18.09.2008Тайский language
At hot July night prince Siddhartha Gautama left a patrimonial palace for a long time to leave Kapilavastu, whether and in it it is a high time in ten thousand from Kapilavastu, in southern limits Celestial because of a ridge of foggy mountains the tribes speaking in the, special language have seemed. Later, many hundreds years later, these tribes will occupy territory of modern Thailand, and an adverb on which people from these tribes spoke, become a basis for Thai language. So the legend, anyway, says.
Whence actually there was a Thai language and it belongs to which language family, precisely anybody till now does not know. Linguists, as a rule, pay attention to a significant amount of Chinese loans used in Thai language. Partially for this reason Thai language or «phasa thaj» sometimes carry to the Chinese-Tibetan language group.
Like Chinese, Thai language is tonovym; tone carries out in it smyslorazlichitelnuju function. In official Thai language five tones are used, but in some regional dialects the quantity of tones can reach seven. The majority of words consist of one syllable; words are not declined and do not change on sorts or cases. The same word depending on the place in the offer can act in a role of a noun, an adjective, a verb or an adverb.
The Thai alphabet created in 1283 by King Ramkamhengom on the basis of khmer and Indian analogues, superficially resembles both the khmer letter, and Sanskrit devanagari. The alphabet consists of 44 letters designating consonants; the signs displaying on the letter vowel sounds and diphthongs, are not included into system of the Thai alphabet and form podsistemnuju group.
From 44 consonants available in the alphabet 16 are excessive. It means, that for graphic display of the same consonant in the alphabet there are some different independent symbols. For example, to display on the letter one consonant "kh", at tajtsev in the alphabet there are five different letters: kho khaj (egg), kho khuat (bottle), kho khvaj (buffalo), kho khon (person) and kho-rakhang (bell). These "superfluous" 16 letters are used basically at a writing of the words borrowed from languages buddistskogo of a canon: a Sanskrit or have fallen.
Words in Thai language are written from left to right; letters stand at line almost without an inclination, separately from each other. According to the Indian tradition, the symbols designating vowel sounds and diphthongs, are written over a consonant, under a consonant, before a consonant and after a consonant.
After creation of the Thai alphabet King Ramkamheng has tried to reform system of a writing of the symbols designating vowel sounds. The diacritical signs specifying in type of a tonality of a vowel sound have been for this purpose entered. Unfortunately, then they have not got accustomed. Nevertheless, the modern Thai alphabet behind small exceptions represents that set of graphic signs which has remained almost without changes from the moment of creation in 1283.
However, some changes, certainly, have been made. For example, in 1892 son of American missionary Edvin MakFarland, working over creation of the first Thai typewriter, has been excessively puzzled by that any of existing models of typewriters could not contain the Thai alphabet completely. That bulkiness of the alphabet could not become a barrier in creation of the mechanical device first in Thailand for drawing of the printing text on a paper, Edvin has simply cleaned from the alphabet two seldom used letters. Probably, those two letters were used really extremely seldom because in due course both removed MakFarlandom letters have disappeared from Thai writing.
Offers in Thai language are under construction on model «mum washed a frame» or «the subject – action – object». Absence of grammatical categories and simple models of construction of offers do Thai language, according to some researchers, extremely accessible to all-round studying.
Probably, the part of interested persons in perfection to seize «phasa thaj» certain phonetic novelty of sounds and musicality of Thai system of tonalities will frighten off. However experts say, that it is not necessary to exaggerate complexity of Thai voice-frequency system. Even in n, in our daily informal conversation we, that not suspecting, freely use that smyslorazlichitelnym the tool which in Thai language «the system of five tones» is called.
For example, the word-combination «to you there», said with interrogative intonation, will learn you to the use of ascending tone; the same phrase told in the affirmative, will let to you know, than descending tone differs from the ascending. Having trained in pronouncing «to you there» (is better to do it before a mirror), you through any couple of months will distinguish quite tolerably in conversation all five tones. Anyway, you will start to think, that you distinguish them – and after all even of it somebody from your acquaintances hardly can brag.
Certainly, independent studying of Thai language is not so welcomed. There is a danger, that you incorrectly learn tones. As a result the most clear foreign phrases with which help you will show masterful possession of the tool of five tonalities, for ever can remain significant «to you where?» - «to you where!». However and in advance pessimistically to be adjusted that at you will turn out nothing, too it is not necessary. As Thai popular wisdom says, «tigers to be afraid – not to go to jungle». That is, they wished to tell, that the road will be mastered by a buffalo going on it.
Labels: a life abroad, history, Thai language.
01.10.2008 at 21:58
The paragraph in a pronunciation has reminded a joke of training of five tones:
Once Chernyshevsky has seen from a window of the penthouse as Lermontov has jumped on a horse and has shouted: “In a passage!” “Well also what? - Has thought Chernyshevsky, - here, the god will give, revolution will be, then also I so will shout”. Also began to rehearse before a mirror, repeating on different manners: “In a passage. In passazhzh. In passazhzhzh. In a pas-and-ssazhzhzh. In PASSA-AND-AND-AND-AZHZHZH!!!”
02.10.2008 at 6:56
In PASSA-AND-AND-AND-AZHZHZH!!!:))))) All is simple. We start to learn the Thai: terminations any to you, coordination … is easier than Spanish!
07.10.2008 at 4:59
Thanks! That you interest the Thai. I thaw.
10.10.2008 at 21:01
Interestingly, and what mean small circles on all letters? Or they it is simple for appearance?
27.10.2008 at 19:56
The letter writing begins with circles, these are rules of a Thai calligraphy.
With the terminations not all so is simple. Even it is completely not simple. And if is even more exact, it is difficult enough, for in a word there can be not readable cancelled terminations consisting of a vowel, one, two or three consonants. And correctly to write down a word, it is not enough of it to hear, it is necessary to know, how it is written correctly. E.g. a word ลักษณ์, read as "varnish" where two last consonants are not read. As there are the terminal consonants read not how in the beginning of a syllable. And here it is necessary to know precisely, for example, on what consonant sounding as "t" the word comes to an end. Here as a terminal sound "t" following consonants can be used: จ ช ซ ฎ ฏ ฐ ฑ ฒ ด ต ถ ท ธ ษ ส ศ. Yes, all these consonants on the syllable end are read as "t". Besides, at a word can be present also the cancelled final consonant, and it is necessary to know precisely, which, e.g. a word read as "prajot" (advantage) ประโยชน์. The role final "t" is carried out by a vowel ช ("chho"). And the latest consonant น ("but") is cancelled, but nevertheless at a word is present.
Well as, easily?
Short educational program on grammar of Thai language it is possible to pass here:
30.10.2008 at 5:40
Descended under the reference from Alex aka AlexMF. Respekt, Khun Alex, and big human ขอบคุณครับ for lessons ภาษาไทย online. Very informative also it is useful. By the way, in the alphabet of King Ram Kamhenga of circles was not in general if I confuse nothing :((( And in some (it is concrete in two on a picture above) letters of the modern Thai alphabet of circles too is not present, to take here though Thai "az": ก - like there is no circle. Though it, most likely, exceptions of the general rule.
Concerning the terminations I will dare to object, for here (in an example with a word ประโยชน์ aka the advantage), seems to me, is a question not of the termination in "obshcheupotrebitelno-school" value of this term. After all that such termination? - We will ask Yandex and Yandex to us will answer, that “the termination is an essence an inflexion, the part of a word changing at declination, conjugation or change of words”. In Thai language of a word do not change also the terminations, in my opinion, there taki is not present. And the writing and word pronouncing ประโยชน์ costs, probably to put in one number of the most interesting language phenomena about which has well written Levm Uspensky in the book “the Word about words”. For example: the Irish word kathudhadh is read as "kahju", and written there as why? Because I (quote) “the letter informs to us from the remote past such data on sound structure and all language and its some words in particular which for what to us would not reach if the writing of words varied immediately after their pronunciation.” That is, with a word ประโยชน์, I think, there was such history: there have passed years, the word pronunciation has changed, and the writing remains former. The same and with a word ลักษณ์ aka laksana. And the terminations there any are not present. However, it is all in any way does not cancel complexity and attractiveness great and mighty ภาษาไทย!