ithelcome to an exciting journey into the fascinating world of Thai language and culture! Thailand is a favorite vacation paradise and enjoys one of the world’s fastest growing economies More than any other factor, the Thai people’s legendary friendliness makes Thai a language well worth learning. THAI FOR BEGINNERS... W teaches all four language skills—speaking, listening, reading & writing. ¥ is effective for independent self-study or classroom use. Y offers clear, easy, step-by-step instruction, building on what has been previously learned. ¥V is written in a brisk, interesting style by a native Thai speaker fluent in English and experienced in teaching the Thai language. THAI FOR BEGINNERS is the perfect language guide for your journey to the Land of Smiles—Thailand! Useful vocabulary Realistic conversations Hands on writing practice Seen Cone eee ee De are sm Thai to foreigners in Thailand, Japan and the United States, SAS Spies Gan Geese) eR NAD PsIntroduction Many people interested in learning the Thai language have trouble finding a good textbook. Thai for Beginners solves that problem. Thai for Beginners teaches the basic four language skills—speaking, listening (with the cassette tapes), reading and writing. The first part of each lesson teaches vocabulary and sen- tence structure. A vocabulary list with Thai spelling, transliteration and definitions in English appears at the beginning of each chapter. The transliteration system assists you with pronunciation while you are learning the Thai alphabet. Each student must learn to properly pronounce the tones either by listening to the tapes or with the help of a good Thai teacher. Someone should listen to and correct your pronunciation, especially during your early days of learning the language. Often, beginning students of Thai only want to learn con- versation. Perhaps, learning the alphabet seems too difficult when their main goal is to talk to someone using the Thai language. This is a big mistake! The phonetic Thai alphabet will assist even basic conversa- tion. Using the Thai writing system develops speaking and listen- ing skills as well as reading and writing. Wean yourself off of transliteration as soon as possible. You won’t regret the extra effort spent learning the Thai writing system. The second part of each lesson teaches basic reading and writing of the Thai language. It provides a guided step by step introduction to the consonants, vowels, tone rules, and other fea- tures of the language. Written Thai uses no space between words. In this text, however, we often separate the words with a space to help you read the Thai script more quickly.