Isaan Does Not Exist

[sunsamourai]

Merriam-Webster online lists no English words spelled with aa, and they list only one obscure geographical French word.

--> which one,please, I am curious.

Paaris, Straasbourg, Maarseilles ?

Edited March 19, 2009 by sunsamourai

[midasthailand]

Look at the conflicting attempts to write an English word conveying the pronunciation ee'-sahn.

It cannot be Isaan. Show me an English word with the letter a back-to-back like that. The closest thing is a proper name, Isaac, which turns the I long and flattens the second syllable, viz., \ˈī-zik, -zək\. Merriam-Webster online lists no English words spelled with aa, and they list only one obscure geographical French word. It cannot be Isaan. There is no English precedent.

It cannot be E-san or I-san. Hyphenation connects two words. So what is the E in E-san or the I in I-san? But they did get it half right. Go to Merriam-Webster online to search san and click the speaker button and listen to a correct pronunciation. Maybe you have ordered a Caesar salad or spaghetti at some point in your life and you flavored it by sprinkling it with Parmesan. You can hear a correct pronunciation for san in the word Parmesan at Merriam-Webster online. The second syllable has to be san.

It cannot be Esan. Merriam-Webster online lists no words that begin esa and only one that begins essa, as in essay and the e is short (ĕ) not long per the correct pronunciation at Merriam-Webster online. It cannot be Esan because this would be pronounced eh'-sahn or worse.

The letter i has a multitude of occurrences in written English where it is pronounced like long ē, e.g., Isuzu, pristine, Pepsi, magazine, proletariat, gymnasium, variant, pronunciation, deviation, insidious, Indianapolis, marine, ad infinitum.

English is the most prevalent language in the world, but the world is also influenced linguistically by its second most prevalent language, Spanish. The letter i is pronounced ē in Spanish, e.g., Mexico, Sevilla, Argentina, ciudad, piña colada, Tijuana.

When Thai language is represented in written English you have the same precedent, to wit., Siam, Si Sa Ket, Phimai, Saraburi, Krabi, Udon Thani, Samui, etc.

The mandate is to write the name for Thailand's northeastern provinces as they have been written by scholarly folks for nearly half a century. Anybody who bothers to walk through the old museum in Khon Kaen City can read Isan in all the documentation of the region. It is confusing and counterproductive to reinvent the Isan wheel by making it square, trapezoidal, oval, and triangular…all on the same vehicle.

Great way to introduce yourself to TV you Aardvaark! fair dinkum mate are you the sort of bloke that goes to a perty at the bosses place and when introduced to his wife you comment on her nice tits? Way to win friends and influence people! NOT

[Birdman]

Surawongse, Surawong, Suriwong...

[loong]

Surawongse, Surawong, Suriwong...

Whassat then?

Suvarnabhumi, the airport, how the hel_l do you pronounce this????

[loong]

BTW

Bazaar contains "aa" and is in common usage in English

[Birdman]

Surawongse, Surawong, Suriwong...

Whassat then?

Suvarnabhumi, the airport, how the hel_l do you pronounce this????

...that was just a standard example of a Thai word, in that case a street name, translated into english. There is no 1:1 translation (because, as we know, Thai does not have the same letters as English)

suwanabhum

Edited March 19, 2009 by Birdman

[samuibeachcomber]

Surawongse, Surawong, Suriwong...

or suzi wong ..................much ado about nothing isaan,issan,esaan who cares as long as it sounds right.

[krading]

Yes, S8elmo, there is an Isan. It exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Isan. It would be as dreary as if there were no S8elmos. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.

[longstebe]

This topic is getting out of hand.

Where is the comeback.

No fun without a comeback.

Maybe 'comeback' is two words.

[Birdman]

Surawongse, Surawong, Suriwong...

or suzi wong ..................much ado about nothing isaan,issan,esaan who cares as long as it sounds right.

The question is not if someone cares, actually there is not a question at all

[ozzydom]

Aaron has left the building.

[thatguy]

aardvark, aa (as opposed to Pāhoehoe) ,also

* aah

* aahed

* aahing

* aahs

* aal

* aalii

* aaliis

* aals

* aardvark

* aardvarks

* aardwolf

* aardwolves

* aargh

* aarrgh

* aarrghh

* aas

* aasvogel

* aasvogels

* advocaat

* advocaats

* alaap

* alaaps

* assegaai

* assegaaied

* assegaaiing

* assegaais

* baa

* baaed

* baaing

* baaings

* baal

* baalim

* baalism

* baalisms

* baals

* baas

* baases

* baaskaap

* baaskaaps

* baaskap

* baaskaps

* baasskap

* baasskaps

* balmacaan

* balmacaans

* bazaar

* bazaars

* berghaan

* berghaans

* braaivleis

* braaivleises

* caatinga

* caatingas

* craal

* craaled

* craaling

* craals

* daal

* daals

* ethylenediaminetetraacetate

* ethylenediaminetetraacetates

* graal

* graals

* haaf

* haafs

* haanepoot

* haanepoots

* haar

* haars

* kaama

* kaamas

* kaas

* kamaaina

* kamaainas

* kraal

* kraaled

* kraaling

* kraals

* kursaal

* kursaals

* laa

* laager

* laagered

* laagering

* laagers

* laari

* laas

* maa

* maaed

* maaing

* maar

* maars

* maas

* maatjes

* markkaa

* meshugaas

* meshugaasen

* mishegaas

* mishegaasen

* naam

* naams

* naan

* naans

* naartje

* naartjes

* nachtmaal

* nachtmaals

* nagmaal

* nagmaals

* praam

* praams

* quaalude

* quaaludes

* rufiyaa

* rufiyaas

* salaam

* salaamed

* salaaming

* salaams

* samaan

* samaans

* shimaal

* shimaals

* skokiaan

* skokiaans

* springhaas

* ujamaa

* ujamaas

* volksraad

* volksraads

* wadmaal

* wadmaals

[farangconnection]

Look at the conflicting attempts to write an English word conveying the pronunciation ee'-sahn.

It cannot be Isaan. Show me an English word with the letter a back-to-back like that. The closest thing is a proper name, Isaac, which turns the I long and flattens the second syllable, viz., \ˈī-zik, -zək\. Merriam-Webster online lists no English words spelled with aa, and they list only one obscure geographical French word. It cannot be Isaan. There is no English precedent.

It cannot be E-san or I-san. Hyphenation connects two words. So what is the E in E-san or the I in I-san? But they did get it half right. Go to Merriam-Webster online to search san and click the speaker button and listen to a correct pronunciation. Maybe you have ordered a Caesar salad or spaghetti at some point in your life and you flavored it by sprinkling it with Parmesan. You can hear a correct pronunciation for san in the word Parmesan at Merriam-Webster online. The second syllable has to be san.

It cannot be Esan. Merriam-Webster online lists no words that begin esa and only one that begins essa, as in essay and the e is short (ĕ) not long per the correct pronunciation at Merriam-Webster online. It cannot be Esan because this would be pronounced eh'-sahn or worse.

The letter i has a multitude of occurrences in written English where it is pronounced like long ē, e.g., Isuzu, pristine, Pepsi, magazine, proletariat, gymnasium, variant, pronunciation, deviation, insidious, Indianapolis, marine, ad infinitum.

English is the most prevalent language in the world, but the world is also influenced linguistically by its second most prevalent language, Spanish. The letter i is pronounced ē in Spanish, e.g., Mexico, Sevilla, Argentina, ciudad, piña colada, Tijuana.

When Thai language is represented in written English you have the same precedent, to wit., Siam, Si Sa Ket, Phimai, Saraburi, Krabi, Udon Thani, Samui, etc.

The mandate is to write the name for Thailand's northeastern provinces as they have been written by scholarly folks for nearly half a century. Anybody who bothers to walk through the old museum in Khon Kaen City can read Isan in all the documentation of the region. It is confusing and counterproductive to reinvent the Isan wheel by making it square, trapezoidal, oval, and triangular…all on the same vehicle.

Twaat

Edited March 20, 2009 by farangconnection

[NovaBlue05]

42 responses from one silly post....Maybe it was just part of some uni anthropology research

[Lickey]

And just to confuse things even more!! http://www.geocities.com/siamsmile365/isaan/isaan.htm

[tubber]

Look at the conflicting attempts to write an English word conveying the pronunciation ee'-sahn.

It cannot be Isaan. Show me an English word with the letter a back-to-back like that. The closest thing is a proper name, Isaac, which turns the I long and flattens the second syllable, viz., \ˈī-zik, -zək\. Merriam-Webster online lists no English words spelled with aa, and they list only one obscure geographical French word. It cannot be Isaan. There is no English precedent.

It cannot be E-san or I-san. Hyphenation connects two words. So what is the E in E-san or the I in I-san? But they did get it half right. Go to Merriam-Webster online to search san and click the speaker button and listen to a correct pronunciation. Maybe you have ordered a Caesar salad or spaghetti at some point in your life and you flavored it by sprinkling it with Parmesan. You can hear a correct pronunciation for san in the word Parmesan at Merriam-Webster online. The second syllable has to be san.

It cannot be Esan. Merriam-Webster online lists no words that begin esa and only one that begins essa, as in essay and the e is short (ĕ) not long per the correct pronunciation at Merriam-Webster online. It cannot be Esan because this would be pronounced eh'-sahn or worse.

The letter i has a multitude of occurrences in written English where it is pronounced like long ē, e.g., Isuzu, pristine, Pepsi, magazine, proletariat, gymnasium, variant, pronunciation, deviation, insidious, Indianapolis, marine, ad infinitum.

English is the most prevalent language in the world, but the world is also influenced linguistically by its second most prevalent language, Spanish. The letter i is pronounced ē in Spanish, e.g., Mexico, Sevilla, Argentina, ciudad, piña colada, Tijuana.

When Thai language is represented in written English you have the same precedent, to wit., Siam, Si Sa Ket, Phimai, Saraburi, Krabi, Udon Thani, Samui, etc.

The mandate is to write the name for Thailand's northeastern provinces as they have been written by scholarly folks for nearly half a century. Anybody who bothers to walk through the old museum in Khon Kaen City can read Isan in all the documentation of the region. It is confusing and counterproductive to reinvent the Isan wheel by making it square, trapezoidal, oval, and triangular…all on the same vehicle.

Twaat

Pure class!

[harrry]

Khon Kaen University spells it Esan on their banners, so there.

I wouldn't take any University spelling of anything as gospel based on the spelling of some students I know.

[harrry]

Surawongse, Surawong, Suriwong...

Whassat then?

Suvarnabhumi, the airport, how the hel_l do you pronounce this????

I just pronounce it "hel_l"

[bdenner]

TW and her daughter have different English translations of their maiden/surname name in their passports. When we arrived in Perth Aussie -- oops -- Australian immigration were not at all concerned. Quote "No problem, it's up to interpretation by the translator." unquote!

[JRinger]

In response to S8Elmo and all his dribble...

Hang me, ban me, shoot me if you will, but I couldn't resist...

There is a factory in America which makes the Tickle Me Elmo toys. The toy laughs when you tickle it under the arm. A new employee is hired at the Tickle Me Elmo factory and she reports for her first day promptly at 0800. The next day at 0845 there is a knock at the Personnel Manager's door. The Foreman from the assembly line throws open the door and begins to rant about the new employee. He complains that she is incredibly slow and the whole line is backing up, putting the entire production line behind schedule. The Personnel Manager decides he should see this for himself so the 2 men march down to the factory floor. When they get there the line is so backed up that there are Tickle Me Elmo's all over the factory floor and they're really beginning to pile up. At the end of the line stands the new employee surrounded by mountains of Tickle Me Elmo's. She has a roll of plush red fabric and a huge bag of small marbles. The 2 men watch in amazement as she cuts a little piece of fabric, wraps it around two marbles and begins to carefully sew the little package between Elmo's legs. The Personnel Manager bursts into laughter. After several minutes of hysterics he pulls himself together and approaches the woman. "I'm sorry," he says to her, barely able to keep a straight face, "but I think you misunderstood the instructions I gave you yesterday"................ Your job is to give Elmo two test tickles".

Edited March 21, 2009 by JRinger

[Geekfreaklover]

It is pronounced Isaan in translitaration. Every Thai will know what you are talking about if you use that word.

I always wonder about Sukhumvit, though as there is not a 'v' sound in the Thai alphabet. It should probably be called Sukhumwit' which is closer.

Just my satang.

GFL

[neverdie]

What a blinda of a first post.....I wonder who he really is? Just what TV needs another gramma eggspert

[farangconnection]

What a blinda of a first post.....I wonder who he really is? Just what TV needs another gramma eggspert

You must know who he is. He's an Aardvark called aaron from Haarlem.

[mahtin]

Baa Baa Black Sheep

Eeyang the <deleted>?

This author writes in English!

[loong]

It is pronounced Isaan in translitaration. Every Thai will know what you are talking about if you use that word.

I always wonder about Sukhumvit, though as there is not a 'v' sound in the Thai alphabet. It should probably be called Sukhumwit' which is closer.

Just my satang.

GFL

I've always thought that a bit strange myself.

It's similar with, I think it was a TV called Sony Vega. Not sure if I remember right, but it was launched in UK as Sony Wega. So why use the "V" in Thailand, when they don't have one???

[barryloei]

Newbie get a life

[Svenn]

It's a semi-interesting topic, regardless of who the poster is (btw, who cares?)... fact is, most Thais say a very long 'I' and 'A' in 'Isaan'... like "eeesaaan" ...so in fact 'Isaan' is one of the more grammatically correct ways to spell it. I agree, the 'I' is a bit misleading, so maybe "Eesaawn" would have been the best way to spell it originally. There is absolutely no excuse for the disgusting "Issan" "Isan" "Esan" or, heaven forbid, "Esarn" (who the he_l ever puts r's into thai words anyway?).

[Dave the Dude]

I think he should spend his time investigating the 'interesting' spellings on Thai roadsigns and report back in say 10 years.

Dave

[IssanDM]

I get the feeling the OP is not a newbie but an established poster here that does not want to identify himself. This is most likely a spelling, among other things, that's been gnawing at him for sometime. So instead of posting under his original name he simply created a new identity and made the post for fear of flaming, which is well deserved.

I hope the OP is not a teacher here in LOS. What a miserable bastard he must be in class.