| Final y, as in ma3y 'not,' is pronounced like initial y, as in yu1u 'to stay, live.' Therefore, the Thai word ma3y is not merely the English word my
pronounced one falling tone; the Thai word also has more friction or rubbing going with
the pronunciation of the final y. In the same way, the final w, as
in kha4w 'he, she, they' is like initial
w, as in wa3a 'to say.' Hence
the Thai word kha4w is not simply the English
word cow pronounced on a rising tone (and with a deeper quality of vowel);
instead, the Thai word has more friction on the w and the lips almost come
together, just as they do when pronouncing an initial w. Another point that you will need to watch is that
the Thai word hi4w 'to be hungry' is not like
the English word hue pronounced on a rising tone; indeed, the English word, if it
were written according to the way we are writing Thai, would have to be written something
like hyuw. In the English hue the vowel that carries the syllable
is an u-sound which is then followed by a w-glide. In the Thai hi4w, on the other hand, the vowel carrying the syllable is an i-sound
which is then followed by w.
__________________________________________________
Listen carefully to the records and imitat as
exactily as you can.
| ma3y |
'not' |
 |
| yu1u |
'to stay, live, be (of location)' |
|
| ma3y
yu1u |
'not to stay' |
|
| kha4w |
'he, she , they' |
|
| wa3a |
'to chat' |
|
| kha4w
wa3a |
'they say' |
|
| khuy |
'to chat' |
|
| la4ay |
'several' |
|
| hi4w |
'to be hungry' |
|
| raw |
'we' |
|
|
