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English pronunciation by Thai

By Submitted Message
Posted in Reader question
Tags:
March 13 2025

Dear readers,

I would like an explanation from those of you who speak Thai and therefore have some understanding of pronunciation.

After living here for six years I have often noticed that the average Thai does not pronounce the last letter in English. Now I wonder more and more why? I just had a repairman on the phone for an appointment at my house and he said he could be here 'about one hour'

We also know a hou (house), mou (mouth) and so on.

What is it? Because you can tell them a hundred times that it has to be 'a house', they apparently can't say it that way. Who, oh who, has an explanation?

Regards,

Maryse

Editors: Do you have a question for the readers of Thailandblog? Use it contact form..

Number of times read: 764

28 Responses to “English Pronunciation by Thai”

  1. Peter (editor) says up
    13 March 2025 at 13: 26

    Thais often drop the last letter of English words due to the phonological structure of their language. In Thai, words can only end in -k, -t, -p, -m, -n, or -ng. Sounds such as -s, -l, -r, -d, and -th are not present and therefore often disappear in pronunciation.

    In addition, a final consonant is usually pronounced as a glottal stop, making it barely audible. The Thai spelling of English words also plays a role; because some sounds do not exist in the Thai alphabet, they are simplified.

    Furthermore, Thai emphasizes initial and middle sounds, making final sounds less pronounced. This causes words like house to be pronounced as hou and mouth as mou. This makes it difficult for Thais to correctly pronounce English words with an audible final sound.

  2. Rijck says up
    14 March 2025 at 00: 28

    Every language has several layers, or is made up of many components. Peter (editor) mentions one of them: phonology (sounds that form words). But for your question, the pragmatic use of a foreign language in one's own speech is also important. The way in which words from a foreign language are used: the Thai does that in a Thai way. Most Thai people pick up English by hearsay. Or by coming into contact with foreigners. Or learn English via an app. If the Thai feel the need to be occupied with English, why don't the 'farang' with Thai?

    • Rebel4Ever says up
      14 March 2025 at 03: 17

      Why? Because English is a world language that you can use in many countries. Just an accepted convention, like French was the international standard a few centuries ago. I speak 5 foreign languages, but no Thai. Why? Because it is of no use to me internationally. It seems more logical to me that the Thai invest more time and money in English education. That will be good for tourism, the Thai economy, trade contacts and career opportunities. International travel with only a command of the Thai language will not get you far once you cross the border. With English the whole world is open to you; also for Thai…

      • Leo Eggeneen says up
        14 March 2025 at 04: 28

        I live in the north in the country. Here we would be very happy if anyone spoke English at all, even if it was Thinglish?

      • Rijck says up
        14 March 2025 at 08: 40

        Don't go overboard. Maryse's question after living in TH for 6 years was about the English of the average man in the street. He picks up English from hearsay, as I have already explained to you. What use is English to a Thai if his business does not go beyond his own municipal borders? Thais who are active in tourism or international trade definitely speak English. I am originally from Den Bosch. There are people who do not even understand a fellow provincial from Tilburg. But would such a person be able to speak English?

        • PEER says up
          14 March 2025 at 09: 49

          That's very curious, Rijck,
          I am a true 'jug' from Tilburg, but I can understand every resident of Den Bosch well.
          Does that say anything about the IQ of 's-Hertogenbosch? No, it doesn't.

      • Ed Hgv says up
        14 March 2025 at 23: 22

        Granddaughter of 5 in Isaan, learns in kindergarten to count to 100 in English at the moment and to write this in English, the colors also in English and its names also in English.
        Last October Jingle Bell was rehearsed.

  3. bohbee says up
    14 March 2025 at 03: 17

    Indeed, the last letter is not pronounced, but an 'l' at the end of a word is pronounced as an 'n' and an 's' at the beginning is always followed by an 'a'. 'Spaghetti' becomes 'sapaghetti', 'spoon' becomes 'sapoon' and the best example is always 'school', which invariably becomes 'sakoon'.
    Also always fun to have a Thai say 'squirrel' in English, squirrel. Something very strange comes out of that. Just try it out.

  4. Thick says up
    14 March 2025 at 05: 33

    Words taken from English such as "lift" are transcribed into Thai script, but the last letter (in this example the "t") gets the sign above it that indicates that you don't pronounce the letter. I don't know why that is, I'll go by the general pronunciation rules.

  5. Emil says up
    14 March 2025 at 06: 45

    One thing I miss here in all the technical explanations is that the Thai are “lazy” in their language and prefer to shorten everything. Long sentences can also be explained in 2 words and words are shortened. In Thai they understand each other, not realizing that we Dutch people need every letter of a word to understand the word. (Even if we speak English). My wife also shortens the words as standard when we speak Dutch, with the result that I sometimes do not understand it. My Thai teacher indicated that it is because of “lazy”, just as they are “lazy” to pronounce the “r”, this often becomes an “l”

    • RonnyLatYa says up
      14 March 2025 at 07: 48

      But maybe many also use more sentences than necessary and talk a lot without saying much. 😉

      If you're lazy with an 'r' then you're lazy with an 'l' too. After all, it's just a letter for a letter.

      • Rudy says up
        14 March 2025 at 12: 01

        Thais can still pronounce the 'r' after practice (their oral cavity and uvula are different from ours) but it takes time and effort. Especially the latter is something they would rather avoid.

        • RonnyLatYa says up
          14 March 2025 at 14: 21

          However, R is simply part of the Thai alphabet with “ร” – Raaw ruuea
          I know many Thais who are at least not too lazy for that.

  6. Rudolf F. Van Dam says up
    14 March 2025 at 08: 01

    Why the Farang is not really concerned with relearning the Thai language?
    Yes, that is a good question. Thanks for that. But now the many almost infinite response considerations still on that.
    And besides, why would the farang want to learn Thai?

    • Rudy says up
      14 March 2025 at 11: 52

      If you think you have mastered Thai, you probably speak some standard Thai like you hear on the national Thai news. If you are staying somewhere in Isaan or the North of Thailand, you will not understand the local dialect at all (varies from province to province, city to city and origin to origin (Laotian, Cambodian, Chinese…). There you are with your Thai. Whoever understands it as Thai will also pretend not to because they absolutely do not know that you understand them (in gossip, backbiting, their plans and strategies that often concern you…)

      • RonnyLatYa says up
        14 March 2025 at 14: 25

        That is no different than in other countries.

        As if everyone doesn't have a problem with the dialects in, say, Belgium.
        Let Limburgers have a chat with Ostend fishermen and see what comes of it.

        • Rudy says up
          14 March 2025 at 19: 51

          Correct! The big difference is that in BE or NE and the rest of the world, people understand the standard language of their country of birth in addition to their dialect. In Thailand, this is certainly not always the case. If a Limburger does not understand Ostend, he still understands the newsreader on the TV news of, for example, VRT or VTM. If someone from Isaan speaks a local dialect, it is absolutely not certain that he understands the 'General Thai' of the national TV channels. The Thai loosing face syndrome means that something like this will not be admitted immediately.

          • RonnyLatYa says up
            15 March 2025 at 00: 45

            And that is also the case in Thailand. Maybe only with the older ones who can't read or write, but with the current generations they all understand that.

            My great-grandfather also had problems with Dutch words they used on TV.

          • RonnyLatYa says up
            15 March 2025 at 00: 52

            Should be “My great-grandfather/mother also had problems with Dutch words they used on TV.”
            My grandfather too, but he couldn't read or write. My grandmother could.

    • Rob V says up
      14 March 2025 at 12: 29

      Got an error, another response. Speaking Thai can be fun and useful for a chat, or asking something. Much is only in Thai or shortened or broken English. Speaking the language a little opens doors. I was at a government museum today, and because I spoke Thai the ticket seller said not to consider me a foreigner and got the ticket for khon Thai. Fun, right? Inside, much information was only in Thai, the English was short and concise and often missing….

      And why that pronunciation? They apply rules from their own language, which changes final letters or makes them sound mute, vowels are added between two consonants. Phonetics back to your native language is useful at first but quickly becomes a handicap because the written pronunciation is approximate and not correct. So it is better to switch off your own birth language, to leave it alone, when you learn Thai to English or English to Thai. The same with Dutch Thai.

  7. Rudy says up
    14 March 2025 at 12: 20

    Saying 'A white wine with ice' in English is always a butt-slapper. The worst part: some give their children the nickname 'Ice'. The person concerned calls himself 'I' for life (English)

  8. Josh M says up
    14 March 2025 at 14: 48

    Have you ever thought about the many meanings the word mai has in Thai?
    I think you are shocked by this, because I am almost deaf on one side and hard of hearing on the other. I can't hear the tones used in Thailand well, let alone pronounce them.

  9. Tino Kuis says up
    14 March 2025 at 17: 13

    Perhaps an addition to the above comments.

    For a good understanding of Thai, the correct pronunciation of vowels and tones are most important, which is perhaps why there is a bit of fiddling with the consonants.

    In Dutch, consonants are more important. I suspect that most people will understand this short sentence: “Ek go nir Omstirdem”. Right?

    My Thai was also well understood in Isaan and even in Laos where, after I asked, they commented that they watched a lot of Thai television….

    The “r” and “l” are really funny. If you can always pronounce the “r” correctly, you are a real, educated Thai. If you often or always pronounce the “r” as an “l”, you are a dumb countryman. Sometimes there is overcompensation. Then I heard that they pronounce ลิง ling (monkey) as “ring”.

    Yesterday I had a bit of a fight with my Thai-Dutch son. He claimed that children can learn a (foreign) language much faster than an old man like me. I think the difference is not that big.

    • LonnyRatYa says up
      15 March 2025 at 01: 04

      Every child has to learn a language unknown to him from birth…

      By the way, my wife also says Paa instead of Plaa (ปลา) for fish

      But I think that many foreigners, for example, pronounce their well-known “falang” this way because they think that is how it should be pronounced, while it should actually be Farang (ฝรั่ง).
      Of course, being able to read Thai already helps.
      I can do it, although I don't always understand what I read because my Thai vocabulary is too limited 😉

    • Rudy says up
      15 March 2025 at 14: 28

      I think that from the link below it is clear that both you and your grandson will have presented arguments that you are both 'right'. So it depends on the point of view from which you look at it. So as they call it here now: 'take off your rose-colored and black-colored glasses and put on our regular glasses if necessary to look and see with them, in and from different directions, from far and near, with clean glasses to 'observe' whatever is there besides what we all like to take for ourselves: https://www.thecibookshop.com/nl/blogs/leestips/bestaat-er-een-ideale-leeftijd-voor-het-leren-van/

  10. Tino Kuis says up
    14 March 2025 at 17: 49

    And for those who live in Isaan: learn these words and phrases.

    https://www.thethailandlife.com/isaan-words

    For example:
    I love you – kàwi hák jâo / ข่อยฮักเจ้า koy hak chao , low, high, falling tone.

    In Isaan and the North, the “r” is often pronounced as an “h”.

    • Josh M says up
      15 March 2025 at 15: 24

      In Isaan and the North, the “r” is often pronounced as an “h”.
      That's right Tino, it was hot in Khon Kaen today so people who passed by while I was sitting outside almost all asked “hon bohr'.
      Instead of ron mai?

  11. Rudy says up
    14 March 2025 at 19: 40

    Special and wonderful things that you may observe. My Thai cousin studies tourism, has now been sent for a 10-month internship in a hotel that belongs to the world top 10 of the most renowned and luxurious hotels in the world. Location: Bangkok. So in that respect he drew a winning lottery ticket. Unfortunately, he did not learn a word of English during his training. Of course, this is only possible in Amazing Thailand. When I gave him a crash course in English before he left, he did not care one bit. 'We are in Thailand, after all' he said. Or in his illusion: 'Thai is a world language!' (so much for social indoctrination) I now hear from him that he is terribly unhappy there and does not even understand the drinks menu. Such a shame.


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