I've just remembered that the number 1 ranked female golfer in Thailand is a terrific young lady by the name of Atthaya Thitikul.
She was actually briefly ranked no. 1 in the world about 8 months ago in her first season on the LPGA tour and aged only 19... Incredible!!
But of course, somewhat understandably the American and Euro golf TV commentators call her 'Thiti - kool'
But it is in fact correctly pronounced 'Titty-khun'
Absolute superstar!
So it looks like the L and N are interchangeable
As it's certainly spelled Soi Poonsuk but pronounced Pool Suk
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Nope. L and N are not interchangeable. "N" (น and ณ) is always pronounced as Latin N. L should always be pronounced as Latin L except at the end of a syllable when it changes to N sound, or N and L when it's mid-word (eg ชลประทาน - choNLaprathan).
As for R and L, colloquially R is often pronounced like L. L shouldn't be pronounced like R, but some people get confused, especially when they're trying to keep their Rs like R (seen news readers do this).
Just another indication that Thailand needs an official transliteration in the same way pinyin is used for Chinese. While there would be disagreements on it for sure, a standard method would help non Thai readers. While I advocate learning to read Thai for those who stay here a long time it is not going to happen for visitors.
The Royal Thai General System of Transcription (RTGS) is the official system for rendering Thai words in the Latin alphabet. It was published by the Royal Institute of Thailand in early 1917, when Thailand was called Siam.
It is used in road signs and government publications and is the closest method to a standard of transcription for Thai, but its use, even by the government, is inconsistent
HHTel wrote: ↑Sat Jun 03, 2023 12:03 pm
They claim to have one (RTGS)
The Royal Thai General System of Transcription (RTGS) is the official system for rendering Thai words in the Latin alphabet. It was published by the Royal Institute of Thailand in early 1917, when Thailand was called Siam.
It is used in road signs and government publications and is the closest method to a standard of transcription for Thai, but its use, even by the government, is inconsistent
Thats really interesting. My other half believes most of the English spelling of Thai place names is rubbish. In the ways we have described above. Not sure who would do it though, and there would a huge cost involved.
When I first came here, it wasn't just about learning that a K doesn't really mean K, it was the emphasis on syllables as well, as well as whether to use long or short.
The problem is that the transliteration shouldn't be written for English speaking people as the pronunciation would then never be correct. Chinese pinyin doesn't use that system but although it is quite good it is not without its faults, either. Whatever way Thai transliteration might once be developed, it should be consistent, otherwise it is of no use.
Maybe the closest among Asian languages that I've come across would be Japanese for transliteration. This is mainly because it's phonetic system is rather simple, compared to many other Asian languages. Otherwise Japanese writing system is one of the most difficult as it uses three different forms in written texts: Kanji, katakana and hiragana and they are all found in same texts, even in same language.
Absolutely agree that transliteration should be written to show (as near as possible) the pronunciation of a word and not written for English speakers.
When the Chinese adopted the Pinyin system, transliteration was much closer to the true pronunciation. In some cases it appeared very differently to the previous system.
A good example is Peking becoming Beijing causing a lot of people to think the name of the capitol had been renamed when actually Beijing was much closer to the correct pronunciation.
But I can't imagine a Thailand that has a set of rules (any rules) that is followed by the whole country!
Dannie Boy wrote:Well it makes a change to be arguing about how to spell/pronounce Thai words, rather than where to get the best roast and Yorkshire Puddings!!
My grasp of the Thai language is almost non-existent, so I wouldn’t dream of commenting, although I can make a fairly mean Yorkie!!
I'm not arguing, if I'm wrong(and it looks like I am) then I stand corrected.
The Soi/street name sign has an English language translation to Poonsuk and Google Maps and the business operators have followed suit.
