2011-09-15
Learn The Language
One of the things that most people forget when travelling to Thailand is the language. Despite the country being a popular tourist destination, very few foreigners make the effort to try out even a few words of Thai. This is a shame as visitors will get a better experience by trying out the local dialect as well as the culture and food. It only takes a few minutes to learn some of the more common phrases.
Standard Thai, also known as Central Thai or Siamese is the official language of Thailand and is spoken by over 20 million people. This is the dialect all newcomers to the country should make the effort to try out as it is the most widely recognised. In Bangkok you will hear Standard Thai spoken by virtually everyone and even when you do encounter someone who speaks a different dialect, they will be able to understand you.
It is useful to understand the differences in context when speaking Thai. There are five main contextual differences you should try to be aware of when visiting:
Street Thai
Also known as ‘Common Thai’. This is informal and used between relatives and friends without a polite term of address.
Elegant of Formal Thai
The official and written version of Thai. This is much more formal and is used in newspapers and respectful terms of address.
Rhetorical Thai
This is used for public speaking so can often be heard in political address and on broadcast television.
Religious Thai
This is heavily used by Buddhist monks and influenced by Sanskrit and Pali.
Royal Thai
This is only used when discussing addressing members of the royal family or discussing their activities.
Virtually all Thai people can understand and speak in all these contexts, so it is useful for visitors to be aware of and practise them. Learning the basic alphabet is a good start and can provide any visitor with all the essentials they need to get by. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes! Most locals will applaud your efforts and you’ll enjoy yourself a lot more.
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