Editing Thai script (section)

==Sanskrit and Pali==
{{brahmic}}
{{unreferenced section|reason=There are two Pali orthographies, one with and one without implicit vowels.  This paragraph denies the existence of the second.|date=November 2019}}
The Thai script (like all [[Indic scripts]]) uses a number of modifications to write Sanskrit and related languages (in particular, Pali). [[Pali]] is very closely related to Sanskrit and is the liturgical language of [[Thai Buddhism]]. In Thailand, Pali is written and studied using a slightly modified Thai script. The main difference is that each consonant is followed by an implied short a (อะ), not the 'o', or 'ə' of Thai: this short a is never omitted in pronunciation, and if the vowel is not to be pronounced, then a specific symbol must be used, the {{Transliteration|th|pinthu}} อฺ (a solid dot under the consonant). This means that ''sara a'' (อะ) is never used when writing Pali, because it is always implied. For example, ''namo'' is written นะโม in Thai, but in Pali it is written as นโม, because the อะ is redundant. The Sanskrit word 'mantra' is written มนตร์ in Thai (and therefore pronounced ''mon''), but is written มนฺตฺร in Sanskrit (and therefore pronounced ''mantra''). When writing Pali, only 33 consonants and 12 vowels are used.

This is an example of a Pali text written using the Thai Sanskrit orthography: อรหํ สมฺมาสมฺพุทฺโธ ภควา {{IAST|[arahaṃ sammāsambuddho bhagavā]}}. Written in modern Thai orthography, this becomes อะระหัง สัมมาสัมพุทโธ ภะคะวา ''arahang sammasamphuttho phakhawa''.

In Thailand, Sanskrit is read out using the Thai values for all the consonants (so ค is read as ''kha'' and not [ga]), which makes Thai spoken Sanskrit incomprehensible to sanskritists not trained in Thailand. The Sanskrit values are used in transliteration (without the [[diacritic]]s), but these values are never actually used when Sanskrit is read out loud in Thailand. The vowels used in Thai are identical to Sanskrit, with the exception of ฤ, ฤๅ, ฦ, and ฦๅ, which are read using their Thai values, not their Sanskrit values. Sanskrit and Pali are not tonal languages, but in Thailand, the Thai tones are used when reading these languages out loud.

In the tables of this section, the Thai value (transliterated according to the Royal Thai system) of each letter is listed first, followed by the [[IAST]] value of each letter in square brackets. The IAST values are never used in pronunciation, but sometimes in transcriptions (with the diacritics omitted). This disjoint between transcription and spoken value explains the romanisation for Sanskrit names in Thailand that many foreigners find confusing. For example, สุวรรณภูมิ is romanised as [[Suvarnabhumi Airport|Suvarnabhumi]], but pronounced ''su-wan-na-phum''. ศรีนครินทร์ is romanised as [[Srinagarindra]] but pronounced ''si-nakha-rin''.

===Plosives (''{{IAST|vargaḥ}}'')===

Plosives (also called stops) are listed in their traditional Sanskrit order, which corresponds to Thai alphabetical order from '''ก''' to '''ม''' with three exceptions: in Thai, high-class '''ข''' is followed by two obsolete characters with no Sanskrit equivalent, high-class ฃ and low-class ฅ; low-class '''ช''' is followed by sibilant ซ (low-class equivalent of high-class sibilant ส that follows ศ and ษ.)   The table gives the Thai value first, and then the [[International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration|IAST (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration)]] value in square brackets.
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 120%;"
|-align='center' style="font-size: 75%;"
! rowspan="4" |Class
! colspan="4" |Sanskrit unvoiced
! colspan="6" |Sanskrit voiced
|-align='center' style="font-size: 75%;"
! colspan="8" |Thai unvoiced
! colspan="2" |Thai voiced
|-align='center' style="font-size: 75%;"
! colspan="2" |Unaspirated
! colspan="2" |Aspirated
! colspan="1" |Aspirated || Unaspirated
! colspan="2" |Aspirated
! colspan="2" |Nasal
|-
!<small>Thai</small>
!<small>Sanskrit</small>
!<small>Thai</small>
!<small>Sanskrit</small>
!<small>Thai</small>
!<small>Sanskrit</small>
!<small>Thai</small>
!<small>Sanskrit</small>
!<small>Thai</small>
!<small>Sanskrit</small>
|-
!'''<small>velar</small>'''
| {{Letter|s=Thai|ch=ก|iso=kà}}
| {{Letter|s=Deva|ch=क|iso={{IAST|ka}}|ipa=/k/}}
| {{Letter|s=Thai|ch=ข|iso=khà}}
| {{Letter|s=Deva|ch=ख|iso={{IAST|kha}}|ipa=/kʰ/}}
| {{Letter|s=Thai|ch=ค|iso=khá}}
| {{Letter|s=Deva|ch=ग|iso={{IAST|ga}}|ipa=/g/}}
| {{Letter|s=Thai|ch=ฆ|iso=khá}}
| {{Letter|s=Deva|ch=घ|iso={{IAST|gha}}|ipa=/gʱ/}}
| {{Letter|s=Thai|ch=ง|iso=ngá}}
| {{Letter|s=Deva|ch=ङ|iso={{IAST|ṅa}}|ipa=/[[Voiced velar nasal|ŋ]]/}}
|-
!'''<small>palatal</small>'''
| {{Letter|s=Thai|ch=จ|iso=cà}}
| {{Letter|s=Deva|ch=च|iso={{IAST|ca}}|ipa=/c/, /tɕ/}}

| {{Letter|s=Thai|ch=ฉ|iso=chà}}
| {{Letter|s=Deva|ch=छ|iso={{IAST|cha}}|ipa=/cʰ/, /tɕʰ/}}
| {{Letter|s=Thai|ch=ช|iso=chá}}
| {{Letter|s=Deva|ch=ज|iso={{IAST|ja}}|ipa=/[[Voiced palatal plosive|ɟ]]/, /[[d͡ʑ]]/}}
| {{Letter|s=Thai|ch=ฌ|iso=chá}}
| {{Letter|s=Deva|ch=झ|iso={{IAST|jha}}|ipa=/ɟʱ/, /d͡ʑʱ/}}
| {{Letter|s=Thai|ch=ญ|iso=yá}}
| {{Letter|s=Deva|ch=ञ|iso={{IAST|ña}}|ipa=/[[Voiced palatal nasal|ɲ]]/}}
|-
!'''<small>retroflex</small>'''
| {{Letter|s=Thai|ch=ฏ|iso=tà}}
| {{Letter|s=Deva|ch=ट|iso={{IAST|ṭa}}|ipa=/ʈ/}}
| {{Letter|s=Thai|ch=ฐ|iso=thà}}
| {{Letter|s=Deva|ch=ठ|iso={{IAST|ṭha}}|ipa=/ʈʰ/}}
| {{Letter|s=Thai|ch=ฑ|iso=thá}}
| {{Letter|s=Deva|ch=ड|iso={{IAST|ḍa}}|ipa=/ɖ/}}
| {{Letter|s=Thai|ch=ฒ|iso=thá}}
| {{Letter|s=Deva|ch=ढ|iso={{IAST|ḍha}}|ipa=/ɖʱ/}}
| {{Letter|s=Thai|ch=ณ|iso=ná}}
| {{Letter|s=Deva|ch=ण|iso={{IAST|ṇa}}|ipa=/ɳ/}}
|-
!'''<small>dental</small>'''
| {{Letter|s=Thai|ch=ต|iso=tà}}
| {{Letter|s=Deva|ch=त|iso={{IAST|ta}}|ipa=/t/}}
| {{Letter|s=Thai|ch=ถ|iso=thà}}
| {{Letter|s=Deva|ch=थ|iso={{IAST|tha}}|ipa=/tʰ/}}
| {{Letter|s=Thai|ch=ท|iso=thá}}
| {{Letter|s=Deva|ch=द|iso={{IAST|da}}|ipa=/d/}}
| {{Letter|s=Thai|ch=ธ|iso=thá}}
| {{Letter|s=Deva|ch=ध|iso={{IAST|dha}}|ipa=/dʱ/}}
| {{Letter|s=Thai|ch=น|iso=ná}}
| {{Letter|s=Deva|ch=न|iso={{IAST|na}}|ipa=/n/}}
|-
!'''<small>labial</small>'''
| {{Letter|s=Thai|ch=ป|iso=pà}}
| {{Letter|s=Deva|ch=प|iso={{IAST|pa}}|ipa=/p/}}
| {{Letter|s=Thai|ch=ผ|iso=phà}}
| {{Letter|s=Deva|ch=फ|iso={{IAST|pha}}|ipa=/pʰ/}}
| {{Letter|s=Thai|ch=พ|iso=phá}}
| {{Letter|s=Deva|ch=ब|iso={{IAST|ba}}|ipa=/b/}}
| {{Letter|s=Thai|ch=ภ|iso=phá}}
| {{Letter|s=Deva|ch=भ|iso={{IAST|bha}}|ipa=/bʱ/}}
| {{Letter|s=Thai|ch=ม|iso=má}}
| {{Letter|s=Deva|ch=म|iso={{IAST|ma}}|ipa=/m/}}
|- align="center"
! style="font-size: 75%;" |'''tone class''' !! colspan="2" |<small>'''Mid'''</small> !! colspan="2" |<small>'''High'''</small> !! colspan="2" |<small>'''Low'''</small>!! colspan="2" |<small>'''Low'''</small>!! colspan="2" |<small>'''Low'''</small>
|}

None of the Sanskrit plosives are pronounced as the Thai voiced plosives, so these are not represented in the table. While letters are listed here according to their class in Sanskrit, Thai has lost the distinction between many of the consonants. So, while there is a clear distinction between ช and ฌ in Sanskrit, in Thai these two consonants are pronounced identically (including tone). Likewise, the Thai phonemes do not differentiate between the retroflex and dental classes, since Thai has no retroflex consonants. The equivalents of all the retroflex consonants are pronounced identically to their dental counterparts: thus ฏ is pronounced like ต, ฐ is pronounced like ถ, ฑ is pronounced like ท, ฒ is pronounced like ธ, and ณ is pronounced like น.

The Sanskrit unaspirated unvoiced plosives are pronounced as unaspirated unvoiced, whereas Sanskrit aspirated voiced plosives are pronounced as aspirated unvoiced.

===Non-plosives (''{{IAST|avargaḥ}}'')===

''[[Semivowel]]s'' (กึ่งสระ ''kueng sara'') ''and [[liquid consonants|liquids]]'' come in Thai alphabetical order after '''ม''', the last of the plosives. The term อวรรค ''awak'' means "without a break"; that is, without a plosive.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Series
! Thai
! Devanagari
! Related vowels
|-
| palatal 
| {{Letter|ch=ย|s=Thai|iso=yá}}
| {{Letter|ch=य|s=Deva|ipa=/j/|iso=ya}} 
| <big>อิ</big> and <big>อี</big>
|-
| retroflex 
| {{Letter|ch=ร|s=Thai|iso=rá}}
| {{Letter|ch=र|s=Deva|ipa=/ɽ/|iso=ra}}
| <big>ฤ</big> and <big>ฤๅ</big>
|-
| dental || {{Letter|ch=ล|s=Thai|iso=lá}}
| {{Letter|ch=ल|s=Deva|ipa=/l/|iso=la}}
| <big>ฦ</big> and <big>ฦๅ</big>
|-
| labial || {{Letter|ch=ว|s=Thai|iso=wá}}
| {{Letter|ch=व|s=Deva|ipa=/ʋ/|iso=va}}
| <big>อุ</big> and <big>อู</big>
|}

==== Sibilants ====
''Inserted sounds'' (เสียดแทรก ''siat saek'') follow the semi-vowel ว in alphabetical order.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Series
! Thai
! Devanagari
|-
| palatal 
| {{Letter|ch=ศ|s=Thai|iso=sà}}
| {{Letter|ch=श|s=Deva|ipa=/ɕ/|iso=śa}}
|-
| retroflex 
| {{Letter|ch=ษ|s=Thai|iso=sà}}
| {{Letter|ch=ष|s=Deva|ipa=/ʂ/|iso=ṣa}}
|-
| dental 
| {{Letter|ch=ส|s=Thai|iso=sà}}
| {{Letter|ch=स|s=Deva|ipa=/s/|iso=sa}}
|}

Like Sanskrit, Thai has no voiced sibilant (so no 'z' or 'zh'). In modern Thai, the distinction between the three high-class consonants has been lost and all three are pronounced 'sà'; however, foreign words with a sh-sound may still be transcribed as if the Sanskrit values still hold (e.g., ''ang-grit'' อังกฤษ for ''English'' instead of อังกฤส).
:'''ศ ศาลา''' (so sala) leads words, as in its example word, ศาลา. The digraph ศรี (Indic ''[[sri]]'') is regularly pronounced สี (si), as in [[Sisaket Province]], Thai: ศรีสะเกษ.
:'''ษ ฤๅษี''' (so rue-si) may only lead syllables ''within'' a word, as in its example, ฤๅษี, or to end a syllable as in ศรีสะเกษ ''Sisaket'' and อังกฤษ ''Angkrit'' English.
:'''ส เสือ''' (so suea) spells native Thai words that require a high-class /s/, as well as [[naturalized]] Pali/Sanskrit words, such as สารท (สาท) in [[Thetsagan Sart|Thetsakan Sat]]: เทศกาลสารท (เทด-สะ-กาน-สาท), formerly ศารท (สาท).
:'''ซ โซ่''' (so so), which follows the similar-appearing ช in Thai alphabetical order, spells words requiring a low-class /s/, as does ทร + vowel.
:'''ทร''', as in the heading of this section, เสียด'''แทร'''ก  (pronounced เสียดแซก ''siat saek''), when accompanied by a vowel (implicit in '''ทรง''' (ซง ''song'' an element in forming words used with royalty); a semivowel in '''ทรวง''' (ซวง ''suang'' chest, heart); or explicit in '''ทราย''' (ซาย ''sai'' sand). Exceptions to ทร + vowel = /s/ are the prefix '''โทร-''' (equivalent to ''tele-'' far, pronounced โทระ ''to-ra''), and phonetic re-spellings of English tr- (as in the phonetic respelling of ''trumpet'': ทรัมเพ็ท.) '''ทร''' is otherwise pronounced as two syllables ทอระ-, as in ทรมาน (ทอระมาน ''to-ra-man'' to torment).

====Voiced h====
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Thai
!Devanagari
|-
| {{Letter|ch=ห|s=Thai|iso=hà}}
|{{Letter|ch=ह|s=Deva|ipa=/ɦ/|iso=ha}}
|}

'''ห''', a high-class consonant, comes next in alphabetical order, but its low-class equivalent, '''ฮ''', follows similar-appearing อ as the last letter of the Thai alphabet. Like modern Hindi, the voicing has disappeared, and the letter is now pronounced like English 'h'. Like Sanskrit, this letter may only be used to start a syllable, but may not end it. (A popular beer is romanized as [[Singha]], but in Thai is สิงห์, with a ''karan'' on the ห; correct pronunciation is "[[singh|sing]]", but foreigners to Thailand typically say "sing-ha".)

====Retroflex lla====
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Thai
!Devanagari
|-
| {{Letter|ch=ฬ|s=Thai|iso=llá}}
|{{Letter|ch=ळ|s=Deva|ipa=/ɭ/|iso=ḷa}}
|}

This represents the retroflex liquid of Pali and Vedic Sanskrit, which does not exist in Classical Sanskrit.

===Vowels===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! symbol
! value
|-
| อ || {{IAST|a}}
|-
| อา || {{IAST|ā}}
|-
| อิ || {{IAST|i}}
|-
| อี || {{IAST|ī}}
|-
| อุ || {{IAST|u}}
|-
| อู || {{IAST|ū}}
|-
| เอ || {{IAST|e}}
|-
| ไอ || {{IAST|ai}}
|-
| โอ || {{IAST|o}}
|-
| เอา || {{IAST|au}}
|-
| ฤ || {{IAST|ṛ}}
|-
| ฤๅ || {{IAST|ṝ}}
|-
| ฦ || {{IAST|ḷ}}
|-
| ฦๅ || {{IAST|ḹ}}
|}

All consonants have an inherent 'a' sound, and therefore there is no need to use the ะ symbol when writing Sanskrit. The Thai vowels อื, ใอ, and so forth, are not used in Sanskrit. The [[zero consonant]], อ, is unique to the Indic alphabets descended from Khmer. When it occurs in Sanskrit, it is always the zero consonant and never the vowel ''o'' {{IPA|[ɔː]}}. Its use in Sanskrit is therefore to write vowels that cannot be otherwise written alone: e.g., อา or อี. When อ is written on its own, then it is a carrier for the implied vowel, ''a'' {{IPA|[a]}} (equivalent to อะ in Thai).

The vowel sign อำ occurs in Sanskrit, but only as the combination of the pure vowels ''sara a'' อา with ''nikkhahit'' อํ.

===Other non-Thai symbols===
There are a number of additional symbols only used to write Sanskrit or Pali, and not used in writing Thai.
{{anchor|anusvara|nikkhahit}}

====Nikkhahit (anusvāra)====
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Symbol
! IAST
|-
| อํ || {{IAST|ṃ}}
|}
In Sanskrit, the [[anusvāra]] indicates a certain kind of nasal sound. In Thai this is written as an open circle above the consonant, known as ''nikkhahit'' ({{lang|th|นิคหิต}}), from Pali ''niggahīta''. Nasalisation does not occur in Thai, therefore, a nasal stop is always substituted: e.g. ตํ {{IAST|taṃ}}, is pronounced as ตัง ''tang'' by Thai [[wikt:Sanskritist|Sanskritist]]s. If nikkhahit occurs before a consonant, then Thai uses a nasal stop of the same class: e.g. สํสฺกฤตา {{IAST|[saṃskṛta]}} is read as สันสกฤตา ''san-sa-krit-ta'' (The ส following the nikkhahit is a dental-class consonant, therefore the dental-class nasal stop น is used). For this reason, it has been suggested that in Thai, nikkhahit should be listed as a consonant.<ref name="NECTEC"/> Also, traditional Pali grammars describe nikkhahit as a consonant.  ''Nikkhahit'' นิคหิต occurs as part of the Thai vowels ''sara am'' อำ and ''sara ue'' อึ.

====Phinthu (virāma)====
<big>อฺ</big>

Because the Thai script is an [[abugida]], a symbol (equivalent to [[virama|virāma]] in [[devanagari]]) needs to be added to indicate that the implied vowel is not to be pronounced. This is the {{Transliteration|th|phinthu}}, which is a solid dot (also called 'Bindu' in Sanskrit) below the consonant.

==== Yamakkan ====
<big>อ๎</big>

Yamakkan ({{lang|th|ยามักการ}}) is an obsolete symbol used to mark the beginning of consonant clusters: e.g. พ๎ราห๎มณ ''phramana'' {{IAST|[brāhmaṇa]}}. Without the yamakkan, this word would be pronounced {{Transliteration|th|pharahamana}} {{IAST|[barāhamaṇa]}} instead. This is a feature unique to the Thai script (other Indic scripts use a combination of ligatures, conjuncts or virāma to convey the same information). The symbol is obsolete because {{Transliteration|th|pinthu}} may be used to achieve the same effect: พฺราหฺมณ.

====Visarga====
{{unreferenced section|reason=Non-existence seems to be hearsay and use is merely a fact ('original research').|date=November 2019}}
The means of recording [[visarga]] (final voiceless 'h') in Thai has reportedly been lost, although the character ◌ะ which is used to transcribe a short /a/ or to add a glottal stop after a vowel is the closest equivalent and can be seen used as a visarga in some Thai-script Sanskrit text.