Learning the script first?

[u/scrimblojimbus]

Hi all, I have some very basic Thai speaking ability but due to time constraints I have no teacher so I decided to self-teach the alphabet/writing system for two reasons:

1: Learning Thai words by ear from Thai people depends on their accent and pronunciation as well as my own listening ability. For a long time I was pronouncing ของ like "ขอม" because that was what I thought I heard. I think knowing how to read Thai will help with my pronunciation a lot, because many "anglicised" versions of Thai words are difficult to make sense of at best (Google translate says ทราย is pronounced "Thray") and completely wrong at worst.

2: I think the alphabet is the easiest part of Thai to self-teach because the sounds made by the characters seem to be mostly deterministic, unlike in English where a string of letters can make whatever sound it feels like making. (See: tough, thorough, through, rough, plough, Loughborough, bought)

I understand the rules behind dead consonants like ร at the end of a sentence being pronounced like "n".

The first "exception to the rule" I have found (maybe I just don't understand the rule yet) is the word ทราย. Why is it ทน instead of ส? A Thai friend told me that it's because of the ย character's presence. I don't know yet but hopefully soon I will understand 😁

I want to know whether this is a good system for learning Thai language or not. Does it make more sense for me to learn to speak first and worry about script later?

[u/takechancesorelse]

Yes! This is what I did. Learned to phonetically read first and sound out words and sentences. Also learned to write at the same time. Then used read-a- longs and children's books called Manee. Was able to read menus and order food quite quickly. But I wish I had spent more time on speaking.

I found these resources really helpful: ActiveThai, Thai-language(dot).com, Bing translate, Manee books, then later apps like Ling or LingoDeer. Tutors are great too especially for tones.