Thai Accents

When you first begin learning Thai pronunciation you might feel a little silly as you say each new word aloud. You may feel your tongue tripping over words and generally butchering the Thai language. However, if you keep practicing you will eventually start sounding like a Native Thai and will soon be holding fluent Thai conversations with ease.

Don’t worry if this doesn’t sound like you yet. Take your language lessons one day at a time and you will get there. One of the first things you can do is to learn the Thai alphabet. The alphabet, which is called an abugida, has 44 consonants and 15 vowels. In addition, the 15 vowels can combine to become 28 vowel forms plus four tone marks, making a total of 91 distinct symbols. No wonder Thai can be a confusing language to learn.

When it comes to Thai accents and phonetics there are three distinct tones that are used by Native Thai speakers: unvoiced and unaspirated, unvoiced and aspirated, and voiced and unaspirated. What does this mean to the layman interested in learning true Thai accents and phonetics? Basically that when speaking the Thai language you may come across Thai pronunciation and sounds unlike those in your native language. If you are unsure how to pronounce certain symbols and Thai words you should listen to a recording of a Native Thai speaking that word.

Thaipod101 offers recordings and podcasts to help you learn how to speak Thai. In addition, you can look up words and phrases you are having trouble with in an online dictionary. Using an online dictionary is a good way to learn proper spelling Thai accents and the correct pronunciation associated with each word.

Pronouncing Thai can be difficult for beginners who are just starting out learning the language. The trick when learning any language is to take advantage of tools like a Thai podcast or language learning dictionary to help you in your studies. As a beginner there will always be a period of time when many Thai words will sound confusing to your untrained ears. However, one day you will listen to your Thai podcast and everything will click into place. All of a sudden you will understand each word, and pronunciation will come easily to you. Until that time whenever you get frustrated just take a deep breath, and listen to your podcast one more time.