There are about 12 American English vowel sounds that many Thai speakers have a difficult time producing.
Monophthongs:
- [ɪ] as in bid. Many Thais substitute this sound with [i] as in beat.
- [ɛ] as bed. Many Thais substitute this sound with [e] which does not exist in most mainstream American English varieties. (Note: [e] is NOT [ej] as in bake.)
- [ɑ] as in father. Many Thais substitute this sound with [a] (อา) which is fronter, and it is not in mainstream American English.
- [ʊ] as good. Many Thais substitute this sound with [u] as in boot.
- [ʌ] as in bud. Many Thais substitute this sound with [a] like they do with [ɑ] (mentioned above).
- [ɚ] as in bird. Many Thais substitute this sound with [ɤ] (เออ) which is a little bit backer; "unrounded o."
- [ə] as in sofa. Many Thais substitute this sound with [ɤ] like they do with [ɚ] (mentioned above).
- [ɑ] in pot, not, got. Many Thais substitute this sound with [ɔ] (ออ).
- [ej] as in way. Many Thais substitute this sound with [e] like they do with [ɛ] (mentioned above).
- [ow] as in show. Many Thais substitute this sound with [o] which does not exist in mainstream American English.
- [ʊɚ] as in moor. Many Thais substitute this sound with [ua] or [uə] which is quite close to American English but not rhoticized.
- [ɛɚ] as in hair. Many Thais substitute this sound with [ɛ] (the r is dropped).
Some Thai speakers might find some of these sounds easier to master than others. I hope this article is helpful.
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