Thai is a language that uses a script remote from any script that we are familiar with (Latin, Greek, Cyrillic). Thailand is the first country on our trip that predominantly uses a script alien to us.
In many places in Thailand, the text is presented only in Thai script. Ordering food or even finding an accommodation for the night can turn out to be quite a challenge.
I tried to grasp the basics of the Thai script by watching karaoke DVDs in the public long-distance buses (where you have no other choice anyway) where the lyrics were presented both in the Thai script and in some sort of Latin transcription. Didn't get anywhere with this approach...
Picture of the Thai alphabet where each consonant is assigned an acrophonic Thai word, e.g. ท = ทหาร (soldier).
First word the writing of which I learned was "Phatthalung" (name of a town in southern Thailand).
This word can be written in various (calligraphically different) ways on the street signs and buses/trains.
พัทลุง
พั (PHO PHAN + MAI HAN-AKAT) ท (THO THAHAN) ลุ (LO LING + SARA U) ง (NGO NGU)
Pad Thai (or Phat Thai). This word which stands for a popular Thai dish can be seen in the menu in every street restaurant in Thailand.
The digits in Thai script are different from the digits in Latin script, some however are misleadingly similar, i.e. they look like Latin digits but stand for a different number (e.g. ๑ looks like '9' but stands for 1). Fortunately, in most places (incl. the money) the numbers are written also in Latin script.
Means "TV" and is probably pronounced as the English "TV" i.e. /ti:vi:/.
THO THAHAN + SARA II WO WAEN + SARA II
The Thai script is such a big obstacle that one doesn't learn many words/phrases during a couple of weeks in Thailand.
The transcription in the following table is based on "Rough Guide to South East Asia" (2002), but the tone markers are omitted.
| Thai | English | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| sawat dii (khrap/kha) | Hello (I'm a man/woman) | First phrase learned. Also transcribed `sawasdee', `sawadee'. |
| khawp khun (khrap/kha) | Thank You! (I'm a man/woman) | |
| sii sip haa | 45 (four + ten + five) | Often the price of food in Thailand |
| Aoy (?) | Sugarcane [BUG: check] | The nickname of our landlady at the Golden Guesthouse in Chiang Mai |
| muay | Thai boxing [BUG: check] | |
| farang | foreign tourist |