Dr Amorn Poomee works at Bumrungrad hospital. Would this be the same 'Poomee' as the 'Bhumi' in Bhumipol, the King's name? Is there any meaning to this, and is it related to 'Bumiputra' or 'son of the soil' in Malay?

Am I correct in stating that Bumrungrad means to support or develop the nation/state?

The 'bum' in Bumrungrad บำรุงราษฏร์ is a different word / root (and pronunciation) from Bhum ภูมิ

You're right that Bhum ภูมิ is the same as bumi in bahasa Melayu / Indonesia - from Sanskrit = Eaऑrth.

Surga Bumi - heaven and earth

Bumi Putra (Malay) / Pribumi (Indo) - son of the earth (native malay / indonesian)

Bhumipol - भूमिफल - Sanskrit - Bhumiphala - fruit of the earth

Suvarnabhumi - सुवर्णभूमि 'su-varna' (gold(en) (good colour) earth)

If you follow the spelling convention used nowadays, I guess Bumrungrad should be written Bamrungrat

The 'Bamrung' then comes from the word - ปรุง prung (to enhance)- บำรุง

and

ราษฏร ratsadon - (rashtara - the people)

... so ur meaning of 'supporting / developing the state' is pretty spot on. ... but no relation to Bhum / bumi.

oops!... my bad.. just realised that you were referring to the 'poomee' as in the doctor's name (not the name of the hospital). In that case, it would be the same ภูมิ - in thai the voiced 'bh' becomes unvoiced aspirated 'p'.

oops!... my bad.. just realised that you were referring to the 'poomee' as in the doctor's name (not the name of the hospital). In that case, it would be the same ภูมิ - in thai the voiced 'bh' becomes unvoiced aspirated 'p'.

On the same tack, is there any meaning attached to 'Amorn' as in ดร อมร ภูมิ ? Is the correct form of address คุณ หมอ อมร or คุฌ หมอ ภูมิ ?

Thanks Jay Jay.

I don't think it should ever be transcribed as "bhumi" when it stands alone, or as final syllable in a name. It is pronounced as "poom" (or phoom, or phuum, if you like) as in the airport. I'm not concerned with the "bh," which is fine, but rather with the non-existent "i" sound.

In the case of the king's name, or other instances when other syllables follow, the "i" sound is pronounced, because it is a vocal bridge between the syllables.

My argument - and I know I've stated it before, sorry - is that if a vowel is not pronounced, then there is no reason to write it phonetically, in a phonetic transcription - because, well, just because that pretty much makes it "not phonetic."

Then again, the king's name is not pronounced Bhumipol, with an "L" - either...

Okay, I'll go away now.