Most of our members probably speak a fair amount of Thai but can you also read and write Thai? If so, how did you learn to read and write?

admin Wrote:Most of our members probably speak a fair amount of Thai but can you also read and write Thai? If so, how did you learn to read and write?

I can read it fine. Understanding what I read is something else.

I could never get the pronunciation of the words until I learned to read them first - my logical brain (and non-musical) needs something concrete to associate with the sounds.

I can read and write Thai quite well but understanding is really something else. In daily life I get along well and am now trying to widen my vocabulary. My wife is never too tired to teach and to explain and she is quite successful with her insistence.

I can read Thai at approx. the 4th to 5th grade level. My handwriting is quite pretty, but I don't spell Thai very well.

I taught myself to read basic Thai, but I needed a professional teacher to really get me reading well. It has also helped me a great deal with my vocabulary and pronounciation. As someone else noted, it is sometimes difficult to be sure of the correct pronounciation of a Thai word until you have seen it written. The Thai written language is very phonetic, though there are very very many rules that must be learned.

I recommend using a Thai language school which has a proper and professional language course appropriate for your level of study. I had a number of pretty good teachers whom I enjoyed, but they were just using the Thai gradeschool reading books. Adults don't learn language the same way as kids do, and quite frankly our vocabulary needs are somewhat different. I highly recommend the TLA school (http://www.tlaschool.com). They have a good curriculum and great teachers.

Right now I am living and working on the Eastern Seaboard and can't manage to schedule weekly Thai lessons in Bangkok. To keep my language development alive, I am reading Harry Potter in Thai. The Harry Potter series is written for teenage kids, so the vocabulary and content is somewhat appropriate for adults. Another huge advantage is that I have the English version to refer to also. K. Sumalee was very rigorous when she translated this book -- it follows the English version almost sentence by sentence (to the extent possible with two very different languages). Occasionally I am sure I understand every word in a sentence and still can't quite tease out the underlying meaning. A quick reference to the English language always solves the problem, and gives me excellent insight into the workings of the Thai language.

I also love the CyberDict 11 pocket electronic dictionary. It is a bit expensive, but the Thai English and English Thai dictionaries are much better than ThaiSoft (the common Dictionary installed on office PC's throughout Thailand). I carry the CyberDict 11 everywhere, and anytime I have time, I open a local newspaper or my Thai Harry Potter and start reading.

Now if only my aging brain could absorb the language as efficiently as my young children.

Frank T.