(Siamese) Thai Language A Guide to the Spoken Language
Thai (or Siamese), the official language of Thailand (or Siam), is spoken by more than 6 million people. This Language Guide will enable you to ask directions, buy things or order a meal. Knowing a little Thai will also help you get along with the people, for they will naturally be pleased to see a stranger showing enough interest in them to try to speak their language.
How to Use the Records and Guide
The records that go with this Guide give you a number of the most important words and phrases in Thai. Read the section called Hints on Pronunciation and then listen to the records until you know the Useful Words and Phrases by heart. Repeat each word out loud right after you hear it and say it exactly the way the Thai speaker does. Imitate the pronunciation as closely as you can, just
as you might mimic someone who has an unusual accent. Try to get every detail of the pronunciation, even the rhythm, and intonation. Follow the words in your Guide but use them only as a reminder; if you hear something different from what you see written, go by what you hear. Remember that you can't get the sound of a language from the printed word alone — you have to use your ears even more than your eyes. If you don't have the records and can't get a Thai speaker to read the words, you will have to rely on the Hints on Pronunciation alone.
By the time you have practiced the Useful Words and Phrases several times, you will know what sound each letter stands for in the Guide. You will then be able to pronounce the Additional Expressions even though you have not actually heard them, and you will be able to form sentences of your own by using the section called Fill-in Sentences.
Contents:
How to Use the Records and Guide 5 Hints on Pronunciation 7 Special Points 9 Useful Words and Phrases 11 Greetings and General Phrases 12 Location 13 Directions 14 Numbers 15 What's That? 20 Asking for Things 20 Money 22 Time 23 Other Useful Phrases 27 Additional Expressions 28 Fill-in Sentences 32 Important Signs 45 Alphabetical Word List 49
Author: War Department U.S.A
Publication Date:1944
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