Learn to Speak Thai

With Thailand being one of the most popular worldwide travel destinations (thanks to its rich culture, great food and fabulous beaches), learning how to speak Thai would certainly be a good excuse to travel to the exotic and beautiful country. Or perhaps you just want to be able to master the menu at your local favorite Thai restaurant. Whatever your reason for wanting to learn the language, there are about 65 million people who speak the language worldwide, so while it is not as widespread as Chinese or Spanish, the language is spoken by a significant number of people. Thai serves as the national language for Thailand and the language is also mutually intelligible with Lao spoken in the neighboring country.

Thai is somewhat related to other Sino-Tibetan languages like Chinese dialects, but was more recently classified as the Tai-Kadai language, which are a group of languages found in southern China and southeast Asia. Thai is a tonal language, meaning the stress and inflection of a word helps determine its meaning. It also has a complex spelling system and uses a unique Thai alphabet, which has only four consonants and 15 vowels, all which make it a very difficult language to learn for those who do not already speak a related language.

There are many different ways to learn Thai. While you may have a hard time finding classes at your local community college or university, you may be able to find and hire a private tutor to help you get started. Programs like Rosetta Stone can also be a great way to learn not only the basics of grammar and vocabulary, but also pronunciation. Of course the best way to learn any language is through total immersion. A few weeks spent interacting and speaking Thai on a daily basis can be worth more than a year in the classroom. Plus, with Thailand being such a desirable destination, trying to learn Thai may be the perfect excuse to cross the Pacific.