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Answered3 years ago

Are final stop consonants like 't' and 'k' silent in Thai pronunciation?

Josh *********
asked Aug 10, 2023
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Language Question: Final Consonants t, k, etc.

Are final "stop consonants" (t, k) mostly silent in Thai:

ลูก = Lûu[k], คุก = Khú[k], etc.?

I'm trying to find the written rule.

Thanks very much in advance!
Answer summary
The silence of final stop consonants in Thai, such as 't' and 'k', varies based on regional accents and phonetic rules. While there is no universally written rule, it is noted that consonants may not be aspirated and are often less pronounced than in English. Some letters transition to specific sounds when at the end of a word, with several community members noting that final consonants can sound muted or subtle in casual speech.
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Josh *********
Josh *********
OP
Anyway, I've copied your rules and chart to my notes. :)
Josh *********
Josh *********
OP
I don't expect the book's audio to reflect what I hear in Sriyan (mostly Isan/Lao Thai). I just get frustrated when I can't find the rule 🙂

Thanks again!
Josh *********
Josh *********
OP
Based on the audio, several letters (T, P, etc.) are silent at the end, although the corresponding romanization indicates that they are voiced. The same audio provides formal ("krrahp") pronounciations for all words.
Josh *********
Josh *********
OP
Hi Christ, someone else just said what you said. Not aspirated and barely pronounced. Thank you!
Chris *****
Chris *****
I'm very probably out of my depth in this conversation, but I did read that ending consonants are not aspirated, ie, they are just the way air is stopped, which makes them much more subtle than English ending consonants, but still discernable once you learn to hear it. Think you're probably a bit further on this than me though.
Josh *********
Josh *********
OP
However, I've looked for a written rule on muted silent consonants and have yet to find one (although the rules for rr = l and l = m are easily found).
Josh *********
Josh *********
OP
Thank you Brandon and Henning! I am familiar with consonant shifts (l = m) at the end of a word, as well as with "l" used for "rr" in spoken (but not radio Thai [kahp vs = krrahp].
Josh *********
Josh *********
OP
Thank you again, Brandon!
Brandon ************
Brandon ************
@Josh ********
Obviously the letters with the "silent mark" over them are silent. But the issue is that there are some words that just have a silent letter with no rule associated with. Similar to any other language. My textbook has rules for 5 different letters that should be silent, but there are also 2 other rules that say as follows:

1) Sometimes consonants can just be silent without a silent mark at all

ปรารถนา has a silent ร

สามารถ has a silent ร

ไทย has a silent ย

พุทธ has a silent ธ

2) You can see some other cases apart from the previous rules about -ติ and -ตุ where the vowel is not pronounced

ภูมิใจ has a silent . ิ

พยาธิ has a silent . ิ
Josh *********
Josh *********
OP
I have the classic "Fundamentals . . ." and several contemporary, with CDs, etc., as well as online sources. The problem is not observing the rules, it's finding them.
Henning **********
Henning **********
@Josh ********
you can buy a thai-book for primary school students at most book shops, they're inexpensive and if you know how to read Thai you'll find it all explained there (though it's explained in examples and not in "rules"). If you want to know the linguistic rules, a thai dictionary won't do, you'll have to get scientific works of the thai language which you probably will have to get through a university.
Henning **********
Henning **********
Every letter makes a different sound at the end of a word. I can't tell you for every single letter, and some letters cannot be the end of a word, but for example words ending in ล,ร,-นท์, -ย์, etc make an "n" sound. The rule is all letters with an alveolar sound change to "n" when at the end of a phoneme. Furthermore, all letters that correspond to palatal and velar sounds are voiceless when at the end of a phoneme. There are more rules to it but I can't think of it right now.
Henning **********
Henning **********
This is for the end of a syllable
Henning **********
Henning **********
Forgot the dentals, they're also silent.
Henning **********
Henning **********
And labials also silent 😁
Henning **********
Henning **********
Affricatives change to plosives when at the end of a word.
Brandon ************
Brandon ************
There is no written rule because it varies. There's a proper way and the way it's done. And the way it's done is not the same depending on where you are in Thailand. Just like the R sound is actually pronounced like an L sound but it's actually pronounced with an R sound when you learn it in school.
Henning **********
Henning **********
Brandon ************
Brandon ************
@Henning *********
but I'm saying that "the rule" isn't applicable because that's not how it's used in actual conversing.
Henning **********
Henning **********
@Brandon ***********
it is. Your example of "l" and "r" is not case of "breaking the rules" in daily life but it is due to the phonological similarity of ล (l) and ร (r) in the thai language.

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