Is Thai related to Mandarin?

They’re both tonal languages, but they’re not in the same language family, despite what linguists tended to believe some 15 years ago. Thai belongs to the Kra-Dai language family and has 5 tones. Mandarin is related to the Sino-Tibetan language family, and the Chinese uses 4 tones.

How many Chinese can speak Mandarin?

According to the 2019 edition of Ethnologue, 904,000,000 people in China spoke some variety of Mandarin as their first language in 2017.

Are Thais ethnically Chinese?

Demographics. Thailand has the largest overseas Chinese community in the world outside Greater China. 11 to 14 percent of Thailand’s population are considered ethnic Chinese.

Does Thai borrow words from Chinese?

The Thai language has many borrowed words from mainly Sanskrit, Tamil, Pali and some Prakrit, Khmer, Portuguese, Dutch, certain Chinese dialects and more recently, Arabic (in particular many Islamic terms) and English (in particular many scientific and technological terms). Some examples as follows: Sanskrit.

Is Cantonese or Mandarin harder?

Cantonese is seen to be more difficult because it has from 6 to 9 tones, each of which signify different things (while Mandarin only has 4 tones). In addition, because of its greater prevalence, it is easier to find Mandarin study materials than Cantonese study materials.

Are Chinese and Thai food the same?

The Long Answer: While some may see these two different cuisines as interchangeable, they’re completely different from one another with very little in common. Both Thai and Chinese foods make use of noodles and rice in their dishes, and that’s where their similarities begin and end.

Can Thai people speak Cantonese or Mandarin?

So the answer is nobody can speak Cantonese but a few can speak limited Mandarin. Some Thai Chinese can speak mandarin. But due to the current situation, many Thais have also start picking up mandarin especially those in the tourism industry due to the high influx of china tourist. Cantonese is a dialect.

What languages do Thai Chinese speak in Thailand?

Most Thai Chinese can’t speak any Chinese languages fluently. They are just like Indonesian Chinese who can’t speak their mother tongue anymore. There are a few traders in Thailand Chinatown who can speak a little Mandarin because they deal with Chinese tourists but their vocabulary is very limited to prices…

What is the third language of the Thais?

The third and later gens of Chinese Thais, regardless of being of Teochew, Cantonese, Hainanese, Hakka, or Hokkien, speak Thai as their first language.

What are the different types of Chinese languages?

Central Thai, Southwestern Mandarin, Malay, Southern Thai, Isan Lao, Lanna and Mandarin Chinese (dominant and supplementary) Teochew, Hokkien, Hainanese, Henghua, Cantonese, Hakka and Foochow (historical)