Master the pronunciation of short vs long vowel contrasts
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| This is -ุ (u) |
| เ-ะ (e) |
| แ-ะ (ae) |
| And this is |
| -ู (uu) |
| เ- (ee) |
| แ- (aae) |
| By the end of this lesson, you'll be able to tell them apart, PLUS you'll be practicing them and on your way to perfect pronunciation! |
| I'm Earn, and this is Thai Pronunciation Through Minimal Pairs. |
| -ุ (u) is in words like ฝุ่น (F̄ùn) "dust," ขุด (khùt) "to dig" |
| เ-ะ (e) is in words like เป๊ะ (pé) "precise," เละ (lé) "messy" |
| แ-ะ (ae) is in words like แปะ (bpɛ̀) "to paste," แยะ (yɛ́) "many" |
| -ู (uu) is in words like ปู (puu) "crab," รู (ruu) "hole" |
| เ- (ee) is in words like เป้ (pee) "carry (on the shoulder)," เท (thee) "pour" |
| แ- (aae) is in words like แม่ (mɛɛ) "mother," แปล (bpɛɛ) "to interpret or translate" |
| -ุ (u): a short, high-back rounded vowel |
| เ-ะ (e): mid-front unrounded vowel |
| แ-ะ (ae): low-front unrounded vowel |
| -ุ (u) is similar to the u in English put but shorter. |
| -ุ (u) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| -ุ (u) (enunciated) |
| -ุ (u) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| -ุ (u) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| -ุ (u) (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| -ุ (u) |
| เ-ะ (e) is similar to the e in English bed, but clipped and shorter. |
| เ-ะ (e) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| เ-ะ (e) (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| เ-ะ (e) |
| เ-ะ (e) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| เ-ะ (e) (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| เ-ะ (e) |
| แ-ะ (ae) is similar to the a in English cat, but shorter and more abrupt. |
| แ-ะ (ae) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| แ-ะ (ae) (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| แ-ะ (ae) |
| แ-ะ (ae) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| แ-ะ (ae) (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| แ-ะ (ae) |
| The long vowels are twice as long as each of the short vowels. |
| -ู (uu) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| -ู (uu) (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| -ู (uu) |
| -ู (uu) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| -ู (uu) (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| -ู (uu) |
| เ- (ee) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| เ- (ee) (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| เ- (ee) |
| เ- (ee) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| เ- (ee) (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| เ- (ee) |
| แ- (aae) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| แ- (aae) (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| แ- (aae) |
| แ- (aae) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| แ- (aae) (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| แ- (aae) |
| The key difference between -ุ (u), เ-ะ (e), แ-ะ (ae) and -ู (uu), เ- (ee), แ- (aae) is the length of the vowel. |
| The long vowels are twice as long as each of the short vowels. |
| -ุ (u), -ู (uu) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| เ-ะ (e), เ- (ee) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| แ-ะ (ae), แ- (aae) |
| Long and short vowels can change the meaning of a word entirely. |
| Listen and repeat or speak along with me. |
| Ready? |
| คุณ (khun) / คูณ (khuun) |
| "you (polite)" vs. "to multiply" |
| (space for repetition) |
| คุณ (khun) / คูณ (khuun) |
| "you (polite)" vs. "to multiply" |
| แก่ง (gàeng) / แกง (gaaeng) |
| "rapids" vs. "curry" |
| (space for repetition) |
| แก่ง (gàeng) / แกง (gaaeng) |
| "rapids" vs. "curry" |
| Let's practice. |
| Compare the sounds in these two words. |
| เล็ก (lék) / เลข (lêek) |
| "small" vs. "number" |
| (1) |
| เล็ก (lék) / เลข (lêek) |
| "small" vs. "number" |
| (1) |
| Now listen to the following sentences. |
| คุณคูณเลขเป็นไหม |
| (khun khuun lêek bpen mǎi) |
| "Can you do multiplication?" |
| (3 sec pause) |
| คุณ, คูณ |
| เด็กเล็กเริ่มเรียนเลขแล้ว |
| (dèk lék rôoem riian lêek láaeo) |
| "The young child has started learning numbers." |
| (3 sec pause) |
| เล็ก, เลข |
| Read the following sentence out loud, focusing on the different sounds. |
| เขาทำแกงป่าริมแก่งน้ำ |
| (khǎo tham gaaeng-bpàa rim gàeng-nám) |
| "He makes jungle curry by the river rapids." |
| (3 sec pause) |
| แก่ง, แกง |
| In Thai, vowel length is not just a subtle feature—it's crucial for communication. Getting short and long vowels right is crucial for clear pronunciation and comprehension, since even slight mistakes in vowel length can cause confusion or result in unintentionally humorous misunderstandings. |
| By the way, if you watched til the end… |
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