The Many Sub-Languages of Thai

The Many Sub-Languages of Thai Posted by palmisano on Feb 10, 2014 in Beginner

Thai is not just one language universally spoken in Thailand, but in fact there are many regional and local dialects, and yet more special manners of speaking given the situation. This article will list all the forms of Thai that you can run across on a daily basis, each with their own accents and vocabulary.

We’ve already covered some of the language styles in previous articles, ภาษาสวย, ภาษาเขียน, and ภาษาพูด.

https://blogs.transparent.com/thai/thai-question-word-slang/

https://blogs.transparent.com/thai/how-to-speak-more-politely-in-thai/

And for regional dialects, refer to these articles for a good summary:

https://blogs.transparent.com/thai/regional-dialects-of-thai-part-1-of-2/

https://blogs.transparent.com/thai/regional-dialects-of-thai-part-2-of-2/

Below is a list of all the ‘languages’ ภาษา paa^Msaa^R of Thailand for quick reference.

ภาษา	Karaoke	English (note: each is a type of language)
ภาษาไทย	paa^Msaa^R thai^M	Thai
ภาษาเขียน	paa^Msaa^R kien^R	Written (formal, drawn out)
ภาษาพูด	paa^Msaa^R puud^F	Spoken (can use slang, abbreviated)
ภาษากลาง	paa^Msaa^R glaang^M	Central Thai (considered the ‘correct’ Thai)
ภาษาใต้	paa^Msaa^R dtai^F	Southern Thai (known for being fast/abbreviated)
ภาษาอีสาน	paa^Msaa^R ee^Msaan^R	Isaan Thai (north eastern; similar to a US southern drawl)
ภาษาเหนือ	paa^Msaa^R neua^R	Northern Thai
ภาษาราชการ	paa^Msaa^R raat^Fcha^Hgaan^M	Official/government business
ภาษาทางการ	paa^Msaa^R taang^M gaan^M	Official/government business; formal
ภาษาราชาศัพท์	paa^Msaa^R raat^Mchaa^Msap^L	Royal (spoken only by the monarchy)
ภาษาพระ	paa^Msaa^R pra^H	Monk (both how monks speak, but also how to speak to monks)
ภาษาวัยรุ่น	paa^Msaa^R wai^M run^F	Teenager (slang, intentionally mutilating the language, etc.)
ภาษาสวย	paa^Msaa^R suay^R	“Beautiful language,” used in poetry and prose