So Many Languages, So Little Time

(Disclaimer: I put this together from my notes rather quickly.)

Confucianism

Kongfuzi (Confucius) 孔夫子 《論語 - The Analects》 https://ctext.org/analects

Mengzi (Mencius) 孟子 https://ctext.org/mengzi

Daoism

Laozi 老子 《道德經 - Dao De Jing》 https://ctext.org/dao-de-jing

Zhuangzi 莊子 https://ctext.org/zhuangzi

Liezi 列子 https://archive.org/details/book-of-master-lie-lieh-tzu-thomas-cleary/mode/2up

Buddhism (esp. Chan Buddhism)

Tao Yuanming 陶淵明 《桃花源記 - The Peach Blossom Spring》 https://eastasiastudent.net/china/classical/tao-yuanming-taohua-yuan/

Su Shi 蘇軾 《赤壁賦 - Ode on the Red Cliff》 https://ajmccready.wordpress.com/2014/05/05/translation-su-shi-meditation-on-red-cliff/

Bai Juyi 白居易 《長恨歌- Song of Everlasting Regret》 https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Translation:Song_of_Everlasting_Regret

Du Fu 杜甫 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Du_Fu https://allpoetry.com/Du-Fu

Li Bai 李白 https://archive.org/stream/worksoflipochine00libauoft/worksoflipochine00libauoft_djvu.txt

Wang Wei 王維 (and Pei Di 裴迪) 《輞川集 - Wheel River Collection》 https://scholarworks.iu.edu/dspace/bitstream/handle/2022/23162/Bruneel_2018.pdf?sequence=1

Additional misc. collection of the above 4 poets https://www.poetryintranslation.com/PITBR/Chinese/AllwaterWangWei.php

Hanshan 寒山 https://www.poetryintranslation.com/PITBR/Chinese/HanShan.php

Platform sutra https://www.thezensite.com/ZenTeachings/Translations/PlatformSutra_DharmaJewel.pdf

Lotus sutra http://www.pawhitney.com/LotusSutrax.pdf

I would highly encourage you to look up the works on wikipedia and find a more reliable translation, preferably by a PhD Sinologist who is active after 1980, but no earlier than 1950. Pre-1950's Sinology is not the best reading material (pre-WW2 is still Orientalism; the Victorians are serial liars too. they don't care about textual integrity so much as it sounding pleasant in English, and that's not helpful).

Since one of the best ways of approaching a language is through its music I thought some of you might me interested in trying Bulgarian music out. Here goes!

POP/MODERN

Poli Genova | If love was a crime | Слухове (Rumours) | Две (Two) Grafa | Невидим (Invisible) | На ръба на лудостта (On the edge of madness)| Заедно (Together) | Домино (Domino) | Никой (No one)  Dara | К’во не чу (What didn’t you hear) Zhana Bergendorff | Невъзможни сме сами (We are impossible alone | Докрай (Until the end) | Самурай (Samurai) | Време (Time)  Mihaela Marinova | Стъпка напред (A step forward) | Не ти ли стига (Isn’t it enough for you/ Aren’t you sick of it)  Nevena Peykova | Да избягаме (Let’s get away) | Избран (Chosen)  Mihaela Fileva | Едно наум (tough to translate :D maybe something like ‘’something in mind’’) | Конец (Thread) | Опасно близки (Dangerously close) | Филм за двама (A movie for two) Preyah | Малките неща (The little things) | Нюанси (Nuances)  Christiana Loizu | Phoenix Kristian Kostov | Не си за мен (You’re not for me)  Bogomil Bonev | Спри (Stop) Divna | И ти не можеш да ме спреш (You can’t stop me) | Мойта музика (My music) Geri - Nikol | Ела и си вземи (Come and get some) | Момиче като мен (A girl like me) | I’m the queen | Готина и луда (Cool and crazy)  Tita | Вуду кукла (voodo doll) Krisko | Дали това любов е (I wonder if it’s love) | OET Lilana | Сама (Alone)

CLASSIC ROCK

Ахат | Черната овца (The black sheep) |  Монолог (Monologue) | Дървото (The tree)  BTR | Елмаз и стъкло ( Diamond and glass) | Спасение (Rescue) Signal | Да те жадувам аз (-) | Сбогом (Farewell)  Shturtsite | Среща (A date/meeting) | Клетва (Oath) 

ROCK/ POP-ROCK

Poli genova | На инат (Inspite) Slavin Slavchev | Тъмносиньо (Dark blue) Revolution Z | Аз искам (I want) | Никога няма да бъдеш (You will never be) |Можеш да бъдеш всичко (You can be everything) 

TRADITIONAL MUSIC

Elitsa and Stoyan | Вода (water) The Bulgarian instrument kaba gaida| каба гайда  Я кажи ми, облаче ле бяло Валя Балканска | Излел е Дельо Хайдутин  Стефка Съботинова | Притури се планината Philip Koutev choir | Чичовите коне Хубава си, моя горо Зайди, зайди, ясно слънце Вечеряй, Радо Тих бял Дунва се вълнува

THE NATIONAL ANTHEM:

Мила Родино 

RAP/ HIP-HOP

Ъпсурт | Мрън мрън | И твойта майка също  WOSH MC | Проблеми (Problems) | Moмиче (Girl)  Pavell & Venci Venc’  | Любов (Love) | Вдигам level | Единствената (The only one) | Изгрева и залеза (The sunrise and sunset) Billy hlapeto| Баш майсторска 

FUN/ UPLIFTING/ SUMMER VIBES

Raffi | 4321 |  Нали така Venzy | Под открито небе  Angel & Moisey | Кой ден станахме  Igrata | Айде на морето Goodslav & Lora Karadjova | Нека бъде лято

CHALGA

This is a very specific genre and it’s very Bulgarian. Most songs are very provoking, dirty and even obscene. I know that a lot of fellow-Bulgarians will hate me for including them but I have found that foreigners tend to be very intriguied by this kind of music so I will include some more decent songs. You will without a doubt hear at least some of these if you go to any disco in BG! Azis | Хабиби (I love you? I think?) | Онова момче (That boy) Galena & Ts. Yaneva | Пей, сърце (Sing, heart (sounds kinda ridiculous in EN) Sofi Marinova | Love unlimited | Бурята в сърцето ми (The storm in my heart) Emilia | California  Desi Slava | На всички като тебе (to everyone like you) | И това ще преживея (I will go through this)  Preslava | Лъжа е | Няма да ти пиша (I won’t text you) | Водка с утеха (A vodka with comfort)  Boris Dali | Палатка (A tent)  Galin | Парата ако хвана (If I get rich (lit: If I catch the money) | На Египет фараона (The  pharaoh of Egypt) 

OLD MUSIC/ CLASSICS 

Паша Христова | Повей, ветре (Blow, wind) | Една българска роза (One Bulgarian rose)  Лили Иванова | За тебе бях (For you I was) | Детелини (Clovers) | Ветрове (Winds) | Camino 

OTHERS:

Week 3, day 5 of prepolyglot’s langblr reactivation challenge

(Probably goes without saying but just my personal top 3! You'll notice it is quite listening focused because that is what's most important to me.)

Nicos Weg (A1, A2, B1, Complete Youtube Playlist) - the story of a Spanish guy called Nico who moves to Germany. Really nice and well produced. Each level is made up of 80ish videos of a couple of minutes each, with exercises to review and test your comprehension. This adds up to a movie of almost 2 hrs for each level.

Easy German (x) - street interviews in German. Great for learning how Germans actually speak, outside of the artificial context that you find in a lot of learning resources.

Content creators (vocab lists, essayists, Swadesh lists, research, notes, literally anything homemade and related to language)

People who like and reblog content (especially if you leave tags or comments!)

People who share their language-related experiences

Tutors, teachers and mentors

Eager students

Quiet but loyal followers that consistently show up in notifications

People who leave kind and supportive asks and comments

People who ask questions so they can better understand or learn more

People who ask questions just so someone can go off on a tangent about what they are passionate about

People who post a couple sentences

People who can write a whole book

Talented polyglots (and the clumsy ones)

Curious or passionate monolinguals

Heritage language learners

People who don’t know English or [insert another dominant language] very well or not at all (I know these people may not understand this post but I hope they know they are valuable to the language community too!)

People who don’t know what the fuck their niche is languages are just dope man idk

Foreign language music collectors

Movie buffs with an obsession with foreign film

Resource hoarders who share

People who request content

People that cheer up and provide support to their favorite language bloggers when they need it

People that are sensitive to vulnerable groups/languages

Signal boosters (especially for the new kids and undervalued languages)

People who are on tumblr 24/7 and post every week

People who show up every few months just to say hi and like a couple things

People with a dedicated language blog

People who only have one blog that’s just a collage of all the random shit they love, including languages

Native speakers that post/talk about their language

Journalers

Nerds with awesome studying tips

People who are struggling but still love being here

Avid readers who just want to consume all the language stuff they can get their hands on

Decorated academics

People with no formal education at all

People who just want to talk about a cool book/article/movie/TV show that focused on language

Disciplined and organized people with pretty aesthetics

People who are absolute train wrecks about pretty much everything except for the fact they just think languages are awesome

Idk if you babes know this, but simply just creating anything that makes you happy, being excited about the field of study you love, or engaging with each other and content in a mindful, compassionate way is how you make a meaningful contribution to this community. There are literally no other requirements.

You have something to offer, even if it’s just one thing from this list (and I know for a fact every single one of you makes this list).

written works

okay so obligatory reading is borderlands / la frontera by gloria anzaldúa, specifically the essay "how to tame a wild tongue". it's an autobiographical piece that constructs theory about chicano identity and its relation to both the us and mexico. it is also half poetry. but if you're interested in spanglish, you have to read.

ilan stavans does a lot of work on spanglish but his most talked-about piece (at least as far as i'm aware) is his translation of don quijote into spanglish.

high aztech by ernest hogan is mostly written in english but it's a futuristic sci-fi world where the words invented to describe futuristic technology come from nahuatl and spanish

if you enjoy theatre, la mujer que cayó del cielo by víctor hugo rascón banda (tarahumara + spanish + english) is a really strong piece about the mistreatment of indigenous people in the us psychiatric system and the harmful idea that all immigrants from the south of the US speak spanish. it's based on a real case and is quite sad but definitely a moving work.

abelardo díaz alfaro has three stories (trasplante y desplante, santa cló va a la cuchilla, peyo mercé enseña inglés) about the same man, peyo mercé, who is told to teach english in puerto rico. it reads like a folk tale, where the more traditional, rural peyo mercé resists the wave of "modernization" implied by the presence of the english language on the island. really a good piece for understanding the role of the spanish language in puerto rican identity

if you want to hear about works from the colonial period, let me know! they're not as accessible but definitely just as interesting in terms of use of language.

films

bridges (2021), dir. maría corina ramírez is about a venezuelan student in her last year of high school trying to figure out what to do with her life. i won't say much more because the ending sort of predicates on the viewer piecing it together themselves. but lots of spanish + english.

la nación clandestina (1989), dir. jorge sanjinés is about an aymara community in bolivia and the role of belonging to a community. this film is part of a tradition of leftist filmmaking that involves the community whose story it tells. it's a bit on the longer side, but definitely interesting.

if you want language soup, check out der leone have sept cabeças (1970), dir. glauber rocha. made while the director was in exile in africa, the film is mostly about the colonization of the continent. the languages: portuguese, english, french, italian, german - subtitles are necessary

i can't believe i'm recommending this but born in east l.a. (1987), dir. cheech marín is a comedy about a chicano man who doesn't speak spanish who is taken to be an "ilegal immigrant" and sent to mexico, despite never having been there. the whole idea behind it is that mexicans and chicanos are not that different and should work together to achieve their socio-political goals. obviously lots of language confusion.

music

so the thing about the music industry in spanish, especially now, is that many artists are trying to break into a more international market so english use is a lot more prevalent and collabs are huge! so i won't really talk about those that much.

that said, i have to recommend "oye mi canto" (n.o.r.e. et al) just because of how well known in it is and the idea of latinidad it promotes. also it's just fun to dance to.

"intiraymi" by l e n i n is part of what the artist calls q-pop, music in quechua that follows trends in kpop. anyway, this song is in both quechua and spanish and is SO GOOD!!!

everyone remembers "terra" by tanxugueiras, but it deserves a mention because it includes most of the languages spoken in spain (and again, so good): mostly sung in galician, but with lines in basque, asturian, catalan and spanish

"apartamento" by bandalos chinos is a cover in portuguese of their own song, originally in spanish, but mixes the two languages. i'm a huge bandalos chinos fan so had to mention.

Since it’s World Mother Language Day today (February the 21st), I’m thinking of doing a series of posts on the native non-English languages of the United Kingdom and Ireland, with some information and short interviews. 

For this, I am looking for both native speakers/signers and learners (with or without parentage/heritage of the language in question) of the following languages:

- Scottish Gaelic

- Irish

- Welsh

- Any sign language of the United Kingdom or Ireland (e.g. BSL)

- Any other minority language indigenous to the United Kingdom or Ireland. By this I mean primarily spoken only within the UK or Ireland as a minority, or spoken very little elsewhere. For example: Cornish, Manx, Shelta, or Anglo-Romani, not languages like Polish or Bengali that are minority within the UK but have a significant speaker base elsewhere. (I am aware that I am fishing for some of these *cough* Cornish *cough*…but you never know!)

- Any ‘dialect’ or variety that you speak that you feel is linguistically / culturally distinct from Standard English that you would like to inform more people about. For example: Shetlandic, Scots, Ulster Scots. 

I don’t have anything finalised yet, but if you would be wiling to speak to me about some text-based interviews for the sake of qualitative and informative tumblr posts, please send me a message!

(NB: if I have used any names of languages that are not preferred, tell me and I will change them. I don’t know a lot about the non-Celtic and non-Germanic languages here, which is part of my reason for wanting to make this series of posts in the first place.)

Please reblog so more people see this!

oh woah this is weird because i literally got back into thai like 3 days ago and then i get this ask o: ITS A SIGN

anyways, here you go: 

- my strategy on how to learn the thai script within a week or two: link

- Learn Thai in 200 Words: link (super important reference resource!)

- Thai dramas! I start with English subs and then match the words that I hear with the English words. It’ll start off slow but you’ll start catching words really quickly. Here’s a drama I started watching the other day: link. If you search for Thai lakorns you’ll find tons of good Thai dramas to watch too :) 

- pretty good grammar reference: link

- reference link with reading practice: link

- AN AMAZIN MASTERPOST THAT WILL MAKE YOU CRY: link

- your two major baes when you start learning Thai: thai-language and thai2english

- Thai songs are a good place to pick up easy (and recurring) vocabulary. playlists/music masterpost: (1) (2) (3) (4)

- Fun Easy Languages for Thai is a nice way to study vocab on the go. I use it occasionally when I’m waiting or eating lunch haha. The audio is pretty decent too!

- Thai courses on Memrise: (link)

Christmas - คริสมาสต์ Christmas Eve - คริสมาสต์อีฟ Christmas Tree - ต้นคริสมาสต์ Christmas Carols - เพลงคริสมาสต์ Reindeer - กวางเรนเดียร์ Santa Claus - ซานตาคลอส Naughty and Nice - เด็กดื้อและเด็กดี Present/Gift - ของขวัญ Festival - เทศกาล Winter - ฤดูหนาว Snow - หิมะ Snowflake - เกล็ดหิมะ Snowstorm - พายุหิมะ Snowman - มนุษย์หิมะ Snowball - ก้อนหิมะ Family - ครอบครัว Cosy - อบอุ่นและสะดวกสบาย Mistletoe - มิสเซิลโท Fireplace - เตาผิง Cold - หนาว North Pole - ขั้วโลกเหนือ Card - การ์ด Candle - เทียน Elf - เอล์ฟ/ภูติ Fairy - นางฟ้า Chimney - ปล่องไฟ Gingerbread - ขนมปังขิง Hot Chocolate - ช็อกโกแลตร้อน Angel - นางฟ้า/เทพธิดา Candy Cane - ลูกกวาดไม้เท้า Stockings - ถุงเท้ายาว Sleigh - รถลากเลื่อนหิมะ

exam

= การสอบ [gaan sòp],

= ข้อสอบ [kôr sòp]

take an exam

= ทำการสอบ [tam gaan sòp],

= ทำข้อสอบ [tam kôr sòp]

an exam paper

= กระดาษข้อสอบ [grà-dàat kôr sòp]

final exam

= การสอบปลายภาค [gaan sòp bplaai pâak]

pass an exam

= สอบผ่าน [sòp pàan],

= ผ่านการสอบ [pàan gaan sòp]

fail an exam

= สอบไม่ผ่าน [sòp mâi pàan],

= ไม่ผ่านการสอบ [mâi pàan gaan sòp]

I hate doing exams.

= ฉันเกลียดการสอบ [chăn glìat gaan sòp],

= ฉันเกลียดการทำข้อสอบ [chăn glìat gaan tam kôr sòp]

I failed the college entrance exam.

= ฉันสอบเข้าวิทยาลัยไม่สำเร็จ [chăn sòp kâo wít-tá-yaa-lai mâi săm-rèt]

She did well in her exams.

= เธอทำข้อสอบได้ดี [ter tam kôr sòp dâai dee]

I got my exam results today.

Based on Fun with Languages method

Verbs (infinitive)

be - เป็น [ bpen ], อยู่ [ yòo ], คือ [ keu ]

there is - มี [ mee ]

have - มี [ mee ], ทาน [ taan ]

do - ทำ [ tam ]

create - สร้าง [ sâang ]

cause - ทำให้เกิด [ tam hâi gèrt ]

go - ไป [ bpai ]

say - พูด [ pôot ]

speak - พูด [ pôot ]

know - รู้ [ róo ]

think - คิด [ kít ]

want - ต้องการ [ dtông gaan ]

like - ชอบ [ chôp ], เหมือน [ mĕuan ]

can - สามารถ [ săa-mâat ]

need - ต้องการ  [ dtông gaan ]

should - ควร [ kuan ], ควรจะ [ kuan jà ]

try - ลอง [ long ], พยายาม [ pá-yaa-yaam ]

feel - รู้สึก [ róo sèuk ]

work (also as a noun) - ทำงาน [ tam ngaan ]

learn - เรียน [ rian ]

understand - เข้าใจ [ kâo jai ]

get (meaning “obtain”) - ได้รับ [ dâai ráp ]

use - ใช้ [ chái ]

start - เริ่ม [ rêrm ]

eat - กิน [ gin ], ทาน [ taan ] (formal), รับประทาน [ ráp bprà-taan ] (formal)

see - เห็น [ hĕn ]

write - เขียน [ kĭan ]

give - ให้ [ hâi ]

sleep - นอน [ non ], หลับ [ làp ]

buy - ซื้อ [ séu ]

decide - ตัดสินใจ [ dtàt sĭn jai ]

find - ค้นหา [ kón hăa ], หา [ hăa ]

ask - ถาม [ tăam ]

meet (meaning to meet someone for the first time) - พบ [ póp ]

meet (meaning “meet up with”) - พบกับ [ póp gàp ]

take - เอา [ ao ]

Phrases

hello - สวัสดี [ sà-wàt-dee ]

goodbye - ลาก่อน [ laa gòn ]

My name is… - ฉันชื่อ….. [ chăn chêu ….]

“Nice to meet you.” - ยินดีที่ได้รู้จัก [ yin dee têe dâai róo jàk ]

yes - ใช่ [ châi ]

no - ไม่ [ mâi ], ไม่ใช่ [ mâi châi ]

okay - ตกลง [ dtòk long ]

please - ได้โปรด [ dâai bpròht ]

thank you - ขอบคุณ [ kòp kun ]

you’re welcome - ด้วยความยินดี [ dûay kwaam yin dee ]

sorry - ขอโทษ [ kŏr tôht ], เสียใจ [ sĭa jai ]

excuse me (to catch someone’s attention) - ขอโทษนะคะ [ kŏr tôht ná ká ]  (female)/ ขอโทษนะครับ [ kŏr tôht ná kráp ] (male)

well (as in “Well, I think that…”) - อืม [ eum ]

Really? - จริงหรือ? [ jing rĕu ], จริงเหรอ? [ jing rĕr ], เหรอ? [ rĕr ]

Conjunctions

that (as in “I think that…” or “the woman that…”) - ที่ [ têe ], ซึ่ง [ sêung ], อัน [ an ]

and - และ [ láe ]

or - หรือ [ rĕu ]

but - แต่ [ dtàe ]

though - ถึงแม้ว่า [ tĕung máe wâa ]

because - เพราะว่า [ prór wâa ]

therefore - ดังนั้น [ dang nán ], เพราะฉะนั้น [ prór chà-nán ]

if - ถ้า [ tâa ]

Prepositions

before (also as a conjunction) - ก่อน [ gòn ] after (also as a conjunction) - หลัง [ lăng ]

of - ของ [ kŏng ]

from - จาก [ jàak ] to - ถึง [ tĕung ]

in - ใน [ nai ]

at (place) - ที่ [ têe ]

at (time) - ณ เวลา [ ná · way-laa ], ในช่วงเวลา [ nai chûang way-laa ]

with - กับ [ gàp ]

about - เกี่ยวกับ [ gìeow gàp ]

like (meaning “similar to”) - เหมือน [ mĕuan ]

for (warning, this one has several meanings that you need to take care of)   - สำหรับ [ săm-ràp ]

Adjectives and adverbs

a lot - มาก [ mâak ] a little - เล็กน้อย [ lék nói ]

good / well - ดี [ dee ] bad / badly - เลว [ leo ], แย่ [ yâe ]

more (know how to say “more … than”) - มากกว่า [ mâak gwàa ] better (often irregular and not just “more good”) - ดีกว่า [ dee gwàa ]

most - ที่สุด [ têe sùt ]

enough - พอเพียง [ por piang ], พอสมควร [ por sŏm kuan ]

right - ถูกต้อง [ tòok dtông ] wrong - ผิดพลาด [ pìt plâat ], ไม่ถูกต้อง [ mâi tòok dtông ]

Adjectives

the, a (technically articles) - (”the” is neither here nor there in Thai), หนึ่ง [ nèung ]

this (also as a noun) - นี้ [ née ] that (also as a noun) - นั้น [ nán ]

all - ทั้งหมด [ táng mòt ] some - บาง [ baang ] no - ไม่มี [ mâi mee ]

other - อื่นๆ [ èun èun ]

any - บ้าง [ bâang ]

easy - ง่าย [ ngâai ] hard - ยาก [ yâak ]

early - เช้า [ cháo ] late - สาย [ săai ]

important - สำคัญ [ săm-kan ]

cool (as in “that’s cool”) - เจ๋ง [ jĕng ], เยี่ยม [ yîam ]

same - เหมือน [ mĕuan ]

different - แตกต่าง [ dtàek dtàang ], ต่าง [ dtàang ]

beautiful - สวย [ sŭay ]

Adverbs

very - มาก [ mâak ]

too (as in “too much”) - มาก [ mâak ]

also - เช่นกัน [ chên gan ], ยิ่งไปกว่านั้น [ yîng bpai gwàa nán ]

only - แค่ [ kâe ], เท่านั้น [ tâo nán ]

now - เดี๋ยวนี้ [ dĭeow née ]

here - ที่นี่ [ têe nêe ]

maybe - อาจจะ [ àat jà ]

always - ตลอดเวลา [ dtà-lòt way-laa ] often - บ่อยๆ [ bòi bòi ] sometimes - บางครั้ง [ baang kráng ] never - ไม่เคย [ mâi koie ]

today (also as a noun) - วันนี้ [ wan née ] yesterday - เมื่อวาน [ mêua waan ] tomorrow -พรุ่งนี้ [ prûng-née ]

almost - เกือบ [ gèuap ], เกือบจะ [ gèuap jà ]

still - ยังคง [ yang kong ]

already - แล้ว [ láew ], เรียบร้อยแล้ว [ rîap rói láew ]

even - แม้กระทั่ง [ máe grà-tâng ], ยิ่งไปกว่านั้น [ yîng bpai gwàa nán ]

Nouns

thing - สิ่ง [ sìng ]

person - บุคคล [ bùk-kon ]

place - สถานที่ [ sà-tăan têe ]

everything - ทุกๆสิ่ง [ túk túk sìng ], ทุกๆอย่าง [ túk túk yàang ] something - บางสิ่ง [ baang sìng ], บางอย่าง [ baang yàang ] nothing - ไม่มีอะไร [ mâi mee a-rai ]

time (as in “a long time”) - เวลา [ way-laa ]

time (as in “I did it 3 times”) - ครั้ง [ kráng ] ( put it after the numbers ex. 3 ครั้ง)

friend - เพื่อน [ pêuan ]

mother, father, parent - แม่ [ mâe ], พ่อ [ pôr ], พ่อแม่ [ pôr mâe ] or ผู้ปกครอง [ pôo bpòk krong ]

daughter, son, child - ลูกสาว [ lôok săao ], ลูกชาย [ lôok chaai ], ลูก [ lôok ] or เด็ก [ dèk ]

wife, husband - ภรรยา [ pan-rá-yaa ] (polite) เมีย [ mia ] (impolite), สามี [ săa-mee ] (polite) ผัว [ pŭa ] (impolite)

girlfriend, boyfriend - แฟนสาว [ faen săao ], แฟนหนุ่ม [ faen nùm ], แฟน [ faen ] (concisely)

breakfast - อาหารเช้า [ aa-hăan cháo ], มื้อเช้า [ méu cháo ]

lunch - อาหารกลางวัน [ aa-hăan glaang-wan ], มื้อเที่ยง [ méu tîang ]

dinner - อาหารเย็น [ aa-hăan yen ], มื้อเย็น [ méu yen ]

money - เงิน [ ngern ], ตังค์ [ dtang ] (colloquialism)

day - วัน [ wan ]

year - ปี [ bpee ]

hour - ชั่วโมง [ chûa mohng ]

week - สัปดาห์ [ sàp-daa ]

country - ประเทศ [ bprà-tâyt ]

city - เมือง [ meuang ]

language - ภาษา [ paa-săa ]

word - คำ [ kam ]

Internet - อินเตอร์เน็ต [ in-dtêr-nét ]

house - บ้าน [ bâan ]

office - สำนักงาน [ săm-nák ngaan ]

company - บริษัท [ bor-rí-sàt ]

Question Words

who - ใคร [ krai ]

what - อะไร [ a-rai ]

where - ที่ไหน [ têe năi ]

when - เมื่อไร [ mêua rai ]

why - ทำไม [ tam-mai ]

how - อย่างไร [ yàang rai ]

how much - เท่าไร [ tâo rai ]

Pronouns

I - ฉัน [ chăn ]

you - คุณ [ kun ]

she, he - เธอ [ ter ], เขา [ kăo ]

it - มัน [ man ]

we - พวกเรา [ pûak rao ]

you (plural) - พวกคุณ [ pûak kun ]

they - พวกเขา [ pûak kăo ]

1) http://www.thai-language.com/id/812569

This link leads you to a quiz, where you pick what the pronunciation is. You’re probably thinking, “umm I don’t even know the alphabet, how am I supposed to do a quiz?????” Well, that’s the whole point. It’s completely trial and error at first, until you start to recognize letters. It sounds like a really stupid idea, but it worked for me! Also, if you feel more comfortable with a thai alphabet chart next to you, then feel free to use it at first, then slowly try to do the quiz without the alphabet chart. As for the vowels, you can learn those on your own (there are only a few anyways, and they combine to make different sounds)

2)  http://www.thai-language.com/id/838480

This next link is a quiz for the classes of the consonants (which helps you determine the tones of words). 

3) http://www.fluentin3months.com/reading-thai-tones-is-easy/

This link can be used in accordance with the tone quiz. It has some useful patterns that helps you remember the classes. 

TONE CHART:

LOOK I EVEN MADE A TONE CHART FOR YOU :D (and for anyone else looking to study Thai) This chart will apply to most if not ALL words in Thai, so save this chart somewhere so that you will always pronounce a Thai word with the right tone! Not all words have tone marks though, so words without tone marks are covered in the fluent in 3 months link.