| Same sound, different characters in Thai alphabet |
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1STOPMEDIA April 18,2023 NEWSROOM
Same sound, different characters in Thai alphabet
Thai has a distinct writing system with letters that are not found in any other language. Thai language has 44 consonant characters, 16 vowel letters that may be joined to produce 32 vowels, and four tone diacritics. Most individuals start learning Thai reading and writing by studying the consonants. However, here is also where the problems start: There are five characters that all represent the same sound! The Thai alphabet's second through sixth consonant characters ข, ฃ, ค, ฅ, and ฆ, all share the same pronunciation (an aspirated "k" sound [kh], as in "collar"). But don't worry, these may sound similar, but they are not interchangeable. All you have to do is remember which one is used in which terms. These five words all begin with a "kh" sound, which is represented by three distinct consonant symbols. If you look attentively, you'll see that none of the spellings contain the word ฃ or ฅ. While these two letters remain in the alphabet, there are no longer any words that use them (according to most official Thai dictionaries). The same goes for some other sounds like: ด and ฎ (/d/) or ต and ฏ (/t/). |
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