The Tai peoples are scattered widely over a large area. This area has its northern extreme in southeastern China, its southern in the Malaysian Peninsula, and reaches from Hainan Island in the east to Assam State, India, in the west.

Tai peoples, whether close or far apart, recognize their kinship and their common ancient Tai origin. They mutually understand each other’s language; only their scripts are different. The written Tai language is read horizontally from left to right, as in English.

It is often necessary to use terms of the original language in social sciences. There is a need for a transliteration system--a simple transliteration system which is easy to understand for anyone who can read the English scripts correctly. It should be a great help in rendering spoken Tai of various groups accessible to non-Tai natives, and especially to those who do research work on Tai literatures, cultures, societies and history but do not know all the different Tai scripts.

The Tai language is very orderly and consistent in regard to pronunciation. Tai vowels, consonants, and tone symbols are normally standardized in their pronunciation. Each Tai syllable should be pronounced clearly and distinctly, without any slurring or gulping of syllables as is frequently done in English.

Tai is a monosyllabic tone-language. The meaning of words which otherwise sound alike is distinguished by six different tones (the mid or middle tone is shown by no mark, the low tone by / `/, the high tone by / ?/, the mid-falling tone by / ^/, the high-falling tone by / ? / and the rising tone by / ?/ above the vowel). Thus a rise or fall in the voice, etc., does not denote the speaker’s emotional reaction questions etc., but simply serves to distinguish different words.

It will be seen that the Tai language is simple, and if one understands the arrangements of words in a sentence, and can master their tones. Tone mastery can be required in the same manner one learns the stress accents of words in English.

--By Chuen Yodtai and Saeng Han