hai is one of three Southeast Asian languages offered at SAIS. The M.A. and Ph.D. programs require demonstrated proficiency, which includes the ability to understand conversation, a command of the spoken language sufficient for the exchange of political and economic substance in conversation with a native speaker, and the ability to read primary sources and other materials in the international relations field with accuracy and relative speed. As of 2005-06 thirteen students were studying Thai. SAIS offers beginning, intermediate, and advanced instruction in Thai. hai is a member of the Tai family of languages which are dispersed over a wide area of Asia from northern Vietnam to northern India. It is the national language of Thailand and spoken by nearly 55 million people. Distinct dialects are spoken in the north, the northeast and the south of the country, but the language of the Central Region is regarded as the standard and is used both in schools and for official purposes throughout the country. hai is a tonal language and quite unlike European languages in its grammar. Thus, like many other Southeast Asian languages, Thai can use the same form of a noun to indicate both singular and plural meanings and the same form of a verb to indicate a variety of tenses; this sometimes tempts westerners to draw the erroneous conclusion that the language has no grammar. Thai is written in an alphabetic script that was ultimately derived from South India; words are not separated as in western languages, and vowels, like those in many Indian and South East Asian scripts, sometimes appear above a consonant, below it, in front of it, or even surrounding it on three sides. n 1997 SAIS inaugurated a program to stimulate interest in Thailand by bringing Thai nationals to Washington and sending Americans to Thailand on summer internships -- thereby creating a group of young people on both sides of the Pacific who will have a life-long commitment to the relationship between the two countries. The program emphasizes direct aid to Thai students, Thai language instruction in Washington, and conferences to enhance interest in Thailand. Distinguished visiting professors from Thailand occasionally teach and conduct research at SAIS. To download the Thai language brochure, please click here.
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