Learn to speak Thai  

Thai Language

Thai CD-ROM
RRP: £24.95
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Where does Thai come from?
Thai (formerly Siamese) is a member of the Chinese-Thai branch of the Sino-Tibetan family of languages. Its closest relations are Lao and the Shan languages of northern Burma. The origin of the Thai alphabet is obscure, but it is believed to have come from southern India.

How many people speak Thai?
There are about 50 million speakers of Thai throughout the world.

In how many countries?
About 45 million speakers of Thai live in Thailand, where it is the official language. However, there are a further 5 million speakers in the Yunan province of China and in Vietnam, USA and a number of other countries.

Thai Culture

Thai Art
Thai sculpture, dating from the 14th century, is a mixture of Chinese, Burmese, Hindu, and Khmer influences, and is seen in the Buddhist temples and representations of Buddha.

Thai Music and Dance
Thai music is very intricate and is a usual accompaniment of Thai drama. The instruments, primarily woodwind and percussion, are usually grouped in five-piece or ten-piece ensembles. Musicians sit on the floor to play, and generally play by ear.

The dance in Thailand is equally intricate, following or deriving from Indian dancing and involving a series of gestures and swaying that interpret a story. Even the smallest movements reflect important story threads, carefully woven by performers dressed in elaborate costumes and headgear.

Thai Food and Drink
Thai cuisine is pungent and spicy, seasoned with heaps of garlic and chillies and a characteristic mix of limejuice, lemon grass and fresh coriander. Galanga root, basil, ground peanuts, tamarind juice, ginger and coconut milk are other common additions. Fish sauce or shrimp paste are mainstays of Thai dishes, and,of course, rice is eaten with most meals. There is an incredible variety of fruit available, either fresh or juiced. Sugar-cane juice and, for something stronger, rice whisky are favourite local tipples.

Thai Attractions
Bangkok Bangkok has some of the worst possible traffic jams, pollution, annual floods and sticky weather but is also one of Asia's most exciting cities. It has dominated Thailand's urban hierarchy, as well as its political, commercial and cultural life, since the late 18th century. Old Bangkok is where most of the older temples and the original palace are located, while new Bangkok, many times larger than the old city, incorporates the main commercial and tourist districts, which give way to a vast residential sprawl. For a city of this size, Bangkok is surprisingly full of quiet escapes such as its 400 wats (temple-monasteries).

Chiang Mai Thailand's second-largest city and the gateway to the country's north was founded in 1296. You can still see the moat that encircled the original city, and its 300 wats, including Wat Chiang Man (home of the 1800-year-old 10-cm-high Crystal Buddha),.

Ko Samui This beautiful island off south-eastern Thailand is covered with coconut plantations and circled by palm-fringed beaches.

About Talk Now! Language CD-ROMs
This is an excitingly different language learning series. Talk Now! uses games and quizzes as a basis for making the learning process fun, easy and relaxing. There is no better way to teach an old dog new tricks and this fun element of the program means that your fears are forgotten as you absorb words and phrases without even realising you are learning them.

Talk Now! is the world's best selling language learning CD-ROM series for beginners, used by more than three million people to date. It's ideal for travellers, holidaymakers, business people, schoolchildren, students and families.

Anyone over 10 years of age will find the disc indispensable for improving listening, understanding and spoken language skills. There are nine topics: first words, food, colours, phrases, parts of the body, numbers, time, shopping and countries.

The games and quizzes included on the disc ensure that users have fun whilst using the disc, without realising that they're learning. The "intelligent" software feature remembers words you get wrong and targets your weak points.

"This is an excitingly different language learning series. Talk Now! Uses games and quizzes as a basis for making the learning process fun and relaxing." - PC Answers

"I bought your Learn Malay CD today - I've only just begun, but I wanted to say how much I am enjoying it. I studied Malay from a book all day yesterday, making some 25 pages of notes on grammar and vocab, but I remember more from your CD from just an hour!" - James Bryce