Language History
Belonging to the proto-Tai family, Thai is believed to have emerged somewhere between the border of Vietnam and China in the 8th century AD. Also known as Siamese, Thai has three major branches including Northern Tai, Central Tai, and Southwestern Tai.
In 1283, the Sukhothai period king, Ramkhamhaeng, initiated written Thai. Based on Pali, Sanskrit, and Indian, and incorporating words from Mon and Khmer, the written language is not so different from its current one, which means it can be read by Thai scholars of today. The Asian language is said to be connected to languages spoken in eastern Burma (Myanmar), northern Vietnam, Yunnan, and Laos.
[/vc_pangea_service_desc_block][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1621878651693{margin-top: 30px !important;padding-top: 20px !important;background-color: #f1f2f0 !important;}” el_class=”bg-grey”][vc_column css=”.vc_custom_1577960450304{margin-top: -100px !important;margin-bottom: -80px !important;}”][vc_pangea_custom_block layout=”center” button_color=”#d15f45″ content_font=”Open Sans” button_popup_form=”” button_text=”Get in Touch” button_link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fportal.stg-wpml.pangea.global%2Frequest-quote%2F|||”]There are around 50 million Thai speakers around the world. 20 million of these are native speakers (according to records from 2000 and 2001, respectively).
[/vc_pangea_custom_block][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1577963392978{margin-bottom: -50px !important;background-color: #ffffff !important;}”][vc_column css=”.vc_custom_1557920302161{margin-top: -50px !important;margin-bottom: -30px !important;}”][vc_pangea_custom_block layout=”center” heading_font=”Futura Std” content_font=”Open Sans” title=”Where is Thai Spoken?”]Thai is the official language of Thailand, but it is also spoken in countries including the Midway Islands, Singapore, United Arab Emirates, and the United States.
[/vc_pangea_custom_block][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row el_id=”benefits-container” css=”.vc_custom_1621878657044{margin-top: px !important;padding-bottom: 20px !important;background-color: #f1f2f0 !important;}” el_class=”bg-grey”][vc_column width=”1/2″ css=”.vc_custom_1584559576550{margin-top: 37px !important;margin-bottom: 50px !important;margin-left: 0px !important;}”][vc_pangea_custom_block layout=”center” background_color=”” content_font=”Open Sans” css_custom_id=”text-near-bubble” title=”Fun Fact!” background_image=”5847″]Did you know the word ‘thai’ means ‘free’ in the Thai language?Did you know the word ‘thai’ means ‘free’ in the Thai language?[/vc_pangea_custom_block][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″ css=”.vc_custom_1584559637930{margin-top: 25px !important;}”][vc_pangea_custom_block layout=”center” background_color=”” content_font=”Open Sans” css_custom_id=”text-near-bubble” title=”Did you Know?” background_image=”5847″]Thai is a tonal language, meaning each word is characterised by a specific pitch. The Thai language has 5 tones – mid, low, high, rising, and falling.[/vc_pangea_custom_block][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1575284202556{background-color: #ffffff !important;}”][vc_column css=”.vc_custom_1577967987957{margin-top: -60px !important;margin-bottom: -30px !important;}”][vc_pangea_custom_block layout=”center” content_font=”Open Sans” title=”Thai Dialects”]
There are variations of Thai dialects – regional dialects and social dialects.
Regional Dialects:
• The “khammuang” or Northern dialect
• The “lao” or Northeastern dialect
• The “tai” or Southern dialect
• The “klang” or Central dialect
Source: www.globalsecurity.org
Social Dialects:
• High form – “used when talking about members of the royal family, high ranking Buddhist clergy, and persons of high social status”.
• Low form – “used in everyday situations and when talking about persons other than those listed above under high form”.
Source: www.mustgo.com
[/vc_pangea_custom_block][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1577968224095{background-color: #ffffff !important;}”][vc_column][vc_pangea_quote_block quote_text=”“Once you’re able to speak Thai, you can easily comprehend Lao, Khmer and other Tai-Kadai languages, too.””][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1621878662795{margin-top: 50px !important;border-top-width: -50px !important;background-color: #f1f2f0 !important;}” el_class=”bg-grey”][vc_column css=”.vc_custom_1584560300396{margin-top: -90px !important;margin-bottom: -20px !important;padding-top: 20px !important;}”][vc_pangea_custom_block layout=”center” title=”4 Easy Phrases in Thai! “][/vc_pangea_custom_block][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1621878667967{background-color: #f1f2f0 !important;}” el_id=”benefits-container” el_class=”bg-grey”][vc_column css=”.vc_custom_1591776991076{margin-top: -50px !important;}”][vc_wp_text title=” “]| Thai | English |
|---|---|
| Sawadee khrup/ka | Hello |
| Khop khun (khrup/ka) | Thank you |
| Khor thoad khrup/ka | Sorry/excuse me |
| Sa bai dee mai khrup/ka | How are you? |
Thailand Population:
69,799,978
Internet Users:
57,000,000
Penetration:
81.7%
As of 2020. Source:
www.internetworldstats.com
• Thai characters are placed left to right, without spaces, to create syllables, words, and sentences.
• Words do not change or conjugate according to tense, person, possession, gender, number, or subject-verb agreement.
• The words ‘a’, ‘an’, or ‘the’ are not used in the Thai language.
• Like English, sentences are structured by the subject, verb, then the object.
• There are 18 vowels in the Thai language and the vowel length determines word meaning.[/vc_pangea_custom_block][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1577968421251{background-color: #ffffff !important;}”][vc_column css=”.vc_custom_1558438241711{margin-top: -50px !important;}”][vc_pangea_custom_block layout=”center” content_font=”Open Sans”]Are you looking for professional Thai translation services? Get in touch with Pangea Global! We’ll hook you up with one of our professional linguists who will provide you with accurate and reliable Thai localization services, copywriting, voice overs and more![/vc_pangea_custom_block][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1577968428428{background-color: #ffffff !important;}”][vc_column css=”.vc_custom_1557924920503{margin-top: -30px !important;margin-bottom: 40px !important;}”][vc_pangea_cta_button button_text=”Get In Touch” button_link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fstg-wpml.stg-wpml.pangea.global%2Fquote%2F|||”][/vc_column][/vc_row]
