Learn Thai From A White Guy

I have been messing around with Sketchcast lately and it has some potential.

I created a quick one introducing the middle class letters. Let me know if people would be interested in more of these.

Please forgive my writing as it was done with a mouse.

Here is a deck to practice the letters from the sketchcast. The most important thing at this point is connecting the English words with the letter. Hearing the words over and over should serve to anchor the sound in your mind as well.
Anki Deck – Mid Class Consonants

Remembering the Middle Class Consonants

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6D7RVVa9tQ]

ก็อักษรกลาง อักษรกลางภาษาไทยจะมีทั้งหมด 9 ตัว ก็จะมี ก จ ด ต ฎ ฏ บ ป อ ซึ่งการจะจำแบบนี้ มันจะเป็นเรื่องที่ยาก Brett ก็เลยแนะนำวิธีการจำเป็นเรื่องเป็นราวให้ง่ายๆ ดังต่อไปนี้ ก็คือ มีเด็กอยู่ 1 คน เค้าชอบเลี้ยงสัตว์ซึ่งสัตว์ที่เค้าเลี้ยงจะมีอยู่ 3 ชนิดก็คือ มีปลา มีเต่า แล้วก็มีไก่ ซึ่งทั้ง 3 ชนิดเนี่ย เด็กคนนี้ก็เลยต้องเลี้ยงให้มันสามารถดำรงชีวิตอยู่ได้ ก็เลยเอาไปใส่ไว้ในอ่าง ซึ่งเป็นอ่างน้ำที่ใหญ่ๆ แล้วก็จะต้องเลี้ยงอาหารให้กับมันเพราะว่าไม่งั้นมันก็จะไม่มีชีวิตรอด ซึ่งอาหารที่เค้าจะให้ก็คือ ใบไม้ แล้วถ้าเกิดว่าเราเลี้ยงมันแล้วเราไม่ ไม่ปิดมันเงี่ย มันก็จะทำให้มันสามารถหนีออกไปได้ใช่ไหม หลบหนีออกไปได้ ฉะนั้นเราต้องหาอะไรสักสิ่งหนึ่งมาปิด ซึ่งฝามันก็หายไปแล้ว ก็เลยใช้จานที่มีอยู่ที่บ้านมาปิด ก็จะทำให้มันสามารถที่จะดำรงชีวิตอยู่ในบ้านเรา ที่เราเลี้ยงได้ก็ จบ ก็จะมีครบหมดเลยทั้ง 9 ตัวลองไปหาดูในเรื่องราวเมื่อกี้ (อืม…)

หมายเหตุ….ตัว ฎ ฏ จะไม่มีเพราะมันออกเสียงเหมือน ด ต ตามลำดับอยู่แล้วเลยไม่มีในเรื่อง

Breakdown

ก็อักษรกลาง – So, these middle class consonants…

อักษรกลางภาษาไทยจะมีทั้งหมด 9 ตัว Thai has 9 middle class consonants.

ก็จะมี – They are..ก จ ด ต ฎ ฏ บ ป อ

ซึ่งการจะจำแบบนี้ – and so remembering them like this

มันจะเป็นเรื่องที่ยาก – can be difficult

Brett ก็เลยแนะนำวิธีการจำเป็นเรื่องเป็นราว – So Brett came up with a story

ให้ง่ายๆ – to make it easier.

ดังต่อไปนี้ – As follows…

ก็คือ มีเด็กอยู่ 1 คน – So there is this kid…

เค้าชอบเลี้ยงสัตว์ – and he likes keeping pets.

ซึ่งสัตว์ที่เค้าเลี้ยงจะมีอยู่ 3 ชนิด and he has 3 different pets (kinds).

ก็คือ มีปลา He’s got a fish.

มีเต่า a turtle

แล้วก็มีไก่ and a chicken

ซึ่งทั้ง 3 ชนิดเนี่ย and so all 3 of these animals

เด็กคนนี้ – so this kid

ก็เลยต้องเลี้ยงให้มันสามารถดำรงชีวิตอยู่ได้ – takes care of all of these animals

ก็เลยเอาไปใส่ไว้ในอ่าง and keeps them in a basin (that shower bucket thing)

ซึ่งเป็นอ่างน้ำที่ใหญ่ๆ a big bucket/basin

แล้วก็จะต้องเลี้ยงอาหารให้กับมัน – and of course he needs to feed them

เพราะว่าไม่งั้นมันก็จะไม่มีชีวิตรอด because if he didn’t how would they survive?

ซึ่งอาหารที่เค้าจะให้ก็คือ and he feeds them

ใบไม้ leaves

แล้วถ้าเกิดว่าเราเลี้ยงมันแล้วเราไม่ so if we have these animals

ไม่ปิดมันเงี่ย and we don’t close/cover (up the basin)

มันก็จะทำให้มันสามารถหนีออกไปได้ใช่ไหม they’d be able to get out (of the basin where they are kept) right?

หลบหนีออกไปได้  they’d be able to escape

ฉะนั้นเราต้องหาอะไรสักสิ่งหนึ่งมาปิด – so we need to have something to cover the basin with

ซึ่งฝามันก็หายไปแล้ว – but we lost the lid

ก็เลยใช้จาน – so we use a plate

ที่มีอยู่ที่บ้านมาปิด from the house to close it up

ก็จะทำให้มันสามารถที่จะดำรงชีวิตอยู่ในบ้านเรา which allows them to stay in the house

ที่เราเลี้ยงได้ก็ จบ so we can take care of them.  That’s it.

ก็จะมีครบหมดเลยทั้ง 9 ตัว Oh, and there are actually 9 letters in all.

ลองไปหาดูในเรื่องราวเมื่อกี้ (อืม…) But if you check the story I just told…

หมายเหตุ….ตัว ฎ ฏ the reason the othe other 2 letters ฎ ฏ

จะไม่มี are left out

เพราะมันออกเสียงเหมือน ด ต  because they sound the same as ด and ต

I came up with this story the other day while making flashcards for one of my students.  Mnemonics are great.

In order for this mnemonic to work properly, you should try to imagine the story in your mind.  Pictures you make in your head are easier to remember than actual images.

To reinforce it you might make SRS cards to quiz you on the story.   Ex – Q – What pets does the middle class kid keep?  A ปลา ไก่ เต่า

There is a middle class kid (เด็ก) who likes to keep pets.

He has a fish (ปลา), a turtle (เต่า) and a chicken (ไก่).

Where does he keep these pets?  In his basin (อ่าง) of course.  (Actually try to imagine a big bucket with a chicken, a turtle and a fish swimming around inside it always bumping into each other)

He needs to feed the pets.  They eat leaves (ใบ ไม้).

Also, he needs to make sure they don’t get out so he keeps a big plate (จาน) on top of the อ่าง.

Yes, I left out the other 2 as they aren’t vital when you first start reading.  If you are solid on this story its easy to add in the other ones.

There are 24 low class consonants.  This is the biggest group of letters.  This post will just cover some of the more common ones.  It is assumed you are familiar with the vowels covered in previous alphabet-related posts.  These vowels are  - อา อิ อี  เอ เอา ไอ ใอ ออ  อุ  อู

If it isn’t already obvious, the best way to go about this is to memorize the 2 other groups of letters (high and mid) so that when you encounter a letter that you know isn’t high or mid, you know its low.  With a bit of time spent trying to read, it will all become second nature and you will no longer need to think in terms of high, mid or low.  

As I mentioned above, there are 24 letters in the low class.  Today we are just going to cover 14 of them.   As usual, I strongly reccomend learning the alphabet ASAP as it is very difficult to separate sounds within a language while you are associating the sounds with your native alphabet/sylalbary.  So learn the damn alphabet already.  Its easy.   If you are going to be in Chiang Mai (or Bkk if I happen to be there) and need help, I can pound the bulk of the alphabet into your head in 6-8 nearly painless hours and help you start reading (fun easy stuff) so it stays put.  

ค ง ช ซ ท น พ ฟ ภ ม ย ร ล ว 

ค (คอ ควาย) is very much like the ‘k’ in English.  You should note that the only difference (in appearance) between this letter and ด (ดอ เด็ก) is the circle placement.  

Mnemonic – The line in the middle is an arm.  The circle is a fist holding a dagger.  If you are trying to kill someone the blade of the dagger is coming out the bottom of your hand while you stab them you might shout “I’m gonna kill ya!” in order to remember the ‘k’ sound — ค 

If you are holding the dagger the other way (blade up) you are more likely to be ‘defending yourself.’ — ด

ง  (งอ งู) is like the ‘ng’ in singing, but in Thai it can be the first sound in a word.  The letter is called snake and it looks like one.  Or it looks like a lower-case ‘g’, whatever works for ya.  I’d go with a snake that makes งงงงง  sounds rather than hiss instead.

ช (ชอ ช้าง) This one is like a ‘ch.’ The name of the letter ‘ช้าง’ (chaang + high tone) means elephant so you might consider the last line which heads off to the top right being the elephant’s trunk.  

ซ (ซอ โซ่) This is the only ‘s’ sound that is low class (the rest are high).  โซ่ means chain and has a nick in the tail of the elephant, so lets imagine a chain wrapped around the poor creature’s tail.  It helps to create a mental image.  

*This letter is the only ‘s’ sound that can be any tone (high class consonants leading a word restrict the word to rising, falling or low)

ท (ทอ ทหาร) is just like a ‘t’ and the letter’s name means soldier.  Maybe this soldier is holding one fist (the circle) high in some sort of salute….

น (นอ หนู) – ‘n’  the name of the letter is ‘mouse’ or ‘rat.’  This letter looks a lot like an ‘N’ to me.  The connecting line in the English letter is mousing its way along the floor only to scamper up the other side.  

พ (พอ พาน) like a ‘p,’ and the name of the letter is a type of tray or dish that has a pedestal base.  Let’s just think of it as pedestal-ed plate (จาน) with a big P on it.  

ฟ (ฟอ ฟัน) like an ‘f,’ and the name means ‘tooth.’ 

ภ (ภอ สำเภา) – ‘p’ – type of boat (junk).  

ม (มอ ม้า) ‘m’ – horse

ย (ยอ ยักษ์) ‘y’ – ‘giant’ *often used as a semi-vowel

ร (รอ เรือ) – ‘r’ (often pronounced as ‘l’ or half-ass’d ‘r’ *correct pronouciation involves a trill, but this is almost always dropped in colloqual speech)  - boat (any kind)

ล (ลอ ลิง) ‘l’ – monkey *monkey down on all 4′s with unusually long tail extending high over its head

ว (วอ แหวน) ‘w’ – a ring *Mnemonic – here someone has presented you with a very odd ring – its far too small to fit on your finger (the circle) and it has a long curved claw jutting out of the top.  Maybe if you just hung the claw over your finger… 

What do we know so far?  Not nearly enough.  Can you read any of this stuff below yet?

1. กา   crow
2. เจ    vegetarian
3. ด้าน  side
4. บ้าน  house; home
5. อ่าง  basin; sink

Lets go over these a bit.

First there is กา.  This is that kinda Gaah when certain people with certain accents say ‘garden.’  Long vowel, to say it properly you need to hold that vowel a moment longer than you would in English.

เจ – uh-oh.  Did I even cover this letter yet?  Lets just say its a not too distant Asian cousin of the letter ‘J.’ Added on to that vowel that is pretty close to the vowel in words like pay, stay, ray, day.  Why you might even get away with this word by simply saying the letter “J,”  because in English we throw vowels into our letters without writing them.  How confusing!

ด้าน  The sperm on top of the ด here changes the tone to falling.  So its that “D-ish” letter with a long aaah + n-like consonant at the end.  Got it?

บ้าน Just like ด้าน except our “D-izm” turns into a “B-izl.”  It can’t get any easier than this.  No really it can’t and it won’t so please enjoy the moment while you can.

อ่าง So the อ is as usual just a place holder here.  Since it is paired up with า ..we simply say ‘aaah’ and then throw in the last consonant to make a fun syllable thats great for washing your hands or bathing out of a large barrel.  The tone mark makes it a low tona-fied word.  More on tonal-y stuff later.  What is that funny letter at the end anyways?  Why its a ง [งอ งู] of course.  If one was forced to transliterate it, and I feel forced at the moment, we would do so as Ng.  Some people have lots of trouble with this sound, so I will spend more time on it later.  But the way I learned it was simply to keep saying words in English (which I could pronounce fairly well to begin with) that ended in -ing and then practice adding vowel sounds onto the end of that until I could drop the English in the beginning.  You just need to find what your mouth is doing when you say English words and train it to be able to use it to start the word.   sing–uu, sing–aaah, sing–ohh.  Eventually it just falls into place and you give up all that sin and just have gnuu งู, gnaah งา, gnoo โง่. All useful words.

Are you feeling fluent yet?  Don’t worry, we’re almost there.  We’ve almost done it.  We’ve almost mastered the middle class consonants.  The smallest group of letters in Thai.  We will need to memorize that these are middle class consonants at some point so I’m going to just keep reminding you until we’ve covered them all.

*ง and น are low class consonants.  The middle consonants are จ ฎ ฏ ด ต บ ป อ.

Moving right along, lets quickly run over the sprinkle of letters from part 1.

ก [กอ ไก่] ไก่ chicken

อ [ออ อ่อง] ไอ to cough

Next up is ด [ดอ เด็ก] เด็ก means kid or child. We’ll get to how to read it shortly. This letter ด is very close to the letter D in English. Lets throw an ไ vowel in front of it to give us a word that sounds a whole lot like ‘die’ in English.

ได Simple ‘eh? ไก่ ได ไอ

Time to throw another vowel in the mix. The vowel [สระ อา] า. This is a long vowel. Comparable to the sound you make when the doctor tells you to open up and say ‘aah.’ Well, perhaps not quite that long. But maybe something like the vowel sound in dark if you got rid of the r and k and replaced it with some more ‘aah.’ The vowel is like a candy cane. And the sound you might make while trying to shove the whole thing in your mouth at once isn’t very different from the vowel sound.

กา อา ดา

Still with me? Probably not, but it’ll make more sense when I get the sound files up. Soon friend, soon.

บ [บอ ใบไม้] ใบไม้ means is 2 syllables and means leaf. The บ sound is a lot like ‘b,’ and that should suffice for now. The vowel ใอ is pronounced exactly the same as ไอ and the first one which is rounded at the top only appears in about 20 words and is important only for spelling.

Lets go over all the vowels we have so far -

กา บา ดา อา

ไก + ใก, ไบ + ใบ, ได + ใด differ only in the spelling of vowel.

We’d better cover another vowel before moving on. The vowel เ [สระ เอ] is a long vowel which sounds like the way we say the letter ‘A’ when spelling a word. Like in ‘day, tray, pay, say, and so forth. It looks like a tiny lowercase b and always appears before the consonant it affects.

เด เบ เก เอ

We need to add in another consonant and a vowel.

ต [ตอ เต่า] Some people have trouble pronouncing this letter so I’m gonna try to describe it. Its somewhere between d and th in English. Your tongue should be face up like a ‘th,’ but it shouldn’t actually go out past your teeth. It should stay kind of cupping your upper teeth. Keep your tongue loose and relaxed when practicing this sound.

เต่า means turtle. Notice that we have both the เ before and the า after the letter. These 2 vowels when enveloping a letter, actually become a new sound. Yay!

So what vowels do we know now? None? Erm. Well, lets pretend we do and try reading these mostly nonsense words below:

เอ อา เอา ออ

เก กอ กา เกา

บา เบ เบา บอ

เตา เต ตา ตอ

ใบ ไต ไก ไอ

*ออ is pronounced like ‘awe.’ Remember that the first อ is a placeholder and the second อ acts as a vowel.

First off, you gotta learn the alphabet. There isn’t going to be any getting around it. Not here anyways. The alphabet has a bunch of sounds that we don’t have in English. So the sooner your brain can process those letters as Thai sounds and not English sounds, the sooner you will start speaking correctly.

Now I’m gonna try and scare you off. Thai is tonal, has lots of letters and a bunch of rules you need to get used to in order to figure out which tone a word should be. Its a bit heavy at first, but if you take it in gradually it is by no means unattainable.

First the letter, then in [brackets] how its referred to. Formula is as follows:

letter – [letter + อ + name of letter]

ก – [กอ ไก่] This letter happens to be the first in the alphabet. Not a bad place to start. More importantly it is a middle class consonant and thats what we should be learning first. The rules are easier to grasp and there aren’t that many letters in the group. Only 9 in fact. Can’t get any easier than that..right?

I’m going to avoid using any linguistic terms because we don’t need them. If you need to learn words like bilabial and alveolar (who does?) then find a site that teaches English.

Back on track. This letter ก [กอ ไก่] is pretty simple. It kinda looks like a bird to me so use that as mnemonic if you’d like. It fits as the name of the letter is actually ไก่ which means chicken. Too easy.

The sound of ก might take a bit of getting used to, but its not really that hard. Phrasebooks tend to peg it as a k, but I’d say its much closer to the ‘g’ in guide. Then again, its not a g or a k, its a ก.

You may be wondering about that symbol after the ก. Thats the vowel. Thai vowels are like a group of rowdy kids. They are all over the place and never where you expect them. Under, over, before and maybe after the consonant if your lucky. There are some invisible vowels too, but we’ll get to that fun stuff later.

For now let’s make sure you are heading in the direction of grasping this vowel ไ [สระ ไอ]. While it is written before the consonant..the actual sound of the vowel still follows the consonant. The sound of the vowel is mighty similar to the vowel sound in words like – my, try, lie, spy, and of course, Thai [ไทย].

อ – [ออ อ่าง] While this is most certainly a middle class consonant, it also acts as a vowel or a placeholder and you will learn it quickly because you will see it all the time. Any time we spell a word in Thai [ไทย], we say a sound which combines the consonant + อ. In those cases it functions as a vowel sound. The sound is a lot like the word ‘awe.’ Any time we want to write a vowel, it must have a placeholder and that placeholder is อ. In those cases, it just takes the form of the vowel it is spelling. Like this – ไอ [to cough; vapor]. We just say the sound of the vowel – see above.

Lets go over those again now -

ไก่ is a chicken

ไอ means ‘to cough’

I’ll explain อ – [ออ อ่าง] as well as give some more easy word examples in the next post.