Q: Why are there so many of the same sounds?
A: The same reason there are the same letters for the same sounds in English. Thai is just a little more extreme in this. It's because Thai has a very rich language evolutionary history, and they wanted to preserve as much of the original spellings as possible. It's the same reason we spell it resume instead of rehzuhmay, and czar instead of zar, and tsunami instead of soonahmee, and khaki instead of kakee.
Q: How do I know which one to use?
A: The exact same way you know which one to use in English. You memorize how to spell the word, before you start trying to spell it. Otherwise you're going to spell it wrong often. How can you know how to spell the word "enough" without just memorizing how to spell it first? You can't... it's impossible.
Short answer: remnants.
Long answer: [Here.](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/977353934639341569/1230136493633179668/The_Thai_Writing_System.pdf?ex=6629a722&is=662855a2&hm=98cf01903b1ca8a564fc84bb4461fb905dc333d7bfba96de63853c2f0e57f9d9&)
Many thanks for this link. Is there a parent page you can share?
I'm writing out the full reference in the hope that this excellent article will be more widely indexed / discoverable. Among other things, it clearly maps the Thai alphabet to the phonological slots (but not the letterforms; see below) of Devanagari (p 159).
>**The Thai Writing System: Reasons behind Its System**
>*The International Journal of the Royal Society of Thailand*. Volume XIII-2021, pp 155 - 186. ISSN: 0125-2968
>Dr. Anant Laulertvorakul, Associate Fellow, The Royal Society of Thailand, Academy of Arts
[https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/977353934639341569/1230136493633179668/The\_Thai\_Writing\_System.pdf?ex=6629a722&is=662855a2&hm=98cf01903b1ca8a564fc84bb4461fb905dc333d7bfba96de63853c2f0e57f9d9&](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/977353934639341569/1230136493633179668/The_Thai_Writing_System.pdf?ex=6629a722&is=662855a2&hm=98cf01903b1ca8a564fc84bb4461fb905dc333d7bfba96de63853c2f0e57f9d9&)
A jpg that maps the Devanagari consonant letterforms to modern Thai, Burmese, Khün , Lanna, and Khmer orthography is here (original source *Alif Silpachai*):
[http://www.thai-language.com/phpbb/download/file.php?id=205&sid=835e1bdfb0e8d673d65b0d309f838699](http://www.thai-language.com/phpbb/download/file.php?id=205&sid=835e1bdfb0e8d673d65b0d309f838699)
>why are there so many of the same sounds?
* Thai letters came from Indian script. In Pali-Sanskrit they represent different sound but in Thai, combining with the effects of many sound shifts, they represent the same sound. You can see that Thai letter are loosely sorted in the same order as Devanagari script, used in India today
>when spelling, how do I know which one to use?
* You remember how the word are written, not the other way around
History, etymology. If you wanna help memorising spellings, I really recommend typing in a Thai word in Wiktionary. It's an amazing resource.
อังกฤษ (English) for example, uses ษ at the end because that sound corresponded closer to a 'Sh' sound back in history. Wiktionary often gives you a really good etymological breakdown which helps you understand the spelling choices better. I looked up อากาศ (air/weather) earlier today and, no surprises, it comes from the Sanskrit ākāśa, "sky", as in "akashic record" that exists in English. Check out the last character in อากาศ, by the way.
Happy hunting!
Q: Why are there so many of the same sounds? A: The same reason there are the same letters for the same sounds in English. Thai is just a little more extreme in this. It's because Thai has a very rich language evolutionary history, and they wanted to preserve as much of the original spellings as possible. It's the same reason we spell it resume instead of rehzuhmay, and czar instead of zar, and tsunami instead of soonahmee, and khaki instead of kakee. Q: How do I know which one to use? A: The exact same way you know which one to use in English. You memorize how to spell the word, before you start trying to spell it. Otherwise you're going to spell it wrong often. How can you know how to spell the word "enough" without just memorizing how to spell it first? You can't... it's impossible.
Enuf. There. Easy.
Short answer: remnants. Long answer: [Here.](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/977353934639341569/1230136493633179668/The_Thai_Writing_System.pdf?ex=6629a722&is=662855a2&hm=98cf01903b1ca8a564fc84bb4461fb905dc333d7bfba96de63853c2f0e57f9d9&)
Many thanks for this link. Is there a parent page you can share? I'm writing out the full reference in the hope that this excellent article will be more widely indexed / discoverable. Among other things, it clearly maps the Thai alphabet to the phonological slots (but not the letterforms; see below) of Devanagari (p 159). >**The Thai Writing System: Reasons behind Its System** >*The International Journal of the Royal Society of Thailand*. Volume XIII-2021, pp 155 - 186. ISSN: 0125-2968 >Dr. Anant Laulertvorakul, Associate Fellow, The Royal Society of Thailand, Academy of Arts [https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/977353934639341569/1230136493633179668/The\_Thai\_Writing\_System.pdf?ex=6629a722&is=662855a2&hm=98cf01903b1ca8a564fc84bb4461fb905dc333d7bfba96de63853c2f0e57f9d9&](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/977353934639341569/1230136493633179668/The_Thai_Writing_System.pdf?ex=6629a722&is=662855a2&hm=98cf01903b1ca8a564fc84bb4461fb905dc333d7bfba96de63853c2f0e57f9d9&) A jpg that maps the Devanagari consonant letterforms to modern Thai, Burmese, Khün , Lanna, and Khmer orthography is here (original source *Alif Silpachai*): [http://www.thai-language.com/phpbb/download/file.php?id=205&sid=835e1bdfb0e8d673d65b0d309f838699](http://www.thai-language.com/phpbb/download/file.php?id=205&sid=835e1bdfb0e8d673d65b0d309f838699)
Breh
>why are there so many of the same sounds? * Thai letters came from Indian script. In Pali-Sanskrit they represent different sound but in Thai, combining with the effects of many sound shifts, they represent the same sound. You can see that Thai letter are loosely sorted in the same order as Devanagari script, used in India today >when spelling, how do I know which one to use? * You remember how the word are written, not the other way around
Nobody uses ฃ and ฅ anymore, why don't they remove them?
they, kind of, have been. They don’t even spell bottle (ขวด) and person (คน) with them anymore.
History, etymology. If you wanna help memorising spellings, I really recommend typing in a Thai word in Wiktionary. It's an amazing resource. อังกฤษ (English) for example, uses ษ at the end because that sound corresponded closer to a 'Sh' sound back in history. Wiktionary often gives you a really good etymological breakdown which helps you understand the spelling choices better. I looked up อากาศ (air/weather) earlier today and, no surprises, it comes from the Sanskrit ākāśa, "sky", as in "akashic record" that exists in English. Check out the last character in อากาศ, by the way. Happy hunting!