Thai is the official language of Thailand, the primary language of 60 Million people throughout the country. Thai belongs to the Tai-Kadai language family, originating in Southern China.
The Official form of Thai is Standard Thai or Central Thai. Thai is closely related to the Lao language and script. Many people in Laos are able to speak and write Thai (although the other way around is less common).
Thai consists of 44 consonants, almost all of which (except 5) having 2 sounds; one in an initial or medial position, and another as a final consonant. Diacritics in Thai can either be in front, above, below or after a consonant. In addition, Thai uses markers to indicate tones. The Thai language uses 5 tones as follows: high, low, rising, falling, and middle tone. There are no spaces between words; spaces are used to indicate the end of a paragraph or topic.
