44 Consonants?!
I've been trying to spend some time on language-learning before we leave using a combination of Rosetta Stone, podcasts, and the Thai for Beginners book and CD's. Here are some descriptions of the language (from Thai for Beginners) that illustrate why learning it is...a challenge (to put it mildly): "Every Thai syllable starts with a consonant (even if the consonant is a silent /-/). Although the consonant sound comes first, the vowel may be written before, above, below, after or around the consonant depending on the vowel." The Thai alphabet, by the way, consists of 44 consonants and 32 vowels.
Of course memorizing the alphabet could prove to be the easiest part of the language-learning experience. The book direly warns that "Because Thai is a tonal language, its pronunciation presents new challenges for English speakers. If the tone is wrong, you will not be easily understood even if everything else is correct."
In spite of all that, I am enjoying the slow process of learning about this language - it's been a while since I've gotten so excited about being able to read a two letter word!
In other news...this coming Saturday afternoon we're driving to central Indiana. We'll speak at Bean Blossom Mennonite Church on Sunday morning and then at Berea Mennonite Church in the evening. We haven't done many programs yet, so we're still figuring out how to do this, but we're looking forward to sharing our vision for Thailand with these congregations.
-Tom