The scheme used in this course to represent the sounds of Thai using Latin script (plus a few symbols adopted from IPA) is based upon that developed by Mary Haas, and as has been widely adopted (albeit with a number of minor variations).
The consonants /b/, /d/, /f/, /h/, /l/, /m/, /n/, /r/, /s/, /w/ and /y/ are pronounced very closely to the corresponding sounds in English.
The following consonants, however, require further explanation. Any guide to pronunciation can only be approximate.
| Consonant | Pronunciation |
|---|---|
| /c/ | Similar to "j" in John or joke |
| /ch/ | Similar to "ch" in champion or chess |
| /k/ | Similar to "g" in go or give (though a little "harder") |
| /kh/ | Similar to "kh" in khaki or khazi |
| /ŋ/ | Similar to "ng" in sing or bong |
| /p/ | Similar to "p" in spin or spot. (Unaspirated.) |
| /ph/ | Similar to "p" in piss or poor |
| /t/ | Similar to "t" in stop or still. (Unaspirated.) |
| /th/ | Similar to "th" in Thailand or "t" in tank |
Vowels in Thai can be "short" or "long". Long vowels are represented here by repeating the vowel symbol. So, for example, /a/ is a short vowel, and /aa/ the corresponding long one.
The following table (currently incomplete) provides a guide to pronunciation.
| Vowel | Pronunciation |
|---|---|
| /a/ | Somewhere between "a" in ran and "u" in run. |
| /aa/ | Similar to "a" in rather or part |
| /e/ | Similar to "e" in let or get. |
| /ee/ | Similar to "ay" in May or ray. |
| /ɛ/ | Similar to "ai" in pair. Short. |
| /ɛɛ/ | Similar to "ai" in pair. Long. |
| /ə/ | Similar to "er" in number. |
| /əə/ | Similar to "er" in her. |
| /i/ | Similar to "y" in greedy or funny. |
| /ii/ | Similar to "ee" in free or fee. |
| /o/ | Similar to "o" in con or John. |
| /oo/ | Similar to "o" in go or so. |
| /ɔ/ | Similar to "or" in horn or born (but without an "r" sound at the end of the vowel). Short. |
| /ɔɔ/ | Similar to "or" in horn or born (but without an "r" sound at the end of the vowel). Long. |
| /u/ | Similar to "oo" in rook or book. |
| /uu/ | Similar to "oo" in coo. |
| /ʉ/ | No equivalent in English. Similar to "eu" in the French bleu. Short. |
| /ʉʉ/ | No equivalent in English. Similar to "eu" in the French bleu. Long. |
The pronunciation of most diphthongs is simply a sequence of the individual vowel sounds. So, for example /ua/ is pronunced as /u/ + /a/ (similar to "oe" in doer).
Tones are indicated by the presence (or absence) of a mark over the first vowel of a syllable.
| Tone Mark | Pronunciation |
|---|---|
| No mark | Normal voice pitch, mid tone |
| ́ | Higher than normal pitch, rising slightly, high tone |
| ̀ | Lower than normal pitch, low tone |
| ̌ | Starting from lower than normal pitch and rising above it, rising tone |
| ̂ | Starting from higher than normal pitch and falling below it, falling tone |
| Symbol | Notes |
|---|---|
| /ʔ/ | Glottal stop - the sound of "t" in "little" and "bottle" when spoken by a Cockney. On this site this sound is usually not written, but is implied. It occurs (a) at the beginning of all syllables that begin with a vowel, and (b) at the end of all syllables which have a short vowel. So, for example, /àan/ is actually pronounced /ʔàan/ and /tó/ is pronounced /tóʔ/ |
| /ˑ/ | Used to separate syllables. On this site this is mostly not written. However, it can help avoid ambiguity. For example, the verb "to drill, practise)" /fʉ̀khàt/ is pronounced /fʉ̀kˑhàt/, not fʉ̀ʔˑkhàt |