Lost in translation: Thai road sign riddle baffles tourists

[snoop1130]

 

The director of the Phitsanulok Highway District, Awirut Thapthimthae, addressed the public confusion caused by the road sign for Wat Chan Thawan Ok. The sign, situated on the Phitsanulok-Nakhon Sawan highway or Si Racha Dechochai Road, in Wat Chan, Mueang, Phitsanulok, has been in place for over a decade.

 

However, it has led to mispronunciations by foreign tourists, causing confusion due to the phonetics of the English transliteration. The sign was written according to the dictionary but has proven problematic for non-Thai speakers. To resolve this, the local authorities have surveyed the Wat Chan Thawan Ok temple and concluded that the sign should be adjusted to read Wat Chan Thawan Ork.

 

This change is anticipated to reduce tourist confusion. Furthermore, the English name for the Ton We intersection will be rectified to Ton Wa, which will further aid international visitors in finding their way into the vicinity.

 

Awirut Thapthimthae made known that the sign serves as a public marker for a tourist route and has been in existence for over a decade.

 

By Nattapong Westwood

Caption: Image courtesy of Khaosod

 

Full story: The Thaiger 2023-09-26

 

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[Gottfrid]

Big BS! Why make it so big because 2-3 defunct foreigners had a bad mind day. They are just  missing a chromosome! Normal people understand.

[JeffersLos]

Pretty lame. 

 

Especially compared to my trips to Bang Sue. 

[Ironman1958]

The sign was written according to Who's dictionary?

[rwill]

Ak or Ahk would probably be better than Ork.

[doublezero]

So much (and long, viz over a cecade) ado about a spelling that pleases foreigners. How lucky and relaxed that country must be when they have no other problems.

[natb19]

Lol. Correct pronunciation for English of Aw Ang is... aw.

 

So in this case Awg, not Ok, and definitely not Ak or ahk!

 

Or/Ork is problematic for those languages that can actually pronounce the letter R, which for most parts of the country is not Thailand.

[natb19]

7 hours ago, Gottfrid said:

Big BS! Why make it so big because 2-3 defunct foreigners had a bad mind day. They are just  missing a chromosome! Normal people understand.

Not so uncommon, remember the famous locations Koh Fee Fee and Fuket.

[hotchilli]

[2baht]

I think it translates to "Caution, Brake Failure is Expected Daily"!

[Tarteso]

Ok, To be clear;

 

 

[sandrew33]

8 hours ago, JeffersLos said:

Pretty lame. 

 

Especially compared to my trips to Bang Sue. 

Having dated a Korean girl named Bo there’s a similar sign that I find interesting while driving on the expressway ????????

[harrycallahan]

The Chinese-Thai approaching the sign was heard to say Wat Da Fook. 

[2baht]

38 minutes ago, sandrew33 said:

Having dated a Korean girl named Bo there’s a similar sign that I find interesting while driving on the expressway ????????

There's a place between Udon Thani and Nong Khai called Ban Dong, I think it's all female! ????

[NorthernRyland]

3 hours ago, rwill said:

Ak or Ahk would probably be better than Ork.

they never even bother to ask native speakers.

[NorthernRyland]

2 hours ago, natb19 said:

So in this case Awg, not Ok, and definitely not Ak or ahk!

what's wrong with ahk? If it's Awg you'll get a strong discernible "g" sound which will confuse Thais. Listen to how it actually sounds:

 

https://translate.google.com/?sl=en&tl=th&text=out &op=translate

[Sig]

3 hours ago, rwill said:

Ak or Ahk would probably be better than Ork.

Or Auk, comes to mind, e.g., Aukland. Or even Awk. But yeah, Ork is pretty much just as bad as Ok.

[KhunLA]

Seems the transliteration isn't always consistent.  Oh well, deal with it.   You get lost, you may find something more interesting than your destination.

[LukKrueng]

3 hours ago, rwill said:

Ak or Ahk would probably be better than Ork.

 

2 hours ago, natb19 said:

Lol. Correct pronunciation for English of Aw Ang is... aw.

 

So in this case Awg, not Ok, and definitely not Ak or ahk!

 

Or/Ork is problematic for those languages that can actually pronounce the letter R, which for most parts of the country is not Thailand.

Can simply write East\West

[AhFarangJa]

This is more appropriate for here.....

[Sig]

2 minutes ago, NorthernRyland said:

what's wrong with ahk? If it's Awg you'll get a strong discernible "g" sound which will confuse Thais. Listen to how it actually sounds:

 

https://translate.google.com/?sl=en&tl=th&text=out &op=translate

Generally, I agree with that. The 'g' can be discernible, but it can be very close to voiceless. Ending with a 'k' could be voiced or voiceless. It really depends on the speaker and their understanding of how it should be pronounced. If people knew what a glottal stop was and there were an internationally recognized (by the general population) symbol for it, that would be ideal.

Using the International Phonetic Alphabet's symbol for the glottal stop would just cause confusion because it looks so much like a question mark. That could be fun though... then the street sign would look just like how it is when you ask someone for directions around here! You never know if the directions you're getting are real and are often very questionable! ????????

But IF the International Phonetic Alphabet were taught throughout school years in language instruction and someday everyone became familiar then it could all be solved ???? And the 'o' or 'au' or 'aw' sound along with it being a long vowel, with lengthened vocalization, all together with the glottal stop could be printed intelligibly -  ɔːʔ

But then again, then nobody would be able to complain or make fun about it in forums like these ???? What fun would that be!? Maybe they should just leave it as 'Ok'!????????

[brianthainess]

Queue for CenterPoint ferry for Koh Chang

 

[NorthernRyland]

21 minutes ago, LukKrueng said:

Can simply write East\West

that would be good for the reader but does the average Thai person even know what east/west means after 12 years of English lessons? I actually seriously doubt this. So you can read the sign then but not speak the name to others.

[thailand49]

There is lots of fixing then! 

DLT, thinks everything is fine. 

The whole country signs places everywhere spelled wrong. Jobs are handed out those in charge don't have a clue or time to check it is react if a complaint happens then a big photo op that they are on top of things. 

Just look at all the stops signs put in the wrong place! 

[brianthainess]

I don't understand I thought the owner was quite pleasant.

 

 

[LukKrueng]

33 minutes ago, NorthernRyland said:

that would be good for the reader but does the average Thai person even know what east/west means after 12 years of English lessons? I actually seriously doubt this. So you can read the sign then but not speak the name to others.

The sign is in Thai AND English. So the Thai people are good with it. The meaning of the name of the temples is actually East\West, so instead of trying to write it in a way that might sound to a foreigner's ear as the correct name (but if that person tries to ask for direction using that pronansiation he'll get nowhere) wouldn't it be better to translate instead of transiliate?

[NorthernRyland]

1 minute ago, LukKrueng said:

The sign is in Thai AND English. So the Thai people are good with it. The meaning of the name of the temples is actually East\West, so instead of trying to write it in a way that might sound to a foreigner's ear as the correct name (but if that person tries to ask for direction using that pronansiation he'll get nowhere) wouldn't it be better to translate instead of transiliate?

what I mean is that some tourist is going to read the sign and then speak the name they read to a Thai person. Everyone can read the sign which is good but then you can't speak the name to Thais.

 

Why not just call it the full proper name then? "Eastern moon temple" (or whatever). Now it makes 100% sense to foreigners but Thais are totally confused.

 

Now good way to solve this really, all choices are compromises.

[deesquared]

4 hours ago, rwill said:

Ak or Ahk would probably be better than Ork.

No, that reads as the wrong vowel sound. It's an "Aw" sound not a "Ah" sound. 

[KhunBENQ]

1 hour ago, KhunLA said:

Seems the transliteration isn't always consistent.  Oh well, deal with it. 

Nicely said.

It's pure utter chaos.

Few follow the "dictionary" (RTGS).

Most give in to the English dominated spelling.

Jomtien sounds completely different when read by non English.

And who has ever seen Chom Thian by the rules?

And "my girlfriend Porn" will always resurface as a joke while the joke is the stupid "r" in Porn.

 

It's a fun topic until you try to find a location on a map/GPS by its English spelling.

And the idea of a near correct  pronounciation by these transcripts is hopeless.

I bet 9 out of 10 expats don't come anywhere close to a correct pronounciation of Pattaya.

[sambum]

When I first came to Thailand I had a good laugh at a sign in a travel agents shop window - it read:- 

"Welcome - We spek your language"! ????