With the acquisition of a word from another languages in the Thai vocabulary maybe an impossible combination for the Thai grammar will occur. Impossible in this sense, for example, are words like:

Foreign word Impossible Thai Why? Solution in Thai
Maik (Name) ใมค An "ai" cannot be followed by a consonant ใมค์
Karl (Name) คารล Not pronounceable double final consonants คาร์ล
Egypt อียิปต Not pronounceable double final consonants อียิปต์
Organ ออรแกน "r" at the end of a syllable is impossible ออร์แกน
Highway ไฮเวย No double vowels, no defined diphthong for "e-i" ไฮเวย์

The foreign word will be taken as closely as possible, but "impossible" sounds will be muted

 

I. Thai words

For pure Thai words, no Garan is used. Exceptions are found only in the poetic language in order to force words to the phrase.

 

II. Words from Eastern languages

In words from other Asian languages the Garan can appear only at the ending of a word:

Thai Transcription Notes
ธำมรงค์ [tham-- ma/ rong--] n. roy. Ring;
มาห์ [ma:--] n. Daemon, Ghost
ม่าห์ [ma:/\]
ยักษ์ [yak/] n. Figure from the Ramayana-Epos, Giant
มนุษย์ [ma/ nut/] n. Human

 

III. Words from Pali and Sanskrit

Acquired words from Pali and Sanskrit have an Garan only at the end of a syllable. This allows multiple characters to be switched simultaneously mute.

In Pali and Sanskrit words whose final consonant bears a vowel, the vowel is not pronounced. A Garan is not necessary in this case.

Thai Transcription Notes
เกตุ [ge:t\] pn. P. S. Neptune;
จักรพรรดิ [jak\ gra\ phat/] n. P. S. emperor, ruler of empire;
โชติ [tscho:t/\] n. P. prosperity, success
ธาตุ [tha:t/\] n. P. S. essence, nature, reality, substance
พยาธิ [pha/ ya:t/\] n. P. S. worm
นิติ [nit/] adj. P. legal, lawfully
สมโพธิ [som\/ pho:t/\] n. P. enlightenment
สมมติ [som\/ mot/] v. assume, concoct, presume, suppose
ภูมิ [phu:m--] n. P. earthen land, ground

 

In compound words, where the first syllable is one of the above words, the vowel is pronounced. What was a final consonant before is now the beginning consonant of an extra syllable:

Thai Transcription Notes
นิติ [nit/] adj. P. legal, lawfully
นิติกร [ni/ ti\ ga:wn--] n. lawyer, solicitor, advocate

 

In Pali and Sanskrit words that have additional consonants with or without a vowel after the final consonant, these are muted together:

Thai Transcription Notes
บริสุทธิ์ [ba:w-- ri/ sut\] n. P. cleanness, purity
พันธุ์ [phan--] n. bloodline, lineage
รามเกียรติ์ [ra:m-- ma/ gi:an--] pn. Ramayana (the oldest of the Sanskrit epic poems)
ศักดิ์สิทธิ์ [sak\ sit\] adj. consecrated, divine, holy, oracular, sacramental, sacred, sainted;
สวัสดิ์ [sa\ wat\] n. blessing, good fortune;
สวาสดิ์ [sa\ wa:t\] v. be pleased, love;
สินธุ์ [sin\/] n. anc. poet. P. stream, ocean
กษัตริย์ [ga\ sat\] n. P. S. king (general);
ศัพท์ [sap\] n. term, word
อนันต์ [a\ nan--] adj. P. S. countless, endless, eternally
กาญจน์ [ga:n--] n. P. money, gold, wealth
ลักษมณ์ [lak/] n. S. sign

 

This is not the case if a follows after the final consonant. That counts as a double final consonant, in which the is muted anyway:

Thai Transcription Notes
กอปร [ga:wp\] v. anc. have, possess
จักร [jak\] n. poet. Vishu's chakra, circle, discus
ตาลปัตร [ta:-- la/ bpat\] n. Talipot, fan for monks
บัตร [bat\] n. P. testimonial, coupon, ticket
เพชร [phet/] n. diamond
ปริตร [pa\ rit\] n. S. resistance
มาตร [ma:t/\] n. S. count, quantity
มิตร [mit/] n. P. S. ally, associate, buddy, companion, comrade, fellow, friend
ยุรยาตร [yu/ ra/ ja:t/\] v. walk gracefully
วิจิตร [wi/ jit\] adj. artistic, beautiful, dainty, elaborate, exquisite, fine
สมัคร [sa\ mak\] v. P. S. apply, be a candidate for, enlist, enroll, make application for
สมุทร [sa\ mut\] n. ocean, see;

 

If the on the end of a syllable no final consonant and not part of a double final consonant, it is also muted by Garan:

Thai Transcription Notes
เทเวศร์ [the:-- we:t/\] n. P.S. king, monarch, sovereign
พยาฆร์ [pha/ ya:k/\] n. zool. (big) tiger
ศุกร์ [suk\] adj. bright, clean, clear
จันทร์ [jan--] pn. Monday, Moon
พัสตร์ [phat/] n. P. S. cloth
พักตร์ [phak/] n. S. face, mouth, muzzle, snout
มนตร์ [mon--] n. P. holy, incantation, magic, magical, mantra
ยนตร์ [yon--] n. P. motor
ศาสตร์ [sa:t\] n. S. knowledge, science, subject of teaching
เสาร์ [sau\/] pn. S. Saturn
อินทร์ [in--] pn. S. Indra (Hindu deity)

 

IV. Words from Western languages

Garan in englischen Lehnwörtern rühren meist von (bei uns aussprechbaren) Doppelkonsonanten her. Sie können mitten im Wort erscheinen oder am Ende, auch mehrfach. Sie schalten aber niemals mehrere Zeichen auf einmal stumm.

Thai Transcription Notes
การ์ด [ga:t\] n. E. card, greeting card, guard
คริสต์ [khrit/] pn. E. Christ (short for Christianity)
คอลัมน์ [kha:w-- lam/\] n. E. column, file, line, row, string
ดอลลาร์ [da:wn-- la:--] n. E. Dollar
ปอนด์ [pa:wn--] n. E. Pound
เปอร์เซ็นต์ [poe:-- sen--] n. E. per cent, percent, percentage
ฟาร์ม [fa:m--] n. E. farm
ฟิล์ม [fim--] n. E. film
เมล์ [me:--] n. E. mail
ไมล์ [may--] n. E. mile
ออนซ์ [a:wn--] n. E. ounce;
เอ็กซเรย์ [ek/ sa\ re:--] n. E. X-Ray
อียิปต์ [i:-- yip\] pn. Egypt
ไฮด์ปาร์ค [hay-- bpa:k\] n. E. Hydepark

In the case of a second as final consonant is this treated like a Thai double final consonant and not muted. This underscores the effort to adapt foreign words to the Thai rules.

Thai Umschrift Anmerkungen
เมตร [me:t/\] n. E. metre
ลิตร [lit/] n. E. litre

 

V. Why to mute?

Why the end of the words are written if they are not to speak?

Besides the reference to the original words remain words distinguishable with fundamentally different meanings in the written language, that are pronounced the same in the spoken language:

An example of "mon" to show that a differentiation of different words is absolutely necessary:

Thai Transcription Notes
มน [mon--] adj. P. fixed in place, not moving, stationary
มนต์ n. allure, appeal, attraction, charm, fascination
มนตร์ n. P. holy, incantation, magic, mantra
มนท์ pn. Saturn;

 

 

 

Mute with and without Garan

Sometimes one or more written characters are not spoken.

The special characters used for this purpose is actually ไม้ทัณฑฆาต [mai/ tan-- ta/ kha:t/\], but is commonly called Garan (การันต์[ga:-- ran--]).

A thereby labeled consonant - sometimes more, with and without vowel - is not pronounced. Why it is written?

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