Using the Dictionary

The dictionary functions in 3 different audio modes and 4 different search modes.

Search Modes

The search mode options can be set by checking radio buttons below the look up text entry box (see Figure 1).

Figure 1

Search Type - Either Broad or Narrow can be selected, the default mode is Broad.  When you enter a phrase containing 2 or more words in the search box, Broad mode will return dictionary entries that contain any of the words in the search term.  Narrow mode will return only the dictionary entries that contain all of the words in the search term.

Search Language - Either English or Thai can be selected, the default mode is English.  When set to English the English words in the database will be queried for a match to the look up term.   Please note that the database uses a system of English and non English characters to represent the phonetic Thai words.  This can make the 'correct spelling' of any Thai word somewhat hit and miss.  To work around this it is possible to use a combination of Broad mode and Thai mode to return words that look similar but have different tones.  This can be helpful if you are confused by the variety of tones and cannot remember which tone a particular word has.   Using the Narrow mode and Thai mode combination will return the exact word entered and can be used if you are quite familiar with the system that we use to represent tones. For more information on the phonetic Thai system please refer to the section on phonetic Thai.

Audio Modes

Audio Off - This is the dictionary's default operation mode.  A site pass is not needed to use the dictionary in this mode, however it will not be possible to listen to any of the audio examples.

Limited Audio - Anyone may receive a guest site pass and listen to 10 audio example clips from the dictionary. Only 1 guest site pass per user is allowed.

Full Audio - Registered users of our software may receive a full site pass and listen to all of the audio in the online dictionary.

Audio Button Status Guide:

	The button looks like this while data is loading, e.g. during page or audio clip loading.
	The button looks like this in Audio Off mode, or if the 10 clip audio limit has been used up in the Limited Audio mode.
	The button looks like this in the Limited Audio mode.  The guest site pass allows the user to listen to 10 audio clips.  The credit value shows the number of clips that were left when the page was last refreshed.
	The button looks like this in the Full Audio mode.  The full site pass allows users to listen to all of the dictionary's audio.

Data Loading - If the audio clip is relatively long, and the internet connection is slow then the loading timeout may be exceeded.  In this case the audio button may change from it's loading state to the blue ready state before any audio is heard.  

IF YOU CLICK THE BUTTON AND IT TURNS BACK TO BLUE WITHOUT ANY AUDIO BEING HEARD, THEN CLICK THE BUTTON AGAIN.  

Of course make sure that your speakers are switched on and that your soundcard is functioning before you use the audio features of the dictionary. 

Browser Performance - We carried out back to back tests using MS Internet Explorer 5.0 and Netscape^® Communicator 4.72.  MSIE generally performed much better than Netscape, with significantly fewer instances where repeat clicks were necessary to hear the audio.  Frequent instances of incorrect audio button load up were noted with Netscape when several search results were returned.

Another as yet unresolved bug with the Netscape version we tested is text wrapping.  With long phrases the Thai script does not wrap onto the second line.  This is believed to be due to the way that Netscape passes variables to Flash.  This was not a problem with the version of MSIE that we tested.

Any feedback on browser performance from users is welcome.

Phonetic Thai

There are many systems that attempt to transliterate between the Thai and English alphabets.  Students of Thai quickly realise that these systems can be inconsistent and often confusing.   We represent the phonetic Thai using a system of English and non-English characters, and stick to it consistently.  It may be over simplified in some cases, but when used with the audio examples it will provide the student with a good understanding of what is being spoken.

The system that we use is shown in the tables below, together with examples to demonstrate the 5 tones used in Thai.

Table 1  Consonants

Voice	b	as in bit
Voiceless	p	unaspirated as in spit
Voiceless	ph	aspirated as in pill
Voiceless	p or b	unreleased for final
Voice	d	as in doll
Voiceless	t	unaspirated as in still
Voiceless	th	aspirated as in till
Voiceless	t or d	unreleased for final
Voiceless	k	unaspirated as in skill
Voiceless	kh	aspirated as in kill
Voiceless	k or g	unreleased for final
Voiceless	ch	unaspirated as in chair
Voiceless	j	aspirated as in jeep
Nasal	ng	as in sing
Nasal	m	as in moon
Nasal	n	as in noon
	s	as in sun
	f	as in fun
	h	as in hat
	l	as in lice
	r	as in rice
	w	as in way
	y	as in yet

 

Table 2  Vowels

i	Like English vowel sound in 'it'
ii	Like English vowel sound in 'beat'
e	Like English vowel sound in 'hen'
ee	Like English vowel sound in 'bait'
air	Like English vowel sound in 'air'
u	Like English vowel sound in 'flute'
uu	Like English vowel sound in 'boot'
o	Like English vowel sound in 'bone'
oo	Like English vowel sound in 'toe'
or	Like English vowel sound in 'awe'
eu	Made by raising the center part of the tongue whilst keeping the lips in a relaxed or protracted position.
ur	Like English vowel sound in 'burp'
a	Like English vowel sound 'a' in 'about'
aa	Like English vowel sound 'a' in 'father'
ia	Like English vowel sound in 'ear'
ua	u plus a without a pause or break in between.
eua	eu plus a without a pause or break in between.
ay	Like English vowel sound in 'eye'
aw	Like English vowel sound in 'now'

 

Table 3  Tongue position

	Front	Central	Back
High	i   ii	eu	uu   u
Middle	ee   e	ur	oo   o
Low	air	aa   a	or

 

Table 4  Tones representation using non-English characters with short and long vowel sounds

1	Middle	a, aa	e, ee	i, ii	o, oo	u, uu
2	Low	à, àa	è, èe	ì, ìi	ò, òo	ù, ùu
3	Falling	â, âa	ê, êe	î, îi	ô, ôo	û, ûu
4	High	á, áa	é, ée	í, íi	ó, óo	ú, úu
5	Rising	ã, àá	ë, èé	ï, ìí	õ, òó	ü, ùú

 

Table 5  Tones Example - counting

	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	100	1000
Middle													phan
Low		neùng			sìi		hòk	jèt	pàirt		sìp
Falling						hâa				kâaw
High												róry
Rising	sùún		sõrng	sàám