A few online Thai Language starting points

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Korkenzieher
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A few online Thai Language starting points

Post by Korkenzieher »

Some time ago, I made the suggestion that there was a case for having a 'sticky' with the most widely available and highly recommended Thai Language resources documented. I was invited to create it.

What became apparent pretty quickly - if it wasn't already apparent - was that it would involve a huge amount of duplication of work on other sites, and perhaps some questionable copyright issues if I started pulling images to create my own version.

Given the explosion of Thai language resources available on the internet over the last 2 years or so, simply collating a reasonable list of available sites would be work enough. That is before taking the risk of being moderated for mentioning certain sites. There is also the consideration that there are some here whose living is based on teaching Thai, and I have no wish to adversely impact their fortunes. The list does, therefore, tend towards providing new directions for those with one foot already on the ladder.

So, I feel all those grey areas are now resolved. The list is short. Two or three are well known, but it also contains a couple of new sites which I haven't seen mentioned on here before. Anyone interested in the language should have all of these, and maybe many more. But I think it is possible using these few aggregators to find pretty much every useful Thai language site and book - and to avoid some of the not so useful ones!

And here is the list.

http://www.thai-language.com/
http://womenlearnthai.com/index.php/res ... ning-thai/
http://www.slice-of-thai.com/resources/
http://learn-thai-podcast.com/
http://www.lyndonhill.com/FunThai/CONTENTS.html
http://www.speakingthai.com/principles/th%20grammar.htm
http://www.teachthai.com/
(The teachthai site seems not always to be available - it is the same site as bapak has on CD).

Additionally:
Paiboon have now published Poomsan-Becker's Three-Way dictionary as software:
http://word-in-the-hand.com/thaidictwin_ov.html

And in the interest of ecumenism, liguistically,
http://en.bab.la/news/top-100-language-blogs-2010

The list could have been very long, and if you feel that it is deficient, then add to it. However, there isn't much you cannot find by going via one of the above.
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PeteC
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Re: A few online Thai Language starting points

Post by PeteC »

Thanks KZ, that's a very worthwhile effort IMO. There are many people here in Thailand and abroad who read this forum and are no where near any language institute. Those links should be a great help with their efforts to learn the language. :thumb: Pete :cheers:
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Re: A few online Thai Language starting points

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Korkenzieher
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Re: A few online Thai Language starting points

Post by Korkenzieher »

Thanks bapak. That's the teachthai site I was trying to link to.

My suggestions were aimed at bringing certain specific things into focus and I am particularly impressed with the way the site explains how the tones mai-eek and mai-to are employed to create the required sounds for the two (appropriate) consonant classes. There's a lot of other good stuff there too. If the Ministry site has gone for good, then you are providing invaluable service by keeping it alive! Drilling down on WLT gets to most places - their site is pretty comprehensive - and the others just focus the attention on other great facilities (The Becker dictionary, the LyndonHills 'Fundamentals of Thai') and aggregators which themselves have outstanding material (thai-language, thai-podcast). There's so many sites I could have linked to directly that after a while it becomes a redundant exercise and I wanted to avoid that.
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bapak
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Re: A few online Thai Language starting points

Post by bapak »

"Additionally:
Paiboon have now published Poomsan-Becker's Three-Way dictionary as software"

All of Paiboon publications can be purchased at:
http://www.paiboonpublishing.com/idevaf ... php?id=134\
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Re: A few online Thai Language starting points

Post by GLCQuantum »

It frustrates me to see many decade long westerners in Thailand - not have a word of Thai to their name (bar hello and one bottle). To me this is one middle finger flipped to the locals. "I can't be bothered to learn your language but I'll reap the rewards of living in your country" (you wouldn't be here if there weren't rewards)

We get pissed when immigrants in England couldn't give two shakes of a dog's nutsack in regards to learning the English language so it's surely common courtesy that you stick with your alleged 'principles' here. It really isn't a difficult language to grasp once you get practice. I understand the older you get the harder it will be but, come on, every day... for an hour or two... for a measly year will put you in pretty good stead.

Here are things for beginners. Plenty of stuff on the net for the more advanced. You don't need to pay a Thai tutor - I never did (but I was only 11 when I started coming out here). For me the linguaphone CD and book course (I think that's the name) was excellent. I studied that for only a few months at 12 and it gave me the basics.







I'll refrain from posting more as , if you really want to learn the language you will be able to find it yourself. Plenty of stuff available for free from expert linguists. Don't pay over the top for one on one lessons unless you enjoy throwing money away. Group lessons are much better (and cheaper). The web is still the best bet of them all.

:cheers:
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Re: A few online Thai Language starting points

Post by Korkenzieher »

"alleged principles" = nail, head, squarely hit!
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Re: A few online Thai Language starting points

Post by Homer »

The best stickies, IMHO, are locked. Any discussion about what should be in the sticky happens in another thread. The keeper of the sticky updates it as he sees fit. Why do I prefer this model? It produces stickies with a high wheat to chaff ratio. Open threads usually have far more chaff than wheat.
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Re: A few online Thai Language starting points

Post by GLCQuantum »

Homer... care to contribute to the thread at all? Otherwise you are just wasting people's time by making them read your drivel on a Thai language learning 'sticky' thread. :roll:

Thought this site was half decent...

http://www.learningthai.com/

You can click on the phrases and a Thai speaker will say it for you (no buffering time at all which is a nice detail). There are free writing courses on it too. Reading scripts to boot. Plenty of stuff for the beginner and more advanced and certainly one of the better sites I've come across (Edit: I haven't really looked at many though. As the thread was started years ago I thought there may be some better stuff about down the line). Please note that some of the language used is the 'perfect' way to say things (think Thai newsreader) where as you wouldn't use some of it down the market buying a fish. :D

:cheers:
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Re: A few online Thai Language starting points

Post by Korkenzieher »

I listed the Women Learning Thai site http://womenlearnthai.com/ in the sticky because almost every decent resource is linked on that site. Spending some time drilling down from there is very profitable, in locating Thai learning resources. One useful place they don't link to though is http://thairecordings.com/
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Re: A few online Thai Language starting points

Post by Homer »

GLCQuantum wrote:... I haven't really looked at many though. As the thread was started years ago I thought there may be some better stuff about down the line ...
Is there a smiley that says 'your post was pure chaff'? How about +0, meaning your post added nothing useful, interesting or funny.
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Re: A few online Thai Language starting points

Post by toddyp »

มีอย่างใดอย่างหนึ่งฉันเสมอพลาด
What does this translate to in english ?
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Re: A few online Thai Language starting points

Post by HHTel »

Well google says 'Have one I always miss' but someone may have a better translation.
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Re: A few online Thai Language starting points

Post by hhinner »

I would understand as "whether one thing or another I'm always wrong". อย่างใดอย่างหนึ่ง translates as either... or... . Or one or the other. Dictionary - https://dict.longdo.com/?search=อย่างใดอย่างหนึ่ง.
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Re: A few online Thai Language starting points

Post by Nereus »

HHTel wrote: Tue Jan 30, 2018 4:21 pm Well google says 'Have one I always miss' but someone may have a better translation.
I have one of those that always misses. Find it safer to sit down. :cry:
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