泰语发音规则（Tone Rules）Thai is a tonal language which makes it very different to Westerrn languages. Each syllable has a choice between five distinct tones: low, mid, rising, high and falling. To a foreign student, it would seem that the Thai language is made up of groups of words that change in meaning depending on their tone. A famous tongue twister which illustrates this very well is new wood doesnt burn, does it? or mai mai mai mai mai in Thai. mai - mai - mai - mai - maihigh - low - falling - falling - highTo a foreigner studying Thai for the first time, there is only one word in the above example, mai, and its meaning changes with different tones. However, to a Thai person, these are five distinct words that are not only spelled differently but are pronounced differently. Most foreign students make the mistake of relying too much on transliteration when learning Thai. If you are to master the tones, you must put this behind you and learn how to read properly. (See Learn to Read Thai with Manee and Friends)The five tones are:THE HIGH TONE （高调）（二声）This is a uniform tone pitched well above the level of the speakers normal voice and is similar to the tone used in English to denote alarm.e.g. “keep away” nokA bird rukTo lovelekSmallTHE RISING TONE （上升的语气）（二声）This as the name implies has a rising inflection and is something like the tone used in English to denote surprise or a question.e.g. “Are you going home now?” maiA question word saamThreehinA Stone THE MID TONE （中间语气）（一声）This is spoken in the speakers ordinary tone of voice without any inflection. It is the tone used in English for ordinary conversation.maaCome bpaiGoginTo eat THE LOW TONE （低调）（三声或轻声）？This is a level tone with no inflection but lower in pitch than common tone. dorkFlower heepA box gepTo keep THE FALLING TONE （降调）（四声）This is an emphatic and heavily accented tone with a falling inflection and is similar to the tone used in English to denote emphasis.e.g. “I told you not to go there” kaoRice haaFive maiNotIt should be noted that the tone applies to a syllable only so that in a polysyllabic word each syllable may and often does have a different tone. goo-laaplow-low ma-noothigh-high ma-la-gorhigh-high-mid pa-pa-yonfalling-high-midrut-ta-baanhigh-low-midYou may find it difficult at first to pronounce all of the syllables of a polysyllabic word in the correct tone but luckily there are very few words of more than two syllables where tonal values of the syllables vary. By far the best way to learn the tones at the beginning is the way a Thai child does, i.e. by copying a natural Thai speaker. You can do this by listening to us on this web site.In Thai writing the tones are quite clearly indicated by the use of Tone Marks coupled with a rather complicated set of rules. If you are ready, we will now proceed to teach you these rules.Factors determining the tone. To determine the tone of any syllable the following four factors have to be considered.1. Class of the initial consonant.The Thai consonants are divided up into three groups known respectively as HIGH, MIDDLE and LOW class consonants and the first thing to look at in determining the tone of a word or syllable is the class of the initial consonant.You will soon discover that there are many cases where the letter as an initial consonant is silent and there are a few cases where the letter as an initial consonant is also silent, but this makes no difference to the rule, the tone is still governed by the class of the initial consonant even though it be a silent consonant.The HIGH class consonants are; The MIDDLE class consonants are; All the remainder are LOW class consonants.2. The final sounded consonant.（辅音）All words which do not end in a vowel sound must have either M, N, NG, K, P, or T as the final sound.(Note: Although this is strictly true, you will find that in conversation the final consonant is often slurred and particularly after a long vowel, the final P may sound more like a B and the final T more like a D.)Where there is no tone mark, the tone of the syllable or word will depend on both the class of the initial consonant and on whether it ends with the M, N, NG sounds or the K, P, T sounds. It should be noted that a final consonant with the sign - (MY TUNTAKAHT) over it is not sounded and hence can have no effect on the tone. MORE3. The type of final vowel.（元音）If the word has no tone mark and ends in a final vowel, the tone is dependent on whether this final vowel is a long or short one.The short vowels for tonal purposes are -, -, -, -,