Saturday, January 15, 2011

Thai

This semester I am taking a first-year Thai class. When it was time for registration back in October, I had an extra slot in my schedule, and I decided I wanted to take a language class. Unfortunately, the majority of beginning language classes are taught at 9 in the morning. My neurobiology class is also taught at 9 in the morning, and there was no way I was going to give up that class. Luckily, with persistent searching I found a Thai class offered at 12 and decided to take that. So far, it has been my favorite class this semester. It's so nice to have a class that consistently challenges and engages my brain. Most of my classes move too slowly for me, and I find teachers going over and over material I learn the first time around. In Thai, however, we move along pretty well and keep adding new stuff in. For a guy who has pretty much been on cruise control as far as schooling goes for a long time, it is a breath of fresh air. I'm enjoying it so much, I figured I'd share some of what I learned with you. Keep in mind that the romanization is not perfect, but it gives you an idea.

Sawad-dii khrab (Hello)

Phom chuu David khrab. Khun chuu arai khrab? (My name is David. What is your name?)

Khun mii chuu leen mai khrab? (Do you have a nickname? In Thailand, part of the culture is having a nickname given by the parents to each child)

Khun sabaidii mai khrab? (How are you?)

Phom sabaidii/ruay ruay/mai sabai/bpen wad/bpuad hua/bpuad thoong khrab. (I am fine/so so/not feeling well/have a cold/have a headache/have a stomachache)

Chookh dii khrab. Leew phob gan mai khrab (Good luck! See you later. You don't say goodbye much in Thai, but if you did you would say laa goon)

Yin dii thii dai ruu jag khun khrab (Nice to meet you)

Well, that's some of the basic phrases. I've learned a lot of other stuff as well. Bear in mind that if you are a girl you need to replace all the Phoms with Dichans and all the khrabs with khas. Also, I'm too lazy to figure out how to do tone markers, and the tone in Thai can make all the difference, so be sure you get someone to demonstrate it for you before you attempt it. It really is quite a cool language.

3 comments:

  1. Looks like a fun diverse language! How come every sentence ends in "khrab?"

    ReplyDelete
  2. Khrab is a polite particle that they use. English doesn't really have an equivalent. It's just something they use at the end of every sentence to be polite.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I see. I saw something similar on Doctor Who once. :)

    ReplyDelete