Learning Thai

Apparently it is good idea to learn another language. It teaches you things about your own language. I'm taking Thai lessons right now, 2 hours a day on weekdays. And I'm learning to be thankful that I learned English first. You see for me, learning Thai is optional. But for many others in the world, learning English is not. English is a very inconsistant language, and it must be horrible to learn. Learning Thai, on the other hand, is hard, but a different kind of hard.

The Thai language is quite structured and logical. It makes sense. It's the pronounciation and the tones that are the killer (and I haven't even begun to learn to read and write). There are 5 tones for each vowel. And each vowel can be long or short. This means there are 10 different ways to say each vowel, which can mean there are up to 10 different words packed into one 1 sylable word. The upshot of this is that most words are only 1 or 2 sylables. The downshot is that pronounciation is VERY important.

The lesson book is written using the words spelled phonetically, which is like English but every letter has the pronouncation of a different letter. Here's what I mean: The "i" vowel makes an "e" sound (as in "eat"). The "i" sound (as in "high") is represented using "ay". The "ay" sound (as in "bay") is represented using "e". The "t" sound is represented using "th". The "t" in a word is a combination of "d" and "t", and they just don't use the "th" sound (which explains why Thai people have a hard time saying "th" words). "ph" is a "p" sound, but "p" by itself is a combination of "b" and "p". "kh" is a "k" sound, but "k" by itself is the "g" sound (as in "good grief"), and they don't use "g". They use "c" for the "j" sound, and they don't use "j". The "u" vowel represents the "oo" sound (as in "looney"). The upsidedown "e" represents the "uh" sound (as in "unbelievable"). The backwards "c" represents the "awe" sound (as in "awkward"). Thankfully "a" represents the "aaaaaah" sound (as in "at last"), and the "o" represents the "oh" sound (as in "oh joy"). The "ng" sound is represented by an "n" with a "g"-like tail, and there are words that start with that letter (ya, try saying a word starting a word with "ng"). A backwards "3" represents the "eeh" sound (as in "exasperating"). And my personal favorite: the "u" with a line through it. A horizontal line through a "u" is the vowel that you have to smile to say. It's closest sound is the French word "bleu". It's like saying "oo", "eh" and "ee" all at the same time.

One vowel in a word means it is a short vowel, two consecutive vowels means it is a long vowel. Then look above the vowel to find out what tone it is. Unlike English, there is no guesswork as to how to say the word. But talk about brain strain. I usually have a nap after my Thai lessons and let my brain recover.