Consonants

Consonants are generally pronounced as they are in English, with a few unexpected twists:

c as in ancient

p unaspirated, as in spot

k unaspirated, as in skin

ph as in upholstery

kh as in backhand

t unaspirated, as in stop

ṃ & ṅ as ng

th as in Thomas

ñ as in cañon (canyon)

v as w

Certain two-lettered notations — bh, dh, ḍh, gh, jh — denote an aspirated sound, somewhat in the throat, that we do not have in English and that the Thais do not have in their language, either. The Thai solution to this problem is to pronounce bh as a throaty ph, dh as a throaty th, and gh as a throaty kh.

Pāli also contains retroflex consonants, indicated with a dot under the letter: ḍ, ḍh, ḷ, ṇ, ṭ, ṭh. These have no English equivalent. They are sounded by curling the tip of the tongue back against the palate, producing a distinct nasal tone.