Tones and "Tone Rules"

[zanemay]

I have been studying diligently ... well, studying quite a bit anyway.

I have been looking for some approach to making sense of the "tone rules." (Not the tones themselves, which is another problem, but not what I'm talking about now.)

Has anyone of you developed a system to learn the so-called "tone rules." Are there some that are the most common and should be learned first? Is there some logic that I am not seeing?

Thanks,

Zane

[Guest]

I find it helpful to think of the tones and tone markers as being ordered. The tone markers in order are mai eek, mai tho, mai trii, mai jattawa. The tones in order are low, falling, high, rising (or in Thai siang eek, siang tho, siang trii, siang jattawa).

With a high or middle class consonant each tone marker produces the corresponding tone (e.g. mai tho produces siang tho). With a low class consonant, the first two tone marks are shifted along one position: i.e. first tone mark produces second tone, and second tone mark produces third tone.

If there is no tone marker, then one way to look at it is there is a way to produce every tone without a tone marker:

- no tone: low or middle live

- first tone: middle or high dead

- second tone: long low dead

- third tone: short low dead

- fourth tone: high live

Whatever logic you use, ultimately you just have to practice it until it becomes automatic.

[zanemay]

quote:

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Originally posted by PHIIJAMES:

I find it helpful to think of the tones and tone markers as being ordered. The tone markers in order are mai eek, mai tho, mai trii, mai jattawa. The tones in order are low, falling, high, rising (or in Thai siang eek, siang tho, siang trii, siang jattawa).

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Thank you PHIIJAMES,

I am working on my own so I doubt if I would have put this together.

More thoughts or ideas from others??

Nong Zane

[haltest]

There are 2 lots of rules for this

a) with a tone mark

depending on the mark and the class of the initial consonant

 

initial

consonant High Mid Low

_________________________________

Mai ayk่ F L L

Mai Toh H F F

Mai Dtree H H H

Mai jutdtawah R R R

H – high tone

L – Low tone

M – normal tone

H – High tone

R – Rising Tone

Words without tone marks are more difficult and depend on again the initial consonant and whether it is a live or dead syllable and if a dead syllable whether it is a long or short vowel. I will try to post these up tomorrow

[ February 12, 2002: Message edited by: hal ]

[ February 12, 2002: Message edited by: hal ]

[samak]

zane may

most of the schools where you can learn thai, have charts with the tone rules available.

explanation here gets a bit complicate, but the charts are very simple and easy to understand.