According to Smyth (2002), “Thai is a tonal language, with the meaning of each
syllable determined by the pitch at which it is pronounced.” Although Thai is not a
stress-timed language like English, native Thai speakers usually pronounce some
syllables louder than others (Pankhuenkhat, 1998). Putting stress on different syllables in
a word does not change the meaning of the uttered word or affect the understanding of the
listeners. According to Udom Warotsikhadit (2002), syllable structures play an important
role in word stress in Thai. The syllable structures are divided into three groups:
monosyllabic words, disyllabic words and polysyllabic word. Wong-opasai (1992) has
said “Thai primary stress falls on the last syllable, and the secondary stresses alternate
with unstressed syllables” (p. 462). Likewise, Udom Warotsikhadit (2002) has said that
the primary stress of a polysyllabic word in Thai is always on the last syllable because the
final syllable is in the heavy position