Upon arrival in Thailand, already at the airport tourists begin to be surprised by the local language and writing. It’s truly amazing and strange to hear the play and transitions in one person’s speech, just like a song or the meow of a kitten. This applies to many Asian countries, not only Thailand, but the language here is very interesting!
A fragment of the Thai epic Ramakiyan, which is sung as a song in Thai
Alphabet and keys
The first Thai alphabet was invented by King Ramakhamhaeng in the first Thai state of Sukhothai in 1283. He wanted to come up with a writing system that would be different from the Mon and Khmer languages - Sukhothai's neighbors. Since then, the local population has been using that script, although in the course of history the Thai language has undergone some changes, but minor ones.
Today, the Thai language has 44 vowels and 4 consonants. Most words are monosyllabic, but tones are of enormous importance. There are as many as 5 tones in the Thai language, and changing the tone can change the meaning of a word. For example, the word “ma” with a change in tone can mean dog, horse or come. Or the word “pad” can carry meanings - spicy, eight or duck, if you add a slight aspiration. Europeans distinguish tones very poorly, so it is almost impossible to understand the difference between tones the first, second, or even third time. And tourists shouldn’t, there are other ways to communicate with the local population besides the Thai language.
You are in Thailand farang
“Farang” - that’s what all the locals will call you.
Language in Thailand
From the Thai language this word is translated as newcomer. By the way, the local guava - farang - is also called the same name. Many Thais do not pronounce the letter “r”, so they will call you nothing other than faLang, which is quite easy to remember by association.
The word “khun” is often added to this word - this is a respectful address. So you are a khun farang. When addressing Thais, you can also use the word khun if you don’t know the person’s name or don’t know how to address him.
If they ask you where you are from, and you proudly answer: “Russia!”, there is a chance that they will ask you again and make a surprised face. Taking into account the Thai dialect, it is better to pronounce it as RATSIA, then you will definitely be understood.
In the tourist areas of Thailand there are a lot of signs already in Russian
How to communicate with Thais?
When communicating with the local population, never raise your voice - this is the first sign of disrespect. It is advisable to smile back, because it’s not for nothing that Thailand is called the land of smiles! If you do not speak English, or your accent is not understood by the locals, it is best to turn to sign language, but do not immediately raise your voice 2 tones higher; if you speak louder, this in Thailand certainly does not mean that you will be understood. The main phrases are “How much does it cost?” and thanks!" It is still advisable to know English or Thai. It is not necessary to learn, you can simply print out a short Russian-Thai phrasebook on one piece of paper and carry it with you. If, for example, you want to buy fruit at the market, then when you ask how much it costs, so as not to torment you or yourself with pronunciation of English numbers with a Thai accent, sellers, as a rule, show the cost on a calculator. Would you like to haggle? Just ask for a calculator and enter your price. This simple method will make communication much easier for you.
Thai numbers
Only a few languages in the world have their own specific numbers. Thailand is no exception. Today, of course, in the vast majority of places, even non-tourist Thailand, Arabic numerals are used, to which we are accustomed 0,1,2...9, but just in case, you can also familiarize yourself with purely Thai ones:
Thai numbers are rarely used in writing
When coming to Thailand, you can easily get by with just a few phrases in English or Thai. Moreover, in the tourist areas of Thailand there are a lot of signs in Russian, and in restaurants and cafes you will most likely be offered a menu in Russian.
Welcome to Thailand!
A tourist traveling to the eastern kingdom for the first time always has a lot of questions, the main one being: what is the language in Thailand? Don't be afraid that communication with locals here will be difficult.
Of course, the official language is here Thai and it is spoken by every native of Thailand. But we must not forget that the kingdom is a paradise for tourists. That is why in the country it is in second place in terms of prevalence. Taiglish- a mixture of Thai and English. It is enough to have a little knowledge of at least one of the two languages (easier English) to understand the local interlocutor.
If you vacation where there are a lot of Russians, for example in Pattaya, then it is quite possible to communicate in our great and mighty. Thailand is thriving largely thanks to tourism, and since most of the vacationers here are from the CIS countries, the Thais, in pursuit of profit, create the most comfortable conditions for their guests, trying to protect them from the language barrier.
Well, the fourth language of Thailand, which is universal and suitable for all countries of the world, is sign language. Perhaps the easiest to learn, because... there are no rules and the funniest.
Basic rules of communication in Thailand
Thais are enough friendly And polite people. Tourists often fall in love with such relationships between people, especially in contrast to our countries. However, the Thais to themselves same attitude.
If you don't understand each other when talking, then no need to raise your voice, because
Russian-Thai phrasebook
this is a clear sign of disrespect, which often leads unknowing tourists to conflicts.
Also don't touch the Thais Per head– this is prohibited by their religion and causes negative feedback in Thai society. We recommend you learn a few more important and valuable tips regarding your stay in Thailand from the video below.
How to make communication easier in Thailand
In today's time, in the age of the Internet, our land is gradually turning into one large settlement. Boundaries are erased and communication between people from different cultures becomes easier. They provide unbearable help in this online translators and special applications.
Among all the variety of offers, service remains the best for us GoogleTranslate thanks to the following features:
- wide range of languages;
- audio pronunciation function of translated words;
- text recognition in pictures and photographs;
- the ability to work without an Internet connection (for this you need to download the language pack to your phone in advance).
Once we figured out Google Translate and doesn't matter, what is the language in Thailand or in any other country.
RUSSIAN-THAI PHRASE BOOK
In order for you to be able to produce good impression to the local population, below we have given you a list of basic Thai phrases that will help you in communication. You can memorize the simplest of them or add our page to bookmarks so you can quickly access it when needed.
Now you understand which language is the main one in Thailand and, knowing which one, you can relax comfortably in the kingdom. During your stay among the foreign contingent, you will be able to do well get better at English, which will serve you well on future trips. We wish you success!
Today, Thailand attracts millions of tourists from all over the world with its rich culture, history, unique nature and entertainment industry. More and more of our compatriots are choosing this colorful country not only for recreation, but also for work. This fact explains the increased interest in the Thai language. Even a general idea of what language is spoken in Thailand will help you get to know this unique country better.
What is the language in Thailand
Thai is considered the official language of the Kingdom of Thailand. Today it is spoken by more than 40 million people.
The national language of Thailand includes four regional dialects: Southern, Central, Northern and Northeastern. The Central dialect is mainly represented in Bangkok and forms the basis of the national literary language, which is taught in schools and broadcast in the media.
Despite the phonetic and lexical differences between the dialects, residents of different provinces understand each other quite well. This is facilitated by active communications, which gradually blur the boundaries between dialects.
Before making a tourist or work trip to the country of white elephants and exotic beaches, it is always useful to familiarize yourself with what language is in Thailand and what its features are.
Features of the language
The vocabulary is based on native Thai words. There are also borrowings from Sanskrit, Chinese and other languages, which is due to the historical influence of various cultures on Thailand.
Most Thai words have one syllable and do not change by case, gender or number. Foreign words are polysyllabic. In the Thai language there are no firm rules by which a word could be unambiguously assigned to one or another part of speech. Depending on the place a word occupies in a sentence, it can be a verb or a noun.
Rules of politeness require the use of special prefixes when addressing each other. Their choice depends on the gender of the person from whom the appeal comes. Thus, men use the prefix “kraap”, and women use “kah”.
To get a better idea of what language is spoken in Thailand, it is necessary to say a few words about pronunciation. Tonality is of great importance in the Thai language, as it has a direct impact on the meaning of what is said.
There are five tones in the Thai language: rising, falling, high, neutral and low. Each syllable is pronounced in its own key. The same word, colored with different melody, takes on a new meaning. Therefore, when learning Thai, one of the main aspects is mastering tonality.
The specifics of its grammar also indicate what language is in Thailand.
Thai language
Texts are written, as in Russian, from left to right, but without punctuation marks and capital letters. Words are written together, only sentences are separated by spaces.
Today, many Thais speak English, but native Thai remains the main language of communication and the calling card of the country.
Hello friends! If the title of this article suddenly seemed to you that I had doubts about the point of learning the Thai language, then you are right :) Indeed, there are things that do not motivate me to study the Thai language more seriously. Some of them I did not expect to encounter in the 21st century! If I had known this earlier, maybe I would have limited myself to “savadi-kha” and “kopkun-kha”.
But before I start criticizing, I’ll remind you and myself about the positive article written – from Russian and English. Well, now the whole truth after six months of studying :)
At first, learning Thai seemed like a necessity to me, since we live in Pattaya! But gradually the doubts became more and more, and now for me it’s just a hobby.
Challenges of learning Thai that you'll have to deal with
1. Thai alphabet
The Thai language has 32 vowels and 44 consonants, 4 diacritics to indicate tones and another 8 hooks for different purposes. Letter names consist of at least two words, for example: “go gay”, “may han agad”, “sara ay may malay”, etc. It turns out that you are learning not the alphabet, but the whole text!
In addition, in Thai 70% of consonant letters have 2-3 sounds depending on the location in the word. In this regard, it is similar to Russian, but in the Russian language there are only 21 consonants and only some of them can be voiced or deafened.
And also there are invisible vowels“a” and “o” - you need to know when they appear in a word and when they don’t.
2. Pronunciation of sounds
The Thai language not only has long and short vowels, but also two variants of the letter "o" and the letter "e". But with consonants it’s a problem... There are two variants of pronunciation of the letters “t”, “k”, “p”, “d” - and even after six months of studying the language I won’t tell you how they differ.
Studying the Thai language: my tutor Titamon and I are learning Thai literacy on the site near
.
Old drunk Germans walk past and interfere with our studies.
3. Key
But this is all nonsense compared to the tones. The Thai language has five tones: neutral, rising, falling, low and high. It will take more than one month until you learn to distinguish ascending from descending - which seem to be at different phonetic poles.
Mastering tones is the most important aspect of learning Thai. For example, the word "kao", pronounced in different tones, means "knee", "enter", "he" or "animal horn". And don’t try to pronounce “a” for a long time, because if you pronounce the word “kaao”, then the meanings, depending on the tones, will be “full of fish”, “news”, “rice”, “white”. And there are a lot of such words!
4. Keyboard
I have not yet been able to install the Thai language on my computer. I use the virtual keyboard. Because there are more letters than keys, they are arranged in different layouts, and it takes a long time to find the right letter. It's a small thing, but it's demotivating.
Several years ago, when I went to Thailand for the first time, after a while I could hardly remember what language I spoke with the locals. When you get to Thailand, you are immersed in a special linguistic environment made up of a mixture of English, Russian and Thai words, which, oddly enough, you begin to navigate quite quickly. The basis of communication between Thais and farangs (as foreigners are called here), of course, is English. If you have ever communicated with Americans, British and Australians, then most likely you have an idea of how much the “same” language can differ depending on the country of the speaker (we are not even talking about the accent, but about the culture of communication in general). In Thailand, this “difference” reaches a new level, there is even such a joke word as “taiglish” - the Thai version of the English language. It is on Taiglish that communication between Thais and farangs is based, however, there is one BUT - even if you speak English well, it is not a fact that you will be understood, therefore, when going to Thailand, be prepared for the fact that you will have to adapt.
Thais are very simple people who do not like difficulties. Therefore, the number one golden rule when communicating with Thais is to keep it simple!
A couple of days ago, a friend of mine used the phrase “not responsive” in a conversation with a motorbike owner, trying to explain that the brakes on his bike responded with some delay. I immediately imagined the situation as this elderly Thai man, in an oil-stained T-shirt, sitting in his workshop, leafing through an English textbook and memorizing the word responsive. The Thais just don't need it. Their main vocabulary consists of the simplest words used by tourists - work, sleep, go, walk, chicken, boom-boom, swim, little bit, same-same and so on. The more complex words you use, the less you will be understood. Something doesn’t work as it should - just say not work, if you want to change something, don’t indulge in complex explanations, just say change, figure it out yourself, look for the toilet - don’t try to ask Where is the restroom? Just say toilet. Make life easier for yourself and the Thais.
The same rules apply to language grammar. As sad as it sounds, in most cases, you will have to deliberately speak incorrectly in order to be understood. First of all, this concerns tenses; Thai is very different from the languages we are used to, so even such simple constructions as What did you do? They can cause confusion, but the question “What did you do yesterday?” would be much clearer. Question Are you going to work? It’s easier to ask: You work tomorrow? (Be prepared that Thais will also address you in this form). The same thing happens with irregular verbs. Not everyone knows that went is the same as go, only in the past tense, which is why phrases like Have you ever been to Europe? it should be built very simply - You go Europe before?
Pronunciation can also cause considerable difficulties. Don't be surprised if you hear words like flend, lum or lock somewhere; these are just friend, room and rock. . In the Thai language there is a fairly thin line between the letters “l” and “r”, so many Thais don’t bother and say whatever is more convenient.
In general, even if you don’t have the richest arsenal of English words, it’s quite easy to be understood in Thailand, but don’t forget that this is definitely not a country where you can get good language practice (except if you’re studying Thai , which is actually very interesting and entertaining).
Updated 07/11/2016 Views 1976 Comments 46
Relying on my good knowledge of English and our extraordinary acting skills, we naively went to live in non-tourist Thailand, not knowing a word of Thai and not taking a phrase book with us. And this turned out to be our mistake, because in the northern part of this country, more than often, you can meet a Thai who does not speak or understand a word of English.
Specifics of communication
When we talk about communication, we mean ordinary Thais whom you encounter every day at a store counter, in a cafe, at a hotel reception, and not those who work in a prestigious office job at a higher level. We communicated with such people only while hitchhiking, and my soul simply sang when we had the most interesting conversations in good English! So take this point into account, don’t demand too much, I doubt that in Moscow/St. Petersburg/YourCity, saleswomen in stores widely speak English.
A tourist traveling to the eastern kingdom for the first time always has a lot of questions, the main one being: what is the language in Thailand? Don't be afraid that communication with locals here will be difficult.
Of course, the official language is here Thai and it is spoken by every native of Thailand. But we must not forget that the kingdom is a paradise for tourists. That is why in the country it is in second place in terms of prevalence. Taiglish- a mixture of Thai and English. It is enough to have a little knowledge of at least one of the two languages (easier English) to understand the local interlocutor.
If you vacation where there are a lot of Russians, for example in Pattaya, then it is quite possible to communicate in our great and mighty. Thailand is thriving largely thanks to tourism, and since most of the vacationers here are from the CIS countries, the Thais, in pursuit of profit, create the most comfortable conditions for their guests, trying to protect them from the language barrier.
Well, the fourth language of Thailand, which is universal and suitable for all countries of the world, is sign language. Perhaps the easiest to learn, because... there are no rules and the funniest.
Basic rules of communication in Thailand
Thais are enough friendly And polite people. Tourists often fall in love with such relationships between people, especially in contrast to our countries. However, the Thais to themselves same attitude.
If you don't understand each other when talking, then no need to raise your voice, because this is a clear sign of disrespect, which often leads unknowing tourists to conflicts.
Also don't touch the Thais Per head– this is prohibited by their religion and causes negative feedback in Thai society. We recommend you learn a few more important and valuable tips regarding your stay in Thailand from the video below.
How to make communication easier in Thailand
In today's time, in the age of the Internet, our land is gradually turning into one large settlement. Boundaries are erased and communication between people from different cultures becomes easier. They provide unbearable help in this online translators and special applications.
Among all the variety of offers, service remains the best for us GoogleTranslate thanks to the following features:
- wide range of languages;
- audio pronunciation function of translated words;
- text recognition in pictures and photographs;
- the ability to work without an Internet connection (for this you need to download the language pack to your phone in advance).
Once we figured out Google Translate and doesn't matter, what is the language in Thailand or in any other country.
RUSSIAN-THAI PHRASE BOOK
In order for you to be able to produce good impression to the local population, below we have given you a list of basic Thai phrases that will help you in communication. You can memorize the simplest of them or add our page to bookmarks so you can quickly access it when needed.
