Learning the Thai Language: Impossible for Westerners?
There are many foreigners from almost every country in the world living in Thailand. Many of them try to learn Thai, and most feel disappointed in themselves even after sustained effort in trying to master this very difficult language. Speaking, writing and reading Thai is difficult for foreigners, no doubt about that.
It’s funny that as visitors to Thailand we also look at the level of English that Thais speak and marvel that they don’t seem to understand it and speak at a higher level than they do. It’s really not that disconcerting when you consider the other way around: visitors usually can’t speak more than a few words, or at most two or three sentences in Thai. Even then, they probably won’t speak Thai correctly with the right tone and respect.
The Thai alphabet has thirty-two vowels. Does that sound like a lot compared to the English language having five? For me if! To be fair, there are only twenty basic vowel sounds, which sounds a bit more manageable.
Most Thai learners start learning by speaking Thai because it’s actually easier to make some progress than it is to read and write. This is the wrong way to learn Thai because the intricacies of pronunciation must be learned early on if you are to be successful. There are sounds used in the Thai language that have no equivalent in English…sounds like: ng, dt, dth, neu and many more that require repetitive practice and ideally, evaluation by a native Thai speaker.
Recommendations to learn the Thai language:
1. Find a very good book to help you learn the Thai alphabet and learn all the consonant and vowel sounds before anything else. A good book will have the Thai characters combined with photos of other scenes that are familiar to you. Many foreigners are using the “Learn Thai Alphabet in 60 Minutes” e-book that I mention in a link below.
2. Ask a native Thai speaker to teach you the nuances of these sounds that are sure to be new to you.
3. In addition to learning the Thai alphabet, write pneumonic clues that will help you with pronunciation when you are studying Thai on your own. Record your learning sessions so you can play them back and learn outside of class time.
4. Study every day and practice pronouncing Thai words and sentences frequently.
5. Learn to read Thai signs: This will help you save money and find the shops and restaurants you are looking for much faster.
6. Download some free podcasts from the Apple iTunes store. There are a couple that hit the spot and help a lot because they are created by Thai people who explain how to speak Thai.
Good luck with your Thai language learning, remember, it’s the practice that counts more than anything.