Thai-English English-Thai Dictionary for Non-Thai Speakers, Revised Edition (Dictionary) [Paperback]

Benjawan Poomsan Becker (Author, Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2002 | Series: Dictionary

This practical dictionary is designed to help English speakers communicate in Thai. It is equally useful for those who can read the Thai alphabet and those who can't. Most Thai-English dictionaries either use Thai script exclusively for the Thai entries (making them difficult for westerners to use) or use only phonetic transliteration (making it impossible to look up a word in Thai script). This dictionary solves these problems by dividing the entries into three sections: Section One [English-Phonetic-Thai], Section Two [Phonetic-Thai-English] and Section Three [Thai-Phonetic-English]. The transliteration system is the same as that used in Paiboon Publishing's other books. You will find most of the vocabulary you are likely to need in everyday life, including basic medical, cultural, political and scientific terms.

Here are some of the features:

Consistent and accurate phonetic transcription of Thai sounds for those unable to read the Thai alphabet
A comprehensive guide to pronunciation
Thai script for those who read Thai
All entries organized in three easy to use sections
Thai alphabet guide showing different styles of Thai script to help you read shop signs and newspaper headlines

It's the ONE Dictionary You Can Really Use!

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Benjawan Poomsan Becker was born in Bangkok and spent her childhood in Yasothon, a small province in Northeast Thailand. Her family is ethnic Laotian, so she grew up speaking both Thai and Lao. She graduated from Khon Kaen University in Thailand in 1990, with a B.A. in English. Benjawan gained extensive experience teaching Thai to foreigners while studying for her M.A. in Japan with the Japan-Thailand Trade Association and Berlitz Language School, and in the US with Thai temples, Stanford University and private students. She now resides in Berkeley, California where she continues to write and publish books on the Thai and Lao languages. She also has a translation and interpretation business. Her books include "Thai for Beginners", "Thai for Intermediate Learners", "Thai for Advanced Readers", "Thai-English/English-Thai Dictionary for Non-Thai Speakers", "Improving Your Thai Pronunciation", "Practical Thai Conversation DVD Series", the popular "Speak Like a Thai Series" and many other titles on the Thai language.

Product Details

• Paperback: 658 pages
• Publisher: Paiboon Publishing; Revised edition (January 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1887521143
• ISBN-13: 978-1887521147
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #81,025 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #5 in Books > Education & Reference > Dictionaries & Thesauruses > Foreign Language > Thai
  • #19 in Books > Education & Reference > Foreign Languages > Instruction > Southeast Asian
  • #55 in Books > Travel > Asia > Southeast

More About the Author

Benjawan Poomsan Becker was born in Bangkok and spent her childhood in Yasothon, a small province in Northeast Thailand. Her family is ethnic Laotian, so she grew up speaking both Thai and Lao. She recevied a B.A. in English with first class honor from Khon Kaen University, Thailand. While obtaining her M.A. in Japan, she gained extensive experience teaching Thai to foreigners at the Japan Thailand Trade Association and the Berlitz Language School. In the United States, she taught Thai language at Stanford University, at several Thai temples, and in private classes. She operated a successful Thai and Lao translation business and is a registered Thai and Lao court interpreter in the state of California. She now resides in Berkeley, California where she continues to write and publish the leading learning books on the Thai and Lao languages. Her latest book, "The Interpreter's Journal" is the recipient of the 2011 Asian Book Publishing Award for Best Book / Best Writer on Asian Socio-Economic or Media scene.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not the end-all and be-all but necessary..., August 19, 2005

By 

E. A. PISARZ "tonypace01" (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Thai-English English-Thai Dictionary for Non-Thai Speakers, Revised Edition (Dictionary) (Paperback)

Bad news:
Print is too small. Anyone with eyes over 40 years old will be looking for a magnifying glass to supplement their glasses, just as one needs one to read the message he is printing here. But dictionaries are supposed to be reference materials, not teaching resources. I wrote to the publisher and asked if there was a version for people with real eyes. His response was that what you see (or don't see) is what you get.
In both Thailand and the U.S. I haunted bookstore after bookstore for a more flexible dictionary and found none.
Good news: in conjunction with other learning guides, this dictionary is the best. If you want to learn pronunciation, get something on disk.
Until someone comes out with something in larger print, this is as good as you'll get.

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thai Dictionary, September 20, 2005

By 

James Kelly (Denver CO USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Thai-English English-Thai Dictionary for Non-Thai Speakers, Revised Edition (Dictionary) (Paperback)

This is the best dictionary on Thai I have seen to date, and I have looked at a lot of them. Although the transliteration
system (The Romanized version for English speakers) is probably the most unique and difficult to learn and remember, will easily result in the most accurate pronounciation. The transliteration system is worth learning, and puts all other transliteration systems in second class (as far as winding up with the correct pronounciation) at best.

The book has English-to-Romanized-Thai, Romanized-Thai-to English, and "real"-Thai-script-to-English, easily making
it the most useful of all the ones I have seen to date.

As this dictionary is fairly comprehensive, it is also a bit thick, making it a little difficult to travel with, but this dictionary is a MUST for anyone trying to learn any Thai at
all.

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thai-English/English-Thai Dictionary, February 18, 2006

By 

Clark L. Scarborough "Clark" (Houston, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Thai-English English-Thai Dictionary for Non-Thai Speakers, Revised Edition (Dictionary) (Paperback)

The beginning has very useful information to decipher this difficult language (vocabaluary, how to write the letters, what the different fonts look like). Then there is a large section for English-Thai (the Thai script is small, so you need a magnifiying glass for it), then a section of English written Thai - Thai script (very good but you have to learn how to write the English equivalent of Thai sounds). Third section is Thai script to English. I have many Thai books and dictionaries, but this one is the most requested by my friends learning Thai.