Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Pronunciation
ThepronunciationofThaiwordsisnotoriouslydifficultforforeignersastheyhavedifficulty
distinguishing between the sounds and tones. One rule of thumb is that when pronouncing
names like Phuket and Thailand the "h" is silent, so the name is Poo-ket and Tie-land. Note
that there is no standard translation for Thai names to English so you may see the names of
cities spelled in a few ways, for example Isan is also Isaan, Isarn and Esarn.
There are five vowel tones in Thai: low, middle, high, rising, and falling. To get an idea for
what a tone is think of the difference between "yes" and "yes?". The vowel length is also
important as both can change the meaning of the word. Since tone is part of the word try
not to add any inflection when you are asking a question, make it like a statement instead of
rising at the end as is common in English.
Don't despair that you can't master Thai before wheels up on your vacation, Thai people are
accustomed to foreigners trying to speak Thai and the effort will be very appreciated.
