Bangkok set for official change of name to "Krung Thep Maha Nakhon"

[webfact]

Picture: Thai Rath

 

It is expected that a decision will be made to officially change the name of Bangkok to Krung Thep Maha Nakhon.

 

Ministers are expected to rubber stamp the request from the Royal Academy, reported Thai Rath. 

 

Henceforth the old name of Bangkok will just appear in brackets. 

 

The academy felt that this would be more modern and in line with real usage. 

 

Krung Thep Maha Nakhon will be the official English spelling from now on. 

 

This means Great City of Angels and is used by Thais to refer to their capital usually shortened to Krung Thep.

 

Thais only use the word Bangkok when addressing foreigners who mostly don't understand the name they use.

 

The full name of Bangkok, that starts with Krung Thep Maha Nakhon goes on to have about 145-150 letters in English script and is widely recognised as the longest placename in the world. 

 

Here is one version:

 

Krungthepmahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahinthara Yuthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udomratchaniwet Mahasathan Amon Phiman Awatan Sathit Sakkathatiya Witsanukam Prasit.

 

The name can be learned by going to YouTube and singing along to a hit song by Asanee/Wasan, notes ASEAN NOW's cultural affairs correspondent. 

 

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[happysoul]

What about the IATA code (BKK)... KTM is already taken by Kathmandu airport ????

[mtls2005]

"Siam" can't be far behind?

 

1932 toothpaste spill nearly all cleaned up.

 

 

[StayinThailand2much]

6 minutes ago, happysoul said:

What about the IATA code (BKK)... KTM is already taken by Kathmandu airport ????

Bloody foreigners!

[wasabi]

Might help their pride but I can't see this helping tourism.

[Thailand]

"One night in Krung Thep Maha Nakhon"

 

Not quite the same now?

 

 

 

[PremiumLane]

10 minutes ago, wasabi said:

Might help their pride but I can't see this helping tourism.

How will this effect tourism?

[internationalism]

bangkok is a name taken from thai language - means village of olive tree.

Krung thep is pali language, now only used by budhist monks (actually, most of monks don't understand meaning of recited words). Means in pali city of angels.

This language is much more extinct than Latin. All south european languages are based on latin and are close to each other, so for example italians are able understand some basic from partugese etc.

But pali based languages in India are so far apart, that they can comprehend each other. In the south india alone there are 720 different languages used by tribal populations

[Moonlover]

27 minutes ago, happysoul said:

What about the IATA code (BKK)... KTM is already taken by Kathmandu airport ????

It will very likely get the same treatment as Mumbai airport (BOM) and Chennai airport (MAA).

 

In other words, no change. 

 

[tingtongfarang]

everyone will still call it bangkok

[internationalism]

13 minutes ago, PremiumLane said:

How will this effect tourism?

do you have tickets to bangkok and some hotel accommodation?

mai me.

 

can you drive me to bangkok hospital?

there is no bangkok hospital anywhere in thailand

[lemonjelly]

Krung Tep would be a closer transliteration. The Thai obsession with the letter “H” is weird 

[samtam]

Perhaps it will be shortened to KTMH, like Ho Chi Minh City is HCMC, but still widely referred to as Saigon.

[poohy]

Seems there's nothing more pressing in Thailand at this time apart from.......education , reforms, welfare 

 

silly me!

[mlkik]

19 minutes ago, tingtongfarang said:

everyone will still call it bangkok

No not everyone. All Thai people call it Krung Thep Mahana Khon. 

[JoseThailand]

April 1 came early this year?

[JoePai]

3 minutes ago, mlkik said:

No not everyone. All Thai people call it Krung Thep Mahana Khon. 

No they don't

[lopburi3]

Quote

On Tuesday the Royal Society clarified on its Facebook page that it did not propose a change in Bangkok’s name to Krung Thep Maha Nakhon, and insisted that both names are acceptable when referring to the Thai capital.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40012394

[JoseThailand]

52 minutes ago, happysoul said:

What about the IATA code (BKK)... KTM is already taken by Kathmandu airport ????

IATA codes, once assigned, never change.

[JoseThailand]

2 minutes ago, JoePai said:

No they don't

You're right, they call it simply Krung Thep.

[puck2]

When I told this name changing to a Thai person, the answer was:

"they have only a head, but no brain".

[CrunchWrapSupreme]

Terrible move. At a time when reopening and restarting tourism is on the table, changing the recognized name of one of the most famous tourist destinations in the world makes no sense. But if it did, I guess it wouldn't be Amazing Thailand.

[mtls2005]

5 minutes ago, puck2 said:

"they have only a head, but no brain".

Ouch.

 

The Bangkok "Hilton' will be re-christened?

 

 

Bangkok Airways safety announcement will now take 7 1/2 minutes.

 

 

 

 

[trainman34014]

They think they can shake off the World Wide image people talk about wherever you go... ''Bangkok; oh yes, the Sex City of The World, one big Brothel and in the rest of the country people still live in Mud Huts with Straw Roof's don't they ? ''

 

Don't laugh; i've heard similar things said in many country's when people ask me where i live !    Another view you get when in Singapore or Malaysia,Taiwan etc is  ''Ah yes; Thailand, the Lunatic Asylum of South East Asia'' !

[josephbloggs]

12 minutes ago, lopburi3 said:

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40012394

Oh no don't spoil the naysayers' day!

Final nail in the coffin of tourism etc....

[PremiumLane]

34 minutes ago, internationalism said:

do you have tickets to bangkok and some hotel accommodation?

mai me.

 

can you drive me to bangkok hospital?

there is no bangkok hospital anywhere in thailand

Oh no, my ticket says Bangkok on it and they changed the name, that means the airline won't let me fly there anymore, and Bangkok hospital will have to close down!!! ????

[Golden Triangle]

It'll cost a fortune to change all the road signs 555

[Eff1n2ret]

Peter Floris – His voyage to the East Indies in ‘The Globe’, 1611-1615

“The 17th ditto (August 1612) Adam Denton, Nasar Chan and the Sinnar (interpreter) were sente from hence to the river to carry the news of our arryvall, who, in regard to the towne (Ayuthia) lyethe some 30 leagues upp along the river, and came not backe agayne till the 23 ditto, bringing along with theym the Sabander and the Gouvernour of Mancock (Bangkok), being a place situated by the river, to receive His Majesties letters, butt chiefly for the presents they thought they shoulde receive, so that it is as bade(bad) there for presents as in any other place of the Indies”…………..

 

So the place was called Bangkok (or Mancock!) long before it became Krung Thep - and corruption goes back a long way.

[PremiumLane]

13 minutes ago, CrunchWrapSupreme said:

Terrible move. At a time when reopening and restarting tourism is on the table, changing the recognized name of one of the most famous tourist destinations in the world makes no sense. But if it did, I guess it wouldn't be Amazing Thailand.

Yeah, I can just see the people who would have booked to come to Thailand suddenly saying, "Hey! Plans are cancelled, they changed the official name of the capital city, we just can't go now!" 

 

[ezzra]

More word to write add on the million forms we are being asked to fill on a daily bases, ithink they will have to change the form to to contain the long new name of BKK, or can we put KMN now?...