'sawasdee' Is Spelled Wrong, ###### It

[maxpower15]

OK, I'm not a spelling nazi and I've come to accept that Thais can't spell in English just like I can't spell Thai very well, but for some reason I just can't get over the widespread use of 'Sawasdee' (The most recent offense is this 'Sawasdee Phuket' concert in Patong.) grumble grumble. I am losing sleep over this. I think I need a support group. Is there a phoenetic spelling-nazi support group on the island?

For those who don't get what I'm talking about, read on (below). If you do get what I mean, just tell me where to find said support group.

thanks,

maxpower

("I Like Thai, you like shirt?")

I Hate "Sawasdee" (by maxpower)

Spelling snafus lead to a mildly annoying tendency on the part of Thais to mislead English speakers into mispronouncing basic Thai words like, say for instance, the word for hello, which is properly pronounced “sah waht dee” (with the ‘t’ a little bit soft). In Thai, there are many letters for the “s” sound and I think all of them are usually pronounced as a “t” when they come at the end of a syllable or word. (Much in the same way the English letter C is pronounced in a few different ways depending what letter follows it). In “sah waht dee,” the second syllable (when spelled in Thai) ends an s, but is pronounced like a t. Unfortunately even a very established and high profile national business like Thai Airways can’t get it right. Their in-flight magazine is called “Sawasdee.” You will often see “sawasdee” and its just plain wrong. Its “sahwahtdee,” ###### it.

[BambinA]

You will often see “sawasdee” and its just plain wrong. Its “sahwahtdee,”

IMHO, whatever you spell , its not a big deal .. just karaoke word ,

the IMPORTANT thing is .. PRONOUCE !!

(and if you still want to spell indeed, just do it in TH language instead, coz it's TH word)

สวัสดี

[maxpower15]

You will often see “sawasdee” and its just plain wrong. Its “sahwahtdee,”

IMHO, whatever you spell , its not a big deal .. just karaoke word ,

the IMPORTANT thing is .. PRONOUCE !!

(and if you still want to spell indeed, just do it in TH language instead, coz it's TH word)

สวัสดี

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Um, you seemed to have missed my point entirely (did you read the bottom of my post?) I know it is a Thai word. My point is that for non-Thais to pronounce it correctly, it helps if it is spelled like it sounds, which is 'sah-waht-dee'. (Although, 'Sawatdee' or simply 'Sawadee' would also be acceptable.) Anything but the all too common sawasdee (with two s').

I see this all the time because alot of Thai letters are pronounced differently if they come at the end of a syllable or word. (Which can be the case in English too). But this is usually lost in translation when attempts are made to spell Thai words phoenetically in English. I suppose I shouldn't complain, but should instead appreciate the attempt. In any case, as I said, you seem to have missed my point as well as the sarcasm regarding my level of dismay.

To redirect the conversation a bit since it has just occurred to me that this thread could potentially be moved to the Thai Language forum, could somebody enlighen me as to who the presumed auidence is for a concert like 'Sawasdee Phuket' (ugh, it hurts to type it). Local Thais? Asian (i.e. Japanese) toursits? Fahrang who happen to come across it?

Edited November 19, 2005 by maxpower15

[Smokin Joe]

As Bambina points out, your word can only be spelled "properly" in Thai.

สวัสดี

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You must really have a fit over the spelling of the King's name since it ends in an "N" sound, but is normally spelled with an ending letter of "L" in english.

[maxpower15]

As Bambina points out, your word can only be spelled "properly" in Thai.

สวัสดี

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You must really have a fit over the spelling of the King's name since it ends in an "N" sound, but is normally spelled with an ending letter of "L" in english.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Obviously, Smokin' Joe, you understand completely- that is an excellent example and you are right: I hate that they spell the King's name in English that way.

In my original post I should have just made an appeal for "more helpful" spelling, because if I couldn't read Thai and didn't have anyone to correct me, I'd go around mispronouncing hello, the King's name and many other things because the concept of phoenetic spelling is lost on just about everyone.

That said, I'm going to abandon this crusade and assume there is no support group. If you hear about a senseless fahrang suicide attempt, it was me.

Edited November 19, 2005 by maxpower15

[BambinA]

Um, you seemed to have missed my point entirely (did you read the bottom of my post?) 

and seemd you missed my point too

Edited November 19, 2005 by BambinA

[LindsayBKK]

I think you will find alot of words like that. If I am talking to my Thai friends I would say "sawaadeeee jaaaaaaaa" no "s" or even "t" . It just sounds softer and more "naruk" 5555 But I guess it just depends who you are talking to. My biggest problem is understanding which letters are silent like "ห' (Haw Heep) and words that have no ending.

[maxpower15]

Um, you seemed to have missed my point entirely (did you read the bottom of my post?) 

and seemd you missed my point either

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That's true, I think we're just misuderstanding each other.

Let's forget it, OK? Sending you a friendly hug.

[BambinA]

Um, you seemed to have missed my point entirely (did you read the bottom of my post?) 

and seemd you missed my point too

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That's true, I think we're just misuderstanding each other.

Let's forget it, OK? Sending you a friendly hug.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Edited November 19, 2005 by BambinA

[meadish_sweetball]

I agree it is unfortunate that somebody decided to establish non-phonetic transcriptions of Thai into Roman letters, but there's no changing that now unless Thais themselves feel the need to make that change and do so en masse.

You are correct in your analysis of the whys and wherefores, but you will just have to learn to live with that people transcribe Thai in different ways, and that newcomers will keep mispronouncing Thai words.

There are so many standards for transcription, and you can look at the issue from a multitude of angles - in the case of the two words discussed here, they are transcribed like that because words in Thai that are loans from Indic languages are often transcribed to reflect their origin rather than their actual pronounciation in Thai.

If you want to have a look at previous discussions, do a forum search for 'transliteration' or 'transliterate' and you will find several useful threads in the Thai Language forum on the same subject from before.