The Thai Language
Learning Thai will open doors to governmental agencies, global businesses, and nonprofit organizations operating in Thailand.
OHIO is highly regarded for its excellence in Southeast Asian languages, with one of the largest collections of research materials on Southeast Asia in North America.
About the Thai Language
Thai is the official language of Thailand, a kingdom of roughly 70 million people. A monosyllabic and tonal language, Thai is unique in that it bears little resemblance to any of the neighboring languages of East or Southeast Asia, including Chinese, Burmese, Khmer, Vietnamese, and Malay.
Thai is the most widely spoken language in the Tai language family. Tai languages are spoken by Thai peoples of modern Thailand; Lao peoples in the Republic of Laos; Shan peoples in northeastern Burma; and various highland peoples in northern Vietnam and southern China. More than 130 million people in Southeast Asia speak a Tai language.
Thai has its own script and its own unique alphabet. Although Thai has consonants and vowels like English, the vowels may be written either above, below, in front, or after the consonant. Tone markers are also written above consonants and vowels. Written Thai does not include spaces between words each sentence appears as a single line, as pictured below. It is not as difficult as it looks!
鉊鉊耜萱鉊耜鉊鉊Ｒ鉊鉆鉊鉊鉊耜萱鉊耜鉊鉊啤鉊喪鉊耜鉊毯鉊冢鉊鉊鉆鉊鉊 鉆鉊鉊鉊菽腺鉊鉊鉊鉊啤鉊詮鉊鉊晤鉊 鉊鉆鉊鉆鉊﹤鉊鉊菽鉆鉊鉆鉆鉊鉊鉊鉊毯鉊鉊鉆鉊耜鉊芹葡鉊鉊耜鉊丞萼鉆鉊鉊鉊毯鉆鉊鉊毯鉆鉊鉊鉊冢鉊鉊耜腹 鉆鉊鉊Ｒ鉊鉊耜鉊鉆鉊鉊晤鉆鉊冢葡 鉊鉊耜萱鉊耜鉊耜艇鉊 鉊芹萵鉊鉊芹鉊戈 鉆鉊鉊﹤腦 鉊鉊菽 鉊能艇鉊 鉊﹤葡鉆鉊鉆 鉊鉊喪鉊徇鉊鉊耜萱鉊耜鉊鉊Ｒ鉊鉊鉊鉊毯鉊鉊鉆鉊耜 鉊芹葡鉊鉊耜腹鉊耜鉊﹤葡鉊 鉊﹤葭鉊鉊喪鉊鉊毯鉊﹤腹鉊耜鉊鉊嗣鉊鉊鉊耜腹鉊鉊耜艇鉆鉊抉艇鉊
Why Study Thai at 窪蹋勛圖?
窪蹋勛圖 offers Thai language instruction as well as courses in Thai history, culture, art, literature, politics, and much more.
窪蹋勛圖 Libraries houses one of the largest collections of research materials on Southeast Asia in the United States. In addition to its world-class Malaysian Resource Center and renowned Indonesian collection, 窪蹋勛圖 Libraries is home to the David K. Wyatt Thai collection. Consisting of more than 15,000 volumes, about half of which are in Thai, the David K. Wyatt Collection includes most of the standard works on Thailand, a substantial number of Thai royal chronicles, King Chulalongkorn's (1868-1910) diaries and letters, and an extensive array of monographs, memoirs, and cremation volumes. The Wyatt Collection is one of the largest private library collections ever acquired by 窪蹋勛圖.
窪蹋勛圖 offers a growing number of undergraduate study abroad programs, internships, intensive language programs, and graduate student scholarships dedicated to the study of Thai and Thailand.
How We Teach
OHIO Thai language courses focus on all aspects of the language: speaking, listening, reading and writing. Our language model also emphasizes the importance of culture. Thai language students not only learn Thai but also understand its deep connections to the culture, history, traditions, and societal norms of the people who speak it.
OHIO Thai language courses focus on the language's structure and how to communicate effectively while also exploring Thai customs, beliefs, values, arts, literature, cuisine, social norms, and historical events that have shaped the language and its speakers. This approach helps students communicate more effectively and appropriately in various social and cultural contexts within Thailand and across Tai-speaking communities.
Course Offerings
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