In this lesson we'll look at the final class of consonant, low.
We've already encountered ง, ท, น, ม, ย and ร.
The tone for dead syllables starting with a low class consonant depends
upon the length of the vowel. For short vowels, the resultant tone is high,
and for long vowels, it's falling. (You can think of this as being:
"with a short vowel the tone doesn't have enough time to fall".)
In summary:
Class
Live
Dead
Short Vowel
Long Vowel
Low
Mid
High
Falling
Now try reading these words:
รัก\/rák/\to love\1^
มาก\/mâak/\abundantly\1^
มา\/maa/\to arrive\1^
ยาก\/yâak/\to be hard\1^
ยาย\/yaay/\grandmother\1^
มัด\/mát/\bundle\1^
ยาง\/yaaŋ/\tyre\1^
ทา\/thaa/\to paint\1^
งวง\/ŋuaŋ/\trunk\1^
มิ\/mí/\not\1^
นิด\/nít/\small\1^
ยี\/yii/\to crush\1^
ยัง\/yaŋ/\also\1^
รีบ\/rîip/\to hurry\1^
ทิว\/thiw/\row\1^
นะ\/ná/\[particle used at the end of a clause]\1^
นอก\/nɔ̂ɔk/\outside\1^
นับ\/náp/\to count\1^
รอบ\/rɔ̂ɔp/\cycle\1^
ยิง\/yiŋ/\to shoot\1^
มอง\/mɔŋ/\to look\1^
รอม\/rɔm/\ROM, Read Only Memory\1^
นา\/naa/\field\1^
มีด\/mîit/\knife\1^
รี\/rii/\oval\1^
ทอด\/thɔ̂ɔt/\to fry\1^
ทอง\/thɔŋ/\gold\1^
ยัก\/yák/\to lift\1^
รับ\/ráp/\to accept\1^
ทัด\/thát/\to wear\1^
นวม\/nuam/\glove\1^
รอ\/rɔɔ/\to wait for\1^
ยวบ\/yûap/\to collapse\1^
มี\/mii/\to have\1^
รวย\/ruay/\rich\1^
นาน\/naan/\long (time)\1^
ราว\/raaw/\rail\1^
ราบ\/râap/\(lie) flat\1^
มัน\/man/\fat\1^
ทาง\/thaaŋ/\side\1^
ที\/thii/\occasion\1^
รวด\/rûat/\at once\1^
ยิว\/yiw/\Jew\1^
นวด\/nûat/\massage\1^
ทีม\/thiim/\team\1^
งอ\/ŋɔɔ/\to be sulky\1^
รีด\/rîit/\to press, iron\1^
นอน\/nɔɔn/\to sleep\1^
ทาน\/thaan/\alms\1^
นัด\/nát/\to have an appointment\1^
These are the remaining regular ones.
Character
Pronunciation
Name
Meaning
Notes
ล
/l/
/lɔɔ ling/
Monkey
ค
/kh/
/khɔɔ khwaay/
Buffalo
Note the loop is to the right and below its stem. Contrast with ด.
พ
/ph/
/phɔɔ phaan/
Tray
Note (a) the position of the loop, and (b) the height of the central notch1. Contrast with ผ.
ฟ
/f/
/fɔɔ fan/
Tooth
Contrast with ฝ.
ฮ
/h/
/hɔɔ nókˑhûuk/
Owl
Variant of อ2.
Notes
In stylised fonts which don't have initial loops, the height of the notch is
the only way to distinguish between พ and ผ, and between ฟ and ฝ
ฮ is only used in words borrowed from another language such as /heeˑlíˑkhɔ́pˑtə̂ə/ (helicopter)
and /hanˑlǒo/ (hello).
All the regular high class consonants have a corresponding low class one. Here's a
(not yet complete) table of how they relate: