Thai 101 Learners Series: A Trusted Native Speaker is Essential
A trusted native speaker is essential…. You may have noticed by now that learning Thai takes real effort and discipline. No two ways about it. … Read more
Thai 101 Learners Series: Bumper-to-bumper Language Lessons
Bumper stickers are us… Bumper stickers in Thailand make for an interesting language lesson and a good way to pass time when you’re caught in … Read more
Thai 101 Learners Series: A Few Facts about Farang
A farang by any other name… Any white foreigner who spends even a few days in Thailand will learn at least one Thai word: ฝรั่ง … Read more
Thai 101 Learners Series: Vocabulary Acquisition
Taking the long way home… One skill that will always come in handy when learning a second language is being able to say what you … Read more
Thai 101 Learners Series: More on Titles
Titles are here there and everywhere… What’s in a title? That which we call a Ms. by any other title would smell as sweet. Apologies … Read more
Thai 101 Learners Series: Bringing Abstract into Real Life
Two of the most common words of all… In any language, a tiny handful of words make up a disproportionate percentage of the sentences you … Read more
Thai 101 Learners Series: Getting Personal
Let’s get down to it… English and Thai take rather different approaches to personal pronouns. In English, there’s a small set of words we use … Read more
Thai 101 Learners Series: Don’t Speak it, Think it
Language thinking gets you everywhere… When speaking a new language, it’s tough to kick the impulse to translate what you want to say from your … Read more
Thai 101 Learners Series: Pigs and Bombs go Hand in Hand
The Thais have nicknames too… This week I’ll give you a break from my normal spiel on the linguistic nuts and bolts of the Thai … Read more
Thai 101 Learners Series: Everything to all Men
Every, many and more… Let’s look at the difference between ทั้ง /tháng/ and ทุก /thúk/, remembering that “th” is pronounced as a “T” while breathing … Read more
Thai 101 Learners Series: The Long and Short of Thai Vowels
Long or short really does matter… When it comes to Thai vowels, length really does matter. I remember in grade school that the teacher taught … Read more
Thai 101 Learners Series: Thanks for the Loan, We’ll Keep Our Word
A loan by any other name… Anyone who has spent time in Thailand knows that Thai, like many other languages, has a generous helping of … Read more