A Few Questions From An Ignorant

[melvinmelvin]

Q1) High, middle, low tones

As I have understood it the high and low tones are relative to ones normal level of speech, middle.

Now, considering words like sai sai sai sai, mai mai mai mai, kao kao kao kao, sua sua sua sua, or similar.

I'm skipping the tone marks assuming you understand that i refer to these words with different tone marks.

(Would also be tricky to produce them on this keyboard).

Now, say that two Thais that have never met before (or talked on phone), that is have no knowledge of each others

voices. If these two dived straight into an exchange of words/short sentences without any leading in greetings or similar

is it possible that they could grossly misunderstand each other (initially) because they would not have any familiarity with each

others normal level of speech (middle tone)?

I know this is fairy artificial. None the less I have been wondering. Maybe there is no intelligent annswer to this because the

example is constructed.

Q2) Motor instruments

Oil pressure meter/gauge

Oil temperature meter/gauge

Coolant temperature meter/gauge

Revolutions meter/gauge

Hour meter/gauge (counting the number of hours a motor is running)

What would the above be in Thai? What would they be romanised?

Q3) Colour

I have looked in several dictionaries and textbooks without finding the Thai word for the colour beige.

Would they just say light brown? Or maybe leave it at khaki? Or is there a sii beige?

Q4) Name of boat

I am about to put my longtail through a major upgrade/refurbishment, as part of that I am thinking of a new name.

I have landed on; HOOI MUUANG FAA LAEP (roughly Paiboon style)

(It looks a bit like one half of an open hooi and hooi is somewhat maritime, it is painted in sii muuang, it is fast as lightning (or next to it).)

I have asked a handfull of Thai male friends, they say OK name, can use.

My faeaen says; not good name, don't use, people will laugh, when they see hooi they will think jim and laugh.

(I am not sure if she means laugh at me or with me.)

Any views on this?

Is it offensive? Is it OK? Is it over the edge? Is it on the edge? Is it provocative?

If it is likely to upset people I will think of something else.

I frequently talk about and order hooi in restaurants after having checked for freshness etc without any calamities,

so I thought it would be OK as part of a boat's name.

AN OBSERVATION

Two days I got myself a new dictionary (Thai English/English Thai/Romanised Thai sound by Benjawan Poomsan Becker) dated 2009.

My old dictionary (same author) was issued in 2002.

Having spent some time reading in the new one, and then checking the old one I notice that many entries/words have changes in the sound.

I have noted that the new dict. have long vowel sounds in many words where the old dict. had short vowel sounds.

One can wonder, old errors fixed in the new one or new errors introduced? There are no comments re this in the preamble.

thanks in advance for any help with the above

[Mole]

1. Not really. Consider this analogy. On a piano, technically, you can play any tune starting with any key as long as other keys which follows are also relative to the key you started with. (I'm not sure the technical term for this is)

It's the same when you speak. When you start talking, people will automatically know your level and understand you automatically.

2. brown is "si nam taan" สีน้ำตาล, and light used with colour is "oon" อ่อน so light brown is สีน้ำตาลอ่อน

3. Can you write that name in Thai character please? I don't understand "HOOI" but the other words, I presume is เมืองฟ้าแลบ (thunder town)?? Hmm.. do you mean perhaps mean หอย like sea shells?

This word can be unfortunate because it can also mean a snail. It also usually have sort of negative vibe to it. Usually Thai's would associate it with something slow and sluggish like a snail.

For example it's also used when you want to kind of curse somebody by saying อีหอย (I've heard girls often use this when they are cursing other women)

Think it more like this that it would be like you named a boat "The snail of thunder city". I guess this name would be somewhat strange too?

This sounds very strange to me that the dictionary would become like that.

I'm very interested to know exactly which words had these changes?

Please do write as many as you can find.

Perhaps I'd be able to tell which is correct.

[melvinmelvin]

2. brown is "si nam taan" สีน้ำตาล, and light used with colour is "oon" อ่อน so light brown is สีน้ำตาลอ่อน

3. Can you write that name in Thai character please? I don't understand "HOOI" but the other words, I presume is เมืองฟ้าแลบ (thunder town)?? Hmm.. do you mean perhaps mean หอย like sea shells?

This word can be unfortunate because it can also mean a snail. It also usually have sort of negative vibe to it. Usually Thai's would associate it with something slow and sluggish like a snail.

For example it's also used when you want to kind of curse somebody by saying อีหอย (I've heard girls often use this when they are cursing other women)

Think it more like this that it would be like you named a boat "The snail of thunder city". I guess this name would be somewhat strange too?

This sounds very strange to me that the dictionary would become like that.

I'm very interested to know exactly which words had these changes?

Please do write as many as you can find.

Perhaps I'd be able to tell which is correct.

RE BROWN;

Maybe my English was unclear. My question was: What would the colour beige be called in Thai? I cannot find it any of the books I have.

(Then I suggested that maybe they don't have beige in Thai but use light brown or khaki in lieu of beige???)

RE NAME

Sorry, cannot do any thai characters or tone marks or proper sound script or similar on this computer.

I wrote HOOI MUUANG FAA LAEP ( mussel/seashell purple lightning)

Funny you come up with "snail of thunder city". My idea was; "lightning fast purple mussel" or "purple mussel fast as lightning"

SHORT/LONG

Off the top of my head I remember 3 words;

old dict RUA(boat) new dict RUUA(boat), i think long vowel is correct

old dict MUANG(purple) new dict MUUANG(purple), also here I think long vowel is right

old dict HOI(mussel) new dict HOOI(purple), not sure about long or short here

(I didn't bother to note the changes down as I found them, but could do.)

[Mole]

RE BROWN;

Maybe my English was unclear. My question was: What would the colour beige be called in Thai? I cannot find it any of the books I have.

(Then I suggested that maybe they don't have beige in Thai but use light brown or khaki in lieu of beige???)

Yes, there's no term for beige khaki etc. Only light brown. When used in context of what you are talking about, they'll probably know exactly what colour you mean.

RE NAME

Sorry, cannot do any thai characters or tone marks or proper sound script or similar on this computer.

I wrote HOOI MUUANG FAA LAEP ( mussel/seashell purple lightning)

Funny you come up with "snail of thunder city". My idea was; "lightning fast purple mussel" or "purple mussel fast as lightning"

I see, you mean muang as in purple. In this case, you'll have to write hoi sii muang faa laeb. You need to add "sii" which means colour.

However, this would be lost in translation for a Thai because Thais don't associate the word lightning with fast speed as in English.

By writing it together, it will just sound like 2 completely unrelated terms written side by side.

It would be similar to writing "purple snail thunder" which wouldn't really make much sense either...

It would also be contradicting because a Thai would associate the word snail/shell with something slow and even if you write เร็วเท่าสายฟ้า in order to clarify that you mean it's "fast as lightning" it would still sound weird for a Thai.

This would be as if you would write "purple snail fast as lightning"

So, in order to write it in a way a Thai would comprehend it properly, you would have to write "หอยสีม่วงเร็วเท่าสายฟ้า" hoi sii muang rew tao sai fah

But I guess this name would be too long.

I would be as if you called it "purple coloured shell (snail) fast as lighting"

Just saying, a Thai would normally associate the word หอย with meaning of snail first and foremost.

SHORT/LONG

Off the top of my head I remember 3 words;

old dict RUA(boat) new dict RUUA(boat), i think long vowel is correct

old dict MUANG(purple) new dict MUUANG(purple), also here I think long vowel is right

old dict HOI(mussel) new dict HOOI(purple), not sure about long or short here

(I didn't bother to note the changes down as I found them, but could do.)

I see, those words have diphthongs in them so they are usually pronounced sort of like long vowel. But it's more like two short vowels pronounced together if you know what I mean.

Edited October 26, 2011 by Mole

[Mole]

Also, just remembered that หอย "hoy" is also used as a slang for the female sex organ in that an opened shell or clam resemble such.

Not that anyone would automatically think of this when they read it as a name on a boat though, but just wanted to mention it.

[Rumblecat]

Yeah, I definitely wouldn't use 'hoy'.

I was getting the BTS the other week with my teacher. I asked her in English, "Do you have coin?", y'know, for the ticket machine. She mis-heard me (stupid Scottish accent of mine) and she thought I was asking "Do you have hoy?". She got a little stern and told me I should never say that to a woman, even as a joke. It took a few minutes of cross cultural confusion before I managed to find a coin in my pocket and explain what I meant.

[SimonN]

"Do you have hoy?".

Or perhaps "do yo have coy?"