Lanna Innovation

Last Updated on 16-Aug-19

This article is about Thai keyboard layouts for desktop and laptop computers, which have a hardware and software component. This does not deal with virtual or soft keyboards or mobile device layouts.

Thai Keyboard Layouts are generally something Thai speakers and Thai language learners have little problem with because of a de facto standard, although there are three specific standards, in practice (along with ISO and ANSI layouts).

Continue reading Thai Keyboard Layouts

Last Updated on 12-Aug-19

There are both substantive and subtle changes to the Thai Alphabet Cards. For the Thai Consonants, we add the ten numbers (0-9) as ten additional cards, and then on the consonant cards themselves, the significant changes are:

Continue reading Gau Gai กอ ไก่ – Second Edition

Last Updated on 12-Aug-19

One challenge for using Thai script on a computer is that Thai characters are more vertical than roman alphabet characters. If one is mixing roman and Thai characters in a document, the Thai characters tend to be much smaller (and therefore illegible if the roman characters are optimized for space and legibility). The reason for this is that Thai characters, along with vowel markers, tone marks, and the silent marker can stack above and below a character, which means they are generally much taller than Roman (Latin) and other alphabet systems.

Continue reading Fonts with Thai & Roman (Latin)

Last Updated on 22-Sep-18

INCOMPLETE - WORK IN PROGRESS It is common for those learning Thai to run across transcription of spoken Thai into systems other than the Thai script. At first, one would think that there would be a single correct transcription, for example based on the International Phonetical Association (IPA) that would accurately capture all the sounds in Thai. One would be wrong. There are a large number of transcription/transliteration systems, each with their own history and rationale. Understanding more about them is useful to Intermediate Thai language learners. Normally a beginning learner is simply at the mercy of whatever Thai language books/material and/or Thai teacher/tutor is most convenient or chosen for the learner. As for the author of this essay, I held a bias against the IPA system as I wondered why I had to learn a third system in order to learn the second system (Thai). It turns out I was incorrect and it would have been better to learn not only the phonemes and phonology of Thai, but also that of English. A better understanding of both is the key to cutting through the confusion of Thai transcription systems that proliferate. Topics to follow: - Transcription system goals - Script-to-script - Sound-to-script - Reversibility - Sound-to-sound - ASCII/En keyboard transcription - Transcription systems - True (full) IPA - Hybrid systems - AUA -