How do I start learning Thai?

[TWMudd83]

Hi, I have a friend in Thailand who has just created a website to learn Thai (www.talkthai.org) based around taking the Thai Vocabularly and associating these unfamiliar words with familiar pictures. It's not your typical way to learn a language, but it certainly came in use for the short period I was in Thailand.

[leyla]

Hi, I have a friend in Thailand who has just created a website to learn Thai (www.talkthai.org) based around taking the Thai Vocabularly and associating these unfamiliar words with familiar pictures. It's not your typical way to learn a language, but it certainly came in use for the short period I was in Thailand.

First, I'd like to say that this is a very nice website with some really usefull stuff for beginners, and your friend is very sweet for doing this for free. I love his pictures.

Now for some comments that he may find useful.

The mnemonic method he uses is not new. For example, here is Linkword Languages Thai Survival Course. I'm not advocating buying this course, but users of your friend's website may find the little free sampler, and the other propaganda, useful in mastering the method. They might also find Barry Farber's How to learn any language useful. Your friend may want to add those links.

He has a typo that you might want to tell him about - "mimimimimi" should be "maimaimaimaimai" (colloqially people sound like "mi" sometimes; if that's what he's going for he should probably explain it).

It's certainly not his fault, but that romanization system he uses is not good. I'm surprised at how many terrible systems there are out there. I personally like Becker's, but it uses characters that are hard to produce on the typewriter. I use a system similar to Thai Language.com. But I make 2 modifications: I use v instead of eu (this is common shorthand for the similar sound in Mandarin pinyin), and I use numbers at the end of syllables for tones (also common in pinyin). For example, ชื่อ would be chvv2 in my system, rather than cher. I had to develop this because I'm a beginner, trying to really nail down my tones, and wanting to do a lot of electronic flashcards, etc.

It's a great site though; thank your friend for me.

[Mell07]

Thanks for the feed back Leyla regarding 'www.talkthai.org'. I'll try and update the site with your recommendations and add those links over the next few days. Yeah I had my concerns over how to phonetically write a lot of the vocabulary on this website. I was originally contemplating writing all in a phonemic font, though I just wanted to try and keep the website simple as I don't believe there's a huge amount of people that can actually read phonemes. Again I still haven't made my mind up yet of how to best translate. Like in the example you gave 'ชื่อ', I am aware that most translations of this word are written 'cheu'. If I was to come across this word without any previous reference I would not know how to say it, hence I've gone for the translation of 'Cher' a more colloquial approach rather than an academic one.

I felt I did rush a lot of this website (especially in the translations) as I was working to a tight deadline. But again I seriously appreciate your feedback, if you have any other thoughts please get back to us. Thanks again,

Regards,
Andrew

[muraquel]

Oh my gosh, this is really confusing! I think I will have to find a thai friend here in los Angeles. There's a lot of thai restaurants here and sometimes I listen to some thai people talking and it seems so difficult. I understand some words because I was married to a thai at one time and he also went to school in the philippines so we were actually in the same class in College that how I met him. He actually learned how to speak tagalog while he was in the Philippines and I was able to understand some thai words thene but now, I forgot most of the words because I don't hear anybody speaks it. I think the easiestway to learn a different language is if you talk to someone that speaks the language. What do you guys think?

[Mai.Khao.Jai]

I got a question, where can i get "Thai for Beginners" by Benjawan Poomsan Becker in Bangkok?

What else is good for beginner in learning thai?

any good bookshops to recommend in Bangkok??

Thanks!!

[Khun Don]

You can buy it from this site's bookshop

However, if you wish to buy it when you are in Bangkok ,then this is one bookshop with many branches that sells it.

I am trying to learn some Thai and am finding this site, also a Paknam Web site, useful, together with this section of the site.

[Ekman]

wery good site and advices

[Polerio]

If you just want to learn some Sentences in Thai for your Holiday Conversation then it is not necessary to learn the Alphabet.

If you want to get a deeper look into the Thai Language and learn a little bit more than just "Hello", "How are you?" and so on, then I recommend that you learn the Alphabet (including Reading/Writing) just from the beginning.
To really learn a Language which has other Alphabet then Roman using Transliteration/Romanization is a big waste of time.

So it depends on your Learning Goal.

Hi chaidi!

I did read several of your remarks in this thread and did like them all very much. As I'm staying in Bonn (moving from Berlin) you hopefully will understand the following:
My wife is of Thai nation, we have two houses, one in Thailand, and one in Germany. Both of us have studied, she in Bangkok (economy), me in Wuerzburg (medicines). We life mostely in Germany. When I retire in several decades, we potentially will stay more often in Thailand.

I decided - do not know whether right or wrong, can report about this in about 5 years - in my private and professional situation described two things:

1. Forget at the very first place "how to pronunce" it. Try to teach you how to read, how to transcribe, and how to romanize (according to RI) it. Try to translate it thereafter (I still need very simple texts - just an issue how to get a simple but good text for this means).

2. Try to organise all what is mixed up about rules as they are transferded to the English or German speaking student of Thai.

My solution for 1 and 2 looks like, it is currently still a draft, พยัญชนะควบกล้ำ -for the Phayanchana Khuapklam.

What is your opinion about my attempts? The page I linked is only a footnote of a page where I try to translate a short story (the flash used is linked so I hope that I do not hurt copy-/authors rights --- my idea works also without flash).

[djaidee]

Your work looks very interesting, you surely put much effort in it.

Like it a lot.

Could you please post a Link to the whole Story (Tale), sounds like fun.

Such Materials are always appreciated by all Learners here at the Forum.

Thanks in advance.

[Puttino]

Could you please post a Link to the whole Story (Tale), sounds like fun.

The link to the start-page of the fable (what it is in fact, it derives from "Der Rat der Ratten" von Jean de la Fontaine) is ใครจะเอากระพรวนไปแขวนคอแมว.

The website itself is full of stuff similar like this. Perhaps you go, to get an overview about the size, to OVERVIEW.

The Ebook I love most from this page is NASHORNVOGEL.

I hope that's the information required?

With my own page I'm trying only to show how this can be translated (into German), and, once you understand each story, to listen to the speaker while understanding then (after translation into German, after applying Grammar etc.) what is spoken in Thai.

Best regards

Puttino, ex Polerio