How To Use A Thai Dictionary - Advice For Travellers

For a westerner, the simple act of buying a useful English-Thai dictionary is not as straightforward as you might think. Having lived in Thailand, I have known many travelers waste their money on dictionaries they cannot use effectively for one simple reason, if you cannot read Thai, the majority of English language dictionaries are not useful to you. Why? Because the Thai equivalent of an English word is written in Thai script and therefore not recognizable to a westerner. Consequently, you are unable to use the dictionary independently unless you have a Thai person in tow, who can read out the word for you. A simple fact, but one that is frequently overlooked until too late, when you have already handed over your money.

Of all the numerous English-Thai dictionaries on the market, there are only a handful that are practical, if you cannot actually read Thai. Be careful to find one that includes a phonetic transliteration too. In simple English this means a third element to the dictionary: English-Thai, Thai-English and an accurate and consistent transcription of Thai sounds for those of us unable to read the Thai alphabet. The same is true of course for other tonal languages like Vietnamese or Chinese, whose scripts are unrecognizable to a western eye.

To be able to say a Thai word correctly first you need the phonetic equivalent of a Thai word, in recognizable western characters. Secondly, you need consistent tone markings of some description to show you how to pronounce the word correctly, using the right Thai tone. Due to the tonal nature of the language (Thai has five tones, mid, low, high, falling and rising) you could be saying the correct word, but if you use the wrong tone, the word means something entirely different. Therefore the possibilities for faux pas are endless and must cause much amusement within the Thai community. Many is the time local Thais have looked at me agog when I have announced that I have 6 horses (rather than six dogs), as the Thai word maa is the same for both - just the tones are different.

e.g. The Thai word maa can mean horse, dog, or the verb to come, depending on the tone. e.g. maa hok tua (rising tone) - I have six dogs; maa hok tua (high tone) - I have six horses; khun mai maa (mid tone) - he didn't come.

The common word mai is used to form a question or make a negative, or alternatively can mean new, silk or mile. Complicated isn't it?

An even more dangerous one is glai, which can mean the exact opposite, near or far, depending on the tone! You could end up with a costly taxi ride, if you have asked the driver how far somewhere is, only to misunderstand his answer!

These are just a few of numerous examples.

For many westerners hearing the correct Thai tones often pose a problem, yet alone learning to pronounce them. In my experience the most successful at learning tonal languages are usually musicians, as they can "hear" the differences and are able to pick up the tones much quicker. It is perhaps easier for most of us to start by distinguishing between the high, low and mid tones more so than the others. However, after a while you do develop an ear for the language and it does become easier, trust me! But I am quite sure you will have some amusing stories to tell along the way!

For information on working in Thailand as an English teacher please see Gill's related articles:

http://teaching-abroad.suite101.com/article.cfm/teaching_in_thailand_job_hunting

http://teaching-abroad.suite101.com/article.cfm/the_best_teaching_jobs_in_thailand

Gill is an experienced language teacher and trainer, having been teaching and managing language schools abroad for twenty years. She is also a freelance writer and is currently studying journalism.

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ADVICE Using Hand Held Dictionaries

Hand held are dictionaries are very popular these days. There are many different types and many different ways that you can benefit from them. I mean, when have you ever been out and thought "I could use a dictionary" but you don't have a book with you? We can't always carry a dictionary in our back pocket? Or, can we?

With a hand held electronic dictionary, you can have a dictionary in your back pocket at all times. Whether you are in medical school and it is a medical dictionary, or if you are in a foreign country and it is a language dictionary, you can use a hand held dictionary to your benefit.

What Are Hand Held Dictionaries?

Hand held electronic dictionaries come in many different types and forms and are great because they are portable. You can have your dictionary with you at any time. Whatever type that you have, you can benefit from having it with you. Whether it is a pocket PC or cell phone technology, you can have instant information at your fingertips.

How They Can Benefit You

You might be able to benefit from a hand held dictionary in the same way that Tom did. Tom was Executive Coordinator for his business and he was often asked to make speeches and give live reports of what was happening in his business. Well, Tom had been public speaking for a long time and he felt pretty confident in front of his colleagues but writing was not his strong point.

He sometimes went through stress while writing his speeches and reports and sometimes spent hours with a dictionary, a thesaurus and a word processing program to get it all right. But once, while at a business conference in Atlanta , he was asked to fill in for someone who fell sick and give a speech in front of the entire convention. While being in front of people did not bother him, the actual speech writing was a bit of a problem.

So while stuck in his hotel room preparing at the last minute, he got a great idea partly out of desperation. He ran out to the store and purchased a hand held dictionary which helped him write his speech in less than 45 minutes. The next morning he gave a fantastic and intelligent speech and shortly after was offered a promotion. Now his hand held electronic dictionary goes everywhere with him. How can a hand held electronic dictionary help you?

Daniel J Lesser is the creator of http://www.best-electronic-dictionary.com
A whole world awaits with the right words in your hands.
Find out how you can expand your horizons at best-electronic-dictionary.com

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