tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6606508917310525424.post5591184943826685135..comments2023-03-04T00:21:42.940-08:00Comments on chris_thai_student: First Eight Weeks Learning Thai SummaryAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04553675424803911693noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6606508917310525424.post-62340501713700922912010-06-20T14:35:39.310-07:002010-06-20T14:35:39.310-07:00Hi yedian, thanks for the comment, I don't int...Hi yedian, thanks for the comment, I don't intend to abandon reading forever and I do appreciate that I may be missing a trick or two on the sounds, but I am optimistic that either I will pick them up by listening or that I will make the final connections when I start to read. I do agree about the romanisation systems, I am largely ignoring them, which is why when I write down words I here it is a gross approximation. <br /><br />You are absolutely correct though reading and writing are independent skills I shouldn't put them together like that, you comment will help when I start, I will just "learn to read" and not worry about writing until later.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04553675424803911693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6606508917310525424.post-4785290122166701432010-06-20T12:19:42.877-07:002010-06-20T12:19:42.877-07:00I think you're missing something when you say ...I think you're missing something when you say "I have not started reading or writing Thai, I strongly feel that it is crazy to start learning to read and write a language you cannot yet 'hear'"<br /><br />Reading and writing are independent skills. One can learn one but not the other. Unlike Chinese, the Thai script is highly phonetic. There are several important aspects of Thai you can pick up from reading Thai such as distinguishing between consonants which sound similar, vowel length and tone. All of these aspects of Thai are clearly shown in the Thai script. I find when I just listen to Thai, I frequently hear things incorrectly. These 'mis-hearings' can often be corrected by reading the Thai script along the my listening.<br /><br />Note that I'm not talking about writing Thai. Thai has many letters that are pronounced the same and remembering which letter goes in which place in a Thai word which I can speak and understand can be very challenging. I'm also not talking about any of the Thai romanization systems. Nearly every Thai text book has it's own romanization system and there are no books except for Thai language learning text books in Thailand which are printed in any of Thai romanization systems.<br /><br />Wiworm Kessvantana-Dhors claims in her textbook "Everyday Thai for Beginners" that it should take 10 to 15 hours to master the Thai writing system. I agree with her assessment as far as simple reading is concerned, but I think that being able to accurately write Thai in that amount of time is extremely optimistic.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01638446848115047484noreply@blogger.com