Women Learning Thai… and some men too ;-)

Adam Bradshaw is well-known amongst Thais and intermediate Thai language students for his insightful English language videos on YouTube. And now Adam is now teaching Thai. Excellent.

Most Thai learners know me as an English teacher because most of my material on the Internet is made for Thais learning English. However, many intermediate/advanced Thai learners have been learning more Thai in a backwards fashion by listening to me teach English in Thai.

Beginners obviously won’t benefit as much from doing this because they won’t understand much of what is being said.

Therefore, as I continue to receive more and more requests to post more Thai learning material, I have decided to start making some clips about learning Thai.

So far the material is rather basic, yet numerous intermediate/advanced speakers have commented that these clips actually are quite useful for them as well because it helps them touch up on their basics and solidify their Thai language knowledge.

How to Read Thai: Middle Class Consonants…

As a westerner fluent in Thai, Adam has a natural insight into how westerners learn a tonal language. His first video, where he carefully enunciates each letter, is a taste of more to come.

Where to find Adam…

Ajarn Adam: Learn Thai
Twitter: @AjarnAdam
Facebook: ajarnadam
YouTube: jadambrad and winkwinkenglish

In 2011 Adam was interviewed for the Successful Thai Language Learner series. Thanks Adam!

Note: For a couple of months (or so) I’ll post updates from Adam’s YouTube in the comments below. But please don’t depend on me – subscribe to jadambrad on YouTube. Pssst… Subscribing is also a great way to show support. What I mean is, decent Thai language videos don’t just magic out of thin air, ya know?

The Common Koel and why I’d make a lousy Buddhist…

Around November of last year a longtime member of my neighbourhood bird community, the Common Koel (lovingly known for his stealth gliding through the trees), transformed his pleasant warbling into an incessant, high-pitched shrill. Right outside my bedroom window. All of my windows actually. And all day and all night.

Throughout the day and 11pm, 12pm, 1am, 2am, 3am (especially 3am), this is what I hear:

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The Koel’s mating calls started in November, ran through the month of December, and now here we are at the end of January. That’s stamina. It’s also crazy making (for insomniacs especially).

Earphones didn’t work to cut the noise so drugs (of some sort) were up next. And Nootropics are said to fit the bill. Remember those?

I first tried Melatonin. A mistake. I now know that Melatonin is great for switching timezones but if you are too enthusiastic, you’ll start waking up in the early hours. And stay up. My up lasted two weeks plus.

I then dipped into even more Nootropics and found a (hopefully) permanent fix. So if you too are the recipient of the Common Koel’s randy call, here’s my personal mix:

At around 9pm I quiet my body and mind with Bacopa Extract. Three to four pills does it for me. Around 10-11pm I down 500 mgs of L-Tryptophan. After the L-Tryptophan, sleep comes fast.

Once I got my sleep sorted I went looking for information about the Common Koel in Thailand. My Thai friends all professed a love for the blasted thing (as I once did and will again) but after three months of radically disturbed sleep I was ready to kill. Or at the very least, singe his feathers with one of those super duper lazer pens easily acquired in Thailand.

So there you have it. The proof that I’ll never ever make anything but a lousy Buddhist. Because yeah, it’s not over ’till it’s over and it’s clearly not over yet.

Anywaaaaay, in a nutshell, the Common Koel is an oversized member of the Cuckoo family. Brood parasites, the momma Koels turf eggs from the nests of black birds and others, laying their own eggs in place. Once the Koel chicks have been nurtured by the host parents and are ready to fly, the Koel(s) come back and off they go (this last point I’m not 100% sure of).

Thai Poetry: The Common Koel, the Black Crow, and motherhood…

Not ready to give up on knowing more about the Common Koel and Thailand, I found an old Thai lullaby that briefly touches on the Koel’s attributes. The poem (with translation and transliteration) is below. As is a YouTube video. Note: the singing style is not to my taste but it has to be someone’s. Enjoy.

Except for knowing what type of Thai poem this is (อาขยาน /aa-kà-yaan/ – a narration of sorts) I know little else. I do know that in Thai poetry words are added to make the words flow. Personally, I found that the unnecessary words made translation difficult so only the gist of the poem is below. And yes yes yes, I had to yell, scream, and holler for help.

Overview of the poem: A Common Koel lays an egg in a crow’s nest. The crow hatches the egg, taking care of the baby bird as her own. The momma crow feeds the baby and then takes it for an outing along a river. After eating, the crow and the baby fly back, landing on a nearby tree. A hunter spots the birds, bagging the mother crow for dinner. End of story.

The Common Koel …
กาเหว่า เอย
gaa-hăy-wâa oie

leaves an egg for the mother crow to hatch.
ไข่ ไว้ ให้ แม่ กา ฟัก
kài wái hâi mâe gaa fák

The mother crow falls in love (with the chick).
แม่ กา ก็ หลงรัก
mâe gaa gôr lŏng rák

She believes the egg came from her belly.
คิดว่า ลูก ใน อุทร
kít-wâa look nai u-ton

Carries food in her mouth.
คาบ เอา ข้าว มา เผื่อ
kâap ao kâao maa pèua

Carries food to feed (the chick).
ไป คาบ เอา เหยื่อ มา ป้อน
bpai kâap ao yèua maa bpôn

Takes care of the baby in the nest.
ถนอม ไว้ ใน รัง นอน
tà-nŏm wái nai rang non

Works hard getting food.
ซ่อน เหยื่อ มา ให้ กิน
sôn yèua maa hâi gin

The chick’s wings are still weak.
ปีก เจ้า ยัง อ่อน คลอ แคล
bpèek jâo yang òn klor kaen

It’s not time yet for the chick to fly.
ท้อแท้ จะ สอน บิน
tór-táe jà sŏn bin

Mother takes the chick to look for food.
แม่ กา พาไป กิน
mâe gaa paa-bpai gin

At the mouth of the river …
ที่ ปากน้ำ พระ คงคา
têe bpàak-náam prá kong-kaa

the baby steps on algae …
ตีน เจ้า เหยียบ สาหร่าย
dteen jâo yìap săa-ràai

and uses her mouth to catch fish.
ปาก ก็ ไซ้ หาปลา
bpàak gôr sái hăa-bplaa

Eats shrimp and mantis shrimp.
กิน กุ้ง แล กิน กั้ง
gin gung lae gin gâng

Eats shellfish and horseshoe crab.
กิน หอย กระทั้ง แมงดา
gin hŏi gràtang maeng-daa

After eating they fly to …
กิน แล้วก็ โผ มา
gin láew-gôr pŏh maa

a Jambolan tree.
จับ ที่ ต้นหว้า โพธิ์ทอง
jàp têe dtôn-wâa poh-tong

Yet there is a hunter.
ยัง มี นายพราน
yang mee naai-praan

He’s out looking, stalking.
เที่ยว เยี่ยม เยี่ยม มอง มอง
tîeow yîam yîam mong mong

He lifts his rifle.
ยก เอา ปืน ขึ้น ส่อง
yók ao bpeun kêun sòng

Aims at the mother crow.
จ้อง เอา แม่ กาดำ
jông ao mâe gaa dam

He’s thinking of boiling one of them.
ตัว หนึ่ง ว่า จะ ต้ม
dtua nèung wâa jà dtôm

The other to make into a salad.
อีก ตัว ว่า จะ ยำ
èek dtua wâa jà yam

Eat the mother crow …
กิน นาง แม่ กาดำ
gin naang mâe gaa-dam

tonight. Sad for mother crow.
ค่ำ วันนี้ อุ แม่ นา
kâm wan-née u mâe naa

There are a few iffy spots in the translation so please don’t be shy; go ahead and share corrections in the comments below. Also, as per usual, there’s a moral to this lullaby. Do you know what it is?

Interviewing Successful Thai Language Learners…

Name: Stephen Thomas “ไกร”
Nationality: British
Age range: 40-50
Sex: Male
Location: Bangkok
Profession: Actor
Web presence: Facebook: Stephen Thomas | Stephen Thomas and People On Wheels

What is your Thai level?

Intermediate.

Do you speak more street Thai, Issan Thai, or professional Thai?

Probably more street Thai. Professional Thai has a lot more complicated and redundant grammar, though it can be useful if I am having trouble getting my point across. It’s important to know the proper rules of any language I think. I see and hear grammatical catastrophes in English all the time which people have just come to accept and don’t even know they are wrong. I don’t really want to sound like that in Thai but of course I’m late out of the gate and racing to catch up.

I do use some Isaan language. I have several Isaan friends and a lot of the vendors I go to regularly are Isaan or Lao. It’s also a good way to show that I’m not just a tourist who learned a few phrases, especially when going into touristy areas. It’s a fun and friendly dialect, and whenever people call me “Farang” I tell them I’m “Bak Seeda.”

What were your reasons for learning Thai?

At first, communication, obviously. The first time I visited Thailand in 2006 I was going to be staying with a friend who I knew couldn’t speak English, though she could read and write English. We’d been friends for a few years through instant messaging and e-mail and she offered me a place to stay. I picked up a book and CD set from Teach Yourself and began getting a basic foundation. Good thing, too! It turned out she lived in Ormnoi in Samut Sakhon where practically nobody spoke English. That was a great way to really learn the Thai way of life and to quickly hone language skills.

Do you live in Thailand? If so, when did you arrive?

Yes, I came here in September 2009, ostensibly for another holiday after a particularly hard year. I’d been wanting to return since spending 3 months in Thailand in 2006, and I finally decided I wasn’t going to wait any longer. I planned to be here for 3 – 5 months, and a year later I realised I was still here!

I’d met and become friends with an up-and-coming film director named Pakphum Wongjinda in 2006, and when I came back I got in touch with him. He was starting work on a film for Baa-Ram-Ewe and invited me to visit the set. One day he called me up and asked if I would be interested in doing one scene for the film. I said yes and it turned out to be a scene with one of Thailand’s top actresses Sinjai Plengphanich. He then asked me to play in a short film for Channel 3 with Bank Pavarit that would be shown on Boxing Day 2006.

In February the first film reached #1 opening week and my scene was well received by audiences and critics. He then invited me to be in the first movie in a new series of Sunday afternoon films for Channel 3. It wasn’t until I showed photos of the shoot to a friend of mine that I realised how big this production was. It was a huge hit and we’ve done a sequel already and a third one is planned. I’ve continued to do films for him in the series as well as branch out into other films, a huge stage musical (Rak Ther Samer) and even opera!

How long have you been a student of the Thai language?

Officially for 14 months. Before that I was picking it up in the street and off of friends, that started in 2006, but when I returned to New York I didn’t really continue until over a year later when I began to meet a group of Thai friends who were working in the states. I was still chatting with friends in Thailand over the internet and meeting more and more through Myspace which I was using to promote my music. Once I began blogging about my experiences in Thailand I became friends with more Thais who were interested in what I was saying. I probably picked up a few more words during that time as well, but it wasn’t until I came back that I really started learning again.

Did you learn Thai right away, or was it a many-pronged approach?

Many prongs, many starts… The very first Thai words I learned were from a guy I used to work with in an office in Hackensack. I actually had no idea Thailand would play a part in my future at that time, though my cousins had told me I should visit. I learned hello, goodbye, thank you and monkey which I always think are important words to know in any language.

The next was start was in preparation for my first trip to Thailand in February 2006. That was with the book and CD set from Teach Yourself which I got less than half-way through. A great advantage to that lesson set is that it taught you how to read and write Thai as well. When I arrived in Bangkok my friend wanted to show off my skill. She’d point at a sign and say, “Read!” and I’d stumble through it. Then another one, a little harder. Finally she pointed at a sign with a simplified font and I simply could not make head or tail of it. Every day I would watch store signs and billboards with various fonts go by on the bus, and after about 3 weeks I was finally able to decipher them. It made me aware of how varied the same set of letters can really be. And if you consider the Latin alphabet has uppercase, lowercase, and both cursive and block writing, then all the various fonts… It’s quite amazing how our brains recognise letters.

During that trip my friend arranged for another friend to stay with us as well. She was studying English and would show me around Bangkok while my other friend was at work. I learned a lot of Thai words from her, probably asking for the same word more than once on some occasions, but every day my vocabulary built up bit by bit. I tried to speak as much Thai as I could and use words I’d learned to make them stick. The way a child babbles when they’re learning to speak, I’m sure!

By the evening I would usually be exhausted by the time my friend got off work so I would barely be able to communicate with her. I did, however listen to them talking and started picking up repeated words and phrases.

We would also watch Ching Roy Ching Lan and Mum Show on TV and I can remember suddenly be able to understand something being said, so I used to tell people I learned Thai from watching Mum Jokmok!

I began exploring Thailand on my own and anywhere I stayed I would talk to the staff. I don’t mean the people at the desk, I mean the cleaners, the gardeners… It was during the emergency elections when protesters were gathering in Sanam Luang so everyone was discussing politics. I couldn’t get into deep conversation, but people enjoyed telling me their opinions and asking me what I felt about it, and each day I think I learned another word.

As soon as I got back to New York I knew I would return to Thailand and meant to study Thai language. That didn’t happen, and for about a year I really didn’t expand at all on the small foundation I had.

In 2008 I became friends with a group of Thais working in Westchester County in New York and soon began spending considerable time with them. Most of them were Isaan and I began picking up a couple of Lao words. I would try to speak Thai when I could, and other than the cold weather I would often forget what continent we were actually on. That was when I realised that my heart really wasn’t where I was. I was working in video and film production and as soon as the projects I was working on were finished I came back to Thailand.

Right away I began talking with the vendors and people in my neighbourhood and picking up language from them. I also began visiting the set of a film my friend was making for Baa-Ram-Ewe Studio. A film set being like a second home to me I was able to connect what people were saying to a meaning I already knew. I also began acting for this director and with each script I would learn more words.

I was given one script with very formal dialogue, not like I’d had to speak before. I spent a lot of time learning it, reading it over and over, getting the meaning of each word. Unfortunately when I got in front of the camera I realised that my brain knew the words, but my tongue did not. Reading and speaking are two very different tricks. It was miserable. Afterwards I vowed to never let that happen again.

I enrolled at Walen School in Times Square near Asok. While it’s not an intensive course, its schedule is such that I can have time to go off and do films or plays, though when I’m not working I do wish I could spend more time studying.

I’ve also resumed the Teach Yourself book, though I find I’ve since learnt most of the words that were remaining. It is good to get a mix of grammar though as one book may teach this way to say something and another book will teach another way. There’s also the tried and true method that we all hated as school kids, writing down vocabulary words 10 or 20 times. I’ve been doing that recently for the words that just haven’t been sticking, and it actually does work.

There’s a fun and informative series on Youtube by BonOnstage called Learn Thai The Bon Way. I found out about her from friends watching her character based comedy bits, but she created a series of short Thai language lessons that’s really quite helpful.

Another method was working as an acting coach. Sometimes we had classes or else were performing workshops in schools, where the students didn’t speak English. We had an interpreter with us and I learned just as much from that as anything else. And of course continued total immersion. It is the ONLY way to develop listening skills and is important for pronunciation.

14 months after that disastrous day on the film set I got a phone call from Grammy, completely in Thai, asking me to go in and meet with them about playing a small part in a lakorn on Channel 5. I went down there and they gave me a script with 2 scenes to read, and I passed the audition. That really made me feel like I’d accomplished something.

Did you stick to a regular study schedule?

Once I started classes, yes, I have a regular schedule of 2 nights a week, which really isn’t enough, but it allows me to go off and do films or plays, then come back. The class continues through the book until you’re ready to move onto the next level.

What Thai language learning methods did you try?

The first method I used was the book and CD set Teach Yourself which I think does a very good job, though I’ve been told some of what I learned is “old fashioned”. One thing I think is invaluable in that book is that it teaches you to read and write Thai which is vital for correct pronunciation.

The next method was picking it up in the streets or at work which will give you listening skills, teach you which words people actually use, rather than the overly formal words you often find in phrase books, and you’ll learn words they wouldn’t necessarily print in language books. :) However, a pitfall here is that you can pick up the wrong pronunciation or else use a rude word in the wrong setting.

Finally I went to Walen School which uses Thai script and teaches vocabulary with question and answer exercises. The teachers are entertaining and will stray from the book to show other uses of the word or to teach other words that could mean the same thing. Conversation is best way to learn a language, and I often converse with the teachers outside of class also.

Did one method stand out over all others?

Once I started taking classes at Walen my friends told me my Thai was improving drastically.

How soon did you tackle reading and writing Thai?

Right away. The Teach Yourself system has it’s own Romanisation (which actually makes more sense than most) but encourages you to learn to read Thai and prints the dialogues side by side in both formats.

The reading/writing lessons in Teach Yourself broke the alphabet down into about 10 characters per lesson, between consonants and vowels. The method was to write each character while saying the sound, “Dor… Dor… Dor…” over and over. Once they’d taught enough letters they began building up short sentences one word at a time to get you used to the lack of spaces between words. Then the book showed you some of the more complicated spelling rules, like those for words borrowed from Khmer.

The two things I didn’t like about Teach Yourself’s method is that it didn’t give you the names of the letters, which I have since learned at Walen, and it didn’t teach the alphabetical order, which I still don’t know and would really like to. Walen has an alphabet class that all students start out in, but I went straight into Book 2 when I enrolled.

Did you find learning to read and write Thai difficult?

I seem to remember it being fairly quick to learn, though I’ve always been fond of alphabets anyway. It took me a few weeks before I started recognising Thai letters in different fonts and longer before I could read handwritten Thai.

I’ve built up my reading speed by trying to read the signs on buses to see where they go. Now sometimes when I’m at the movies my eyes will pick up the Thai subtitles. On a slower song I can sometimes read along the Thai words on a karaoke machine, but I wouldn’t put bets on it!

What was your first ‘ah hah!’ moment?

There have been a few. The first I recall was when I was watching Mum on TV and understood something he said. I don’t remember what it was now, but that was definitely a moment comparable to waving a bone in front of The Monolith.

I also recall going into the Omyai market to buy some fruit one morning and the vendor eyeing me with trepidation. When I asked for papaya in Thai she called out to someone, “Hey, this farang speaks Thai!” I responded and she said even more surprised, “He understands Thai too!”

More recently and on a higher level we were rehearsing a show to perform in front of hundreds of very young school kids. We came up with the idea of a kind of choose-it-yourself adventure where we’d let the kids decide between 2 possible routes during each scene. One outcome led to a wizard who would then transform us into animals of the children’s choosing. During rehearsal someone called out, “Maa” which depending on the tone could mean horse or dog. My partner in this endeavour was luk kreung and has much more experience with Thai than I do, so when I saw him act like a dog I thought, “Damn, I was sure he said horse.” The actor playing the wizard watched us prancing about, barking an yapping, and said casually, “Actually, I said horse.” That was a breakthrough moment for me.

How do you learn languages?

In English we have different words that mean the same thing which you might use in different circumstances. Learning a language is just learning another word for the same thing. Though I know that’s not physically true. I think they’ve done EEGs that show multi-linguists use different parts of their brains for different languages, unless I’m mistaken about that.

I know a little Burmese girl about 2 or 3 years old in the market and she has been picking up Thai language by imitating people around. Sometimes she’ll say things and this one Burmese friend of mine says she doesn’t know what language she’s speaking, but I can hear that she’s mixing the two languages. I think that’s normal at that age for children growing up around multiple languages, but at some point they do separate them and speak wholly in one or the other. I had a friend in the states whose wife was French and he’d learnt French as well. His son wouldn’t speak English to him, though if anyone came to visit he would speak English fluently.

Language is very complex because it’s an important part of human evolution. Our brains are largely built for that purpose and we use so much of our senses and utilities in order to communicate. How often do we have miscommunication on the telephone because we can’t see the person who is talking. And how often do you see people gesturing and nodding their head when talking on the telephone? We use our eyes and ears and then process that through deep analytical functions to make sense of it all at an alarmingly fast pace!

I saw a programme about 3 different species of monkeys who lived in the same area. Not only did they have their own calls for different types of threats, they knew the calls of the other monkeys as well. They also discovered grammar syntax in the calls so that by stringing calls together in a different order they would convey a different meaning.

What are your strengths and weaknesses?

I used to dread having to speak Thai on the telephone. It’s still more difficult, though not as bad as before. I have a hard time with telephones in general. After all this time you’d think they would improve the sound. I know it’s possible because when people talk on Viber it’s 1,000 times clearer. Even in English you can’t discern between S and Th or V and F on the telephone. You only know because of you know what the words are supposed to be, same as speaking to someone with a lisp or speaking in spoonerisms.

The lackadaisical habit of substituting ล for ร or dropping ล after ก has led to my confusion on more than one occasion. I love Joey Cheuancheun’s routine about Ror Reua is Ror Reua and Lor Ling is Lor Ling. But it’s the same as americans substituting D for T or the New York and London use of glottal stops or substituting N for Ng at the end of verbs. That’s why learning in the street is so important.

I hate forgetting vocabulary that I don’t use as often, but again this happens in English too, only you usually have another word to fall back on in that case.

As for strengths, the only strength I can really say is that I’m not afraid to make mistakes. I’ll try out a new way to say something or make a joke, and if it works great, if not then I learn from that.

What is the biggest misconception for students learning Thai?

That you can get by using Romanisation. There are consonant and vowel sounds that appear in Thai that we simply don’t have in English. Plus the vowels we use pull double and triple duty. In Thai a vowel is that vowel sound only, with the exception of a few vowel combinations which are considered separate diphthongs in their own right. The letter A on its own is used to represent 4 different Thai vowels. In English I can substitute one A sound for another in a word and you recognise that it’s the same letter, but to a Thai person you’ve completely changed the spelling. Also some vowels in Thai are held longer than others but we don’t have a way of noting that in The Latin Alphabet which leads to putting the stress on the wrong syllable which again results in a completely different spelling.

Whenever I see a name or a place written in Roman letters I look for the Thai in order to see how it’s really pronounced. Some assistant directors have offered me “karaoke” scripts and I tell them no.

Can you make your way around any other languages?

Not to the extent that I can Thai. I took Latin in high school and that along with having a large English vocabulary to begin with, I can often make some sense out of reading bits of French. Our languages are so closely related. Probably Italians and Spaniards make jokes about English and French being one and the same!

I began to learn Cantonese in the mid-1990s but didn’t have anyone to practice with so I gave up on it. That wound up being helpful to Thai because it introduced me to tones and also some of the vowel and consonant sounds, in particular the initial Ng sound which westerners have such a hard time with.

I’ve always enjoyed learning words in other languages and have made it a point to be able to say hello and thank you. Growing up around New York City you naturally know a few words of Spanish, but not enough to have conversation.

Are you a computer programmer, or do you have programming experience?

I used to do Basic computer programming in the 1980s. During the Myspace era I was using css to customise my page. I started using the internet back when you had to type some Unix in order to get anywhere, this was before graphical browsers, but I never got deeply into coding.

Do you have a passion for music?

“Absolutely. I have 2 albums on iTunes and various other online outlets,” he said taking the opportunity to shamelessly promote himself. “Stephen Thomas and People On Wheels: The Story So Far, and Stephen Thomas & The Reptiles: INANUTSHELL. I also co-produced an album with Incomplete Denial called Our Existence Is An Accident and used to have a band with my brother Paul Damon Thomas and friend Doug Freed, called Sigmund Boo. I’ve been talking to some people in Thailand about recording songs in Thai which could become the next very exciting project for me.”

I’ve performed with Opera Siam, and last September we took our production of Mae Naak to London. I have friends ranging from pop singers to jazz musicians to classical Thai musicians. One of the things I love about living in Bangkok is the great cultural diversity. There really is a lot going on in this city, though it’s not always easy to find out about.

Were you learning another language at the same time as Thai?

No, not really. Some Lao/Isaan words, but not to the point that I would say I’m studying Lao. One comedian I’ve worked with wanted me to learn Northern Thai, but I told him one language at a time!

What advice would you give to students of the Thai language?

Find people who don’t speak English and talk to them. I hear foreigners say in Bangkok they don’t have to use Thai. I’m not sure where they go, but I can easily go outside and find many people who can’t speak a word of English. Start out by buying your morning coffee from a street vendor instead of Starbucks. Strike up a simple conversation. It will be slow at first but after a month you’ll realise how much you improved and you will have met other people in the neighbourhood who will want to talk to you too.

Learning songs is also a great way to learn, and one that I haven’t been doing to be honest. The couple of times I have learned a song I’ve seen how much faster it sinks in. Again I think it’s to do with the evolutionary mechanisms of our brain. That’s why songs are so important to us and why you can still remember songs from your childhood from historical lessons to toy commercials!

Stephen Thomas “ไกร”
Facebook: Stephen Thomas | Stephen Thomas and People On Wheels

The Series: Interviewing Successful Thai Language Learners…

My personal thanks for this series goes to: Stephen Thomas, James (Jim) Higbie, Mark Hollow, Marc Spiegel, Adam Bradshaw, Fabian Blandford, Luke Cassady-Dorion, Nils Bastedo, Grace Robinson, Ryan Zander, Joe Cummings, Hamish Chalmers, Andrew Biggs, Ian Fereday, Doug, Gareth Marshall, Martin Clutterbuck, Stuart (Stu) Jay Raj, Herb Purnell, Celia Chessin-Yudin, Stickman, Thomas Lamosse, Vern Lovic, Colin Cotterill, Jonathan Thames, Hardie Karges, Peter Montalbano, Jonas Anderson and Christy Gibson, Daniel T. Murphy, Paul Garrigan, Marcel Barang, Chris Baker, Hugh Leong, Terry Fredrickson, Glenn Slayden, Rikker Dockum, David Smyth, Tom Parker, David Long, Aaron Handel, and Chris Pirazzi.

If you are a successful Thai language learner and would like to share your experiences, please contact me. I’d love to hear from you.

A Guide to Thai Grammar Books…

Presented here are short introductions to Thai grammar books, both in the English language for foreign learners and Thai language books for Thai school and university students which are also useful for foreign learners with a good Thai reading ability. As these are reference books, not tutorials, they are not intended to be read from cover-to-cover, but instead used to support continued studies.

Each book overview here covers the general structure and content together with comments about any specific, notable features. However, no opinion or rating is given about their suitability for any particular learning approach which is, of course, very subjective to each learner.

The books listed here are not the only books available. I welcome comments and further suggestions on this topic which would assist us all with our continued studies.

English Language Grammar Books…

The in-print books listed here can usually be found at all large book shops in Thailand which stock foreign language books. Many online shops (both Thai and foreign) sell them too. Google Books has free previews of some and, where relevant, a link is provided.

The Fundamentals of the Thai Language (5th edition)
Author: Stuart Campbell and Chuan Shaweevongs
Format: out-of-print but available online (free)
Language: English with examples in Thai script and transliteration.
Website: Fundamentals of the Thai Language

While this is more of a language course than a grammar book, it does have a strong emphasis on basic grammar and outlines some key differences from English which is useful for beginners. Each topic is presented with basic vocabulary lists and example conversations. The first edition was printed in 1956 so some of the vocabulary is showing its age but the clear explanations and well structured content make this a useful book.

Thai: An Essential Grammar
Author: David Smyth
Formats: paperback, hardback, eBook (Kindle, PDF, ePub, Microsoft Reader)
ISBN: 978-0415226134 (paperback)
Language: English with examples in Thai script and transliteration.
Google Preview: Thai: Essential Grammar

Thai Reference Grammar: The Structure of Spoken Thai
Authors: James Higbie and Snea Thinsan
Format: paperback
ISBN: 978-9748304960
Language: English with examples in Thai script and transliteration.

These two books are perhaps the most commonly available grammar books for foreign learners. They’re good introductions to Thai grammar and language patterns and useful for beginners as well as advanced learners. Both are written for general learners and only use basic grammatical terminology (eg. nouns, verbs, conjunctions etc) and therefore are straight forward to read and very approachable.

Different styles of transliteration are used in each book. Smyth’s system is not too different from that developed by Mary Haas and is easy to learn for readers familiar with Haas’ works or the system used in the Thai for Beginners book. Higbie’s transliteration style is unique, using under- and over-scoring representing tones, but after the initial “what is that?” reaction, it’s quick to learn and intuitive.

Given the rising popularity of eBook readers and tablet computers, Smyth’s publisher (Routledge) deserves praise for making his work available in digital formats. However, the Kindle and ePub editions use miniature graphics files for the Thai text and some transliteration symbols so resizing the layout doesn’t work properly on all readers (the graphic files don’t resize along with the normal text). The PDF version does not have this problem. (I’ve not seen the Microsoft Reader version so can’t comment about it.)

Thai Reference Grammar
Author: Richard B. Noss
Formats: PDF (free online), paperback
ISBN: 978-1456503307 (paperback)
Language: English with transliteration (no Thai script)
Website: FSI: Thai Reference Grammar (PDF link near the end of the page)

Obviously written at a time when people didn’t worry about the health effects of smoking, this book introduces the topic of classifiers with a demonstration of how to buy cigarettes as “the yellow pack”, “those five packs”, “the big pack” etc. – not something found in modern books! Printed in 1964, this is an updated version of the author’s PhD dissertation so academic linguistic terminology is heavily used throughout eg. nouns are defined as “any substantive which occurs as the head of an endocentric expression”, but there are plenty of examples which help if the lingo is hard to understand. It’s perhaps unfortunate that only transliteration is used – no Thai script at all – but this is a book about spoken Thai.

One feature that stands out is the focus on stress, rhythm and intonation in spoken Thai and the transliteration (also based on Mary Haas’ system) includes symbols to represent these features. Other grammar books generally give less focus on this topic so its inclusion here is welcome.

The PDF version at the above website is free and is a scan of the original print edition. It’s mostly of good quality although there are a few faint or illegible words to be found. There are “new” editions of this book being sold online, but they seem to be identical to this PDF except for the front cover.

Thai Reference Grammar A Reference Grammar of Thai
Authors: Shoichi Iwasaki and Preeya Ingkaphirom
Formats: paperback, hardback
ISBN: 978-0521108676 (paperback)
Language: English with examples in Thai script, transliteration and part-of-speech analysis.
Google Preview: A Reference Grammar of Thai

This book is also for a more academic audience. The terminology used is somewhat difficult at first if the reader is not familiar with technical linguistic terms (eg. chapter titles such as “Deontic Modal Auxiliaries”, “The Periphrastic Causative” etc), although each chapter has a short, less-technical introduction but not totally jargon free. Reading the chapter summaries first will give a clearer overview of the content and the terminology is arguably easier to understand than that used in Noss’ book.

The academic approach used to compile this book is clear from the conversational data: transcriptions of real conversations between teachers & parents, parents & children, business meetings etc. Even hesitations and repetition of words are transcribed, transliterated and analysed into parts of speech as spoken. Top marks for the analysis of real-life speech as this is something that’s not evident in the other books presented here.

The part-of-speech analysis is a feature not found in the other books in this article, although it’s common in many academic papers. For example:

นัดคงไม่มาแล้ว
nát khoŋ mây maa lɛ́ɛw
(name) may NEG come ASP
“Nat may not come any more.”

Lines 1, 2 and 4 are the Thai script, transliteration and translation respectively. Line 3 is the part-of-speech analysis showing how each word fits in the sentence: (name) denotes a persons name, NEG is a “negative marker” (“not”) and ASP is an “aspect auxiliary” (for time/tense).

However, there are a few mistakes: a few transliterations and translations are incomplete, and some incorrect spellings can be found too. But don’t let these minor negatives put you off though as this is otherwise a detailed, insightful (albeit expensive) book. The Smyth and Higbie books are great quick references for learning language structures but this one is more detailed and will often better answer the question “how does that word really work?”

Thai Language Grammar Books…

These grammar books are primarily for native Thai speakers so the focus is very different from those above. The foreign language books are about second language acquisition and understanding whereas books for native speakers explain the workings of the reader’s own native language which they already use fluently in daily life.

The first two books can be found in Thai university bookshops and larger general bookshops. The บรรทัดฐานภาษาไทย books are limited in availability and details are provided separately below.

หลักภาษาไทย [The Fundamentals of the Thai Language]
Author: กำชัย ทองหล่อ
Formats: paperback, hardback
ISBN: 978-9742466350
Language: Thai

Previews: Two chapters with partial translations can be found on the thai-language.com website:

Modifiers
Parts of Speech

This book is the standard reference book of the Thai language, first printed about 60 years ago. It’s a very detailed, academic tome (540 pages) covering the evolution of the Thai script, alphabet, tones, types of words, their use (including royal vocabulary or “ratchasap”), clauses, sentences, loan words (mainly Pali and Sanskrit with limited discussion of Khmer, Chinese and English), prose and poetry.

This book has no index but the table of contents is very detailed (spanning 11 pages) and lists all chapters, sections and subsections making it quick and easy to find the right page.

This reference manual is the definitive reference book for the Thai language.

ไวยากรณ์ไทย [Thai Grammar]
Author: นววรรณ พันธุเมธา
Formats: paperback, hardback
ISBN: 974-9993276
Language: Thai

This book covers all the essentials and isn’t overly technical. It’s less detailed than หลักภาษาไทยand perhaps easier to understand while being organised in a similar manner. It starts with chapters covering word types (verbs, nouns, conjunctions etc) and then phrase and sentence construction. The book only discusses the modern Thai language as used in normal daily life so there’s limited discussion of royal vocabulary, and nothing on the language history or traditional forms of verse that are covered in หลักภาษาไทย. Plenty of examples are given throughout and there are also exercises at the end of each chapter.

Unfortunately, finding information in this book can be slow as there’s no index and the table of contents is short (one page) which lists only the chapter titles, not subsections. Also, the page headers only contain the author’s name, book title and page numbers (no chapter or section titles) so the reader must scan the pages for section headings instead.

However, this book does have a logical organisation and its non-technical approach makes it useful as both a tutorial and reference guide.

บรรทัดฐานภาษาไทย เล่ม ๑-๖ [Standard Thai, Books 1-6]
Author: Thai Language Institute, Office of Academic and Educational Standards, Office of the Basic Education Commission, Ministry of Education
Format: paperback
Language: Thai

Availability generally limited to ศึกษาภัณฑ์พาณิชย์ (Suksapan Phaanit) shops.
Branch locations can be found at suksapan.or.th and an online ordering service is available.

เล่ม ๑ ระบบเสียง อักษรไทย การอ่านคำและการเขียนสะกดคำ
Book 1 Phonology, Thai alphabet, Reading and Spelling Words

เล่ม ๒ คำ การสร้างคำและการยืมคำ
Book 2 Words, Word Construction and Loan Words

เล่ม ๓ ชนิดของคำ วลี ประโยคและสัมพันธสาร
Book 3 Types of Words, Clauses, Sentences and Discourse

เล่ม ๔ วัฒนธรรมการใช้ภาษาไทย
Book 4 Cultural use of the Thai Language

เล่ม ๕ กระบวนการคิดและการเขียนร้อยแก้ว
Book 5 The Art of Writing Prose

เล่ม ๖ ฉันทลักษณ์และขนบการเขียนร้อยกรอง
Book 6 Prosody and Patterns for Writing Verse

Notes:
1. Book 1 of the current print-run has sold out (as of November 2011)
2. Books 5 and 6 have not yet been published (as of November 2011)
3. This review is based on books 2, 3 and 4

These recent books, published in 2009 and 2010, present a modern approach to understanding Thai for “teachers of Thai, students at secondary school level or higher and anyone interested in the Thai language”. They are written by “contemporary academic researchers and experts in the Thai language” which is evident from the bibliographies referencing many modern academic papers (from both Thai and foreign universities). By using a modern, broad base of linguistic research, the authors have developed a series of books that explain the Thai language clearly and concisely.

The vocabulary in these books is relatively straightforward and good use is made of charts and tables where appropriate. Some technical terminology has come from English and translated into Thai (eg. “socio-cultural information” translated to “ข้อมูลด้านสังคมและวัฒนธรรม”) but the English terms/phrases are also given on first use, which is helpful for foreign readers.

Footnotes are used to highlight where deviations have been made from older books such as หลักภาษาไทย (above) and its predecessor, the almost century-old work of พระยาอุปกิตศิลปสาร (not included here because it’s out-of-print). Such deviations are primarily where different terminology is used eg. the new books use คำนามวิสามัญ (proper noun) instead of วิสามานยนาม as used in the older books.

The up-to-date nature of these texts can be clearly seen in the second book (Words, Word Construction and Loan Words). The loan words chapters in the older books focus on Pali, Sanskrit and Khmer with a little Chinese and English but these newer books have extensive chapters for Pali, Sanskrit, Khmer, Chinese, Java-Malaya, and English. Likewise, in book 4 (Cultural use of the Thai Language) there are chapters on regional dialects in Thailand and modern language use in business, advertising, media, legal, religion, ceremonies, and word play/humour too.

In summary, these are well-thought out, up-to-date books with clear explanations, ample examples and a broad scope. They are likely to satisfy the most inquisitive students of the Thai language.

The in-print books listed here can usually be found at all large book shops in Thailand which stock foreign language books. Many online shops (both Thai and foreign) sell them too. Google Books has free previews of some and, where relevant, a link is provided.

Mark Hollow

National Museum Volunteers Annual Lecture Series…

Last year was my first chance to attend the lectures about Thailand, Thai history, and culture arranged by the National Museum Volunteers. Along with many events, their Annual Lecture Series was postponed due to the Thai floods. But, now that the new year is upon us, the series has been rescheduled.

Lectures from Jan 19th through to Feb 9th, 2012…

The Thai Hybrid: 19 January 9.30am
Philip Cornwel-Smith
(author of bestseller ‘Very Thai’)

Thai popular culture brims with quirky hybrids of handmade and hi-tech, indigenous and import. Some traditionalists worry that today’s adoption of foreign novelty dilutes Thainess, yet Thai history has been distinguished throughout by cultural fusion. Appropriation seen in popular culture reveals Thainess as a process that is eclectic, creative and relentlessly hybrid.

Introduction to Thai Ceremonies & Observances: 19 January 11.00am
Venerable Kantasilo

A talk by American born Buddhist monk, Venerable Kantasilo, will aim to explain national Buddhist observances and ceremonies that take place over a one year period, providing answers to the many questions foreigners are likely to have pertaining to the significance of such practices in Thailand.

Contemporary Thai Politics: Six Realities We Cannot Duck: 26 January 9.30
Michael J. Montesano

Michael J. Montesano, a visiting research fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore, will tell the audience how keeping track of Thailand’s confusing politics is easy as long as one remembers six basic truths. He will also talk about how these “truths” conceal paradoxes and ironies that must also be grasped if one really wants to make sense of where Thailand is heading.

On the Floral Road to Siam: 26 January, 11.00am
Sakul Intakul, floral artist

The talk will be given by renowned floral artist Sakul Intakul, an engineer turned floral artist who is well known for interpreting spiritual ideas through sculptural plant installations. His portfolio includes Royal commissions for the HM the Queen and total floral conceptual design for Bvlgari Hotels and Resorts in Bali; he is also the author of several books on floral art.

Royal Thai Cremation Ceremonies: 2 February, 9.30am
Mr Chakrarot Chitrabongs, NMV patron

This lecture will trace the origins of the royal cremation practice since the founding of Bangkok as a new capital city during the reign of King Rama I, whose mission was to revive the old Siamese traditions of the former capital city of Ayudhya that had been utterly devastated by warfare. In their turn, the Kings of Chakri have developed this ancient tradition, introducing changes and technological innovations until it appears as it does today. The purpose of the lecture is to describe to the audience the background information for a thorough understanding of the symbolism linked to traditional beliefs and practices, so that they can follow and understand the ongoing preparations of the ceremony in the various stages up to the actual event. The lecture will be illustrated with photographs that date back to the period that photography itself had been introduced into Siam.

Ramakien – Introduction: 2 February, 11.00am
Stephanie Strasser

Stephanie Strasser, an NMV member who spent her early childhood in Bangkok and who returned to Thailand recently, sought to find out more about the famous Wat Phra Kaew rubbings, eventually finding herself immersed in the world of the Ramakien. Her lecture is a summary of a wonderful story of love and war where gods are reborn on earth to battle demons and where flying monkeys have magical powers.

Let’s go Wat Hopping: 9 February, 9.30am
Joyce Meer & Bill Lipsey

NMV members Joyce Meer and Bill Lipsey will be going Wat Hopping, sharing with the audience their passion and insights on What’s a Wat after having explored more than 100 Buddhist temples throughout Thailand, some relatively unknown.

Invoking the Land Gods; Understanding the Thai Spirit House: 9 February, 11.00am
Marisa Cranfill

Marisa Cranfill, one of Thailand’s foremost (non-Thai) experts on Thai spirit houses will give a fascinating talk entitled Invoking the Land Gods; Understanding the Thai Spirit House. Cranfill will explain that the Thais’ relationship with the land god is a very personal one because it affects their daily life. “You give the land god what it likes and it will give back good things. It is like a bargain.”

Note: All lectures are to be held in the auditorium of the National Museum, Bangkok.

Bangkok National Museum
Na Phrathat Rd,
Phra Nakorn District,
Bangkok 10200

My schedule continues to be crazy but if I’m in Bangkok I’ll be attending a few talks listed in the National Museum Volunteers Annual Lecture Series.

Happy New Year 2012!…

Happy New Year everyone! 2012. Wow. That went fast. Are you ready for a new year? I’m not. Not really. And forget about the backlog of posts from the pre-flood days, when you scan through the holes in my longstanding Thai language wish list, you’ll agree that I’m running terribly behind.

You see, I’ve been watching the language learning market for the past several years. And every so often I’ll come across a product not available for Thai learners. And if it’s interesting enough, I’ll add it to my Thai language wish list.

All along my intentions were to create some of the products you’ll see listed below. But each year I’ve been too much of a busy bee. And each year time runs out. And now it’s coming on 2012 already.

Yes, I still have good intentions. But, as it’s been awhile, I’ve decided to share the list with you. And (hint) (hint) hopefully someone will help generate what’s needed for learning Thai. Something like that.

My Thai language wish list for 2012…

Thai vocabulary stickers: Putting vocabulary stickers all through your house might be an old-fashioned method of learning languages. But it works. And yes! I do have a Thai vocabulary list on the way. It’s a basic affair. You download the file, print the list on sticky back paper, cut along the dotted lines, and then apply the Thai vocabulary to walls, windows, where ever.

Last month I discovered a language company with a better idea: Lingibli. Lingibli’s printable vocabulary sheets (more on this later) are linked to an iPhone app with sound. Sweet, yes? And way over my programming capabilities.

Thai 100/300/500/1000 top vocabulary list: The search for this darn top Thai vocabulary list has been going on since the dawn of time. I already took a stab at the top 100 Thai words one must know. And I’m not done yet (surprise). And Learn Thai Podcast generously created a top 300 course on offer for free. But there’s still a ways to go before we get the entire list compiled. So again, help is needed.

Note: Lingibli has shown an interest in creating a top 100 Thai app from my list. Now all we [cough] [cough] need to do is convince Lingibli to go whole hog with the entire Thai vocabulary list. Yeah. I wish!

Thai place names: Even though street names in Bangkok have an English equivalent – the awful transliteration – newbies to Thailand still have a difficult time getting around. So until they get the Thai tones into their ears, a simple printable list of place names (streets, parts of town, hotels, stores and shopping centres even) in Thai script and the dreaded transliteration would come in handy for presenting to taxi drivers, locals, and knowledgeable expats. Any takers?

Thai visual vocabulary: Language learners are not just audial but visual as well. Makes sense? And when their site isn’t down WeboWord sends out roughly drawn graphics with phrases to explain words. Obviously, it’s not a new idea, but with the addition of sound it’d be brilliant for learning Thai vocabulary and phrases. I have this project in the works as well but it’s a shabby ways away. Help?

Thai word a day via email: Last time I checked, there are word a day iPhone apps but no email lists. Also, from what I remember, none of the word a day apps have been created around beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels. The words are random so you get rare words along with entry level words. Frustrating.

The closest vocabulary product for iPhone with sensible levels is the ClickThai Vocabulary Trainer (reviewed here: Increase Your Thai Vocabulary: Word Brain & ClickThai Vocabulary Trainer). Do you think ClickThai would be interested in offering their list via email too?

Thai online grammar checker: Paperrater is a free, online proofreader and grammar checker for the English language. Does anyone know if a decent product is available for Thai? I have heard that there’s a Thai spell checker for MS Word – such as it is – but it’s not free.

Thai audio books: Members of Librivox record chapters of books for audio download. For free. I’m sure you’d have to be careful about copyright laws, but even so, wouldn’t it be sweet for Thai? Ok, there is Rinospike but it’s not quite the same concept.

Thai language ebooks: After being contacted by a reader I went in search for available ebooks in Thai. I found a few resources (to be shared in a following post) but the pickings are mighty slim. We can download, for free, thousands upon thousands of ebooks in English, French, German, etc., to read on our computers, iPhones and smart phones. So why not in Thai?

Thai keyboard with sound: One difficulty with learning Thai is that it’s a tonal language. And one of the best ways to get the tones down is to learn how to read Thai. So I’m thinking that a Thai keyboard that sounds out the Thai alphabet would come in handy. Yes? And wouldn’t coding the ability into aTypeTrainer4Mac be fabulous? Sure.

Thai teachers: I have a section to locate Thai language teachers, as does Glenn at Thai-language.com. But what’s really needed is site similar to Find a Teacher, but dedicated to Thai teachers.

Thai tone test for Smartphones/iPhones: For online there’s a great Thai Tone Test. You can always access it with Safari on your iPhone but an iPhone / Smartphone version with all the bells and whistles would be totally grand.

Online speed reading: Spreeder is a free product geared to improve your reading. But could you imagine one for Thai? With sound? Whooh. I’d faint with happiness. Try me.

Word and phrases calendar: During the Xmas holidays I came across a set of language learning calendars for German, French, and Italian. The product has a word of the day with a phrase showing how to use each word. The tear off sheets are simple, easy to use.

I bought the Italian version (more on that later too) and right away I noticed a problem. The phrases are all willy-nilly. Instead, what’s needed are phrases and vocabulary from basic to advanced – OR – create several calendars to fit the different needs of students. And in Thai.

Verb cheat sheet: Nowhere is a quick cheet sheet for Thai verbs. I’ve looked online. I’ve looked in course books. I’ve asked around. Nope. And yup, this is another project I’m working on. As it’s a tedious job, I just might post it totally raw to get your views. We’ll see.

There’s one more Thai language project but as I’m working on it (and don’t want to get preempted) I’ll save it for another day.

To finish, if you know of any products still needed for Thai, or if I’ve listed one already available, please let me know. I’m listening. I’m always listening.

Did you make it to the Charity Cat Party?…

I wasn’t in town for @freakingcat’s wonderful Charity Cat Party but I didn’t miss out. I watched the concert online via ustream.tv.

What talent! A huge round of applause goes to @freakingcat for arranging the party and to the fabulous performers: Trisdee, Somtow, Siam Sinfionetta and Paye.

If you missed the Charity Cat Party you can catch up via Facebook or YouTube:

Facebook: Charity Cat Party video
Facebook: Charity Cat Party photos
YouTube: Cat Charity Party with Trisdee, Somtow, Siam Sinfionetta and Paye

As mentioned in the invite post, donations collected at the Charity Cat Party went to support my favourite all-time Thai charity, the SET Foundation. Also included were the deserving soi dog and cat charity, SCAD Bangkok.

But if you weren’t able to donate at the party, it’s not too late. You can still go direct to your charity of choice.

The SET Foundation…

It’s no secret that the recent floods in Thailand hit already struggling Thai students hard. So please consider sending a donation to the SET Foundation this holiday. To see how little it takes, read through the itemized list at What does it cost to make the difference?

My Xmas donation went straight to the SET Foundation, as does all revenue from WLT. That’s right, it might look like I have paying ads in my sidebar but it isn’t technically so.

Benjawan and Chris (Paiboon Publishing), Achim and Busakorn (L-lingo), Jay and Jo (Learn Thai Podcast), all donate direct to the SET Foundation. Readers of WLT donate to the SET Foundation too. And I’m proud they do. Thanks all!

The SET Foundation on WLT…

The SET Foundation: A Season for Giving Back
Inciting Acts of Kindness: The SET Foundation
Feel Like Donating? Give to the SET Foundation Instead

Ho ho ho everyone! Happy holiday and I’ll see you next year :-)