Recently, I have started learning the Thai language seriously. Although I have been married to a Thai for more than eight years, I only know a few northeasestern Thai phrases (actually, these are Lao phrases) so I felt a bit ashamed when I visited Chiang Mai earlier this month. That's the reason why I picked up a children's penmanship book at a bookstore in a northern Thai city...Thai is really a tough language. Well, it is phonetically easy as I already speak one tonal language (Cantonese dialect of Chinese). The grammar is also very easy as Thai nouns and verbs have no changes, just like Chinese. But I am struggling with its script. It is extremely complicated....
There are more than a few letters that represent the "s" sound. Almost every consonant has at least two letters. Well, it is not entirely irrational as each consonant letter not only represent the consonant value but also tone. But some consonants have more letters than the tones require.... I guess these letters represent the sounds that are different in Pali or Sanskrit but the same in Thai so that the reader can know the origin.
But I am still not defeated by the legion of mighty Thai letters. I want to make it my fourth language (after Japanese, English and Cantonese). Well, I like Thailand so it would not too tough, though...
I am now learning Thai, using an primary school textbook called Manee Reader. It is about a rural Thai girl called Manee and starts with "Manee has eyes, a crow has eyes, the uncle has eyes." Reciting the simple Thai phrases like a fool, I cried. I don't know why.
But I know it is not tears of sorrow but of joy. I guess it is the joy that comes from the hope of growth. Living in a developing country, Thais still have much more dreams than the ones from developed countries... I envy them.
