What Does Bang Mean

[STEALTH K3]

What does BANG mean I have noticed lots of places starting with BANG

BANG SUE

BANG RAK

BANG KHOLAEM

BANG PHLAT

and so on

[ProfessorFart]

Bang = Place/Location (usually near a river or canal.)

[Neeranam]

(usually near a river or canal.)

You sure about that P.Fart?

[PvtDick]

Professor Fart is correct.

[Jai Dee]

I agree, but isn't there a little bit more to it than that?

For example, I live in the Banglaumung area... near the sea. And there are many "bang" villages nearby... Bang Chang, Bang Sare, Bang Saen etc.

But up in Isaan (or more specifically the Korat region), there are no "bang" villages. Instead, places/locations/villages near water seem to be called "noen".

Is it a regional/cultural thing or am I reading too much into it?

[chanchao]

And only in Central Thailand it seems... You don't seem to find Bang-Something up North or North East.

[Tornado]

Bang also means - cut.

[Khutan]

Bang is an old fashioned word for a Place or a place that something happens, e.g., Bang-na, means a place of rice fields Na meaning rice field.

[Neeranam]

QUOTE

(usually near a river or canal.)

You sure about that P.Fart?

So it doesn't have to be near a river or canal.??

I know a place in Isarn called BangGok.

[Neeranam]

I have forgotten how it is spelt. Same as "Bang" -"thin" , isn't it?

[ProfessorFart]

In the instance of 'Bang' as used by the OP (and I just checked in Haas and Mac) I was right.

[Neeranam]

In the instance of 'Bang' as used by the OP (and I just checked in Haas and Mac) I was right.

Who are Haas and Mac?

[ProfessorFart]

Mary Hass and George Mcfarland are the best Thai - English Dictionaries for the non Thai learner.

[alanw]

I just checked with my Thai work colleagues who have studied / worked long term abroad.

The consensus was that the closest English word would be 'district' .

[sbk]

We have bang's down here too. In the south it means a mixed fresh-salt water river, inlet, khlong etc. including the land area around it.

Just to confuse the issue a bit more

[PvtDick]

I just checked with my Thai work colleagues who have studied / worked long term abroad.

The consensus was that the closest English word would be 'district' .

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Your colleagues are either not very bright, or they were just trying to brush you off.

[mbkudu]

How about Bang...kok. Few Thais use it unless they're speaking with foreigners, but it does fit the pattern of this discussion.

[PvtDick]

Bang Kok, yes. The original Thai name for the city, before it became the capital. The "Kok" is a type of wild olive or something like that. (i.e., "makok" in current usage).

[mbkudu]

Bang Kok, yes.  The original Thai name for the city, before it became the capital.  The "Kok" is a type of wild olive or something like that.  (i.e., "makok" in current usage).

So, would that roughly translate as, 'Place of wild olive trees'? I think know the fruit you speak of; the very bitter ones.

[Khutan]

I will put my Thai native speakers up for the challenge;

"Bang" is a district or "place of" - translations are not total, or perfectly literal, but an "Academic discussion" led me to still agree with the first argument.

So if there os a Bang-tong get on the bus - its a district of gold

[RamdomChances]

There is lots of scope for confusion with "Bang" if you are spelling it in english its easy to confuse with Ban.

I've never heard about the canal thing, but it also means "some" just to confuse even more

[Khutan]

Ban, Baan, or pronounced "Barn" is a small village or a house.

Bang with the ever ng sound on the end is a place of or where something happens - Making poeerty, charchol, rice etc. I now have countless anacdotes about Bang and what happened there up to 300 years ago.

[ProfessorFart]

May I just refer you all to reply #1.

[ProfessorFart]

May I just refer you all to reply #1.

[RamdomChances]

May I just refer you all to reply #1.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

But if we just left things at one reply, it would get really boring

[sbk]

There is lots of scope for confusion with "Bang" if you are spelling it in english its easy to confuse with Ban.

I've never heard about the canal thing, but it also means "some" just to confuse even more

All the bangkok thai's complain they can't understand the southerners when they come down here, so it is understandable that words would have different meanings down here. Probably a southern thing, there are quite a few Bang's around here, even a bang nam khem.

[Neeranam]

QUOTE(RamdomChances @ 2005-01-19 23:28:40)

There is lots of scope for confusion with "Bang" if you are spelling it in english its easy to confuse with Ban.

I've never heard about the canal thing, but it also means "some" just to confuse even more

All the bangkok thai's complain they can't understand the southerners when they come down here, so it is understandable that words would have different meanings down here. Probably a southern thing, there are quite a few Bang's around here, even a bang nam khem.

I also have never heard of the canal thing. Nice to hear someone as knowledgeable in the Thai language as RC hasn't either. Maybe it is a Southern thing. The last time I went to Had Yai, I couldn't understand them. Sounded like a different language. The same as if my Thai wife went to many parts of England, she wouldn't understand much.

[NarrLing]

Has anyone married in BangRuk etc thought to look at the english translation of their wedding certificate?

Maybe that will give us a good idea of the accepted use of the word "Bang".

NL

[Johpa]

I wonder if the Central Thai "Bang" is related to the Kham Muang (Northern Thai) "Pang" which often translates as a forest camp. The elephant camps are known as "pang chang" and many small villages up north beging with "Pang."

[alanw]

PvtDick,

"Your colleagues are either not very bright, or they were just trying to brush you off".

Actually I don't appreciate your comment. My Thai colleagues are highly intelligent contributors to this country, they interact regularly with senior leaders of industry, both Thai and foreign, and they don't 'brush me off'.

I've since shown them the various posts. They reinforce the point already made by one contributor, that one perfect or strict translation of 'bang' is not possible.

They remain with their overall general comment that it usually means something like district.