泰语发音规则.doc

泰语发音规则（Tone Rules） Thai is a tonal language which makes it very different to Westerrn languages. Each syllable has a choice between five distinct tones: low, mid, rising, high and falling. To a foreign student, it would seem that the Thai language is made up of groups of words that change in meaning depending on their tone. A famous tongue twister which illustrates this very well is new wood doesnt burn, does it? or mai mai mai mai mai in Thai. ??? ???? ??? ???? ??? ? mai - mai - mai - mai - mai ? high - low - falling - falling - high To a foreigner studying Thai for the first time, there is only one word in the above example, mai, and its meaning changes with different tones. However, to a Thai person, these are five distinct words that are not only spelled differently but are pronounced differently. Most foreign students make the mistake of relying too much on transliteration when learning Thai. If you are to master the tones, you must put this behind you and learn how to read properly. (See Learn to Read Thai with Manee and Friends) The five tones are: THE HIGH TONE – ????????（高调）（二声） This is a uniform tone pitched well above the level of the speaker’s normal voice and is similar to the tone used in English to denote alarm. e.g. “keep away” ?? nok A bird ??? ruk To love ???? lek Small THE RISING TONE – ??????????（上升的语气）（二声） This as the name implies has a rising inflection and is something like the tone used in English to denote surprise or a question. e.g. “Are you going home now?” ??? mai A question word ??? saam Three ??? hin A Stone THE MID TONE – ??????????（中间语气）（一声） This is spoken in the speaker’s ordinary tone of voice without any inflection. It is the tone used in English for ordinary conversation. ?? maa Come ?? bpai Go ??? gin To eat THE LOW TONE – ????????（低调）（三声或轻声）？ This is a level tone with no inflection but lower in pitch than common tone. ??? dork Flower ??? heep A box ???? gep To keep THE FALLING TONE – ?????