I’m trying translate some phrases, to edit an existing image.

Translating the individual words is not the problem, my weakness is knowing if the translated phrase makes sense in Thai. I used google for these, in the hope the word order and phrases might be correct.

 

As you can see below it’s to do with typical stopping distances for cars. (If you’re a Brit, you might recognise it as a page from the UK highway code.)

 

“Thinking distance” is basically your reaction time (depending on your speed) from when you realise there’s something ahead, to when you press your foot on the brake.

 

Regarding the last one (km/hr), I’m never sure about the use of the full stop with abbreviations – does it have one, where does it go, should there be one full stop in the middle/after kilometre and also one in the middle/after hour?

 

typical stopping distances    ระยะทางหยุดโดยทั่วไป

thinking distance    คิดระยะทาง

braking distance    ระยะเบรค

stopping distance    หยุดระยะทาง

average car length    ความยาวเฉลี่ยของรถ

six car lengths    ความยาวหกรถ

km/hr    กม./ชม

 

while ระยะทาง is a valid translation of distance, having the word ทาง could confuse the reader with 'way'

 

ระยะที่ใช้หยุด is distance used in stopping

 

typical stopping distances    ระยะที่ใช้หยุดโดยทั่วไป

thinking distance    คิดระยะที่ใช้คิด

braking distance    ระยะเบรค

stopping distance    หยุดระยะหยุด

average car length    ความยาวเฉลี่ยของรถ

six car lengths    ความยาวหกช่วงรถ

Thank you digbeth for your help.

 

I was interested you mentioned ทาง as I remember it has other similar uses, “path” or “way” I’ve seen. I’ve also seen it used on road signs: ทาง 2 for route 2 sometimes.

 

You noticed some have the word order incorrect when using google. That’s just the sort of thing I struggle with.

 

ความยาวหกช่วงรถ   Is ช่วง linked to length somehow? Before I posted, I did wonder if it might have needed คัน as the classier for vehicles. Looks like that doesn't matter?

 

What about the km/hr and punctuating that abbreviation?

 

It is a good idea to tell friends about stopping distances because many people don’t appear to know it. However ‘thinking distance’ looks like google translate as คิดระยะทาง “think distance’. Do you know if คิดระยทาง is the jargon used?  I notice that ระยะทาง is distance in the T-E dictionaries and in this context one would be thinking  ระยะทางเดินรถ. 

Abbreviations only have one dot per word kilometer km./hr. Thai is the same กม./ชม. 

Lacking any formalized Thai terms I dare say that we could cobble together something but a few minutes with a native speaker would help. 

 

 

I am not a teacher but I suggest examining the English we use before trying to put it into Thai. There is a language culture behind an expression like 'thinking distance' and if you don't know the culture then the English is meaningless.  

Thinking distance is the distance travelled by a car in the time it takes between deciding to do something (act) and doing that thing (the action). 

So I would suggest that if you are going to introduce a Thai phrase you need to define what it means in the same way. 

 

The latest copy of the 'highway code' which I carry in UK no longer has thinking and braking distances it has only distance from the car in front which is stopping distance.  ระยะทางห่างรถคันหน้า and it would be a lot more simple to do that. 

So taking digbeth's jargon it becomes correct if it is defined so, ระยะหยุดคือระยะทางที่เว้นห่างรถคันหน้าที่กำหนดไว้

 

tgeezer, thanks for the reply.

 

I appreciate you saying about the language culture behind the expressions. Perhaps it’s because I understand the phrases that I assumed it would be translatable into Thai?

 

I had thought that seeing the table, along with the phrases in Thai would help the reader understand what was written. Maybe not? Anyway, I’ve posted the table below to try and explain.

 

You seem to be able to look into the way these phrases might be best translated, better than I naively thought was needed. It must be why I struggle with understanding translating phrases, rather than single words.

In the end I’m sure it won’t detract from getting the message across, even though there will be more text on the page.

 

I had no idea the highway code no longer has these phrases? That must mean the online version is not the same as the hard copy. I found the table below online for Rule 126 Stopping Distances, two days ago.

 

There are many Thai websites with this information if you google it. This link even has your chart translated into Thai:
https://jbrakeservice.wordpress.com/2016/08/06/ระยะเบรครถยนต์ที่ความเ/

 

It uses ระยะตัดสินใจ ('deciding distance') for Thinking Distance and ระยะหยุดรถ ('stopping distance') for Braking Distance. I think just  ระยะคิด would be used informally for Thinking Distance.
ค่าเฉลี่ยระยะหยุดรถจากช่วงความเร็วต่างๆ for Typical Stopping Distances (which would more directly translate as 'average stopping distances at different speeds').

There you go, exactly what I was talking about, words like ระยะตัดสินใจ are meainingless without an explanation or a definition.

The chart is one I am familiar with from sixty years ago except for the mention of km. and meters. I cant see the point of separating the thinking and braking distances, my copy has the total distances making it easier to remember. The total distance is the result of multiplying the speeds by 2, 2.5, 3, 3.5, 4 etc. so 40 mph should be approx. 120 not approx. 118 !

edit: I have just realised why, 118 feet happens to be 36meters.  

 

 

 

 

I’m astounded that someone else has already translated that very same image into Thai!

Not only that, but a TV member has found it - maybe since I posted the image on here a couple of hours ago. Thanks KhaoNiaw.

 

I’m happy to accept the suggestions, as I’m just not good enough to work out how to translate the phrases myself.

 

Regarding your comment about not seeing the point in separating the thinking and braking distances, tgeezer.

We perceive this differently, as for me, that was one of the reasons I started this.

Not only is it easy to see the total braking distance at different speeds, I thought it would be a good idea to encourage Thais to become conscious of their reaction time, in order to understand how it affects braking.

Whether it will work, who knows?

 

I fear that at 30kph, three car lengths would prove an irresistible temptation to following vehicles.  Injudicious over/undertaking is far more dangerous than a ‘fender bender’. Would anyone care to translate that?

edit: Perhaps we might try something more simple, a few basic driving rules.

Me first.  

I will not yield. . 

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