Thailand Languages

The national language of Thailand is Thai, spoken by about 53% of the population. Many more speak it as a second language. Lao is spoken by about 27%, and Chinese 12%. Malay is spoken by 4% and Khmer 3%. English is widely used in business, as are many of the Chinese dialects. Records were kept in Thai, Lao, Malay, Chinese and English.

Guidelines for Romanizing Thai Place Names
Refer to Thailand Gazetteers page: Thailand Gazetteers

Key Words
To find and use specific types of Thai records, you will need to know some key words in Thai. This section gives key genealogical terms in English and the Thai words with the same or similar meanings.

For example, in the first column you will find the English word marriage. In the second column you will find Thai words with meanings such as marry, marriage, wedding, wedlock, unite, joined, and other words used in Thai records to indicate marriage.

Calendar, Months, Days
To work with Thai family history records, you will need to understand the Thai calendar and know the related words in Thai. This section gives key calendar terms in English and the Thai words with the same or similar meanings.

Thai Calendars
The following Wikipedia.org articles explain the two Thai calendar systems:


 * Thai Lunar Calendar
 * Thai Solar Calendar

Description
The official language spoken in Thailand is
 * Thai - also known as Central Thai. Thai is used in government and education.
 * belongs to the language family of Kra–Dai. Thai is closely related to Lao, Shan, and several smaller languages in the area.

The Royal Thai Government recognizes 62 domestic languages in the country. Top languages by population are
 * List of Officially Recognized Languages divided into five language family groups
 * Isan - also known as Northeastern Thai, a Lao dialect. Spoken in the northeastern provinces. The largest of the minority languages.
 * Kam Mueang - also known as Northern Thai.
 * Pak Tai - also known as Southern Thai and Dambro

Word List(s)

 * Evans, Bruce. Thai phrasebook & dictionary. Carlton, Victoria: Lonely Planet Global Limited, 2018. Available at: WorldCat.
 * Fanthorpe, Helen. Thai phrase book & dictionary. London: Berlitz Publishing, 2019. Available at: WorldCat.
 * Useful Thai phrases - Omniglot
 * Essential Phrases in Thailand - Culture Trip
 * Isan basic phrases - Polyglot Wiki
 * Northern-thai Vocabulary - Polyglot Wiki
 * Central Thai & Southern Thai Vocabulary & Phrases - Hotel Midtown

Alphabet and Pronunciation
Alphabet
 * Thai alphabet - Omniglot
 * Latin alphabet for the Thai - Omniglot
 * Thai alphabet for Isan - Omniglot
 * Northern Thai (Kam Mueang) - Omniglot

Pronunciation
 * Thai pronunciation - Omniglot
 * Thai pronunciation dictionary - Forvo

Language Aids and Dictionaries
Dictionaries
 * Barmé, Scot, Pensi Najaithong, and Jintana Rattanakhemakorn. Mini Thai dictionary : Thai-English English-Thai. La Vergne: Tuttle Publishing, 2018. Available at: WorldCat.
 * Collins Thai dictionary. Bishopbriggs, Glasgow: Collins, 2019. Available at: WorldCat.
 * Rattanakhemakorn, Jintana and Scot Barmé. Essential Thai phrasebook & dictionary. Tokyo: Tuttle Publishing, 2019. Available at: WorldCat.
 * Higbie, James. Lao-English, English-Lao dictionary and phrasebook. New York: Hippocrene Books, 2001. Available at: WorldCat.
 * Higbie, James. Thai-English/English-Thai dictionary and phrasebook. New York: Hippocrene Books, 1999. Available at: WorldCat.

Online Dictionaries
 * Dictionary English - Thai - Glosbe
 * Dictionary English - Northeastern Thai - Glosbe
 * Dictionary English - Northern Thai - Glosbe
 * Dictionary English - Southern Thai - Glosbe

Language Aids
 * Michael. Essential Thai : Speak Thai With Confidence. n.p.: Tuttle Publishing, 2014. Available at: WorldCat.

Additional Resources

 * Higbie, James. Let's speak Lao. Bangkok, Thailand: Orchid Press, 2018. Available at: WorldCat.