Practice distinguishing between short and long vowels
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| This is เ-าะ (aw) |
| โ-ะ (o) |
| เ-อะ (oe) |
| And this is |
| -อ (aaw) |
| โ- (oo) |
| เ-อ (ooe) |
| 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. |
| เ-าะ (aw) is in words like เจาะ (jàw) "to pierce" |
| โ-ะ (o) is in words like โต๊ะ (dtó) "table" |
| เ-อะ (oe) is in words like เบอะ (bòe) "huge, gigantic" |
| -อ (aaw) is in words like จอ (jaaw) "screen" |
| โ- (oo) is in words like โต (dtoo) "grown" |
| เ-อ (ooe) is in words like เบอร์ (booe) "number" |
| เ-าะ (aw): low-back rounded vowel |
| โ-ะ (o): mid-back rounded vowel |
| เ-อะ (oe): mid-central unrounded vowel |
| เ-าะ (aw) is pronounced quickly with an abrupt end. |
| It is similar to the English vowel in hot, but shorter. |
| เ-าะ (aw) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| เ-าะ (aw) (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| เ-าะ (aw) |
| เ-าะ (aw) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| เ-าะ (aw) (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| เ-าะ (aw) |
| โ-ะ (o) is pronounced quickly and ends abruptly. |
| Similar to the o in go, but shorter. |
| โ-ะ (o) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| โ-ะ (o) (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| โ-ะ (o) |
| โ-ะ (o) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| โ-ะ (o) (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| โ-ะ (o) |
| เ-อะ (oe) is pronounced quickly with an abrupt end. |
| This sound is unique to Thai; there's no exact English equivalent. |
| เ-อะ (oe) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| เ-อะ (oe) (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| เ-อะ (oe) |
| เ-อะ (oe) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| เ-อะ (oe) (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| เ-อะ (oe) |
| The long vowels are twice as long as each short vowel. |
| -อ (aaw) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| -อ (aaw) (enunciated) |
| -อ (aaw) [3 sec pause] |
| -อ (aaw) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| -อ (aaw) (enunciated) |
| -อ (aaw) [3 sec pause] |
| โ- (oo) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| โ- (oo) (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| โ- (oo) |
| โ- (oo) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| โ- (oo) (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| โ- (oo) |
| เ-อ (ooe) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| เ-อ (ooe) (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| เ-อ (ooe) |
| เ-อ (ooe) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| เ-อ (ooe) (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| เ-อ (ooe) |
| The key difference between เ-าะ (aw), โ-ะ (o), เ-อะ (oe) and -อ (aaw), โ- (oo), เ-อ (ooe) is the length of the vowel. |
| The long vowels are twice as long as each short vowel. |
| เ-าะ (aw), -อ (aaw) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| โ-ะ (o), โ- (oo) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| เ-อะ (oe), เ-อ (ooe) |
| Long and short vowels can change the meaning of a word entirely. |
| Listen and repeat or speak along with me. |
| Ready? |
| คน (khǒn) (โคน) (khoon) |
| "person" vs. "base, root" |
| (space for repetition) |
| คน (khǒn) (โคน) (khoon) |
| "person" vs. "base, root" |
| เพิ่ง (phôeng) (เพิง) (phooeng) |
| "just" vs. "shed" |
| (space for repetition) |
| เพิ่ง (phôeng) (เพิง) (phooeng) |
| "just" vs. "shed" |
| Let's practice. |
| Compare the sounds in these two words. |
| เงาะ (ngáw) (ง้อ) (ngáaw) |
| "rambutan" vs. "to make up" |
| (1) |
| เงาะ (ngáw) (ง้อ) (ngáaw) |
| "rambutan" vs. "to make up" |
| (1) |
| Now listen to the following sentences. |
| มีคนยืนที่โคนต้นไม้ |
| (mii khon yuuen thîi khoon dtôn-mái.) |
| "There is a person standing at the base of the tree." |
| (3 sec pause) |
| คน, โคน |
| คุณแม่ซื้อเงาะมาง้อคุณยาย |
| (khun-mâae súue ngáw maa ngáaw khun-yaai.) |
| "My mother bought rambutans to make up with my grandma." |
| (3 sec pause) |
| เงาะ, ง้อ |
| Read the following sentence out loud, focusing on the different sounds. |
| เขาเพิ่งซ่อมเพิงเสร็จ |
| (khǎo phôeng sâwm phooeng sèt.) |
| "He has just finished fixing the shed." |
| (3 sec pause) |
| เพิ่ง, เพิง |
| 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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| Just click the link in the comments section. |
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