The following is a redacted report that I have done as a sample of what happens in one of my Speech Analysis projects / Reports. The general flow is:

2. Learner records a 60-90sec specimen (audio - video optional) of them speaking, introducing themselves and talking about their language journey - or any other topic that they can talk on for 90 sec. If they need to switch out of the target language, that's okay - it's all about getting that baseline
3. If possible, record another 60-90sec clip interacting with a native speaker in the language - try and do most of the talking though (sometimes the native speaker takes most of the recording up). This is to see how you interact in the language
4. I will go through and analyse the clip using tools that I have that are relevant to the learner's needs.
5. I'll provide an analysis report and recommendations that should be able to form a base for a study plan over the next 3 to 6 months.

Sample Speech Analysis Report - Download

You can download the following sample report from the above link.

Thai Language Speech Analysis : [Name Redacted]

The following is a Thai language analysis based on a video clip titled Thai Audio Sample.mp4. This analysis was carried out on Thursday, 19th December 2024.

Overall Summary

The speaker's Thai speech demonstrates a commendable effort to adopt Thai tones, pronunciation, and structure. Key strengths include accurate tones on many vowels and consonants, along with a clear intention to improve. However, English sound patterns and habits occasionally influence pronunciation and rhythm, leading to unnatural tones and vowel sounds. Moving forward, the focus should be on identifying and overcoming these English habits while refining vowel placement and tonal accuracy. A structured practice routine addressing these aspects will yield significant improvements.

Time-stamped Analysis

00:00 - สวัสดีครับ ผมชื่อ

Things Done Well

• Tones sound natural.
• The ending of "ครับ" is pronounced well without unnecessary aspiration.

Things To Improve

• ผม (phom): The "o" sound is slightly too wide, making it sound closer to a short "อ" between "ph" and "m".
• ชื่อ (ch̄ūe): While you’ve made a great effort to close the tongue and produce the correct vowel, the mouth is too tense. Relaxation is key for producing vowels like "อือ" and "เอือ" naturally.
• The tone on "ชื่อ" is accurate.

00:03 - ผมย้ายมาเชียงใหม่ 16 เดือนที่แล้ว

Things Done Well

• The แ vowel in "แล้ว" is pronounced accurately, with the correct tone.
• Vowels overall sound natural.

Things To Improve

• เชียงใหม่: The word "ใหม่" has a rising tone, but it should be a low tone pinned to the throat.

ผมย้ายมา: The rising tone used at the end of "มา" mimics an English pattern of seeking confirmation, leading to "มา" sounding like "หมา" (dog). This tone should remain flat.

You can see the tone in the spectral pitch display above - you can see in the middle, the tone is rising up at the end (this is your word มา), and again at the end in ใหม่ ‘mai’

The pitch contours should look more like this for ‘I moved to Chiangmai’ ผมย้ายมาเชียงใหม่ - you can see that these are common and low tones - these contours don’t rise at the end of those syllables. 

• Recommendations:
  • Identify English "ticks" (e.g., rising tones at the end of phrases) and avoid them.
  • Practise speaking Thai sentences without English sound envelopes.
  • Recite Thai numbers with consistent tones, regardless of energy or mood.
• Aspirated Endings:
  • On words like หก (hok, "six"), ensure the final "k" is unaspirated. In Thai, stop endings (e.g., ก, ด, ป) require a glottal stop, perfectly timed with mouth closure.
• เอือ vowel in เดือน:
  • The high effort in producing the vowel creates tension, restricting its natural flow. Practice transitioning from a tense to a relaxed mouth position for "expanding vowels" like เอีย, เอือ, and อัว.
  • Target vowel IPA: ɯə.

00:10 - ผมเรียนภาษาไทยกับครูมา 19 เดือน

Things Done Well

• Initial consonants like "ก" and "ด" sound distinctly Thai.
• The rolled ร is well-executed without being excessive, which is suitable for formal contexts.

Things To Improve

• Rephrase for natural flow:
  • "ผมเรียนภาษาไทยกับคุณครูได้ 19 เดือนมาแล้ว" respects teachers by using "คุณครู" and flows more naturally.
• ภาษาไทย rhythm:
  • Both vowels in ภาษา are long, but you’re shortening the second syllable, giving it an unnatural English rhythm. Practice elongating the second syllable (ษา) with a rising tone.
  • Avoid dragging out the "a" in ไทย. Keep the ไ vowel short and precise.
• กับ tone:
  • The word กับ should have a low tone, but you’re giving it a rising tone.
• ครู vowel:
  • The อู vowel is too forward in the mouth. Shift the tongue back and round the lips more.
  • Resource: Vowel Compass.
• เอา vowel in สิบเก้า:
  • The เอา vowel in "สิบเก้า" is mispronounced as แอว, making it sound like "สิบแก้ว" (ten glasses). Practice delineating the vowel placement between เอา and แอว.

00:18 - ผมอ่านและเขียนภาษาไทยได้

Things Done Well

• The sentence is clear and understandable.

Things To Improve

• More natural phrasing:
  • "ผมทั้งอ่าน ทั้งเขียนภาษาไทยได้" or "ภาษาไทย ผมทั้งอ่าน ทั้งเขียนได้" would flow better in conversation.
• อ่าน tone:
  • Avoid placing an English pitch envelope on "อ่าน"; it must always carry a low tone.
• เขียน vowel:
  • The second part of the เอีย vowel in "เขียน" sounds like แอะ. Focus on a smooth transition from อี to เอีย.

00:24 - ผมอ่านช้า ๆ หนังสือสำหรับเด็ก

Things Done Well

• The general meaning is clear.

Things To Improve

• Rephrase for natural flow:
  • "ผมอ่านหนังสือเด็กช้า ๆ" aligns with Thai sentence structure.
• ช้า ๆ pronunciation:
  • The tone and vowel are overly influenced by English. The word should have a high-rising tone (4-5) and a long vowel.
• หนังสือ vowel:
  • Despite previous success with "ชื่อ", your umlauted "u" creeps into "สือ" in "หนังสือ".
• เด็ก tone and ending:

"เด็ก" should have a common tone and an unaspirated "k" ending. You can see in the spectrograph image below, the ‘pop’ that happens after the syllable occurs - that’s your aspirated ‘k’ in เด็ก.  We need to practice closing the glottis at the same time your tongue hits the back of your throat and locking it down so no ‘popping’ happens. 

00:39 - มีสามอย่างที่ผมพยายามทำในการเรียนภาษาไทย

Things Done Well

• Consonants, including the glide in "พยายาม", are natural.

Things To Improve

• Alternative phrasing:
  • "เมื่อเรียนภาษาไทย ผมพยายามทำ 3 อย่างต่อไปนี้" is more natural and precise.
• สาม vowel and tone:
  • Ensure a long "aa" vowel and rising tone, avoiding an English-like high tone.
• ภาษาไทย rhythm:
  • Same issues as noted previously.

01:08 - อย่างที่สองที่อยากทำคือตอบภาษาไทยให้เร็วขึ้น

Things Done Well

• "อย่างที่สอง" is pronounced correctly.

Things To Improve

• Rephrase for clarity:
  • "อย่างที่สองคือ ผมอยากจะสามารถตอบคำถามให้เร็วยิ่งขึ้น" adds precision.
• ทำ vowel:
  • Ensure a short vowel to avoid sounding like "ทาม".

01:17 - เวลาพูดภาษาไทย ผมมักจะแปลจากภาษาอังกฤษเป็นภาษาไทยก่อน

Things To Improve

• Pronunciation adjustments:
  • เวลา: Keep vowels even and avoid rhythm that accents the first syllable.
  • ภาษาไทย: Avoid dragging out "ไทย".
  • อังกฤษ: Pronounce as ˈɐŋˈkìt, with no aspiration on the final "t".

01:26 - สุดท้าย ผมอยากพูดไทยได้อย่างเป็นธรรมชาติ

Things Done Well

• This sentence is the clearest in the clip, with accurate tones and prosody.

Things To Improve

• Alternative phrasing:
  • "สุดท้าย ผมอยากจะพูดไทยให้ได้แบบธรรมชาติ" aligns better with spoken Thai.

Summary and Moving Forward

Key Points

1. Strengths include accurate consonant tones and rolled ร where appropriate.
2. Key challenges stem from English sound patterns overriding Thai tones and rhythms.
3. Vowel placement and stop-ending consonants require targeted refinement.

Plan

1. Focus on identifying and eliminating English sound habits through structured exercises:
   • Mimic Thai sentence prosody in natural contexts.
   • Use recorded samples for rhythm and tone practice.
2. Work on specific vowel groups (อือ, เอือ, เอา, etc.) using tools like the Vowel Compass.
3. Develop automaticity through repetition, moving from conscious to subconscious delivery.
4. Ensure consonant clarity by mastering unaspirated stops and precise placement.

Regular practice with these goals will significantly enhance your Thai speech clarity and naturalness.