Travel, Teach, Live in Thailand
Whether you find the Thai language difficult or easy to learn largely depends on your teacher and the teaching methods they adopt. There are however elements of the language which make it easier to learn than other languages, and there are also aspects that make it a little more difficult. Within this article I highlight the key areas that make Thai a difficult language to learn, but end on a high note, by pointing out the factors that make it an easy and fun language to learn too.
Why is the Thai language difficult to learn?
The problems most people encounter when learning Thai can be summarised into three main areas, these are:
1. The Thai language is a tonal language. This means that one specific word can mean a number of completely different things depending upon the tone used. All in all there are five tones for students to master; high, mid, low, rising or falling. For the majority of western students studying Thai, this can be a large hurdle to overcome. They are used to listening to the tone used in order to interpret the context and emotion with which the words are being delivered. A harsh, short tone for example could mean that someone is angry in some western languages. Westerners learning Thai therefore need to adapt to the fact that they cannot alter the tone to express emotion, as they will end up saying something completely different to that which they intended. In order for a student to master the tones of the Thai language it is essential that listening comprehension plays a major part in the learning process.
2. The Thai language has its own alphabet which consists of 44 consonants and 36 vowels. It can be daunting to learn a new alphabet, and certainly languages with their own alphabet are more challenging to learn, especially if you want to be able to read and write. The Thai alphabet however is much easier to pick up than Chinese or Japanese - so don't be put off. There are some fun and effective methods available to help students come to grips with the alphabet quickly and easily, and once mastered the alphabet looks beautiful.
3. The third problem many people encounter is that they interpret Thai words from a western perspective. The culture in Thailand is very different to the west, and it is essential to learn about the culture in order to understand the language correctly. The Thai language is a high context language, as oppose to low, which means that a lot is said between the lines. When listening to a Thai person you need to watch the speakers' expressions and body language, whilst considering the context of the conversation, in order to gain a clear picture of what is being communicated.
Why is the Thai language easy to learn?
Thankfully, there are some aspects of Thai grammar and vocabulary which make it an easy language to learn:
1. The grammar of the Thai language is extremely easy. There are no conjugations, declensions, inflections etc. Thai words do not change form with gender, person, number, or even tense. Yesterday, tomorrow, already, or will are added to sentence structures to indicate tense. When learning Thai, you don't need to learn if a word is masculine or feminine, and there are no articles. There are no words for "a", "an" or "the", and generally if a word is not needed to communicate meaning, then it's omitted, keeping sentences very simplistic in structure.
2. Many words are used in compounds to form new words. This makes it possible to understand unknown words just by looking at the parts. For example, you may know that the Thai word for fish is "pla", and you may know that the Thai word for water is "naam". "naam pla" a compound of the two words is fish water, or if you like - fish sauce.
Conclusion
So, is the Thai language difficult or easy to learn? The difficult aspects of learning Thai are really of a "difference" in nature, than a "difficulty" in learning. If you have a good understanding of how the language differs to your own, and you have a teacher who adopts the most effective methods for teaching a language, you ought to find the language both fun and easy to learn.
This article was produced by Paula Westberg, Managing Director of Lanta International Language School. Lanta International Language School is a Thai language school offering fast, fun and effective Thai language courses. Based on the latest findings in educational science, their new methods of teaching combine activity learning, e-learning and brain-friendly reading lessons to create a unique blend of Thai language courses for beginners, intermediate and advanced students.
