Pattaya 103 - Learn The Thai Basics

[Neeranam]

I listen to Pattaya 103 radio regulary and think the music is very good. The news is quite good too but there is one thing I can't understand. The newsreaders and DJs can't pronounce the simplest of Thai words.

For example 'Baht' is not pronounced 'bart'. Place names are pronounced terribly too. IF you have a radio station in thailand surely it would make sense to teach the staff the basics.

[KittenKong]

"Place names are pronounced terribly too."

Pattaya is surely one of the few places in the world where you can hear people on local media pronouncing the name three different ways in the space of less than a minute, and all of them wrong.

Quite remarkable.

[ThaiBob]

We cut tourists and perhaps foreign newscasters some slack when pronouncing Thai names, but these are residents who make a living here and one would think they must some contact with local Thai population. They, as public figures, have a certain responsibility to do a better job and not contribute to the mispronounciation of Thai names.

[BB1950]

Same kind of thing happens with Pattaya People on Sophon Cable.

[BugJackBaron]

This is not unique to Thailand though I agree that the media is quite irresponsible.

You should hear how badly foreigners pronounce Korean place names (HAE UN DAE not "Hyundie"!)

Asian languages are completely unrelated to English so perhaps this is natural.

[morrobay]

Most of them are British. Thats their accent .Be lucky you can understand that. Ive stood next to some English teachers from Wales and could only understand 50%

Edited February 23, 2014 by morrobay

[ThaiBob]

Most of them are British. Thats their accent .Be lucky you can understand that. Ive stood next to some English teachers from Wales and could only understand 50%

Yes that is part of the problem, they seem to think that the transliteration of Thai script is written and pronounced in their English. Besides listening to those silly songs it is a good laugh to hear them say today's exchange rate is 32.5 bart to the U.S. dollar.