writing in Thai

[lukylok]

I have tried to learn thai, first without learning to read and write.
There is very fast a limit to that.
I have started again and now I have mastered most of the letters, I would like to begin to write on my PC.
How do you proceed ? To make things worse, I am used to the AZERTY keyboard.
Is a tablet a solution ?
In that case, is it worth waiting to buy it in LOS ?
I am sure quite a few of the members have found solutions. Can you help me ?

[christianpfc]

I use a German keyboard (quertz) and write on it in Thai. If you use Windows, you can set it to any language and arrangement of keys (e.g Dvorak) you want (or more preciseley: that are supplied by Windows). I don't know how it works for a Mac.

It's under start - system settings - keyboard (or similar). For East Asian keyboards (and Thai keyboard), you have to load some files from the installation CD (whereas for European languages and Russian, you don't need the installation CD). There is a tread on thaivisa - Thai language where the process is described in more detail.

Writing in Thai on a keyboard is extremely usefull, I can now touch type Thai because I need it for camfrog. No need for stickers for the keys, but I have a printout of the arrangement of letter hanging on the wall.

There are free training programs available on the web (search on google or thaivisa).

[gumblebee]

Google Translate has on-screen keyboards, including a Thai one (you have to select Thai as the language you wish to translate from, and click on the keyboard icon).

If you use it a lot, you could buy a Thai keyboard next time you visit Thailand (they are basically qwerty keyboards with a mode for typing Thai. I believe it's the same layout as the Google one. I sympathize about switching between qwerty and azerty (Belgian or French azerty?). Quite a PITA.

Wish me luck, I have my Thai exam coming up next week :scratch:

What mastapeaces of Thai literacha have you been reading I want to know if I can move on from Agatha Christy if I learn to read Thai

[lukylok]

I use a German keyboard (quertz) and write on it in Thai. If you use Windows, you can set it to any language and arrangement of keys (e.g Dvorak) you want (or more preciseley: that are supplied by Windows). I don't know how it works for a Mac. .

How easy is it to switch from roman to tha├п ? I'd like to be able to type in both on the same document ?

[christianpfc]

The default setting for switching between languages is with "Alt" + "shift", but you can set it to other key combinations as well. Or you can click on the language bar (first you have to select in system - keyboard to show the language bar) and select the language you want. You can type English and Thai in the same document (on my computer, there are some problems with some fonts in Word, I cannot use all available fonts to display English and Thai in the same font).

[AKAHagrid-old]

RE: Keyboards

TUK.COM in Pattaya has any number of vendors who have a keyboard with Thai and Roman alphabets. Just switch the language in the OS and type away. If all those characters on one set of keys are hard to see, get a second keyboard with Thai script only--make sure it's a USB type--and you can have two live keyboards at one time.

[Dboy]

This might help as well:

http://www.branah.com/thai

[lukylok]

Thank you all for your help !

I just added one language to my keyboard and I can change very easily from roman to thai.
I bought adhesive labels from Amazon.com and they were delivered to-day.
My keyboard is now is now decorated with the thai alphabet in blue and it looks very smart.

And it's much faster than counting the keys from enter/shift or tab :bounce:

Typing helps me to memorize the words, and hopefully will help me with the tones.
But that's another story....

[christianpfc]

And it's much faster than counting the keys from enter/shift or tab
Not counting, knowing! At least for the common Thai characters, the rare ones I have to try or look at the printout of the Thai keyboard.

[lukylok]

Not counting, knowing! At least for the common Thai characters, the rare ones I have to try or look at the printout of the Thai keyboard.

Let me learn, I only started one month ago ! Of course, I spent 2,5 US$ to buy one set of adhesive letters ! (No offence intended !) :happy7: