For a westerner, the simple act of buying a useful English-Thai dictionary is not as straightforward as you might think. Having lived in Thailand, I have known many travelers waste their money on dictionaries they cannot use effectively for one simple reason, if you cannot read Thai, the majority of English language dictionaries are not useful to you. Why? Because the Thai equivalent of an English word is written in Thai script and therefore not recognizable to a westerner. Consequently, you are unable to use the dictionary independently unless you have a Thai person in tow, who can read out the word for you. A simple fact, but one that is frequently overlooked until too late, when you have already handed over your money.

Of all the numerous English-Thai dictionaries on the market, there are only a handful that are practical, if you cannot actually read Thai. Be careful to find one that includes a phonetic transliteration too. In simple English this means a third element to the dictionary: English-Thai, Thai-English and an accurate and consistent transcription of Thai sounds for those of us unable to read the Thai alphabet. The same is true of course for other tonal languages like Vietnamese or Chinese, whose scripts are unrecognizable to a western eye.

To be able to say a Thai word correctly first you need the phonetic equivalent of a Thai word, in recognizable western characters. Secondly, you need consistent tone markings of some description to show you how to pronounce the word correctly, using the right Thai tone. Due to the tonal nature of the language (Thai has five tones, mid, low, high, falling and rising) you could be saying the correct word, but if you use the wrong tone, the word means something entirely different. Therefore the possibilities for faux pas are endless and must cause much amusement within the Thai community. Many is the time local Thais have looked at me agog when I have announced that I have 6 horses (rather than six dogs), as the Thai word maa is the same for both - just the tones are different.

e.g. The Thai word maa can mean horse, dog, or the verb to come, depending on the tone. e.g. maa hok tua (rising tone) - I have six dogs; maa hok tua (high tone) - I have six horses; khun mai maa (mid tone) - he didn't come.

The common word mai is used to form a question or make a negative, or alternatively can mean new, silk or mile. Complicated isn't it?

An even more dangerous one is glai, which can mean the exact opposite, near or far, depending on the tone! You could end up with a costly taxi ride, if you have asked the driver how far somewhere is, only to misunderstand his answer!

These are just a few of numerous examples.

For many westerners hearing the correct Thai tones often pose a problem, yet alone learning to pronounce them. In my experience the most successful at learning tonal languages are usually musicians, as they can "hear" the differences and are able to pick up the tones much quicker. It is perhaps easier for most of us to start by distinguishing between the high, low and mid tones more so than the others. However, after a while you do develop an ear for the language and it does become easier, trust me! But I am quite sure you will have some amusing stories to tell along the way!

For information on working in Thailand as an English teacher please see Gill's related articles:

http://teaching-abroad.suite101.com/article.cfm/teaching_in_thailand_job_hunting

http://teaching-abroad.suite101.com/article.cfm/the_best_teaching_jobs_in_thailand

Gill is an experienced language teacher and trainer, having been teaching and managing language schools abroad for twenty years. She is also a freelance writer and is currently studying journalism.