Official Thai spelling of foreign names

[unblocktheplanet]

22 hours ago, LukKrueng said:

She wrote it as it should be and he took it to the police station which issued the red book.

What's a police red book, please? (Can't have too much ID, or too many passports!)

[LukKrueng]

1 hour ago, unblocktheplanet said:

What's a police red book, please? (Can't have too much ID, or too many passports!)

That's for PRs

[Wongkitlo]

There is an official translation which the government uses for street signs etc.  There is  a free Thai dictionary online which has been  collated over the years which is thailanguage.com . It uses the official form. The problem with your name is however that they probably used this official language. It is a very questionable translation. I think that is partly why so many Farung have problem with Thai. Alot of the Thai Language courses use the official translation. That is why if you say to a Thai you are going to Koh Chang they may say 'where?' If you say 'Goh Chang' you may have a better chance.

[Delight]

 A foreign name transliterated into Thai script will typically come across the limitations of the Thai language and by extension the Thai writing system.

These limitations are relative to the English language.

 

Limitation number 1

 

End consonants. The Thai language has the following sounds as end consonants- of a syllable

K P T these are always pronounced un aspirated

N M Ng  these 3 as in English.

The Thai language has an abundance of vowel sounds -so no problem there.

 

Limitation number 2

 

The consonant sounds SH and TH.  These sounds do not exist. The CH sound does exist.

 

Limitation number 3

 

The V and Z consonant sounds do not exist. 

 

What has the Thai writing system going for it-vowels

 The English language has 20 vowel sounds. These sounds are represented by only  5 symbols.

 

In contrast the Thai language has in excess of 30 vowel sounds and everyone of these sounds  can be represented by Thai script.

Trust that the foregoing helps.

[Puccini]

3 hours ago, Delight said:

...In contrast the Thai language has in excess of 30 vowel sounds and everyone of these sounds  can be represented by Thai script.

Trust that the foregoing helps.

I doubt that your explanations help the OP. He has already decided upon the new Thai spelling of his surname and the only help he needs is how to get this approved by the competent Thai authorities.

[Captain Monday]

On 5/26/2021 at 12:15 AM, KhunBENQ said:

Who cares about family names?

It's always good for a smile if they read my name from the pink card.

 

Let them transcribe Zbigniew Kazimierz Brzezinski for a little warmup ????

I met Khun "just call me Kat" Llewellyn before.

[LongTimeLurker]

On 5/28/2021 at 11:29 AM, Wongkitlo said:

There is an official translation which the government uses for street signs etc.  There is  a free Thai dictionary online which has been  collated over the years which is thailanguage.com . It uses the official form. The problem with your name is however that they probably used this official language. It is a very questionable translation. I think that is partly why so many Farung have problem with Thai. Alot of the Thai Language courses use the official translation. That is why if you say to a Thai you are going to Koh Chang they may say 'where?' If you say 'Goh Chang' you may have a better chance.

 

I had an experience of losing my bearings and asking a Thai (in Thai) for directions to the road to Ray Ong (Rayong) and them having no clue, but they spotting a Thai sign to Ra Yong and they had no problems with that.

 

Similarly Farangs and Thais pronounce Pattaya many different ways.

[LongTimeLurker]

On 5/29/2021 at 10:37 AM, Delight said:

The CH sound does exist.

 

Not even in King Chulalongkorn?

 

The other issue with Farang names are those that end in S, which will be included in the transliteration, but always as a silent letter not to be pronounced in Thai. And I'd guess those ending in LT have a similar issue?