Presentation - ECV2024-566

Children’s speech development: Thai

Sumalai MAROONROGE, Texas A&M International University, USA (sumalai.maroonroge@tamiu.edu)
Preeya LORWATANAPONGSA, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand (lpreeya@hotmail.com)
Benjamas PRATHANEE, Khon Kaen University, Thailand, Thailand (bprathanee@gmail.com)

The Thai language, the official spoken and literary language of Thailand, is part of the Sino-Tibetan language family of Southeast Asia. Thai uses a phonemic alphabet system with 44 consonant forms, 32 vowel symbols, and four lexical tones. Thai grammar is simple, with no articles, tenses, or gender; however, the phonetic aspect of the language is complex. There are normative data on typical children ages 0 to 7 years of age. The age of acquisition for Thai speech sounds is mastered by 5-6 years of age, except for some complicated sounds. Most speech-language pathologists develop their own tests to assess children’s speech and there are two versions of the Thai Speech and Language Test (TSLT). Common intervention modalities identified include individual or group treatment sessions and parent involvement. Articulation therapy, phonological therapy, and speech intelligibility interventions have been used with some modifications to fit individual cases. Academic training programs and the national professional organization are committed to quality clinical service to further research, standardized assessment tools, and improve intervention protocols.

Key words:
Thai, Central Thai dialect, multilingual, communication, speech, language, children’s development, interdisciplinary, international communities, assessment, intervention

Book chapter:
Maroonroge, S. Lorwatanapongsa, P., & Prathanee, B. (2025). Thai speech development. In S. McLeod (Ed.). The Oxford handbook of speech development in languages of the world. Oxford University Press.

Language overview presentation:

This presentation relates to the following United Nations Sustainable Development Goals:

Scroll to Top