Rosetta Stone Thai language course

[Jetsam]

I just downl... ehh I mean bought the Rosetta Stone Thai language course , It's really fun and I'm gonna impress all my Thai friends next trip with a lecture about the Theory of Relativity in Thai , they gonna love me even more :cheers:

I find speaking Thai relatively easy........... but reading it does my head in. Any tips on how to read/write Thai ? I do know quite a few farangs in Bangkok who have completely given up trying.

[Jetsam]

I find speaking Thai relatively easy........... but reading it does my head in. Any tips on how to read/write Thai ? I do know quite a few farangs in Bangkok who have completely given up trying.

yeah, that is stupid about the Rosetta Stone course, it's great for learning to speak the language with clear pictures, but there are also exercises with only thai script without lessons what the signs mean.

[1PR4BKK]

I recently purchased the Rosetta Stone Language Course. I was told I will be able to speak/understand the language if I do at least an hour a day for about 6 months. I find that hard to believe but I am going to try anyway.

Jetsam, keep me posted on your progress and weтАЩll compare notes.

One aspect of the Thai language which makes it quite unique and difficult to master by Thais and foreigners alike, is the remarkable diversity in words which mean exactly the same thing. For example, the first person singular pronoun, "I" in English, exists in Thai as an endless number of choices. The Thai speaker must choose from this variety and must know which one to use for correctness and to avoid social blunder. Here is the variety:



The earliest recorded word for "I" in Thai is "ku" which appears in the inscription of King Ramkhamhaeng of Sukhothai, said to be the oldest evidence of Thai writing. This word derived from the T'ai dialects and is still in use today in informal and impolite usage. As the language developed, word forms began to reflect the social hierarchy of the period. For example, "kha" (lit. "servant") was used by persons of equal social status, or by a person to stress his superior status over the one being spoken to. On a higher social plane, "kha pa chao" (lit. "the lord's servant") is used in formality and "kha pra putta chao" (lit. "the Buddha's servant") is used while speaking to the high royalty or to the King.



There are several sets of hierarchical "I" in the Thai language, beginning with ordinary words and embellished to become social forms. The commonly used "chan" (male) and "dichan" (female), used in everyday speech by people of equal ranks, become "momchan" in the royal language, and "klao kramomchan" used while speaking to the royalty of even higher status. Another common word is "pom" (male) "krapom" (male) and "klao krapom" (male) in hierarchical order. This last example is used by commoners speaking to commoners. The royalty, speaking to other members of the royalty, will change to the set of "mom" (male), "kramom" (male) and "Klao kramom" (male).



Close friends use a wide variety of words for "I" which derive from other languages. Apart from the antique word "ku" mentioned above, there are "rao" (lit. "we"), "ua" from Chinese and "I" from English.



Professionals use their titles to call themselves. For example, teachers refer to themselves as "khru" (guru) and "acharn" (ajariya) both derived from Sanskrit. Buddhist monks use "attama" (atma)



Close relatives use words which denote personal relationships and status. For example, "pi" older sibling and "nong" younger sibling. A subordinate will use term of endearment to a superior such as "nu" (lit. mouse), "luk chang" (lit. baby elephant) "bow" (lit. servant) and "kha luang" (lit. your servant). In this group may be included "chai" (lit. man) and "ying" (lit. woman) which is the way some people call themselves. The are also ethnic words : "koi", "riam", "tu" and "tua ku".



A large group of pronouns derive from military ranks. Not only do the rank and file call officers and enlisted men by their ranks, the officers call themselves by rank also. For example, a sergeant may call himself "ja" (non-commissioned officer) while speaking to his men.



Last but not least, and this group enables this article to be entitled "The Limitless Number of Thai Words Which Mean "I", the nicknames. Beside their personal names, almost all Thais use a simpler, usually monosyllabic nickname, with or without meaning. A person whose nickname is "maew" (cat) usually calls herself "maew" in preference to any other form of the first person singular pronoun mentioned in this article. So there is really no end to the possible variants on this pronoun.

One aspect of the Thai language which makes it quite unique and difficult to master by Thais and foreigners alike, is the remarkable diversity in words which mean exactly the same thing. For example, the first person singular pronoun, "I" in English, exists in Thai as an endless number of choices. The Thai speaker must choose from this variety and must know which one to use for correctness and to avoid social blunder. Here is the variety:.......................................... ...
.

What would we do without copy & paste? :bom:

[Bob]

The Rosetta Stone program is posted in the newsgroups (alt.binaries.warez.educational or alt.binaries.world-languages) although you have to pick up a program (shareware on the net somewhere) to unload the postings. It's also huge so you better have a very fast connection. And, I'm sure there's a bit of copyright issues by downloading it that way.

What would we do without copy & paste?

For a minute there I thought Baziel was taking the Rosetta Stone English course. :cherry:

I assume Queens are considered Royalty...

What would we do without copy & paste?

For a minute there I thought Baziel was taking the Rosetta Stone English course. :cherry:


http://upload4.postimage.org/427161/Easter20Bunny.jpg (http://upload4.postimage.org/427161/photo_hosting.html)



I assume Queens are considered Royalty...

http://upload4.postimage.org/427201/queenie25.jpg (http://upload4.postimage.org/427201/photo_hosting.html)

I'm gonna impress all my Thai friends next trip with a lecture about the Theory of Relativity in Thai, they gonna love me even more

"Theory of Relativity In Thai" Is that like Papa hit by moto'cy' in hospital; Mama-Mama (Grandma) fall in well--Need money...buy filter; Norng Chai have two baby...one broken leg; Pi Sao me knock' up (Again), sister Papa step on elephant?

Memo: Watch Thai soaps today, be ready for what's coming tomorrow.

[Bob]

Albert Einstein's 1905 paper "On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies" introduced the special theory of relativity. Special relativity considers that observers in inertial reference frames, which are in uniform motion relative to one another, cannot perform any experiment to determine which one of them is "stationary". This is known as the principle of relativity. [Admittedly pasted from some idiotic web source].

Now, an explanation in Thai might go something like this:
Somchai, on his motorcy, is driving like a bat out of hell rounding the Second Road/Pratamnak corner on his way to work at Throb. Gop, likewise driving near the speed of light (squared) on his motorcy, is approaching the same corner in the opposite direction, Gop heading to Jomtien because of the whale sighting (don't worry, it turned out to be some fat Aussie midget without a condom).
Edith, dressed in her finery (a yellow polka-dot mini-bra, red pleated skirt, and sandals with black socks), is attempting to cross the intersection on her souped-up zimmer frame while observing Somchai and Gop heading for her (as opposed to heading her) on a direct collision course. Edith's powers of observation have been somewhat diminished as she's just coming off a bender (or, was that she was bending over and just coming?).
Application of the thai version of the Theory of Relativity, the following conclusions are possible:
1) The only thing that's been stationary all month has been Edith (being prone with her legs in the air);and/or
2) Somchai and Gop end up at the temple mortuary and Edith will be paying for cows for both families for eons; and/or
3) In the massive collision, Edith is launched and lands on the Pattaya Water Tower and the tourist police give her a 500 baht ticket for leaving the scene of an accident.

[Dearest Spike, I plead guilty to egregious hijacking of a thread. And, for 200 baht, I'll tell you what egregious means...]

:cheers:

Tnx! I laughed my arse off!... (If only....)


Edith, dressed in her finery (a yellow polka-dot mini-bra, red pleated skirt, and sandals with black socks.)
Not socks, Opera hose--Of which I am the phantom.


for 200 baht, I'll tell you what egregious means...]
Don't waste your baht, Spike--It's that fru-fru evening gown of Pearl's with all the egrets on the shoulders... The one that makes `er look like like a knocked-up Dodo in flight.

signed;
The Phantom of the Opera Hose.