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Language spoken by Thai people From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Thai,[lower-alpha 1] or Central Thai[lower-alpha 2] (historically Siamese;[lower-alpha 3][lower-alpha 4] Thai: ภาษาไทย), 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.[2][3]
| Thai | |
|---|---|
| Central Thai, Siamese | |
| ภาษาไทย, Phasa Thai | |
.svg) "Phasa Thai" (literally meaning "Thai language") written in Thai script | |
| Pronunciation | [pʰāːsǎːtʰāj] |
| Region |
|
| Ethnicity | Central Thai, Thai Chinese, Mon, Lao Wiang, Phuan |
Native speakers | L1: 21 million (2000)[1] L2: 40 million (2001)[1] Total: 61 million[1] |
Kra–Dai
| |
| |
| Official status | |
Official language in |  Thailand |
Recognised minority language in | |
| Regulated by | Royal Society of Thailand |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-1 | th |
| ISO 639-2 | tha |
| ISO 639-3 | tha |
| Glottolog | thai1261 |
| Linguasphere | 47-AAA-b |
 Dark Blue: Majority
Light Blue: Minority | |
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).[citation needed] 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".[10] 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.[11][12] 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.
![](#/media/File:"tooth"_in_Kra-Dai_languages.svg)
| Kra-Dai |
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 | This section needs additional citations for verification. (May 2020) |
Thai has undergone various historical sound changes. Some of the most significant changes occurred during the evolution from Old Thai to modern Thai.[13] 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,[lower-alpha 5] saying that it somewhat resembled the local patois as pronounced in Guangdong[14]: 107 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.[15] 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.[16] 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 /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 (/p pʰ b ʔb/) and denti-alveolars (/t tʰ d ʔd/); the three-way distinction among velars (/k kʰ ɡ/) and palatals (/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.[13] 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 /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.[lower-alpha 7]
| Labial | Dental/ Alveolar |
(Alveolo-) Palatal |
Velar | Glottal | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | [m̊]
หม |
[m]
ม |
[n̊]
หน |
[n]
น, ณ |
[ɲ̊]
หญ |
[ɲ]
ญ |
[ŋ̊]
หง |
[ŋ]
ง |
|||||||
| Plosive/ Affricate |
[p]
ป |
[pʰ]
ผ |
[b]
พ, ภ |
[ʔb]
บ |
[t]
ฏ, ต |
[tʰ]
ฐ, ถ |
[d]
ท, ธ |
[ʔd]
ฎ, ด |
[tɕ]
จ |
[tɕʰ]
ฉ |
[dʑ]
ช |
[k]
ก |
[kʰ]
ข |
[g]
ค, ฆ |
[ʔ]
อ |
| Fricative | [f]
ฝ |
[v]
ฟ |
[s]
ศ, ษ, ส |
[z ~ ʑ]
ซ |
[x]
ฃ |
[ɣ]
ฅ |
[h]
ห | ||||||||
| Trill | [r̊]
หร |
[r]
ร |
|||||||||||||
| Approximant | [ẘ]
หว |
[w]
ว |
[l̥]
หล |
[l]
ล |
[j̊]
หย |
[j]
ย |
[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 | kɤːt | 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 | ŋok | adj. greedy |
| หง | ŋ̊ | หงอก | ŋ̊ɔːk | 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 | ʔdiː.kaː | n. petition notice |
| ฏ | t | ฏาร | taː.raʔ | 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 | du.raʔ | 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 | baː.saː | 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) | rɯː.siː | n. hermit |
| ส | s | สวย | suaj | adj. beautiful |
| อ | ʔ | อ้าย | ʔaːj | n. first born son |
Early Old Thai also apparently had velar fricatives /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 /kʰ ɡ/, and as a result the use of these letters became unstable.
At some point in the history of Thai, an alveolo-palatal nasal phoneme /ɲ/ also existed, inherited from Proto-Tai. A letter ญ yo ying also exists, which is used to represent an alveolo-palatal nasal in words borrowed from Sanskrit and Pali, and is currently pronounced /j/ at the beginning of a syllable but /n/ at the end of a syllable. Most native Thai words that are reconstructed as beginning with /ɲ/ are also pronounced /j/ in modern Thai, but generally spelled with ย yo yak, which consistently represents /j/. This suggests that /ɲ/ > /j/ in native words occurred in the pre-literary period. It is unclear whether Sanskrit and Pali words beginning with /ɲ/ were borrowed directly with a /j/, or whether a /ɲ/ was re-introduced, followed by a second change /ɲ/ > /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 /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 /j/ (See: Comparison of Lao and Isan).
Proto-Tai also had a glottalized palatal sound, reconstructed as /ʔj/ in Li Fang-Kuei (1977[full citation needed]). Corresponding Thai words are generally spelled หย, which implies an Old Thai pronunciation of /hj/ (or /j̊/), but a few such words are spelled อย, which implies a pronunciation of /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[full citation needed]), however, many Thai dialects have only one such short–long pair (/a aː/), and in general it is difficult or impossible to find minimal short–long pairs in Thai that involve vowels other than /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 /a/ has a different and often higher quality in many of the Tai languages compared with the vowel corresponding to Thai /aː/.
This leads Li to posit the following:
Not all researchers agree with Li. Pittayaporn (2009[full citation needed]), for example, reconstructs a similar system for Proto-Southwestern-Tai, but believes that there was also a mid back unrounded vowel /ə/ (which he describes as /ɤ/), occurring only before final velar /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.
Standard Thai distinguishes three voice-onset times among plosive and affricate consonants:
Where English makes a distinction between voiced /b/ and unvoiced aspirated /pʰ/, Thai distinguishes a third sound – the unvoiced, unaspirated /p/ that occurs in English only as an allophone of /pʰ/, for example after an /s/ as in the sound of the p in "spin". There is similarly a laminal denti-alveolar[citation needed] /d/, /t/, /tʰ/ triplet in Thai. In the velar series there is a /k/, /kʰ/ pair and in the postalveolar series a /tɕ/, /tɕʰ/ pair, but the language lacks the corresponding voiced sounds /ɡ/ and /dʑ/. (In loanwords from English, English /ɡ/ and /d͡ʒ/ are borrowed as the tenuis stops /k/ and /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 | /m/ ม |
/n/ ณ, น |
/ŋ/ ง |
|||
| Plosive/ Affricate |
voiced | /b/ บ |
/d/ ฎ, ด |
|||
| tenuis | /p/ ป |
/t/ ฏ, ต |
/tɕ/ จ |
/k/ ก |
/ʔ/ อ[lower-alpha 8] | |
| aspirated | /pʰ/ ผ, พ, ภ |
/tʰ/ ฐ, ฑ, ฒ, ถ, ท, ธ |
/tɕʰ/ ฉ, ช, ฌ |
/kʰ/ ข, ฃ, ค, ฅ, ฆ[lower-alpha 9] |
||
| Fricative | /f/ ฝ, ฟ |
/s/ ซ, ศ, ษ, ส |
/h/ ห, ฮ | |||
| Approximant | /w/ ว |
/l/ ล, ฬ |
/j/ ญ, ย |
|||
| Rhotic/Liquid | /r/ 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 (มาตรา) are used. To demonstrate, at the end of a syllable, บ (/b/) and ด (/d/) are devoiced, becoming pronounced as /p/ and /t/ respectively. Additionally, all plosive sounds are unreleased. Hence, final /p/, /t/, and /k/ sounds are pronounced as [p̚], [t̚], and [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.
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 /tʰr/ (ทร) in อินทรา (/ʔīn.tʰrāː/, from Sanskrit indrā) or /fr/ (ฟร) in ฟรี (/frīː/, from English free); however, these usually only occur in initial position, with either /r/, /l/, or /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.
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Each vowel quality occurs in long-short pairs: these are distinct phonemes forming distinct words in Thai.[17]
The long-short pairs are as follows:
| Long | Short | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thai | IPA | Example | Thai | IPA | Example | ||||
| –า | /aː/ | ฝาน | /fǎːn/ | 'to slice' | –ะ | /a/ | ฝัน | /fǎn/ | 'to dream' |
| –ี | /iː/ | กรีด | /krìːt/ | 'to cut' | –ิ | /i/ | กริช | /krìt/ | 'kris' |
| –ู | /uː/ | สูด | /sùːt/ | 'to inhale' | –ุ | /u/ | สุด | /sùt/ | 'rearmost' |
| เ– | /eː/ | เอน | /ʔēːn/ | 'to recline' | เ–ะ | /e/ | เอ็น | /ʔēn/ | 'tendon, ligament' |
| แ– | /ɛː/ | แพ้ | /pʰɛ́ː/ | 'to be defeated' | แ–ะ | /ɛ/ | แพะ | /pʰɛ́ʔ/ | 'goat' |
| –ื- | /ɯː/ | คลื่น | /kʰlɯ̂ːn/ | 'wave' | –ึ | /ɯ/ | ขึ้น | /kʰɯ̂n/ | 'to go up' |
| เ–อ | /ɤː/ | เดิน | /dɤ̄ːn/ | 'to walk' | เ–อะ | /ɤ/ | เงิน | /ŋɤ̄n/ | 'silver' |
| โ– | /oː/ | โค่น | /kʰôːn/ | 'to fell' | โ–ะ | /o/ | ข้น | /kʰôn/ | 'thick (soup)' |
| –อ | /ɔː/ | กลอง | /klɔ̄ːŋ/ | 'drum' | เ–าะ | /ɔ/ | กล่อง | /klɔ̀ŋ/ | 'box' |
There are also opening and closing diphthongs in Thai, which Tingsabadh & Abramson (1993) analyze as /Vj/ and /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 | /aːj/ | ไ–*, ใ–*, ไ–ย, -ัย | /aj/ |
| –าว | /aːw/ | เ–า* | /aw/ |
| เ–ีย | /ia/ | เ–ียะ | /iaʔ/ |
| – | – | –ิว | /iw/ |
| –ัว | /ua/ | –ัวะ | /uaʔ/ |
| –ูย | /uːj/ | –ุย | /uj/ |
| เ–ว | /eːw/ | เ–็ว | /ew/ |
| แ–ว | /ɛːw/ | – | – |
| เ–ือ | /ɯa/ | เ–ือะ | /ɯaʔ/ |
| เ–ย | /ɤːj/ | – | – |
| –อย | /ɔːj/ | – | – |
| โ–ย | /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* | /iaw/ |
| –วย* | /uaj/ |
| เ–ือย* | /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.[18] The table shows an example of both the phonemic tones and their phonetic realization, in the IPA. Moren & Zsiga (2006)[19] and Zsiga & Nitisaroj (2007)[20] provide phonetic and phonological analyses of Thai tone realization.
Notes:
| Tone | Thai | Example | Phonemic | Phonetic | Gloss |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mid | สามัญ | คา | /kʰāː/ | [kʰäː˧] | 'stick' |
| Low | เอก | ข่า | /kʰàː/ | [kʰäː˨˩] or [kʰäː˩] | 'galangal' |
| Falling | โท | ค่า | /kʰâː/ | [kʰäː˦˩] | 'value' |
| High | ตรี | ค้า | /kʰáː/ | [kʰäː˦˥] or [kʰäː˥] | 'to trade' |
| Rising | จัตวา | ขา | /kʰǎː/ | [kʰäː˨˩˦] or [kʰäː˨˦] | 'leg' |
In some English loanwords, closed syllables with a long vowel ending in an obstruent sound have a high tone, and closed syllables with a short vowel ending in an obstruent sound have a falling tone.
| Tone | Thai | Example | Phonemic | Phonetic | Gloss |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High | ตรี | มาร์ก | /máːk/ | [mäːk̚˦˥] | 'Marc, Mark' |
| High | ตรี | ชาร์จ | /tɕʰáːt/ | [tɕʰäːt̚˦˥] | 'charge' |
| Falling | โท | เมกอัป | /méːk.ʔâp/ | [me̞ːk̚˦˥.ʔäp̚˦˩] | 'make-up' |
| Falling | โท | แร็กเกต | /rɛ́k.kêt/ | [rɛk̚˦˥.ke̞t̚˦˩] | 'racket' |
From the perspective of linguistic typology, Thai can be considered to be an analytic language. The word order is subject–verb–object,[24] although the subject is often omitted. Additionally, Thai is an isolating language lacking any form of inflectional morphology whatsoever.[25] 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.
คน
khon
/kʰōn
อ้วน
uan
ʔûan/
'a fat person'
คน
khon
/kʰōn
ที่
thi
tʰîː
อ้วน
uan
ʔûan
เร็ว
reo
rēw/
'a person who became fat quickly'
Comparatives take the form "A X กว่า B" (kwa, /kwàː/), 'A is more X than B'. The superlative is expressed as "A X ที่สุด" (thi sut, /tʰîː sùt/), 'A is most X'.
เขา
khao
/kʰǎw
อ้วน
uan
ʔûan
กว่า
kwa
kwàː
ฉัน
chan
tɕʰǎn/
'S/he is fatter than me.'
เขา
khao
/kʰǎw
อ้วน
uan
ʔûan
ที่สุด
thi sut
tʰîː sùt/
'S/he is the fattest (of all).'
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.
ฉัน
chan
/tɕʰǎn
หิว
hio
hǐw/
'I am hungry.'
ฉัน
chan
/tɕʰǎn
จะ
cha
tɕàʔ
หิว
hio
hǐw/
'I will be hungry.'
ฉัน
chan
/tɕʰǎn
กำลัง
kamlang
kām.lāŋ
หิว
hio
hǐw/
'I am hungry right now.'
ฉัน
chan
/tɕʰǎn
หิว
hio
hǐw
แล้ว
laeo
lɛ́ːw/
'I am already hungry.'
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.
ฉัน
chan
/tɕʰǎn
1SG
ตี
ti
tīː
hit
เขา
khao
kʰǎw/
3SG
'I hit him.'
เขา
khao
/kʰǎw
3SG
ตี
ti
tīː
hit
ฉัน
chan
tɕʰǎn/
1SG
'S/He hit me.'
In order to convey tense, aspect and mood (TAM), the Thai verbal system employs auxiliaries and verb serialization.[26][25] TAM markers are however not obligatory and often left out in colloquial use. In such cases, the precise meaning is determined through context.[26] This results in sentences lacking both TAM markers and overt context being ambiguous and subject to various interpretations.
ฉัน
chan
/tɕʰǎn
กิน
kin
kīn
ที่
thi
tʰîː
นั่น
nan
nân/
'I eat there.'
ฉัน
chan
/tɕʰǎn
กิน
kin
kīn
ที่
thi
tʰîː
นั่น
nan
nân
เมื่อวาน
mueawan
mɯ̂a.wāːn/
'I ate there yesterday.'
ฉัน
chan
/tɕʰǎn
จะ
cha
tɕàʔ
กิน
kin
kīn
ที่
thi
thîː
นั่น
nan
nân
พรุ่งนี้
phrungni
pʰrûŋ.níː/
'I'll eat there tomorrow.'
The sentence 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.[26] 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 yu (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.[26]
The imperfective aspect marker กำลัง (kamlang, /kām lāŋ/, currently) is used before the verb to denote an ongoing action (similar to the -ing suffix in English). Kamlang is commonly interpreted as a progressive aspect marker.[27][28] Similarly, อยู่ (yu, /jùː/) is a post-verbal aspect marker which corresponds to the continuative or temporary aspect.[26]
เขา
khao
/kʰǎw
กำลัง
kamlang
kām.lāŋ
วิ่ง
wing
wîŋ/
เขา
khao
/kʰǎw
วิ่ง
wing
wîŋ
อยู่
yu
jùː/
เขา
khao
/kʰǎw
กำลัง
kamlang
kām.lāŋ
วิ่ง
wing
wîŋ
อยู่
yu
jùː/
'He is running.'
Comparably ยัง (yang, /jāŋ/, still) which is used in an incompleted action, and usually cognates in phrase with yu (อยู่) or any other aspect markers in common use.
เขา
khao
/kʰǎw
ยัง
yang
jāŋ
เขียน
khian
kʰiǎn
อยู่
yu
jùː/
He is still writing.
เขา
khao
/kʰǎw
3SG
ยัง
yang
jāŋ
IMP
เขียน
khian
kʰiǎn
write
ไม่เป็น
mai pen
mâj pēn/
unable to
He can't even write yet.
The marker ได้ (dai, /dâːj/) is usually analyzed as a past tense marker when it occurs before the verb.[25] As a full verb, dai means 'to get or receive'. However, when used after a verb, dai takes on a meaning of potentiality or successful outcome of the main verb.[26]
เขา
khao
/kʰǎw
ได้
dai
dâːj
ไป
pai
pāj
เที่ยว
thiao
tʰîaw
เมือง
mueang
mɯ̄aŋ
ลาว
lao
lāːw/
He visited Laos. (Past/Perfective)
เขา
khao
/kʰǎw
3SG
ตี
ti
tīː
hit
ได้
dai
dâːj/
POT
'He is/was allowed to hit' or 'He is/was able to hit.' (Potentiality)
แล้ว (laeo, /lɛ́ːw/; 'already') is treated as a marker indicating the perfect aspect.[27] That is to say, laeo marks the event as being completed at the time of reference. Laeo has two other meanings in addition to its use as a TAM marker. Laeo can either be a conjunction for sequential actions or an archaic word for 'to finish'.
เขา
khao
/kʰǎw
3SG
ได้
dai
dâːj
PST
กิน
kin
kīn/
eat
He ate.
เขา
khao
/kʰǎw
3SG
กิน
kin
kīn
eat
แล้ว
laeo
lɛ́ːw/
PRF
He has eaten.
เขา
khao
/kʰǎw
3SG
ได้
dai
dâːj
PST
กิน
kin
kīn
eat
แล้ว
laeo
lɛ́ːw/
PRF
He's already eaten.
Future can be indicated by จะ (cha, /tɕàʔ/; 'will') before the verb or by a time expression indicating the future. For example:
เขา
khao
/kʰǎw
3SG
จะ
cha
tɕàʔ
FUT
วิ่ง
wing
wîŋ/
run
'He will run' or 'He is going to run.'
Dative marker ให้ (hai, /hâj/; 'give') often used in a sentence as prepositional or double objects.[29]
เขา
khao
/kʰǎw
3SG
อ่าน
an
ʔàːn
read
หนังสือ
nang sue
nǎŋ sɯ̌ː
book
ให้
hai
hâj/
DAT
'He reads book for (us).'
เขา
khao
/kʰǎw
3SG
ให้
hai
hâj
DAT
อ่าน
an
ʔàːn
read
หนังสือ
nang sue
nǎŋ sɯ̌ː/
book
'He obligates (us) to read book.'
เขา
khao
/kʰǎw
3SG
ให้
hai
hâj
DAT
หนังสือ
nang sue
nǎŋ sɯ̌ː
book
นักเรียน
nak rian
nák rian/
student
'He gives book to student.'
The passive voice is indicated by the insertion of ถูก (thuk, /tʰùːk/) before the verb. For example:
เขา
khao
/kʰǎw
3SG
ถูก
thuk
tʰùːk
PASS
ตี
ti
tīː/
hit
'He got hit.'
Negation is indicated by placing ไม่ (mai, /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.
เขา
khao
/kʰǎw
he
ไป
pai
pāj
go
กิน
kin
kīn
eat
ข้าว
khao
kʰâːw/
rice
'He went out to eat'
ฉัน
chan
/tɕʰǎn
I
ฟัง
fang
fāŋ
listen
ไม่
mai
mâj
not
เข้าใจ
khao chai
kʰâw tɕāj/
understand
'I don't understand what was said'
เข้า
khao
/kʰâw
enter
มา
ma
māː/
come
'Come in'
ออก
ok
/ʔɔ̀ːk
exit
ไป!
pai
pāj/
go
'Leave!' or 'Get out!'
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.[30] Some specific nouns are reduplicated to form collectives: เด็ก (dek, 'child') is often repeated as เด็ก ๆ (dek dek) to refer to a group of children. The word พวก (phuak, /pʰûak/) may be used as a prefix of a noun or pronoun as a collective to pluralize or emphasise the following word. (พวกผม, phuak phom, /pʰûak pʰǒm/, 'we', masculine; พวกเรา phuak rao, /pʰûak rāw/, emphasised 'we'; พวกหมา phuak ma, '(the) dogs'). Plurals are expressed by adding classifiers, used as measure words (ลักษณนาม), in the form of noun-number-classifier:
ครู
khru
/kʰrūː
teacher
ห้า
ha
hâː
five
คน
khon
kʰōn/
person
"five teachers"
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 ของ (khong) in front of the noun or pronoun, but it may often be omitted. For example:
ลูก
luk
/lûːk
child
ของ
khong
kʰɔ̌ːŋ
belonging to
แม่
mae
mɛ̂ː/
mother
"mother's child"
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 khon (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 ทุก ('all'), บาง ('some'). The examples below are demonstrated using the classifier khon, which is used for people.
นักเรียน
nak rian
/nák rīan
student
ทุก
thuk
tʰúk
every
คน
khon
kʰōn/
CL
"every student"
ครู
khru
/kʰrūː
teacher
บาง
bang
bāːŋ
some
คน
khon
kʰōn/
CL
"some teacher"
However, classifiers are not utilized for negative quantification. Negative quantification is expressed by the pattern ไม่มี (mai mi, /mâj mīː/) + NOUN. Classifiers are also used for demonstratives such as นี้ (ni, /níː/; 'this/these') and นั่น (nan, /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 หมาตัวนี้ (literally 'dog (classifier) this').[32]
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 | RTGS | IPA | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| ข้าพเจ้า | khaphachao | /kʰâː.pʰáʔ.tɕâːw/ | I/me (very formal) |
| กระผม | kraphom | /kràʔ.pʰǒm/ | I/me (masculine; formal) |
| ผม | phom | /pʰǒm/ | I/me (masculine; common) |
| ดิฉัน | dichan | /dìʔ.tɕʰǎn/ | I/me (feminine; formal) |
| ฉัน | chan | /tɕʰǎn/ | I/me (mainly used by women; common) Commonly pronounced as [tɕʰán] |
| ข้า | kha | /kʰâː/ | I/me (from high-status to low-status or familiar; informal) |
| กู | ku | /kūː/ | I/me (impolite/vulgar) |
| หนู | nu | /nǔː/ | I/me (used by women when speaking to people much older than themselves; informal)[33] |
| เรา | rao | /rāw/ | we/us (common), I/me (casual), you (sometimes used but only when older person speaks to younger person) |
| คุณ | khun | /kʰūn/ | you (common) |
| ท่าน | than | /tʰâːn/ | you (highly honorific; formal) Commonly pronounced as [tʰân] |
| แก | kae | /kɛ̄ː/ | you (familiar; informal)[34] |
| เอ็ง | eng | /ʔēŋ/ | you (from high-status to low-status or familiar; informal) |
| เธอ | thoe | /tʰɤ̄ː/ | you (informal), she/her (informal) |
| พี่ | phi | /pʰîː/ | older brother, sister (also used for older acquaintances; common) |
| น้อง | nong | /nɔ́ːŋ/ | younger brother, sister (also used for younger acquaintances; common) |
| เขา | khao | /kʰǎw/ | he/him (common), she/her (common) Commonly pronounced as [kʰáw] |
| มัน | man | /mān/ | it, he/she (offensive if used to refer to a person) |
| มึง | mueng | /mɯ̄ŋ/ | you (impolite/vulgar) |
The reflexive pronoun is ตัวเอง (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 ตัวผมเอง (tua phom eng, lit: I myself) or ตัวคุณเอง (tua khun eng, lit: you yourself). Thai also does not have a separate possessive pronoun. Instead, possession is indicated by the particle ของ (khong). For example, "my mother" is แม่ของผม (mae khong phom, lit: mother of I). This particle is often implicit, so the phrase is shortened to แม่ผม (mae phom). Plural pronouns can be easily constructed by adding the word พวก (phuak) in front of a singular pronoun as in พวกเขา (phuak khao) meaning 'they' or พวกเธอ (phuak thoe) meaning the plural sense of 'you'. The only exception to this is เรา (rao), which can be used as singular (informal) or plural, but can also be used in the form of พวกเรา (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 ครับ (khrap, /kʰráp/, with a high tone) when the speaker is a man, and ค่ะ (kha, /kʰâʔ/, with a falling tone) when the speaker is a woman. Used in a question or a request, the particle ค่ะ (falling tone) is changed to a คะ (high tone).
Other common particles are:
| Word | RTGS | IPA | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| จ้ะ, จ้า or จ๋า | cha | /tɕâʔ/, /tɕâː/ or /tɕǎː/ | indicating emphasis. Used in a less formal context when speaking to friends or someone younger than yourself[35] |
| ละ or ล่ะ | la | /láʔ/ or /lâʔ/ | indicating emphasis. |
| สิ or ซิ | si | /sìʔ/ or /síʔ/ | indicating emphasis or an imperative. It can come across as ordering someone to do something[35] |
| นะ or น่ะ | na | /náʔ/ or /nâʔ/ | 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.[36][citation needed] 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 กิน (kin; common), แดก (daek; vulgar), ยัด (yat; vulgar), บริโภค (boriphok; formal), รับประทาน (rapprathan; formal), ฉัน (chan; religious), or เสวย (sawoei; royal), as illustrated below:
| "to eat" | IPA | Usage | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| กิน | /kīn/ | common | |
| แดก | /dɛ̀ːk/ | vulgar | |
| ยัด | /ját/ | vulgar | Original meaning is 'to cram' |
| บริโภค | /bɔ̄ː.ríʔ.pʰôːk/ | formal, literary | |
| รับประทาน | /ráp.pràʔ.tʰāːn/ | formal, polite | Often shortened to ทาน /tʰāːn/. |
| ฉัน | /tɕʰǎn/ | religious | |
| เสวย | /sàʔ.wɤ̌ːj/ | royal |
Thailand also uses the distinctive Thai six-hour clock in addition to the 24-hour clock.
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.[37][38][39]
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.[13]
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 | IPA | Gloss |
|---|---|---|---|
| Native Tai | ไฟ | /fāj/ | fire |
| น้ำ | /náːm/ | water | |
| เมือง | /mɯ̄aŋ/ | town | |
| รุ่งเรือง | /rûŋ rɯ̄aŋ/ | prosperous | |
| Indic sources: Pāli or Sanskrit |
อัคนี (agni) | /ʔàk.kʰáʔ.nīː/ | fire |
| ชล (jala) | /tɕʰōn/ | water | |
| ธานี (dhānī) | /tʰāː.nīː/ | town | |
| วิโรจน์ (virocana) | /wíʔ.rôːt/ | prosperous |
From Middle Chinese or Teochew Chinese.
| Chinese words | Thai rendition | IPA | Gloss | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 交椅 | Teochew: gao1 in2 | เก้าอี้ | /kâw.ʔîː/ | chair |
| 粿條 / 粿条 | Min Nan: kóe-tiâu | ก๋วยเตี๋ยว | /kǔaj.tǐaw/ | rice noodle |
| 姐 | Hokkien: chiá/ché Teochew: zê2/zia2 |
เจ้ or เจ๊ | /tɕêː/ or /tɕéː/ | older sister (used in Chinese community in Thailand) |
| 二 | Hokkien: jī Teochew: ri6 |
ยี่ | /jîː/ | two (archaic, but still used in word ยี่สิบ /jîː sìp/; 'twenty') |
| 豆 | Middle Chinese: dəuH | ถั่ว | /tʰùa/ | bean |
| 盎 | Middle Chinese: ʔɑŋX/ʔɑŋH | อ่าง | /ʔàːŋ/ | basin |
| 膠 | Middle Chinese: kˠau | กาว | /kāːw/ | glue |
| 鯁 | Middle Chinese: kˠæŋX | ก้าง | /kâːŋ/ | fishbone |
| 坎 | Middle Chinese: kʰʌmX | ขุม | /kʰǔm/ | pit |
| 塗 | Middle Chinese: duo/ɖˠa | ทา | /tʰāː/ | to smear |
| 退 | Middle Chinese: tʰuʌiH | ถอย | /tʰɔ̌j/ | to step back |
| English words | Thai rendition | IPA | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| apple | แอปเปิล | /ʔɛ́p.pɤ̂n/ | |
| bank | แบงก์ | /bɛ́ŋ/ | means 'bank' or 'banknote' |
| bill | บิล | /bīn/ or /bīw/ | |
| cake | เค้ก | /kʰéːk/ | |
| captain | กัปตัน | /kàp.tān/ | |
| cartoon | การ์ตูน | /kāː.tūːn/ | |
| clinic | คลินิก | /kʰlíʔ.nìk/ | |
| computer | คอมพิวเตอร์ | /kʰɔ̄m.pʰíw.tɤ̂ː/ | colloquially shortened to คอม /kʰɔ̄m/ |
| corruption | คอร์รัปชัน | /kʰɔ̄ː.ráp.tɕʰân/ | |
| countdown | เคานต์ดาวน์ | /kʰáw.dāːw/ | |
| dinosaur | ไดโนเสาร์ | /dāj.nōː.sǎw/ | |
| duel | ดวล | /dūan/ | |
| อีเมล | /ʔīː mēːw/ | ||
| fashion | แฟชั่น | /fɛ̄ː.tɕʰân/ | |
| golf | กอล์ฟ | /kɔ́p/ | |
| shampoo | แชมพู | /tɕʰɛ̄m.pʰūː/ | |
| slip | สลิป | /sàʔ.líp/ | |
| taxi | แท็กซี่ | /tʰɛ́k.sîː/ | |
| technology | เทคโนโลยี | /tʰék.nōː.lōː.jīː, -jîː/ | |
| valve | วาล์ว | /wāːw/ | |
| visa | วีซ่า | /wīː.sâː/ | |
| wreath | (พวง)หรีด | /rìːt/ |
| French words | Thai rendition | IPA | English translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| buffet | บุฟเฟต์ | /búp.fêː/ | |
| café | กาแฟ | /kāː.fɛ̄ː/ | coffee |
| คาเฟ่ | /kʰāː.fêː/ | coffee shop, restaurant serving alcoholic drinks and providing entertainment (dated) | |
| caféine | กาเฟอีน | /kāː.fēː.ʔīːn/ | caffeine |
| chauffeur | โชเฟอร์ | /tɕʰōː.fɤ̂ː/ | |
| consul | กงสุล | /kōŋ.sǔn/ | |
| coupon | คูปอง | /kʰūː.pɔ̄ŋ/ | |
| croissant | ครัวซ็อง | /kʰrūa.sɔ̄ŋ/ | |
| gramme | กรัม | /krām/ | |
| litre | ลิตร | /lít/ | |
| mètre | เมตร | /méːt/ | metre |
| parquet | ปาร์เกต์ | /pāː.kêː/ | |
| pétanque | เปตอง | /pēː.tɔ̄ːŋ/ |
From Old Khmer
| Khmer words | Thai rendition | IPA | Gloss |
|---|---|---|---|
| ក្រុង (/kroŋ/) | กรุง | /krūŋ/ | capital city |
| ខ្ទើយ (/kʰtəːj/) | กะเทย | /kàʔ.tʰɤ̄ːj/ | kathoey |
| ខ្មួយ (/kʰmuəj/) | ขโมย | /kʰàʔ.mōːj/ | to steal, thief |
| ច្រមុះ (/crɑː.moh/) | จมูก | /tɕàʔ.mùːk/ | nose |
| ច្រើន (/craən/) | เจริญ | /tɕàʔ.rɤ̄ːn/ | prosperous |
| ឆ្លាត or ឆ្លាស (/cʰlaːt/ or /cʰlaːh/) |
ฉลาด | /tɕʰàʔ.làːt/ | smart |
| ថ្នល់ (/tʰnɑl/) | ถนน | /tʰàʔ.nǒn/ | road |
| ភ្លើង (/pʰləːŋ/) | เพลิง | /pʰlɤ̄ːŋ/ | fire |
| ទន្លេ (/tɔn.leː/) | ทะเล | /tʰáʔ.lēː/ | sea |
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.
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:
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.[41][42][43][44]
Official standards are the Royal Thai General System of Transcription (RTGS), published by the Royal Institute of Thailand,[45] and the almost identical ISO 11940-2 defined by the International Organization for Standardization. The RTGS system is increasingly used in Thailand by central and local governments, especially for road signs.[46] 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.
The ISO published an international standard for the transliteration of Thai into Roman script in September 2005 (ISO 11940).[47] 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.
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