AFLELS (FL 1) (Thai 1)

Wk/
Hrs
2nd /
3h

Date

Learning Outcome

15/17 Nov 2016

Topics

Teaching
Learning
Activities
15/17 - To be familiarized with Introduction Oral /
Nov
the Thai alphabet
to the Thai
written
(Tu/Th including consonants language
exercises
)
and vowels
(structures,
- To learn the proper
consonants,
pronunciation and
vowels)
writing of Thai
consonants and
vowels.

Assessme
nt Tasks
Seatwork
Recitation
Written
quiz

(Mrs.) Ma. Diana Palermo-Jantakad

Ph.D. in Tourism Development, A.B.D.

Thai (more precisely Siamese or Central Thai)

- national and official language
- principal language of education and government and
spoken throughout the country
- native language or ethnic to Central Thais and Thai
Chinese

Thai Language
much culture
- a member of the Tai group of theTaiKadai
language
comes from the
family
ethnic Thai people
- standard is based on the dialect of
the central Thai
Siam
former name of
people
Thailandfrom Pali,
- over half of the words in Thai are borrowed
Siamese
Sanskrit and Old Khmer
former name of
- closely related to Lao, Shan in Myanmar
Thai and
people
numerous languages spoken in an -arc
from
Hainan
main
ethnic
group
and Yunnan south to the Chinese border

Thai language
- member of the Tai group of the Tai-Kadai language family

Script
Thai and Lao
languages
- closely related
- can be read and
understood by both
Thai and Laotians
- more than half of the
vocabulary,
grammar, intonation,
vowels and so forth
are common with
each other language

 - more than 20 M
people are native
speakers (2000)
more than 40 M
people speak with:
Northeastern Thai,
20 M speakers
(Isan or Lao)
Northern Thai, 6 M
speakers (Phasa
Nuea, Lanna, Kham
Muang)
Southern Thai, 4.5
M speakers (Thai
Tai, Pak Thai,
Dambro)

Transcription
There is no universally applied method for transcribing
Thai into the Latin alphabet.
For example, the name of the main airport is transcribed
variously as Suvarnabhumi, Suwannaphum, or
Suwunnapoom.
Guide books, text
books and
dictionaries may
each follow
different systems.
For this reason,
most language
courses
recommend that
learners master the
Thai script.

Thai has several registers, each having certain

usages, such as colloquial, formal, literary, and
poetic.
Ex. the word "eat" can be (kin; common),
(daek; vulgar), (yat; vulgar), (boriphok;
formal), (rapprathan; formal), (chan;
religious), or (sawoei; royal)

 Street or common Thai ( , spoken Thai): informal,

without polite terms of address, as used between close
relatives and friends.

Elegant or formal Thai (, written Thai): official and

written version, includes respectful terms of address; used
in simplified form in newspapers.

 Rhetorical Thai: used for public speaking.

Religious Thai: (heavily influenced by Sanskrit and Pli)

used when discussing Buddhism or addressing monks.

 Royal Thai
( ):
(influenced by
Khmer) used
when
addressing
members of the
royal family or
describing their
activities.

 Most Thais can speak and understand all of these contexts.

Street and elegant Thai are the basis of all conversations;
rhetorical, religious and royal Thai are taught in schools as
the national curriculum.