Too many 'magical' Thai spelling mistakes

MY TWO SATANGS

Too many 'magical' Thai spelling mistakes

Published: 6 Oct 2012 at 00.00
Newspaper section: News

Thailand is a country of big ambitions, but poor implementation. We have fantastic ideas for transport, Asean integration and tourism but our unfortunate detachment from reality often overshadows the feasibility of these wonderful ideas.

‘Computer’ is one of the 176 English-language loan words that the Royal Institute wanted to change the spelling of. They later dropped the move following a public outcry.

This week there was talk of MMA/muay Thai star Buakaw going toe-to-toe with Manny Pacquiao. The proposal is supposed to be part of an event to honour His Majesty the King, and would no doubt be a huge boost for Thailand.

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ubuntu
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Discussion 10 : 06 Oct 2012 at 11.4310
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There is no easy way to learn a language. Put the time in learn the alphabet, the tones and the rules, rather than complain about it being too difficult.

Reading / writing Thai is a relative "walk in the park" compared with Chinese or Japanese.

China and Japan are among the most successful nations in the world, they did not alter their alphabets for the benefit of non nationals, however they do stress education including English language skills.
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DONHUAN
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Discussion 9 : 06 Oct 2012 at 11.209
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Yes, #6 & #8 made a valid point about the 44 consonant sounds in the Thai language; the key to popularize the Thai language is to phase-out / reduce certain alphabets not in frequent use such that the Thai language is made easier to learnt and understand for the locals and foreigners alike. This monumental task requires a strong political will and support from a wide spectrum of society. The English language is fast gaining grounds over other international languages because it keeps on evolving where it matter most for contemporary users.
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whatajoke
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Discussion 8 : 06 Oct 2012 at 09.558
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This is a slippery argument, on the one hand this language we are using right here is one of the most confusing and difficult to learn in the world due to a lack of vowel sounds, too many exceptions to the rule and borrowed words that are spelt completely differently to how they are pronounced and of course EMphasis, which cannot be properly written, unlike tones in Thai. Thai language needs some reform, about a third of 44 consonants could be phased out, and the use of tone marks standardised across all consonant classes, you could even go so far as to use only tone marks to indicate tone, rather than tone+vowel relationship. but Thais are sticklers for their heritage and have all the patience in the world to learn their language by rote.
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nns
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Discussion 7 : 06 Oct 2012 at 09.367
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Maybe we should be realistic, when something has been 'loaned' for a long enough period of time it becomes yours. You can do anything you want with it.
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Ian
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Discussion 6 : 06 Oct 2012 at 08.356
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There are 21 consonant letters in English, for 24 consonant sounds, why does Thai need 44? Does it make them feel superior to have such a complex script?
The Thai script is patently the greatest obstacle to enjoyable literacy, one very rarely sees a Thai reading for pleasure. How many Thai homes have any books, apart from perhaps their children's school books or cartoon books?
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rebel4ever
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Discussion 5 : 06 Oct 2012 at 08.215
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I would recommend and enfuriate academics and nationalists to abolish the Thai writing characters and replace them by latin characters using signs (hyphens) to indicate the tone. The benefits would be twofold. First, easier for 'farangs' to learn Thai, which would also benefit the Thai people by better understanding eachother. Second, it would be 'a bridge' for Thai in learning English. Using the same characters is half the learning job done. It has been done before. Turkey did, from Arab to Latin characters and it was a major success. But I think the Thai Royal Academy and the nationalists are not ready for that yet.
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Victor
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Discussion 4 : 06 Oct 2012 at 08.194
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'Technology' in Thai is 'Take-no-lo-gy'.
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tomb
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Discussion 3 : 06 Oct 2012 at 07.033
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I think more important is the transcription of Thai into English. When are authorities going to realize that Suvarnabhumi should be spelt Suwannapoom?
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nns
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Discussion 2 : 06 Oct 2012 at 06.152
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'Just ask any non-Thai speaker who has tried to buy batteries in Thailand'
Better yet, ask for 'vanilla' ice cream flavor.
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johninbkk
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Discussion 1 : 06 Oct 2012 at 05.331
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What about the English spelling of Thai words? Suvarnabhumi airport, Koh Phuket, etc. Nothing like how it's pronounced. I have to brutalize the pronunciation just so my fellow farang knows what I'm talking about . . .
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Too many 'magical' Thai spelling mistakes | Bangkok Post: opinion