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http://www.omniglot.com/writing/thai.htm
Thai alphabet (ตัวอักษรไทย)
Origin
The Thai alphabet was probably derived from, or at least influenced by, the Old Khmer alphabet. According to tradition it was created in 1283 by King Ramkhamhaeng (1275-1317).
Notable features
- This is a syllabic alphabet consisting of 44 basic consonants, each with an inherent vowel: [o] in medial position and [a] in final position. The [a] is usually found in words of Sanskrit, Pali or Khmer origin while the [o] is found native Thai words. The 18 other vowels and 6 diphthongs are indicated using diacritics which appear in front of, above, below of after the consonants they modify.
- 8 of the letters are used only for writing words of Pali and Sanskrit origin.
- For some consonants there are multiple letters. Originally they represented separate sounds, but over the years the distinction between those sounds was lost and the letters were used instead to indicate tones.
- Thai is a tonal language with 5 tones. The tone of a syllable is determined by a combination of the class of consonant, the type of syllable (open or closed), the tone marker and the length of the vowel.
- There are no spaces between words, instead spaces in a Thai text indicate the end of a clause or sentence.
Used to write
Thai (ภาษาไทย), a Tai-Kadai language spoken by about 25 million people in Thailand (ประเทศไทย), the Midway Islands, Singapore, the UAE and the USA
Thai alphabet (ตัวอักษรไทย)
Consonants (พยัญชนะ)
Consonants are divided into three classes: 1 (green), 2 (red) and 3 (blue), which help to determine the tone of a syllable. The sounds represented by some consonants change when they are used at the end of a syllable (indicated by the letters on the right of the slash below). Some consonants can only be used at the beginning of a syllable.
The consonants in the final row are compounds used as alternatives to the basic consonants.
Vowel diacritics (รูปสระ)
Numerals (ตัวเลขไทย)
Tone indication
| |
Open syllables |
Closed syllables * |
| |
unmarked |
 |
 |
short vowel |
long vowel |
| Class 1 |
mid |
low |
falling |
low |
low |
| Class 2 |
rising |
low |
falling |
low |
low |
| Class 3 |
mid |
falling |
high |
high |
falling |
* Closed syllables are those ending with p, t or k
Sample text in Thai
Translation
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
(Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)
Longer sample text (Tower of Babel)
 Thai language courses, dictionaries, etc.
Links
Online Thai lessons and other resources
http://www.learningthai.com
http://www.seasite.niu.edu/Thai/
http://www.into-asia.com/thai_language/
http://www.learn-thai.com
http://www.wiwi.uni-frankfurt.de/~sascha/thailand/dictionary/thaischrift.html
http://1stEasyThaiAlphabet.com
Thai <> English Dictionary
http://www.links.nectec.or.th/lexit/lex_t.html
Thai Electronic talking dictionaries
http://www.ectaco.com
Thai-Isan-Lao Phrasebook
http://www.geocities.com/lao_thai2000/index
Free online translation of English <> Thai
http://c3po.links.nectec.or.th/parsit
Virtual Thai keyboard and other software
http://mog.software.free.fr
BBC World Service in Thai
http://www.bbc.co.uk/thai
Escati Magic Radio - Thai Internet Radio Station
http://www.escati.com/magic_radio.htm
Other syllabic alphabets
Ahom, Balinese, Batak, Bengali, Brahmi, Buhid, Burmese, Cham, Dehong Dai/Tai Le, Devanagari, Gujarati, Gurmukhi (Punjabi), Hanuno'o, Hmong, Javanese, Kannada, Kharosthi, Khmer, Lao, Lepcha, Limbu, Lontara/Makasar, Malayalam, Manpuri, Oriya, Phags-pa, Ranjana, Redjang, Siddham, Sinhala, Sorang Sompeng, Sourashtra, Soyombo, Syloti Nagri, Tagalog, Tagbanwa, Tai Dam, Tamil, Telugu, Thai, Tibetan, Tocharian, Varang Kshiti | 
发表于 2006-1-9 13:52:00
发表于 2006-1-11 11:28:00
发表于 2006-11-14 15:08:00