʰaː˩˩˦]/ or pronounced as /[kʰaː˩˦]/ | 'leg' |
| Tone | Thai | Example | Phonemic | Phonetic | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low (short vowel) | Thai: เอก | Thai: หมัก | pronounced as //màk// | pronounced as /[mak̚˨˩]/ | 'marinate' | |
| Low (long vowel) | Thai: เอก | Thai: หมาก | pronounced as //màːk// | pronounced as /[maːk̚˨˩]/ | 'areca nut, areca palm, betel, fruit' | |
| High | Thai: ตรี | Thai: มัก | pronounced as //mák// | pronounced as /[mak̚˦˥]/ | 'habitually, likely to' | |
| Falling | Thai: โท | Thai: มาก | pronounced as //mâːk// | pronounced as /[maːk̚˥˩]/ | 'a lot, abundance, many' |
| Tone | Thai | Example | Phonemic | Phonetic | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High | Thai: ตรี | Thai: มาร์ก | pronounced as //máːk// | pronounced as /[maːk̚˦˥]/ | 'Marc, Mark' | |
| High | Thai: ตรี | Thai: ชาร์จ | pronounced as //tɕʰáːt// | pronounced as /[tɕʰaːt̚˦˥]/ | 'charge' | |
| Falling | Thai: โท | Thai: เมกอัป | pronounced as //méːk.ʔâp// | pronounced as /[meːk̚˦˥.ʔap̚˥˩]/ | 'make-up' | |
| Falling | Thai: โท | Thai: แร็กเกต | pronounced as //rɛ́k.kêt// | pronounced as /[rɛk̚˦˥.ket̚˥˩]/ | 'racket' |
From the perspective of linguistic typology, Thai can be considered to be an analytic language. The word order is subject–verb–object,[22] although the subject is often omitted. Additionally, Thai is an isolating language lacking any form of inflectional morphology whatsoever. Thai pronouns are selected according to the gender and relative status of speaker and audience.
There is no morphological distinction between adverbs and adjectives. Many words can be used in either function. They follow the word they modify, which may be a noun, verb, or another adjective or adverb.
Comparatives take the form "A X Thai: กว่า B" (Thai: kwa, pronounced as //kwàː//), 'A is more X than B'. The superlative is expressed as "A X Thai: ที่สุด" (Thai: thi sut, pronounced as //tʰîː sùt//), 'A is most X'.
Adjectives in Thai can be used as complete predicates. Because of this, many words used to indicate tense in verbs (see Verbs:Tense below) may be used to describe adjectives.
Verbs do not inflect. They do not change with person, tense, voice, mood, or number; nor are there any participles. The language being analytic and case-less, the relationship between subject, direct and indirect object is conveyed through word order and auxiliary verbs. Transitive verbs follow the pattern subject-verb-object.
In order to convey tense, aspect and mood (TAM), the Thai verbal system employs auxiliaries and verb serialization. TAM markers are however not obligatory and often left out in colloquial use. In such cases, the precise meaning is determined through context. This results in sentences lacking both TAM markers and overt context being ambiguous and subject to various interpretations.
The sentence Thai: chan kin thi nan can thus be interpreted as 'I am eating there', 'I eat there habitually', 'I will eat there' or 'I ate there'. Aspect markers in Thai have been divided into four distinct groups based on their usage. These markers could appear either before or after the verb. The following list describes some of the most commonly used aspect markers. A number of these aspect markers are also full verbs on their own and carry a distinct meaning. For example Thai: yu (Thai: อยู่) as a full verb means 'to stay, to live or to remain at'. However, as an auxiliary it can be described as a temporary aspect or continuative marker.
The imperfective aspect marker Thai: กำลัง (Thai: kamlang, pronounced as //kām lāŋ//, currently) is used before the verb to denote an ongoing action (similar to the -ing suffix in English). Thai: Kamlang is commonly interpreted as a progressive aspect marker.[23] [24] Similarly, Thai: อยู่ (Thai: yu, pronounced as //jùː//) is a post-verbal aspect marker which corresponds to the continuative or temporary aspect.
Comparably Thai: ยัง (Thai: yang, pronounced as //jāŋ//, still) which is used in an incompleted action, and usually cognates in phrase with Thai: yu (Thai: อยู่) or any other aspect markers in common use.
The marker Thai: ได้ (Thai: dai, pronounced as //dâːj//) is usually analyzed as a past tense marker when it occurs before the verb. As a full verb, Thai: dai means 'to get or receive'. However, when used after a verb, Thai: dai takes on a meaning of potentiality or successful outcome of the main verb.
Thai: แล้ว (Thai: laeo, pronounced as //lɛ́ːw//; 'already') is treated as a marker indicating the perfect aspect. That is to say, Thai: laeo marks the event as being completed at the time of reference. Thai: Laeo has to other meanings in addition to its use as a TAM marker. Thai: Laeo can either be a conjunction for sequential actions or an archaic word for 'to finish'.
Future can be indicated by Thai: จะ (Thai: cha, pronounced as //tɕàʔ//; 'will') before the verb or by a time expression indicating the future. For example:
The passive voice is indicated by the insertion of Thai: ถูก (Thai: thuk, pronounced as //tʰùːk//) before the verb. For example:
This describes an action that is out of the receiver's control and, thus, conveys suffering.
Negation is indicated by placing Thai: ไม่ (Thai: mai, pronounced as //mâj//; not) before the verb.
Thai exhibits serial verb constructions, where verbs are strung together. Some word combinations are common and may be considered set phrases.
Nouns are uninflected and have no gender; there are no articles. Thai nouns are bare nouns and can be interpreted as singular, plural, definite or indefinite.[25] Some specific nouns are reduplicated to form collectives: Thai: เด็ก (Thai: dek, 'child') is often repeated as Thai: เด็ก ๆ (Thai: dek dek) to refer to a group of children. The word Thai: พวก (Thai: phuak, pronounced as //pʰûak//) may be used as a prefix of a noun or pronoun as a collective to pluralize or emphasise the following word. (Thai: พวกผม, Thai: phuak phom, pronounced as //pʰûak pʰǒm//, 'we', masculine; Thai: พวกเรา Thai: phuak rao, pronounced as //pʰûak rāw//, emphasised 'we'; Thai: พวกหมา Thai: phuak ma, '(the) dogs'). Plurals are expressed by adding classifiers, used as measure words (Thai: ลักษณนาม), in the form of noun-number-classifier:
While in English, such classifiers are usually absent ("four chairs") or optional ("two bottles of beer" or "two beers"), a classifier is almost always used in Thai (hence "chair four item" and "beer two bottle").
Possession in Thai is indicated by adding the word Thai: ของ (Thai: khong) in front of the noun or pronoun, but it may often be omitted. For example:
Nominal phrases in Thai often use a special class of words classifiers. As previously mentioned, these classifiers are obligatory for noun phrases containing numerals e.g.
In the previous example Thai: khon (Thai: คน) acts as the classifier in the nominal phrase. This follows the form of noun-cardinal-classifier mentioned above. Classifiers are also required to form quantified noun phrases in Thai with some quantifiers such as Thai: ทุก ('all'), Thai: บาง ('some'). The examples below are demonstrated using the classifier Thai: khon, which is used for people.
However, classifiers are not utilized for negative quantification. Negative quantification is expressed by the pattern Thai: ไม่มี (Thai: mai mi, pronounced as //mâj mīː//) + NOUN. Classifiers are also used for demonstratives such as Thai: นี้ (Thai: ni, pronounced as //níː//; 'this/these') and Thai: นั่น (Thai: nan, pronounced as //nán//; 'that/those'). The syntax for demonstrative phrases, however, differ from that of cardinals and follow the pattern noun-classifier-demonstrative. For example, the noun phrase "this dog" would be expressed in Thai as Thai: หมาตัวนี้ (literally 'dog (classifier) this').
Subject pronouns are often omitted, with nicknames used where English would use a pronoun. See Thai name#Nicknames for more details. Pronouns, when used, are ranked in honorific registers, and may also make a T–V distinction in relation to kinship and social status. Specialised pronouns are used for royalty, and for Buddhist monks. The following are appropriate for conversational use:
| Word | Meaning | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thai: ข้าพเจ้า | Thai: khaphachao | pronounced as //kʰâː.pʰáʔ.tɕâːw// | I/me (very formal) | |
| Thai: กระผม | Thai: kraphom | pronounced as //kràʔ.pʰǒm// | I/me (masculine; formal) | |
| Thai: ผม | Thai: phom | pronounced as //pʰǒm// | I/me (masculine; common) | |
| Thai: ดิฉัน | Thai: dichan | pronounced as //dìʔ.tɕʰǎn// | I/me (feminine; formal) | |
| Thai: ฉัน | Thai: chan | pronounced as //tɕʰǎn// | I/me (mainly used by women; common) Commonly pronounced as pronounced as /[tɕʰán]/ | |
| Thai: ข้า | Thai: kha | pronounced as //kʰâː// | I/me (from high-status to low-status or familiar; informal) | |
| Thai: กู | Thai: ku | pronounced as //kūː// | I/me (impolite/vulgar) | |
| Thai: หนู | Thai: nu | pronounced as //nǔː// | I/me (used by women when speaking to people much older than themselves; informal)[26] | |
| Thai: เรา | Thai: rao | pronounced as //rāw// | we/us (common), I/me (casual), you (sometimes used but only when older person speaks to younger person) | |
| Thai: คุณ | Thai: khun | pronounced as //kʰūn// | you (common) | |
| Thai: ท่าน | Thai: than | pronounced as //tʰâːn// | you (highly honorific; formal) Commonly pronounced as pronounced as /[tʰân]/ | |
| Thai: แก | Thai: kae | pronounced as //kɛ̄ː// | you (familiar; informal)[27] | |
| Thai: เอ็ง | Thai: eng | pronounced as //ʔēŋ// | you (from high-status to low-status or familiar; informal) | |
| Thai: เธอ | Thai: thoe | pronounced as //tʰɤ̄ː// | you (informal), she/her (informal) | |
| Thai: พี่ | Thai: phi | pronounced as //pʰîː// | older brother, sister (also used for older acquaintances; common) | |
| Thai: น้อง | Thai: nong | pronounced as //nɔ́ːŋ// | younger brother, sister (also used for younger acquaintances; common) | |
| Thai: เขา | Thai: khao | pronounced as //kʰǎw// | he/him (common), she/her (common) Commonly pronounced as pronounced as /[kʰáw]/ | |
| Thai: มัน | Thai: man | pronounced as //mān// | it, he/she (offensive if used to refer to a person) | |
| Thai: มึง | Thai: mueng | pronounced as //mɯ̄ŋ// | you (impolite/vulgar) |
The reflexive pronoun is Thai: ตัวเอง (Thai: tua eng), which can mean any of: myself, yourself, ourselves, himself, herself, themselves. This can be mixed with another pronoun to create an intensive pronoun, such as Thai: ตัวผมเอง (Thai: tua phom eng, lit: I myself) or Thai: ตัวคุณเอง (Thai: tua khun eng, lit: you yourself). Thai also does not have a separate possessive pronoun. Instead, possession is indicated by the particle Thai: ของ (Thai: khong). For example, "my mother" is Thai: แม่ของผม (Thai: mae khong phom, lit: mother of I). This particle is often implicit, so the phrase is shortened to Thai: แม่ผม (Thai: mae phom). Plural pronouns can be easily constructed by adding the word Thai: พวก (Thai: phuak) in front of a singular pronoun as in Thai: พวกเขา (Thai: phuak khao) meaning 'they' or Thai: พวกเธอ (Thai: phuak thoe) meaning the plural sense of 'you'. The only exception to this is Thai: เรา (Thai: rao), which can be used as singular (informal) or plural, but can also be used in the form of Thai: พวกเรา (Thai: phuak rao), which is only plural.
Thai has many more pronouns than those listed above. Their usage is full of nuances. For example:
The particles are often untranslatable words added to the end of a sentence to indicate respect, a request, encouragement or other moods (similar to the use of intonation in English), as well as varying the level of formality. They are not used in elegant (written) Thai. The most common particles indicating respect are Thai: ครับ (Thai: khrap, pronounced as //kʰráp//, with a high-rising tone) when the speaker is male, and Thai: ค่ะ (Thai: kha, pronounced as //kʰâʔ//, with a low-falling tone) when the speaker is female. Used in a question or a request, the particle Thai: ค่ะ (low-falling tone) is changed to a Thai: คะ (high-rising tone).
Other common particles are:
| Word | RTGS | IPA | Meaning | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thai: จ้ะ, Thai: จ้า or Thai: จ๋า | Thai: cha | pronounced as //tɕâʔ//, pronounced as //tɕâː// or pronounced as //tɕǎː// | indicating emphasis. Used in a less formal context when speaking to friends or someone younger than yourself[28] | |
| Thai: ละ or Thai: ล่ะ | Thai: la | pronounced as //láʔ// or pronounced as //làʔ// | indicating emphasis. | |
| Thai: สิ | Thai: si | pronounced as //sìʔ// | indicating emphasis or an imperative. It can come across as ordering someone to do something | |
| Thai: นะ | Thai: na | pronounced as //náʔ// | softening; indicating a request or making your sentence sound more friendly. |
Central Thai is composed of several distinct registers, forms for different social contexts:
Most Thais can speak and understand all of these contexts. Street and Elegant Thai are the basis of all conversations.[29] Rhetorical, religious, and royal Thai are taught in schools as part of the national curriculum.
As noted above, Thai has several registers, each having certain usages, such as colloquial, formal, literary, and poetic. Thus, the word 'eat' can be Thai: กิน (Thai: kin; common), Thai: แดก (Thai: daek; vulgar), Thai: ยัด (Thai: yat; vulgar), Thai: บริโภค (Thai: boriphok; formal), Thai: รับประทาน (Thai: rapprathan; formal), Thai: ฉัน (Thai: chan; religious), or Thai: เสวย (Thai: sawoei; royal), as illustrated below:
| "to eat" | Usage | Note | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thai: กิน | pronounced as //kīn// | common | ||
| Thai: แดก | pronounced as //dɛ̀ːk// | vulgar | ||
| Thai: ยัด | pronounced as //ját// | vulgar | Original meaning is 'to cram' | |
| Thai: บริโภค | pronounced as //bɔ̄ː.ríʔ.pʰôːk// | formal, literary | ||
| Thai: รับประทาน | pronounced as //ráp.pràʔ.tʰāːn// | formal, polite | Often shortened to Thai: ทาน /tʰāːn/. | |
| Thai: ฉัน | pronounced as //tɕʰǎn// | religious | ||
| Thai: เสวย | pronounced as //sàʔ.wɤ̌ːj// | royal |
See main article: List of loanwords in Thai and List of Thai language idioms. Other than compound words and words of foreign origin, most words are monosyllabic.
Chinese-language influence was strong until the 13th century when the use of Chinese characters was abandoned, and replaced by Sanskrit and Pali scripts. However, the vocabulary of Thai retains many words borrowed from Middle Chinese.[30] [31] [32]
Khmer was used as a prestige language in the early days of the Thai kingdoms which are believed to have been bilingual societies proficient in Thai and Khmer. There are over 2,500 Thai words derived from Khmer, surpassing the number of Tai cognates. These Khmer words span across all semantic fields. Thai scholar Uraisi Varasarin classified them into over 200 sub-categories. As a result, it is impossible for Thais, past and present, to engage in a conversation without incorporating Khmer loanwords in any given topic. The influence is particularly preponderant in regard to royal court terminology.[33]
Later, most vocabulary was borrowed from Sanskrit and Pāli; Buddhist terminology is particularly indebted to these. Indic words have a more formal register, and may be compared to Latin and French borrowings in English. Since the beginning of the 20th century, however, the English language has had the greatest influence, especially for scientific, technical, international, and other modern terms.
| Origin | Example | Gloss | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Native Tai | lang=th | ไฟ | pronounced as /[fāj]/ | fire |
| lang=th | น้ำ | pronounced as /[náːm]/ | water | |
| lang=th | เมือง | pronounced as /[mɯ̄aŋ]/ | town | |
| lang=th | รุ่งเรือง | pronounced as /[rûŋ.rɯ̄aŋ]/ | prosperous | |
| Indic sources: Pāli or Sanskrit | lang=th | อัคนี (agni) | pronounced as /[ʔàk.kʰa.nīː]/ | fire |
| lang=th | ชล (jala) | pronounced as /[tɕʰōn]/ | water | |
| lang=th | ธานี (dhānī) | pronounced as /[tʰāː.nīː]/ | town | |
| lang=th | วิโรจน์ (virocana) | pronounced as /[wí(ʔ).rôːt]/ | prosperous |
| Arabic words | Thai rendition | IPA | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arabic: الْقُرْآن (Arabic: al-qurʾān) or Arabic: قُرْآن (Arabic: qurʾān) | Thai: อัลกุรอาน or Thai: โกหร่าน | pronounced as /[ʔān.kū.rā.ʔàːn]/ or pronounced as /[kōː.ràːn]/ | Quran | |
| Arabic: رجم (Arabic: [[rajm]]) | Thai: ระยำ | pronounced as /[rā.jām]/ | bad, vile (vulgar) |
From Middle Chinese or Teochew Chinese.
| Chinese words | Thai rendition | IPA | Gloss | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Teochew gao<sup>1</sup> in<sup>2</sup> | Thai: เก้าอี้ | pronounced as /[kâw.ʔîː]/ | chair | ||
| / | Min Nan kóe-tiâu | pronounced as /[kǔaj.tǐaw]/ | rice noodle | ||
| Hokkien chiá/ché | Thai: เจ้ or Thai: เจ๊ | pronounced as /[tɕêː]/ or pronounced as /[tɕéː]/ | older sister (used in Chinese community in Thailand) | ||
| Hokkien: jī Teochew: ri<sup>6</sup> | Thai: ยี่ | pronounced as /[jîː]/ | two (archaic, but still used in word Thai: ยี่สิบ pronounced as /[jîː.sìp]/; 'twenty') | ||
| Middle Chinese dəu<sup>H</sup> | Thai: ถั่ว | pronounced as /[tʰùa]/ | bean | ||
| Middle Chinese: ʔɑŋ<sup>X</sup>/ʔɑŋ<sup>H</sup> | Thai: อ่าง | pronounced as /[ʔàːŋ]/ | basin | ||
| Middle Chinese: kˠau | Thai: กาว | pronounced as /[kāːw]/ | glue | ||
| Middle Chinese: kˠæŋ<sup>X</sup> | Thai: ก้าง | pronounced as /[kâːŋ]/ | fishbone | ||
| Middle Chinese: kʰʌm<sup>X</sup> | Thai: ขุม | pronounced as /[kʰǔm]/ | pit | ||
| Middle Chinese: duo/ɖˠa | Thai: ทา | pronounced as /[tʰāː]/ | to smear | ||
| Middle Chinese: tʰuʌi<sup>H</sup> | Thai: ถอย | pronounced as /[tʰɔ̌j]/ | to step back | ||
| English words | Thai rendition | IPA | Remark | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| apple | Thai: แอปเปิล | pronounced as /[ʔɛ́p.pɤ̂n]/ | ||
| bank | Thai: แบงก์ | pronounced as /[bɛ́ŋ]/ | means 'bank' or 'banknote' | |
| bill | Thai: บิล | pronounced as /[bīn]/ or pronounced as /[bīw]/ | ||
| cake | Thai: เค้ก | pronounced as /[kʰéːk]/ | ||
| captain | Thai: กัปตัน | pronounced as /[kàp.tān]/ | ||
| cartoon | Thai: การ์ตูน | pronounced as /[kāː.tūːn]/ | ||
| clinic | Thai: คลินิก | pronounced as /[kʰli(ː).nìk]/ | ||
| computer | Thai: คอมพิวเตอร์ | pronounced as /[kʰɔ̄m.pʰíw.tɤ̂ː]/ | colloquially shortened to Thai: คอม pronounced as /[kʰɔ̄m]/ | |
| corruption | Thai: คอร์รัปชัน | pronounced as /[kʰɔ̄ː.ráp.tɕʰân]/ | ||
| countdown | Thai: เคานต์ดาวน์ | pronounced as /[kʰáw.dāːw]/ | ||
| dinosaur | Thai: ไดโนเสาร์ | pronounced as /[dāj.nōː.sǎw]/ | ||
| duel | Thai: ดวล | pronounced as /[dūan]/ | ||
| Thai: อีเมล | pronounced as /[ʔīː.mēːw]/ | |||
| fashion | Thai: แฟชั่น | pronounced as /[fɛ̄ː.tɕʰân]/ | ||
| golf | Thai: กอล์ฟ | pronounced as /[kɔ́p]/ | ||
| shampoo | Thai: แชมพู | pronounced as /[tɕʰɛ̄m.pʰūː]/ | ||
| slip | Thai: สลิป | pronounced as /[sa.líp]/ | ||
| taxi | Thai: แท็กซี่ | pronounced as /[tʰɛ́k.sîː]/ | ||
| technology | Thai: เทคโนโลยี | pronounced as /[tʰék.nōː.lōː.jīː, -jîː]/ | ||
| valve | Thai: วาล์ว | pronounced as /[wāːw]/ | ||
| visa | Thai: วีซ่า | pronounced as /[wīː.sâː]/ | ||
| wreath | Thai: (พวง)หรีด | pronounced as /[rìːt]/ |
| French words | Thai rendition | IPA | English translation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thai: บุฟเฟต์ | pronounced as /[búp.fêː]/ | |||
| Thai: กาแฟ | pronounced as /[kāː.fɛ̄ː]/ | coffee | ||
| pronounced as /[kʰāː.fêː]/ | coffee shop, restaurant serving alcoholic drinks and providing entertainment (dated) | |||
| Thai: กาเฟอีน | pronounced as /[kāː.fēː.ʔīːn]/ | caffeine | ||
| Thai: โชเฟอร์ | pronounced as /[tɕʰōː.fɤ̂ː]/ | |||
| Thai: กงสุล | pronounced as /[kōŋ.sǔn]/ | |||
| Thai: คูปอง | pronounced as /[kʰūː.pɔ̄ŋ]/ | |||
| Thai: ครัวซ็อง | pronounced as /[kʰrūa.sɔ̄ŋ]/ | |||
| Thai: กรัม | pronounced as /[krām]/ | |||
| Thai: ลิตร | pronounced as /[lít]/ | |||
| Thai: เมตร | pronounced as /[mé(ː)t]/ | metre | ||
| Thai: ปาร์เกต์ | pronounced as /[pāː.kêː]/ | |||
| Thai: เปตอง | pronounced as /[pēː.tɔ̄ŋ]/ |
| Japanese words | Thai rendition | IPA | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (pronounced as /[kaɾaoke]/) | Thai: คาราโอเกะ | pronounced as /[kʰāː.rāː.ʔōː.kèʔ]/ | karaoke | |
| (pronounced as /[ɲiꜜɲd͡ʑa]/) | Thai: นินจา | pronounced as /[nīn.tɕāː]/ | ninja | |
| (pronounced as /[sɯɕiꜜ]/) | Thai: ซูชิ | pronounced as /[sūː.tɕʰíʔ]/ | sushi |
From Old Khmer
| Khmer words | Thai rendition | IPA | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ក្រុង (/kroŋ/) | Thai: กรุง | pronounced as /[krūŋ]/ | capital city | |
| ខ្ទើយ (/kʰtəːj/) | Thai: กะเทย | pronounced as /[kā.tʰɤ̄ːj]/ | kathoey | |
| ខ្មួយ (/kʰmuəj/) | Thai: ขโมย | pronounced as /[kʰā.mōːj]/ | to steal, thief | |
| ច្រមុះ (/crɑː.moh/) | Thai: จมูก | pronounced as /[tɕā.mùːk]/ | nose | |
| ច្រើន (/craən/) | Thai: เจริญ | pronounced as /[tɕā.rɤ̄ːn]/ | prosperous | |
| ឆ្លាត or ឆ្លាស (/cʰlaːt/ or /cʰlaːh/) | Thai: ฉลาด | pronounced as /[tɕʰā.làːt]/ | smart | |
| ថ្នល់ (/tʰnɑl/) | Thai: ถนน | pronounced as /[tʰā.nǒn]/ | road | |
| ភ្លើង (/pʰləːŋ/) | Thai: เพลิง | pronounced as /[pʰlɤ̄ːŋ]/ | fire | |
| ទន្លេ (/tɔn.leː/) | Thai: ทะเล | pronounced as /[tʰā.lēː]/ | sea |
| Malay words | Thai rendition | IPA | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thai: กะลาสี | pronounced as /[kā.lāː.sǐː]/ | sailor, seaman | ||
| Thai: สาคู | pronounced as /[sǎː.kʰūː]/ | sago | ||
| Thai: สุเหร่า | pronounced as /[sū.ràw]/ | small mosque |
| Persian words | Thai rendition | IPA | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Persian: golâb) | Thai: กุหลาบ | pronounced as /[kū.làːp]/ | rose | |
| (Persian: kamarband) | Thai: ขาวม้า | pronounced as /[kʰǎːw.máː]/ | loincloth | |
| (Persian: tarâzu) | Thai: ตราชู | pronounced as /[trāː.tɕʰūː]/ | balance scale | |
| (Persian: saqerlât) | Thai: สักหลาด | pronounced as /[sàk.kā.làːt]/ | felt | |
| (Persian: âlat) | Thai: อะไหล่ | pronounced as /[ʔā.làj]/ | spare part |
The Portuguese were the first Western nation to arrive in what is modern-day Thailand in the 16th century during the Ayutthaya period. Their influence in trade, especially weaponry, allowed them to establish a community just outside the capital and practise their faith, as well as exposing and converting the locals to Christianity. Thus, Portuguese words involving trade and religion were introduced and used by the locals.
| Portuguese words | Thai rendition | IPA | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| / | Thai: กระดาษ | pronounced as /[krā.dàːt]/ | paper | |
| Thai: (นก)กระสา | pronounced as /[krā.sǎː]/ | heron | ||
| Thai: เลหลัง | pronounced as /[lēː.lǎŋ]/ | auction, low-priced | ||
| Thai: บาท(หลวง) | pronounced as /[bàːt.lǔaŋ]/ | (Christian) priest[34] | ||
| Thai: (ขนม)ปัง | pronounced as /[pāŋ]/ | bread | ||
| Thai: เหรียญ | pronounced as /[rǐan]/ | coin | ||
| Thai: สบู่ | pronounced as /[sā.bùː]/ | soap |
| Tamil words | Thai rendition | IPA | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Tamil: kaṟi) | Thai: กะหรี่ | pronounced as /[kā.rìː]/ | curry, curry powder | |
| (Tamil: kirāmpu) | Thai: กานพลู | pronounced as /[kāːn.pʰlūː]/ | clove | |
| (Tamil: ney) | Thai: เนย | pronounced as /[nɤ̄ːj]/ | butter |
See main article: Thai script and Thai braille. Thai is written in the Thai script, an abugida written from left to right. The language and its script are closely related to the Lao language and script. Most literate Lao are able to read and understand Thai, as more than half of the Thai vocabulary, grammar, intonation, vowels and so forth are common with the Lao language.
The Thais adopted and modified the Khmer script to create their own writing system. While in Thai the pronunciation can largely be inferred from the script, the orthography is complex, with silent letters to preserve original spellings and many letters representing the same sound. While the oldest known inscription in the Khmer language dates from 611 CE, inscriptions in Thai writing began to appear around 1292 CE. Notable features include:
See main article: Romanization of Thai. There is no universally applied method for transcribing Thai into the Latin alphabet. For example, the name of the main airport is transcribed variably as Suvarnabhumi, Suwannaphum, or Suwunnapoom. Guide books, textbooks and dictionaries may each follow different systems. For this reason, many language courses recommend that learners master the Thai script.[35] [36] [37] [38]
Official standards are the Royal Thai General System of Transcription (RTGS), published by the Royal Institute of Thailand,[39] and the almost identical defined by the International Organization for Standardization. The RTGS system is increasingly used in Thailand by central and local governments, especially for road signs. Its main drawbacks are that it does not indicate tone or vowel length. As the system is based on pronunciation, not orthography, reconstruction of Thai spelling from RTGS romanisation is not possible.
See main article: Thai transliteration.
The ISO published an international standard for the transliteration of Thai into Roman script in September 2005 (ISO 11940).[40] By adding diacritics to the Latin letters it makes the transcription reversible, making it a true transliteration. Notably, this system is used by Google Translate, although it does not seem to appear in many other contexts, such as textbooks and other instructional media.