Word Study

Point 1. Telephoning. The most important phrases you will need to know in connection with telephoning are listed and described here.

Point2. pay and maa as secondary verbs.

Memorize the examples above together with their equivalent translations. The literal translations are given to show the function of pay and maa but are not to be memorized.
The examples above illustrate the use of pay and maa with verbs of directional movement (i.e., movement in or out, up and down, and so on). The important thing to remember is that in the English equivalent translations for verbs of this type the words 'go' and 'come' are placed first; in Thai, on the other hand, they are placed last. The words pay and maa are also used with other types of verbs of motion, as shown below.

The translations given above are equivalent translations. A literal translation 'away from (the center of interest)' is still an adequate translation for pay. The word maa can be substituted for pay in all of the examples above with a consequent shift in meaning so that the emphasis is on motion 'toward (the center of interest)'.

Point 3. A special use of pay as a secondary verb

Here pay is used as a secondary verb with lEEm 'to forget' and its use in this connection is simply to emphasize that the forgettting was complete; in other words, the matter 'slipped out of (away form) mind'.
It is important to note than in some contexts lm pay means 'to forget to go'. In such as case both verbs are primary verbs. Whether lm pay is to be interpreted as two primary verbs or as a primary verb followed by a secondary verb depends entirely upon the context or situation in which the expression is used.

Point 4. More about the use of waa

Note the position of may and of day ma&y with respect to wa^a. You will observe that the clause preceding wa^a is complete in itself and that the word-order in such a clause is the same as it would be if the clause were used alone. The function of wa^a is simply to introduce a new clause telling what is known or what is being said or told, as you previously learned in Unit 13, Section B.1, Point 5.

Point 5. The use of sa&nyaa.

Note that sa&nyaa is like verbs of knowing, thinking, speaking, and so on, in that it is followed by wa^a which serves the purpose of introducing the clause telling what is promised. Note also that when you wish to state to whom the promise is made, it is necessary to employ the word ka$p 'with' in the way that is illustrated in the second example above.

Point 6. The words tha^w, tha^wka$p, and tha^wkan

Either tha^w 'to equal' or tha^wka$p 'to be equal with' may be used in the second and third examples as well as in the first. The literal translations placed in parentheses are provided to help you see how the words are put together in Thai. In order to be able to use these words properly, however, you should pay particular attention to the equivalent translations which are given first.

Here again you should give particular attention to the equivalent translations which are given first. The only trick involved in the proper use of these words is to remeber what the difference is between the English way and the Thai way of comparing things in size or quantity.

Point 7. One of the uses of rf^aN

In sentences like these the use of the word rf^aN is required. Note also that rf^aN is followed by a noun and that if a word referring to an activity is used, that word will be made up of kaan- followed by a verb. For the use of kaan - see the discussion given in Unit 13, Section B.1, Point 12

Point 8. The use of ta^N with number-words

The word ta^N is placed before a number-word plus classifier to emphasize the fact that the quantity or amount is large, or at any rate seems large to the speaker employing the term. The closeest literal translation in English for the word is 'as much as' followed by a given quantity or amount.
The word ta^N is used in a way that exactly parallels the use of sa$k, for sa$k, too, is always followed by a number word pluse classifier. However, the meaning conveyed by the two words is very nearly opposite, for ta^N is used to emphasize the largeness of the quantity or amount while sa$k is often used to emphasize the smallness of the quantity or amount. However, sa$k also means 'about', as in, raw mii weelaa sa$k khrf^N chu^amooN 'We have about half an hours.' Therefore when sa$k carries the meaning 'as little as', which is the opposite of 'as much as', it must often be reinforced by another word, such as tha^wna@n, as in, raw mii weelaa sa@k khrf^N chu^amooN tha^wna@n 'We have only half an hour' (literally, 'as little as half an hour, that's all.').

Point 9. Some Contractions.

All three types of forms are used in speaking, though the more rapidly one speaks the more likely one is to use the contracted or the contracted and shortened forms. The changes that take place are as follows: In the contracted or the contracted and shortened forms. The changes that take place are as follows: In the contracted forms the long vowel of ya$aN is changed to a short one and the low tone is changed to the middle tone. In addition the initial n of ni@i and na@n and the initial r of ray are assimilated to ('made like') the final N of ya$aN. Then when the contracted form is shortened by the omission of the first syllable, all that is left is the second syllable consisting of Ni@i, Na@n, and Nay, respectively.

Some common expressions containing these contracted or contracted and shortened forms are:

Point 10. Some English words in Thai.

When Thai borrows ('takes over the use of') an English word, it usually happens that some change is made in the pronunciation of the word so that it will sound more like ordinary Thai words. For example, in place of the first l in 'hello', Thai has n. Again in fu@tbOOn 'football', l is also replaced by n. The reason for this is that the sound l is never found at the end of a syllable in Thai; therefore English final l is changed to n because in pronouncing n the tongue is in almost the same position as it is when pronouncing l, and n is a sound which occurs very frequently at the end of a syllable in Thai.
The word bee borrowed from English 'number' has been shortened to one syllable and the vowel ee has replaced English er. You will notice that just as Thai ee tends to sound like er to people who speak English, so English er tends to sound like to people who speak Thai.
Some of the other changes in the Thai words are only apparent, since we are not using ordinary English spelling to represent Thai sounds. Thus the vowel of English 'ball' is practically the same as the Thai vowel which we write as ee . Similarly, the vowel in 'foot' is close to the Thai vowel written u.

Point 11. Some classifiers.

Point 12. Some special phrases

Point 13. Some compounds