Читать книгу Instant Thai - Stuart Robson - Страница 5

Preface

This little book aims to introduce the Thai language. It is intended for those who know nothing about it, but are keen to learn. We use the method of selecting 100 key words, and using these to make up sentences and present a range of expressions, so that you can “say 1000 things.”

The words are arranged as ten topics, ones that will be helpful for the various situations you might find yourself in when visiting Thailand, traveling about and meeting Thai people. The language used is authentic, and contains many clues about Thai culture and society. There are also grammatical and cultural notes to help clarify things. An English-Thai wordlist gives the same vocabulary, but in reverse order, so that you can refer to it like a mini dictionary.

To help with the pronunciation we give the Thai in a simple system of romanization. Many systems exist. Ours is not meant to be scientific, merely useful for speakers of English. Thai script has also been inserted, so that Thai friends can help you to get the sounds right, and of course later on you might want to learn to read it yourself.

The Thai language is very different from English. But it is the key to learning about the people and culture of this fascinating country. So we would like to encourage you to have a go, use some Thai, and have the satisfaction of communicating successfully in this wonderful language.

Chohk dii! โชคดี Good luck!

Stuart Robson and Prateep Changchit