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Thai language

 

Thai is one of the oldest languages in East and South-East Asia. Early Thai settlers in the late Dvaravati period gradually enlarged their own Chinese-influenced, tonal, monosyllabic language by borrowing and adapting certain Mon and Khmer words. Later, the Thais absorbed polysyllabic Sanskrit (Hindu) and Pali words as Brahmanism and Theravada Buddhism asserted their shaping influences.

Foreign traders and Chinese immigrants made minor additions in later centuries.

Many of the so-called "loan-words" thought to be borrowed from Chinese by the Thais actually have an Austro-Thai origin. In Thai the meaning of single syllable may be alter in five different tones (in standard central Thai) : normal or middle tone, low tone, high tone, and falling tone.

In 1283, King Ramkhamhaeng created the first Thai alphabet and introduced the Thai script, basing it on Mon and Khmer scripts which, in turn, were derived from a South Indian script.

Recently develop in comparison with the spoken language. It consists of 44 consonants (but only 21 separate sounds) and 48 vowel and diphthong possibilities (32 separate signs) and is of Sanskrit origin. The sounds are combined with five different tones-even, high, low, rising and falling-to produce a melodious, lyrical language.   

Grammar is simple. The basic structure of Thai sentences is subject+verb+object with adjectives following nouns. In many case, verbs can be changed into nouns with the use of a prefix, example rak (love, verb) with the prefix kwam becomes kwam rak (love; noun). Words are often combined by two or more words to form literal descriptions of common objects. Thus, 'sugar' is nam tan (water+ som kind of palm tree). 

There are no plurals in Thai, nor are there tenses as such. A word or two is usually added to determine the past, present or future. If you run into difficulties, remember to speak slowly and clearly, stick to the simple present tense and don't use slang or idioms. "th" and "z" don't appear at all, while some Thai sounds are not commonly used in English either.  

In Thai there is a "politening" word attached to the end of anything you say. For men it is "Khrap", for women it is "kha". The words have little if any direct translation but a Thai will think very highly of you if you use it.  

Written Thai proceeds from left to right, though vowel signs may be written before, above, below, or after consonants, depending on the sign 

Range of variations is the verb to 'eat'. In royal language, the word is sawuy; in ecclesiastic Thai, chan (monk); rapprathan is a formal word used on engraved invitations and its shortened from, than is everyday polite usage. Gin is a colloqauial form used between friends; to use it with a new acquaintance woule be viewed as presumptuous and perhaps rude. 

The royal language, rachasap. Royalty uses special words for common actions and for parts of the body. This special, formal language is a mixture of words of Khmer, Pali and Sanskrit origin complemented by specially coined Thai words. Rachasap is usually reserved for formal and state occasions, most royalty making use of standard Thai, slightly modified, for everyday conversation among themselves.

Although satisfactory for common objects, this system is inadequate for coining new Thai words that can accurately convey Western concepts or recent scientific terms. Accordingly, the Royal Institute, a government body responsible for publishing the Thai encyclopedia, employs its commitee of language experts to coin equivalent Thai words by drawing upon Pali and Sanskrit sources.

As a consequence, Thailand keeps pace with international trends and scientific developments, proof that, in one important respect, Thai is still a growing language. 

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