Thai Language Facts

Interesting Thai Language Facts

If you’re thinking about learning Thai it’s always good to know a little about the origins and history of the language you are learning. Here, Cactus Language offers up our most interesting Thai language facts:

1. Thai is a Tai language and is sometimes referred to as Siamese

Thai is considered to have emerged in the area between China and Vietnam. The written Thai language developed itself in the 13th century and has undergone minor changes since then.

2. Thai is spoken by around 40 million speakers across the world

20 million native Thai speakers are native speakers. The Thai language is mainly spoken in Thailand, where it is an official language.

3. The first occurrence of written Thai language is assumed to be a stone inscription date 1292 AD

The first occurrence of written Thai language was in Sukhothai, the former capital of the ancient Sukhothai Kingdom. King Ramkhamhaeng mentions the social, economic and political organisation of his kingdom and the creation of the Thai script.

4. Thai is a tonal language with five different tones

This is like other Asian languages such as Chinese, Laotian, and Vietnamese. Thai uses an alphabet of 32 vowels and 44 consonants. Thai also has its own numerals, although Arabic numerals are also used.

5. Thai is mutually intelligible with Laotian, another Tai language

Despite using slightly different writing systems, the two languages share strong similarities.