Thai Lessons

I took my 1st official Thai lesson today. What did I learn? Pronunciation of consonants and vowels. There are 44 consonants but only 20 sounds. And there are 21 vowels and 32 sounds. And vowels are long and short. There are sounds which have no comparison in English and are nearly impossible for a native English speaker to master. But I'll try my best.

I also learned numbers and how to ask for phone numbers. The only number I'll need to know is the hospital if I even think of asking for anything else. 555

It is a difficult language. 5 tones to manage. Same word said with rising, falling, low, high and middle tones can all mean different things. Sort of like the word "perfect" in English. Same word can be a adjective or a verb depending upon the accent and pronunciation. But that is only 2. Then again think of the word two, too and to. Same sound different meaning and use. So every language has its "exceptions" and difficulties.

So here it is:

Ber thohrasap khun ber arai krap

Literal translation: Number telephone you number what krap.

Krap (said quickly with a rolling r and a soft a like ah) - is a polite word used by males. Females use Ka. Ka is drawn out, with a bit of a nasel tone at times.

The letter "r" is not pronounced at the end of a word. Therefore Ber sounds like the BE in numBEr - but drawn out.

I don't know if I'll ever be able to converse even a little in this language - but it is fun to try and my Thai friends do so much to learn English. I owe it to them to try to learn their language. Even if they give me a "deer in the headlights look" when I try to speak to them in Thai! 555


BTW: In Thai the number 5 is pronounced Ha (falling tone). So 555 means Ha Ha Ha.